The best blogging advice I’ve ever heard
I think this is the best blogging advice I’ve ever heard.
I’m not sure if this qualifies as advice for blogging, but I always find that the most engaging blogs I read are the ones of those people that play up the strongest, most prominent quality that they value most in themselves. If you are funny, write a funny blog. If you are emotional, write an emotionally raw blog. If you’re girly, write the pinkest, frilliest, most cupcake-and-tea-sandwich-filled blog you can write. If you don’t take shit from anyone, then… well. You get it.
Did this ever hit me like a ton of bricks.
You see, I’ve re-thinking the tagline for my blog the past couple days and getting depressed because even though it’s been 8 months since I started it, I still feel a bit lost as to the purpose of Good Finking!
I ditched the blog I’d been writing on since December 2008 2006 and started this one because I’d been wanting a fresh start. I was also hoping a new blog would help me find my voice and narrow down my scope, and while I think I’ve made some progress as to the voice, the subject matter still feels like a bit of a hodge podge.
I sometimes have to remind myself to chill out because hey! It’s my personal blog, it can be anything I want it to be! But the perfectionist in me craves some sort of thematic consistency.
So after reading that quote from Pengy, I sat down to have a hard think. What is the quality I value most in myself, and therefore the blog I should write?
…
When I come up with it, I’ll let you know. I find it so much easier to identify other people’s characteristics, but find it hard to describe myself.
What about you? What kind of blog do you write and do you think that it’s a reflection of what you value most in yourself?
My name is Kasia Fink and nothing makes me happier than finding goodness. This is a collection of my findings... I mean, finkings.
Awww! I’m glad you thought that was good advice! Admittedly, I don’t exactly follow that advice in my own blogging journey too closely… but I took a look at my Google Reader and tried to think… “Why do I read these blogs over all the other blogs out there?” And I realized that the blogs that I followed (of people I didn’t know) were all blogs that I almost knew “what to expect” of that blog… but at the same time, they were still able to surprise me. Does that make sense? I like to kind of know what I’m getting out of a blog if I decide to commit to it and put it in my reader. Once the blog starts to kind of stray all over the place… that’s when I have a difficult time following.
I followed you over from Wedding Bee, and for what it’s worth, your “hodge podge” of a blog inspired me to expand my own blog. I realized that my favorite blogs have a bit of everything: daily life, humdrum musings, clothes, food, etc. I don’t know why I’m so fascinated by other people’s lives, but that’s the kind of stuff I like to read about. And so, that’s the kind of stuff I write about. =)
Hmm, that’s so interesting. (I missed Pengy’s wise words when they were on Weddingbee, so glad I had a second chance at them here!) I’ve felt extremely root-less with my blog lately. I’ve been chalking it up to the baby — don’t want to have a “mommy blog,” in part for fear of alienating people who don’t have babies and don’t think about them, but don’t really have anything else going on to write about. Now it occurs to me that it’s all just part of my larger identity crisis.
Don’t be afraid of a “hodgepodge” blog — what matters more is the uniquely Kasia style that you bring to each and every post. But I know what you mean, and will be curious to see what you come up with and how everything evolves….
Funny that you wrote this because I just spent the night creating a new tab called FAVORITES and I realized that I write a lot about everything. And I like it like that. A whole lot about nothing, no?
Thanks all. After thinking about your comments, I realize that several of my own favorite blogs are favorites not necessarily for what they write about but for who they are through their writing. So I suppose that while thematic blogs are awesome, there is something to be said for the strength of blogging voice. Something to ponder.
Thank you so much for writing this! Everywhere I turn to about “how to make your blog more successful,” one of the first rules is to find a niche. Well, I don’t have a niche…sure, I love geeky stuff but that’s just a part of who I am. I too, write about subjects that are all over the place and so I’ve been thinking that maybe I should just pick one subject and stick to it.
That being said, I’m hesitant to take that step because I don’t want to known has “that girl who writes about _____,” you know? There are so many aspects of my life that I want to share with the world and that is impossible to do if I do make that change. I like to think (well, I hope) that I have a unique voice – as do you! – and the reason people read my little blog (and the reason I read yours) is because of it. We may not be able to pinpoint what that voice is, exactly, but I know that it exists, because I am pretty certain that I would be able to pick out a post of yours from a batch of random blog entries by various authors. :-)
I struggle with the same blogdentity crisis as everyone else, and I think it’s because many of us wrote a single-topic blog for so long that it seems like the right thing to do.
However, finding your voice and your niche doesn’t necessarily mean that you blog about one topic, but that you give a unique perspective. Many, many women writing about weddings on WB, but each one was a little bit different, right? So your niche may not be “fashion,” it may be “optimism.” Mine isn’t “food” or “cooking” or even “marriage.” I’m thinking it’s “honest” and “thoughtful” and yes, very often, “raw.” And that what I am, deep down. I think about the things I blog, so whether I blogged or not, those would be my thoughts.
Okay, talking in circles. I’ve always liked the happy spin you put on things. I’ve never particularly cared what you blog about, only that it makes me smile about life.
I think the best part about having your own personal blog is that it can be anything you want!…Whatever comes to mind, however you feel and whatever you do is a personal reflection of you! To me, you are such a great writer and there are so many interesting bits and peices of your life/personality that make your blog so great!
However, if you are going to do a themed blog you can gear it towards finding me a husband or at least a guy that is not so creepy!
Have fun on your vacation!!
My quality (I think) is the “don’t take shit from anyone” quality. I’m also a big pessimist (or at least a cynic). I tend to downplay it on my blog though, most of the time, because I don’t want to write a blog about all the stuff that pisses me off. That’d not be very healthy at all. ;)
These word couldn’t be more true! It’s so easy to try to be something you’re not, just to fit in and meet someone else expectations. I learned after awhile that if I write the way I think, my posts turn out to be more honest, and I hope more interesting.
I used to write strictly about my wedding planning, but since that chapter in my life has passed, I’m looking forward to a much broader topic range and more interesting conversation! :)