The Blog Sandwich

I always found it funny that Joey from “Friends” claimed to love sandwiches so much. Every sandwich is so different; how could anyone actually love them ALL?! Sure, there are some sandwiches that MOST people like (PB&J, for example), but even then, you’ll get some holdouts. I have a friend who refuses to eat PB&J on principle, and of course you have those occasional tree-nut allergies…

Anyway, just like it’s hard to imagine loving every type of sandwich, I don’t think anyone loves to read every blog, or even every healthy living blog. Everybody likes different styles, and everybody connects with different aspects of them. So even if everyone doesn’t connect with your blog, the question is, how can you make a blog sandwich that is uniquely you?

Because once you do create a unique sandwich, you’ll find that your blog will improve. Somehow, once you see what makes your blog special, it’s easier to come up with ideas, easier to hook in readers, and easier to feel confident in your blog.

Well, first, you have to decide if you even want to make a sandwich. Just because you like to eat sandwiches (read blogs), maybe you just want the Subway guy to make one for you. Or maybe you’re good at making small things (like cheese and crackers) and you’d be happier joining the conversation as a commenter and Tweeter because you don’t want to put in more effort and work. It’s always good — no matter how long you’ve been blogging — to ask yourself if blogging is right for you. Is it the best place for your creative energy? Will it be the right supportive community you’re looking for? Is it the most effective way to keep yourself accountable? Maybe you just want a place to log your daily eats with accompanying pictures. You don’t need a blog for that. Maybe you just want a group of people to keep you accountable. Blogs can be good for that, but so can various forums or even group meetings.

So first, decide if blogging is right for you. If it is, welcome to the sub club! Now, let’s make your sandwich.

THE BREAD

Any good sandwich starts with good bread. The bread is how you deliver your sandwich, and in this case, it’s the HOW of blogging. The bread of a blog is the HOW of blogging. How do you want to get your message across? Is your writing more serious? Funny? Risque? Deeply personal?

Rachel’s blog, Shedding It, is like rye bread. It’s well, wry and clever, dark, and it’s healthy (but not TOO healthy!). My blog, Your Nutritionista, is more like sprouted grain bread: wholesome and kinda serious, but ultimately good for you.

Whatever type of blogging bread you choose, you definitely don’t want to use stale bread!

THE MEAT

Once you pick the bread for your sandwich, you have to fill it with stuff. What’s the “meat” of your blog? In other words, what are you actually writing about? Contrary to popular belief, not all healthy living bloggers write about the same stuff! For example, the meat of my blog sandwich is a steak (bear with me here!). I want my blog to deliver a lot of protein and, well, I have beef with some of the current conventional wisdom about nutrition and I’m not afraid to say so. Many of my blog posts are centered around debunking myths, commenting on news, or creating recipes with ingredients some people would never use, like — GASP! — butter. Rachel’s blog meat is salami — it’s definitely filling, but it’s also just unavoidably sexual.

I read a lot of blogs because they’ve just got good meat — their content is informative, inspiring, and entertaining. Usually the meat comes when you mindcast.

Try not to be deli meat — sure, thinly sliced turkey is pretty harmless and it’s not necessarily bad in any way, and it’ll keep you full enough, but it’s just a standard, expected lunch. Try to make your meat something that not everyone else in the cafeteria has.

THE FIXINS

Everything else in the sandwich is extra — stuff that’s there to create unique and delicious flavors. Maybe your sandwich has bacon because you heart fat. Rachel’s has cheese because she’s funny. Maybe it has sunflower seed butter because you like to experiment with crazy new ingredients. Maybe it has organic, local tomatoes because you’re all about eating and talking about local food. Even if we share the same types of meat, we can still use the condiments to make the sandwich different.

And the extras on your blog are things that you do uniquely well that can enhance your blog. Just like a little mayo can make a blah sandwich oh-so-memorable, your fixins will be what sticks in your readers’ minds. When a reader clicks over to your blog for the first time, what does she see? Lots of pics? Bold colors? Do you use photographs or cartoons? Is it cluttered or stream-lined? You’ll have to decide how your fixins compliment your meat and bread, just like condiments have to add to but not overwhelm a sandwich.

Are you good at making vlogs or podcasts? Do you like helping readers with nutrition questions? Do you want to write features like Girl Meets Health’s “10 Ways…”? Do your kids help you cook? The key here is finding the thing that YOU excel at or are interested in and making it work for your blog. Just having a category dedicated to running isn’t going to take you very far because everyone (including myself, and I don’t even run anymore!) has one. It helps to find a feature or angle that sets you apart from everyone else.

Don’t Be a Grilled Cheese

Grilled cheese is pretty much just straight-up lifecasting. Sure everybody is loyal to their mom’s grilled cheese, so perhaps even questioning it is seen as blasphemous, but, well, if all you have is some white bread and a Kraft single, what’s going to keep us full? Where’s your flavor? Make it Gouda because you’re a real foodie. Add some pesto because you have awesome recipes from your Italian grandmother to share. The best lifecasting blogs somehow still give us enough variety to make it feel like we are getting more than just bread and cheese.

Let’s Eat!

Your blog has many elements, and with each one, you get a chance to stand out and be uniquely you. We all love grilled cheese, but we need more to sustain us on an everyday basis. In fact, I’d love to try a white anchovy with soft-cooked egg, roasted onion, and salsa verde on multigrain sandwich… or a marinated eggplant with chickpea puree, roasted pepper, and watercress on ciabatta… (both sandwiches are real, found here).

Experiment with different bread. Try different extras until one tastes just right. And even if you’re a vegetarian, give us that protein. Everyone is hungry for new things.

Now let’s start making some freaking amazing sandwiches!

Tagged as: Leah