Before I become introspective, I wanna ask…..
Why is it important to define the genre/category of a blog?’ Do you blog around only one genre? How tough it is to stick to one? What do you when you feel the urge to blog around a totally erratic subject? ‘
Being a creative type I realized there is definitely a better way to sort out my confusion. I thought I would blog about it.
Last month I got a mail from a PR agency (blogger outreach program) which sounded too blunt to me. It read as below ‘You blog around too many things. You have good write-ups. I suggest you must stick around travel. We are only looking for travel bloggers.’
Okay! Thank You!… I wrote back.
I wanted to give back a piece of my mind but I refrained from doing so in haste. Honestly, I could be rude and nasty. I deleted the mail and forgot about it. (Not really)
The collaboration fail did not matter much but what really perturbed me was being told what to do and not. I felt pinched. Again and again, these advises had been coming to me in some form or the other. Yes, many people had told me to stick to one genre. It was important to have a niche, etc. In fact, a fellow blogger had mocked it in style saying that first I used to write around books, then travels and now all of a sudden I was doing restaurants and food. Did I have an idea what I was doing?
If I said, it did not matter, it would be a lie.
Suddenly when blogging has become the next thing, opinions cannot be ignored.
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So this time I decided to read!
Everything that I read lately talked about maintaining a blog in one genre and its pros and cons. If you really ask me, why I have been reading around this, the reason is I wanted a perfect answer to this question – ‘Why is it important to define the genre of a blog?’
Six years back when I started blogging, I did not ask too many questions. Nothing mattered except my love for writing but today it was a different scenario. More than the content, I am worried around the marketing and the outreach. And I can’t dare to call myself a ‘professional blogger’ until I promise good numbers and statistics. So you see why I sound concerned around the the terms ‘niche’ and ‘genre’ though I don’t love them.
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What I learnt?
Genre helps to organize better!
Genre means targeting one particular market.
When you have competition all around, there is a consequence of not following the marketing rules.
By doing different genres, you earn smaller audiences and lose on the big audience.
If you are not writing around one thing, you lack focus, aren’t serious around it. (Perceptions I hate)
When you write around too many things, the blog becomes like a common place… and common lacks the appeal.
Of course, you lose on the money earning prospects.
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Introspection continues
Genre also means ‘Style of writing’. It does not necessarily mean ‘one subject or category’. So what is all the fuss about?
Life is about so many things. We live through so many experiences together. Why can’t we write about all the experiences at one place? My diary never imposed any genre, why is the blog demanding?
Where have these blogging rules come from? Wasn’t blogging supposed to be a personal journal? And personal can never be one thing..
Why can’t I write what I want to? Does a travel blogger only travel? Doesn’t he/she reads, eats, cooks, paints, dances, celebrates, falls sick, slogs, etc? So when they can do all, why can’t they blog all?
I won the ‘Miss Versatility’ title in school. So it proves, I love doing too many things and I am good at them too. Can I have a tittle ‘Mrs. Versatile Blogger’ please?
I have been writing about my personal opinions, book reviews, movies, short poems and my random travel adventures and people have been reading me without complains. Am I missing on the larger audience?
When I am yet not churning huge stats with this first one, is it really a great idea to go about having more than one blog? I would rather focus on one than many, whatsay?
I am not blogging only for the followers but also for my new readers. I am sure the regular readers are wise enough to decide what they wish to read and can simply ignore the topics or posts that do not attract them. Wouldn’t they love reading around different things? Why give them only one genre?
Most importantly, I blog for my passion, for my love for expressions, for my thoughts. How can I get restrictive about something that I deeply love? Period!
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Open Discussion
Most of the blogs that I read around me are not around one genre. So I am sure people have thought around this and are defying the norms. Lets talk around it. I am all ears.
Happy Blogging!!!
