Six months ago I shared a few words about why you don’t need a niche to be a successful blogger and they are all still true.
Of course success in blogging is subjective so we could argue that you can’t determine whether you have achieved it without first defining what it is.
The 2013 Blogging Plan
If you are among the long time readers you know that I have always covered a variety of topics here. I have done so because it has helped prevent boredom and because it has been a wonderful tool I have used to improve my writing.
That is because as a writer I don’t want to pigeonhole myself as the guy who can only write about one topic and in one voice.
It also works for me because I have seen continual growth in traffic and page views and that experience is a big part of why I say you don’t need a niche in blogging.
What Do You Need To Be Successful
If you are a data junkie you probably want more than just my word as proof that blogging without a niche works. If it makes you feel better I can prepare a case study or throw some numbers into a spreadsheet but since they aren’t coming from a third party you should still question them.
Or you can accept my word as being valid. I am not charging you to read these words or asking you to pay for anything.
However I will ask you to share this post, sign up for my newsletter and become a fan of my Facebook page. 😉
On a serious note what you need to be successful in blogging is the willingness to instill passion and personality into your posts and the ability to sustain your effort for the long haul.
It is a marathon and not a sprint.
What you need to be successful is to not be afraid to experiment and to try things out.
It Doesn’t Have To Be Linear
Some may disagree but your content doesn’t always have to be linear or follow any sort of chronological order. As long as it is constructed in such a way that readers can follow and understand you can play with things a bit.
I like mixing it up a bit because it works for me and because the feedback has been mostly positive. Feedback is important because you need to be cognizant of what makes your readers happy but it always has to be measured against your happiness as a writer.
It is tied into the push/pull of blogging and social media in general.
People power social media and readers help power our blogs but if you don’t love this thing you just won’t last. If you don’t get excited about banging out more posts and engaging with the very fine folks you find around these parts you will have an issue.
Blogging takes work, even for those of us who love doing it.
There are good days and there are bad days mixed in between the other days. Not every post is going to be a home run but if you never swing the bat you never get on base either.
Stay tuned to this bat channel, there is much more to come.
We bats love your channel… passion with personality & vice versa.
The feeling is mutual.
Starting with niche blogging almost one year ago and entering a line of work which partially requires and advocates a subject around which things would revolve, I was, and to some extent still am, in love with the idea of niche blogs.
However, editing a blog where I focus more on the subject in terms of what the readers want to see, instead of just creating an exhaustive resource list with posts and articles, I now see that there are links that are way stronger than having a subject, or a niche.
And those links, I suspect, constitute blogging more than anything else.
Great article!
Hi Slavko,
I appreciate the concept and understand why people focus on particular topics. There is merit to doing so and in theory if you build enough marketshare in your niche you can do quite well for yourself.
But it is not always easy to do so,
***passion and personality***
You said a mouthful there, brother! I Love…
Without passion and personality blogs are just…boring.
Hear, hear, Jens.
Jack, I find mine wanders off course on a regular basis and sometimes morphs into something else altogether. Rarely does anyone comment on this. Sometimes I get,”Well aren’t you supposed to be teaching us something specific about how to access our intuition?” Um, nope! Those who want to come along for the ride will do it. Those who find you’ve strayed away from their current interests sometimes find their way back later on, it seems.
Hi Julie,
The long and winding road is fun to follow. In your field I have to imagine people would respond by figuring you are just going where intuition and the universe lead so it would make sense to just go with it.
You definitively need to be good to be a successful blogger, on the other hand, it depends on how you measure success. Some measure success in money, others measure success in traffic, and others measure success in happiness.
Hi Jens,
Agreed. Success is subjective and relative to whatever metrics you use.
I think the effect of Social media on driving readers to blogs is waning. Maybe that is obvious, or maybe that is just me. The real way to get readers is to write good content, and to – as you indicate – love it.
Great points Jack.
Hi James,
Social media is old news so content is critical. If you can’t produce interesting and or valuable stuff you won’t find many readers, let alone retain them.
I think you just need to be good. That’s it, nothing more, nothing less. Whether that’s ina topical area or in general.
Hi Geoff,
No disagreement there. Good is critical.
As a no-niche blogger (well, my niche is being Jana, which is quite an awesome niche) I love this. There are no rules and mixing it up DOES make for better writing (and reading). Great post, Jack!
Hi Jana,
You’re an expert in your niche and that is important. No one can write with more authority about your topic, although your husband/kids might disagree. 😉
Mixing it up and having fun make it all worthwhile.