The Big Blogging Question

As a blogger one thing that often worries me is variety. I love the freedom of writing about whatever I like, whenever I like, but how much effect does this have on my traffic and follower count? 

I’ve heard it said many times before that we all need a niche- a specific focus and a targeted audience- to retain followers. Something I’ve noticed about some of my favourite book bloggers for example, they focus on a specific genre, be it Horror, Fantasy, YA.. etc etc. Many others have two separate topics;
Beauty & Lifestyle
Fashion & Travel
Books & Mental Health
Movies & Gaming

Problem is-I like the sound of my own voice. I want to talk about anything and everything. Granted right now it’s usually books, but I might want to share some life experiences, a riveting new tv show, maybe a movie blew my mind this week or I’ve learned something new.

The worry here is not everyone is going to have the same interests. Now for me that’s never a problem when reading other blogs. As long as there’s a menu I can easily navigate to the content I enjoy, a blogger can post about a multitude of subjects without losing my subscription. If it’s not my kinda thing I’ll just scroll past, no big deal. In some cases I might stumble across something new I wouldn’t have considered before- I never say no to broadening my horizons.

But not everybody has the same view. Some readers want to streamline their intake to one interest and find varied blogs to be too busy or unfocused. I frequently come across bloggers advising others to keep to one or two topics when writing a blog. Thing is;
There are no rules! Therein lies the beauty of blogging.

I’m gonna do me and you should do you.

Perhaps a focus or a niche is most important to those who want to monetise? Finding affiliates and attracting businesses must be easier to achieve when you can prove your blog regularly engages with their target audience. *Its early days for me so this is purely conjecture since I’ve not yet attempted either of those.

Maybe after a certain period bloggers naturally streamline their content in response to their engagement statistics, whether intentional or not.

Looking at it this way I guess choosing the correct content for your readers is entirely dependant on your own goals. What do YOU want from your blog?

Is it follower count? Engagement? Maybe you want to publicise your business or make money?
You could be needing an escape or release, I know creating mine can feel therapeutic. Perhaps you’re looking for friends, belonging or acceptance.

My great admiration goes to those who blog for ALL of the above reasons. Please believe the painstaking efforts you put into creating always shines through in your content, no matter the size of your reach. ❤

There are so many different reasons to blog, what’s yours?

Find an answer to this one question and you’ve got the key to unlock all the rest.

Author: Roxanne Michelle

Dramatic, curly-haired wannabe writer from a nowhere town in Somerset. Stop-starter of all projects great and small. Here to talk books, film, mental health and lifestyle. View all posts by Roxanne Michelle