Running, cooking, baking, crafting — whatever it is, the niche aspect of blogging is what makes it fun. When you’re really, really into something, blogs are a great way to find others who share your interests. Chatter excitedly about a new Chobani flavor at a family reunion, and I’d bet Aunt Betty and Cousin Lou will just give you a blank stare. Your blog pals, on the other hand, will chatter back just as excitedly.
The challenge with writing for a niche topic is remembering that even though it’s specialized, the audience might still be broad. As an example, weight loss is a topic that would have a broad audience. How do you entice readers who might range from teen girls to middle-aged men?
On several health blogs. I’ve noticed references to topics that aren’t really relevant outside of what’s become known as the “healthy living blog community.” To be a good blogger, you need to look past the typical white 20-something woman who is reading your blog (and twenty others similar to it) and think about the bigger picture: Who else might be reading? Who else would want to be reading?
The Pioneer Woman is an excellent example of a blogger who writes for a general audience. And, well, duh — she’s already published one book, with at least another forthcoming. But you don’t need a book deal to be good at what Ree Drummond does: writing conversationally.
Looking at Drummond’s content, you might guess her typical reader is a middle-aged soccer mom who might not live on a ranch, but still has a whole crew to feed and likes to entertain with decadent dishes. But keep reading, and you can see why anyone from single gals to food-minded men would visit The Pioneer Woman every day: It’s interesting. It’s chatty. It’s relevant. And that can be hard to pull off when you’re writing about the same ol’ nut butters and Greek yogurt day in and day out.
Think about the family reunion example: If you were sharing a story or recipe at gathering around a picnic table — with a variety of ages and backgrounds — how would you tell it? What would you leave out? What would you be sure to mention? What would you do to make sure Aunt Betty felt included even if she had no idea what Foodbuzz was?
Part of the reason we started Hollaback was to have a place for blog-relevant conversations. On our individual blogs, we don’t want to bore non-bloggers with topics that just aren’t relevant to them or make them feel left out because they aren’t part of the healthy living blog community. To build your readership, you want to appeal to your friends, family, and co-workers too — none of whom may get references to blog trends.
Remember, your blog is a conversation, and you want to get as many people talking — ultimately, reading and commenting — as possible. Don’t limit yourself by writing to appeal to a very narrow demographic.
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
great article about something that is probably easily overlooked by a lot of bloggers!
Great topic to post about! I agree with Lundsay, I think it’s overlooked as well. From my viewpoint, I write about food, working out and random daily happenings that I think many can relate to. Sometimes, I don’t write with a certain way I want my post to flow, I just write and see how it turns out. I write in a style of how I speak I guess you could say. However I think some bloggers out there in the “healthy living/food/fitness” blog world may feel like that they need to write in a style how some of the bigger blogs write which usually turns out as a fail in my eyes. I don’t want to read what you you ate for breakfast, lunch, dinner. I mean I do but I like reading more about your day, what do you do when you get home from work, hobbies, friends, etc. I don’t read most of the bigger blogs because they seem to be about one recipe and that’s it. I prefer to read blogs they share all aspects of their life as opposed to just food, fitness, health, etc.
So hopefully this makes sense, I am jacked up from meds from a painful dental procedure today!!
Such a timely post for me as I just celebrated my blog’s first bday. It’s an expat blog mostly, but now I’m wondering where it can grow, both in readership and topic. As I wrote last night, I can’t be a newlywed expat in London for ever… especially since I’m not techically a newleywed or new to London anymore!
This is so true — and such a hard balance to strike. I feel like in order to focus my writing, I really need to define my audience — who I’m writing to. But that is really hard to do, when I know how many different “sets” of people read my blog! I think I end up having posts that are directed more towards bloggers, and posts that are directed more towards non-bloggers. Trying to make each individual post relevant to each audience waters down the content.
Bethany @Bridezilla Bakes´s last post ..January Goals- Review
This is a great post and something I’ve been very conscious of as my blog grows. My struggle is actually appealing to the blogging community more because I think I write more towards the general audience and never assume my readers know about something in particular. I’m sure this can get boring for other health bloggers who already know the ins and outs of ingredients, etc. Striking a balance is important.
Maryea {Happy Healthy Mama}´s last post ..Mommy Lunch- Chickpea Tomato Wrap
Great post. I just wanted to add that I think that THIS site is very good at doing just that– appealing to people outside of the healthy living blogs. To people like. . . me. My fledgling little bloglette has very little to do with healthy living, but it can benefit from Hollaback Health’s advice*, and I never feel like I shouldn’t be reading here because I don’t belong. So thank you.
*Even if some of the advice makes me feel guilty, like, say, “don’t start until you’re ready to commit to posting regularly.” Damnit.
This post came at the perfect timing! I’ve been toying with the idea of starting a blog for monthsss and now that I’ve finally pieced it together, I’m going to keep this article as a little reminder tab on writing posts that that both bloggers and my friends and family will want to read!