Monday, May 28, 2012

Finding Your Blog's Niche - Guest Post by Diane Estrella



Diane Estrella and I met in the blogosphere. When her husband came to this area on business, she tagged along. We got to spend a whole day together. She's a good friend and has much to share. Here's Diane...

This carving out your place in cyber-world is sometimes harder than it looks.

Does your blog or website have a theme? A niche, an activity for which a person or thing is best fitted, can make or sometimes break your blog.

My very first suggestion would be: Plain and simple, showcase and talk about what you love.

You don’t even have to be an expert at it. Your passion and enthusiasm for your topic should carry you along. If you don’t love what you’re doing, you will fizzle out, and so will the pizazz of your site. The good news is if what you’re doing isn’t working for you anymore, then change it! I grant thee permission to try something new. We evolve as people with new likes and dislikes, and so can your blog.

Secondly, if there isn’t one theme that is your total “You complete me” area, then find a way to incorporate many. I see a lot of people out there with varied interests: scrapbooking, photography, writing, homesteading, quilting, and on, and on, and on…

Maybe showcase the different areas on specific days of the week. Have regular features that your audience will know you’ll be talking about on certain days, so they can follow what they love about you too.

Finally, find others with similar interests. There is nothing more encouraging and powerful than to have a whole community of people behind you. Learning new ideas or lifting others up can be empowering for you and give you even more ideas for your blog and how to make it better.

How about you…do you have a niche? Where does your blog fit in?

13 comments:

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Susan and Diane .. I have an eclectic blog about all sorts - things that interest me and therefore will interest others around the world.

I just blog about anything - historical, story like, British aspects ... it seems to work. I'm too general in my interests to be specifically attached - and thankfully people like visiting as they never quite know what they're going to get.

I've enjoyed being part of the blogging community .. and learning so much about so many different things that I wouldn't probably have bothered with - if I hadn't had the internet.

Cheers - it's being passionate .. and that I am about what I write ..
enjoy Memorial day and the summer ahead .. Hilary

Linda O'Connell said...

Susan and Diane, thank you for this post. It is true, we have to keep our readers' interest. My blog is more like my diary with a tad of writer's info tossed in. I think humorous posts get the most comments.

Diane said...

Hi Susan!
Thanks so much for having me over today. I'm so glad we connected and I've enjoyed you as a writer and a friend.

Hilary and Linda--Sounds like you've both found what suits you and what you enjoy. That's it in a nutshell! Hugs to you both. :O)

Karen Lange said...

Great post! Thanks, Diane and Susan, for sharing it. I agree, finding a niche can be hard but it's well worth the time.
Happy Memorial Day,
Karen

Diane said...

Thanks Karen! Hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend. Hugs!!! :O)

quietspirit said...

Susan and Diane:
I have a Christian blog. I am participating in a Random Journal Day group. Even then, my old journals are focused on Jesus.
Last month, I started doing book reviews. Thus far, I have done three. Two of them were definitely Christian;the third one was about a young woman who had to lean on God for a way to get through a trying time.

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Hilary - Your passion and detail keep drawing me back.

Hi Linda - I'm always fascinated by your stories of daily life, especially with your students.

Hi Diane - Thanks for addressing an important subject for bloggers.

Hi Karen - I think our interests become evident the more we write.

Hi Quiet Spirit - You have a well-defined blog, and your passion comes through loud and clear.

Blessings,
Susan :)

JD said...

Diane,I like your idea of doing regular features on particular days. I may have to give that a whirl. Great post!

Susan,thank you for hosting Diane. She's a fabu guest poster. ;-)

Be well,
Janette

Rhonda Schrock said...

Great advice here from two experienced bloggers. I like this: "change it! I grant thee permission."

Good words.

Diane said...

Quietspirit---Book reviews are definitely a great way to connect with other readers and also build your writing muscles.

Thanks Janette! You were an awesome guest poster too. So wise!

Rhonda--You have to imagine me saying it while waving my magic wand. ;O)

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Janette - I agree. :)

Hi Rhonda - Isn't funny how we need "permission?"

Blessings,
Susan

septembermom said...

Hello Susan and Diane. A terrific post..thank you! I agree that you need to write about what you love and your blog will have the special something that brings followers back time and time again. I find that the niche is often evolving from one year to the next.

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Septembermom -

Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

Blessings,
Susan :)