There are some high school graduates that walk off the stage, diploma in hand, knowing exactly what they want to do with their life. They enter college, declare their major, and go on to have the successful career of which they dreamed.
There are some bloggers who start a blog knowing exactly what they want to blog about and they go on to have the successful blog of which they dreamed.
I started out writing about attachment parenting and that turned into natural living and a little bit of crafting and then my kids got older and I became interested in education and homeschooling, so I wrote about that. I also dabbled in photography and decorating and DIY. But then I wanted to give myself room to write more about faith and motherhood, so I started a new blog and declared myself a writer. And then I was thrust into this whole new world of writing niches and genres and I found myself occasionally (okay, often) at a loss for words, just wanting to share a few pictures of my kids.
Welcome to my blogging identity crisis.
Most blogging courses or ebooks will tell you that identifying your niche is one of the first steps to successfully growing a blog. And that makes a lot of sense if you know that you want to write about one of your specific passions or interests and leave the rest of your life out of the public eye.
But if you are like me, and you tend to write about the big picture of your life and your family and what the Father is teaching you as you observe His hand at work in the everyday, trying to choose a niche can feel rather stressful and burdensome.
Some of my very favorite blogs have been around a while and are, what I would call, niche-less bloggers. In fact, many of my top blogs break all the rules. They have very disorganized categories or (gasp) no categories at all, they have no tagline, they have a vague About Me section, and some of them don’t even have a Facebook Page. They seem to be doing everything wrong, and yet myself and thousands of other readers never miss a post.
I think we can learn a few lessons from the first generation of bloggers.
They started blogging before there were e-books and online courses and conferences on how to grow a blog. They blogged before blogging became all about branding and niches and platforms and networking.
They started blogging simply to have a creative outlet in which to write and to share their voice and their lives, and as a result, their blogs grew in this grass-roots, organic sort of way. I love to look through the archives of some of these bloggers to see how their blogs have evolved and changed over the years as they gave themselves the freedom to write out of the season in which they were living.
If you are struggling to find your niche, I encourage you to try a new approach:
- Stop over thinking it and just write. Write about what you are passionate about right now. Write as the Holy Spirit prompts, even if it means you are writing about something that you don’t consider your niche or expertise.
- Stop looking to other blogs to define yours. You are a unique creation of God and your personality and your life and therefore your blog are also going to be unique. Don’t be afraid to let your blog be the first of it’s kind!
- Break some rules! If your tagline is stressing you out, don’t have a tagline. If you are obsessing too much about the name of your blog, just use your real name. Focus more on content and less on branding, and soon your blog will speak for itself.
After a while of giving yourself this kind of blogging freedom, your niche may simply find you.
Or maybe it won’t and we’ll just link arms and be niche-less bloggers together.
And that’s perfectly okay.
Angela Parlin says
January 22, 2015 at 1:29 pmLove this…I’m one who has just felt STUCK too often, in the process of DEFINING my blog and niche. Thanks for the reminder to just blog, be free! 🙂
Beth Lawrence says
January 22, 2015 at 2:33 pmMay I just say THANK YOU for this!! Oh the stress of struggling to identify my niche. I have just recently settled into the truth that I am niche-less (for now anyway). I deeply appreciate these confirming words from a seasoned and respected blogger/writer. I needed this perspective that only experience can bring.
Christin says
January 22, 2015 at 4:36 pmBless you Beth!!
Laila says
January 22, 2015 at 2:42 pmI just tried to “like” this post,lol.
I’ve struggled A LOT with my niche. And I think the key is to just write and build my community as it is.
Ellen Chauvin says
January 22, 2015 at 5:32 pmHallelujah! Thank you for this!
Rachel Garay says
January 22, 2015 at 10:58 pmGreat post, as it defines my blog completely. I am taking a month off from blogging to do other things, get things done but to also ask God what I am to do with my blog for Him, or what to focus on or change. God Bless! Rachel xo
http://Garaytreasures.wordpress.com
Kelli says
January 23, 2015 at 5:49 amYes! Thank you for this. I am a niche-less blogger. I used to be humor/family, but felt like it was time to move to a new space so that I could have the freedom to explore other topics without always feeling like I needed to be funny. Then I had a HUGE identity crisis, and for the last year have been trying to find my voice again.
I’m still not there, but I’m getting closer, and I’m learning to be okay with that fact that I write under a broad umbrella. I just have to embrace the freedom.
Wendy Speake says
January 25, 2015 at 11:19 pmI was about to send this your way, sweet Kelli! Just like our talk today. I especially appreciated this gracious encouragement: “After a while of giving yourself this kind of blogging freedom, your niche may simply find you.”
Christin says
January 26, 2015 at 4:23 pmIt may also help to stop reading what others are writing, just for a time, to help you find your own voice. Sometimes the voices of others cloud our own. Just write — don’t think about how you “should” write, just write what you feel. Do this several times and you’ll find your voice again. 🙂
joystutts says
January 23, 2015 at 11:21 amI ABSOLUTELY LOVE this blog post and appreciate it soooo much! I am NOT a blogger for this very reason. I’ve never felt like I had one area specifically I wanted to write about, but I have so much to say, so I never started anything. Well, I started and stopped and started and stopped. And maybe not having a niche is ok. I want to write about life; my life – and all the interesting ins and outs of being a mom, designer, wife, entrepreneur etc. Thanks for the encouragement!
churchlife! resources says
January 25, 2015 at 9:16 amtotally get the started and stopped bit! ‘write cause you want to’ is the best advice i got – only with balancing the need to get the bills out and so on…but really, writing helps me first! enjoy your writing journey.
Christin says
January 26, 2015 at 4:22 pmThen write it, girl! 🙂
jenni ho-huan says
January 25, 2015 at 9:14 amI AM!! I thought to grow as a writer and steward my life well I should read up and learn. Honestly, I just enjoy writing and am seeking to be faithful to what I heard: ‘write’. But it does crack me up to try to figure out a niche because I am a big picture, large radar sort of person! Thank you for this. I am sure it will free me up a while before I get all nervous again and read how other bloggers get it done!
Christin says
January 26, 2015 at 4:21 pmI think sometimes we think our readers expect more of us and really, they just want “us”. 🙂
Megan says
February 4, 2015 at 2:57 pmThank you, thank you, thank you! I’ve been so confused about my “niche”. I felt I had to decide exactly who I was writing to in the beginning, but now I feel like it changes sometimes with each post. There are topics that I feel God calling me to write about and I have been pushing them away because I’m not sure if it fits with the original purpose.
I really needed this! Thank you again!