I totally agree. I have a opinion about books, travel, fashion, social issues and every thing else and I will write about all of those. Those who like reading what I write will come back to the blog even if I don’t follow the rules new age blogging is bragging about. Who made those rules anyway?
Do whatever u feel like doing …. it is your space, your rules and your style. Haters will always hate and lovers will always love… 🙂
Don’t run behind sponsors and market demands, the day you started cribbing about all this , blogging will be no more fun
I do believe that sticking to one genre is good if you want to be recognized as a top ” XXXX blogger ” and target content to specific audience ..
So take a chill-pill and keep blogging !!!!
Now if we had to listen to people on what to do then job was better na ? My blog my rules simple… 🙂 I mean Manjulika’s blog, Manjulika’s rules 🙂
Glad you are talking about this as I have had this going on in my mind many a times even though I am fairly new in the blogging arena , I have had some similar advises but you know what , I blog to make me happy first than anyone else so my niche is my variety ! And yes you are right, a traveller travels , eats , experiences, reads , uses sunscreens and everything that everyone does ! So what’s the big deal ?
Quite informative…creativity cannot be squeezed into a bottle.
There are always ppl around to criticise and be critical and have opinions….as long as we enjoy doing it, it really does not matter…its the passion of yours which matters and that passion needs an outlet…be it in anyway and form any subject…limiting your pen to a certain subject is in my opinion not justified…just that its should entertain and inform readers and surely give that pump to read the blog. We enjoy reading it!
Yea, I agree, it was a little too blunt. There were so many better ways to say it. I agree that creating a genre helps. But it is quite annoying that someone takes the liberty to give a free advice. Irritating buggers.
I do like the introspection and what you decided to take from it though. A progressive thought and a progressive front 🙂
Hmm
Can I have the liberty of having a different opinion? 🙂 I think yes. 🙂
First, though the mail from PR agency was a bit rude, they were right in a way since they were looking for ‘Travel’ bloggers. Having said that, it was absolutely their mistake … they should have mentioned the word ‘exclusive’ before asking for your details.
You are absolutely right when you say, you are free to write about anything on this earth. As you mentioned, we do a lot of other things in life. I agree on that part. Even I have. But let me tell you something that I know of. Something to ponder upon. After all this platform is to debate. Isn’t it? 🙂 I know you are a sensible & matured girl and will take it as a positive criticism.
What is the purpose of your blogging? Writing, earning, getting fame, success & popularity or all of them? You need to decide that first.
I have been reading blogs since more than 10 years, mostly international blogs & mostly travel blogs. As per international standards, it is always good to have a genre, a niche. I have participated in some workshops and spoken in conferences about travel blogging. We all agree on one thing, narrower the niche you have, more successful your blog will be.
I knew of a travel blogger who writes only about Tapestry across the world, and nothing else. No destination, no food, no things-to-do etc etc. And he is the only blogger in the whole world to write on tapestries !! Do you see the power of niche here? He gets invited by different countries to study, learn & write & speak about his niche (he doesn’t write in English).
You have very well explained the pros & cons of having a niche. Among cons, more than anything else, you are confusing your loyal readers. They don’t know what to expect next. 🙂
Let me take my own example. Even I have so many things to write about but for that have a separate blog since I’ve decided to make TRAVEL as my main forte. On my travel blog, I restrict myself to travel related activities and it includes food, review of travel books, travel gears etc. I think it is still very vast compared to what international bloggers have as a niche.
In short, to be a successful blogger, it is important to choose a niche. Be it anything.
Okay, now I am very sleepy (it’s almost 3 AM!). It’s a very vast topic. Would love to discuss it with you sometime when we meet. Healthy discussions are always good. 🙂
Ya, PR people are particular about genres and stuff, especially newbie ones, they look only at numbers and stuff. But if you are looking for professional blogging opportunities, it might be wise to find a niche and stick to it. I have seen some bloggers maintaining a travel site, a food site, and so on. But it seems like a lot of headache to me.
Loved it…I seriously agree with you.