Updated 3/26: Read this post, too. Issa from Issa’s Crazy World, is another one of those totally lovely and very talented writers I adore. Her writing is honest and funny and heartbreaking. I would hate for her to disappear from the blogosphere because of the direction blogging is going.
*********
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about trying to find my niche in blogging and wondering if I really needed one. I had forgotten that I started this blog because I wanted an outlet to write and, if I was lucky, to connect with other people. I’ve been better about not obsessing over my stats (I still peek once in a while!), and about just trying to write without over-thinking it.
It seems that I’m not the only one wrestling with this.
This week the buzz word online is “Branding.” I can’t read through my Twitter stream or feed reader without seeing post after post about how to Brand Your Blog, Re-Brand Your Blog, and How to Turn Your Blog Into a Business. There are the elite few who actually make their living doing this, but for most of us, we’d be lucky if our blogs made enough to buy a cup of coffee. Or a gumball. (Are they still only a penny?)
By writing about their lives, Dooce and The Pioneer Woman (just two examples) have become brands. And they’ve extended their brands into books, TV and, in The Pioneer Woman’s case, a movie about her life. Marriage, babies, poop, pets, cooking and a host of other ordinary topics—personal topics—are relatable to most woman. And men. Their blogs, which most likely started the same way as most of ours, have become the model that many of us want.
Am I jealous? Totally!
Sort of.
I’d love to be able to make a living doing what I love (preferably at home in my sweats). But the irony in all of that is that there are some fantastic writers out there who are doubting themselves and the worthiness of their blog posts because they aren’t earning ridiculous amounts of money from advertising deals or making the rounds on the talk show circuit. They aren’t branded.
The Business of Blogging is a little depressing.
One my my favorite writers—Yvonne of Joy Unexpected just wrote a great post about feeling intimidated to write on her own blog right now. It seems like a lot of bloggers are caught up in stats and writing Something Important About Important Topics, and making money, and writers like Yvonne, who just like to write about the everyday things—the small snippets of life that build something bigger and more meaningful—are trying to figure out where they fit in.
What was also interesting to me about that post is that Tanis from The Redneck Mommy, who has a huge readership, commented, saying she “misses the freedom of just writing whatever the hell it is that I want to without worrying about ad revenue, sponsorships or even my audience.”
To me, that comment speaks volumes.
The pressure to regularly deliver interesting content while keeping stats and readership up to keep your advertisers happy must take a lot of the fun out of blogging. It’s incredible that bloggers have been taken seriously and are treated as professionals. I love that they’re treated as Writers (with a capital W). It’s awesome that anyone has been able to make money, or land a job, or become a household name because of their blog.
I just hope that these women—and countless others—continue to get personal and keep telling their great stories because they have inspired me to write again.
Although, if Starbucks wanted to sponsor my blog, I certainly wouldn’t turn them down.
I'd like a Triple Venti Skinny Vanilla Latte, please!
You are exactly right. There is a lot to envy in a brand, but a lot to be wary of as well. Writing about the small stuff is what keeps us all connected. Being able to relate to a story because I may have just gone through the exact same thing is what keeps me coming back. Thank you for shining a light on those who aren’t in the spotlight.
For all the talk of branding, there seems to be a little bit of a backlash against it. It’s almost like a grassroots campaign to get back to the basics, to remember why people do this and to support that.
It’ll be interesting to see where this goes.
I blog for a living, but my own blog isn’t overly popular. It’s like having the best of both worlds, but without the fame or big money one would associate with it.
It sounds like you definitely have the best of both worlds!
I’m not against making money blogging, but I hate that it’s changing the way people blog. I suppose that’s inevitable when money is involved, but I when popular writers—bloggers who generate hundreds of comments on every post because their readers feel a connection to their stories—are rethinking what they do because of advertising (or lack of), it’s kind of depressing.
Thanks for sharing this. When I started blogging it was just a warm up exercise for the rest of my writing night. Never really worried about stats. To be honest I don’t even know what good stats are.
Then I decided I wanted to see if I could write it everyday. I am now crossing over 400 hundred straight days.
My blog is about my life, my writing, the world, and whatever else pops into my totally random head. Sometimes I do cover the big stuff (I was all over health care this week but only because it interested me).
About 3 months ago my blog was stumbled upon by someone making a living at their blog. They wrote me a note and said they really liked it but I was hurting myself by not branding or staying focused on one area.
We exchanged some emails where I explained I just wouldn’t be interested only writing about one thing. I was basically called a fool and the person disappeared into the wind.
I still don’t know what good numbers are but I have people who read me. I enjoy writing it. I love when I pick up new people. I work really hard to be interesting. Sometimes I fail bad. Sometimes I write a gem. Ultimately I love that I write about thoughts in my random brain.
I am sure I could stick to one topic and do better but I fear I would grow bored and be just one more abandoned blog.
Although I am with you. I would take a Starbucks sponsorship. I write about coffee a lot.
First of all—400 days in a row? You deserve an award for that. I have no idea how you do that. And if you focused on just one topic you probably wouldn’t have even come close.
What drew me to reading blogs in the first place was getting a peek into other people’s lives and listening to their perspective on the world. I don’t care about contests, giveaways and all the other stuff that’s going on—not if it means that bloggers aren’t going to write about the topics that got them to that level to begin with. I’m glad you stuck to your guns and continued to write what you wanted.
Thank you friend. Just…thank you. I’ll be back. Soon-ish. Promise. Your words have helped me remember why I do this.
I struggle with this also. But I decided a while ago I was going to blog b/c because it was fun, and when it stopped being fun, I was going to stop blogging. And trust me, I’ve gotten to the point where I have wanted to throw in the towel plenty. I think you just have to blog for you, you know?
I agree with you. The blog for me is an outlet – to have good or silly discussions with readers and to just spew out whatever is roaming around in my head that particular day. While there is certainly something to be said for fame and fortune, it would seriously restrict the blog and at the same time put a lot of pressure on me to produce regularly when now it’s just fun.