Earlier this year I struggled with my other blog’s content, which I attributed it to a lack of editorial direction. I write about so many things! Working in digital media, I completely understand why people always say to choose and stick to a few topics on your blog. But at the same time, mine is supposed to be a true reflection of me… That’s why I started it. After months of trying to hone in on a blog category, I finally accepted it: I want to have, and write about, it all. #sorrynotsorry
Don’t get me wrong, I know it doesn’t make sense to be all over the place. Disorder doesn’t exactly attract or keep readers. So what to do? If you also want to write on several different topics without killing your ability to be a relatable and reliable author, taking a good look at your blog’s navigation and categories will really help. Not to mention having a good brainstorm sesh. It cleared things up for me and now I feel I can write about several things, like careers and conscious living, without throwing people off. Here’s how to do it!
How to give your blog content more direction without limiting yourself
1. Throw all your perceptions of what your blog is/should be aside, and take 20 minutes to brainstorm a list of post ideas you’d write if you weren’t thinking about focus/views/followers. I firmly believe that you can always put an angle on a post that someone will benefit from in order to be able to share your ideas. You just need a clear mind!
2. Go through that list and put it into categories. If new topics emerge that don’t fit your categories or you find there’s a category on your blog that you no longer even want to write about, you know what to change. You might find that all you need to do is change the category offerings (the ones that you click when uploading the post, and that show up clearly on your blog’s navigation menu) to fit your current direction.
3. If it’s still vague, make it plain + simple. Originally I had categories that went with my branding and blog name. Everything went into found, made, or explored. Shop features were under found, DIY projects under made, and photography was under explored. It was pretty but as my content evolved to include home decor, tips on finding conscious fashion, and life as a freelancer, this became unclear! None of that really fit. Once I realized I could change those names, a lightbulb went off. Simply put, my categories needed to be DIY, conscious living, career. Not as fancy but way easier to navigate.
4. Lastly, figure out how to work your ideas into your current content in a way that makes sense. Have a big picture brainstorm with keywords you attribute to how you want your blog to be. What is your overall message/reason for blogging? Then, go back to each topic and make a note about how each post does that. Even if the note is just to update people on your business. If you’ve done all this and something doesn’t fit right, you can always think of other ways to share it, like submitting an article to a different blog or maybe even establishing a new community.
As much as I love when design blogs are design blogs and fashion blogs are fashion blogs, we all experiment and grow, and you shouldn’t have to hold yourself back or not share a story. We all follow a few bloggers who pull it off too. One of our fave examples is A Beautiful Mess. They fall into so many niches, but it works because it’s all about having a happy, handmade home. So that last point about your theme (your why) can tie everything together. It’s all about introducing topics in a way that makes sense for your overall message.
Thinking of your current categories, do they match up with everything you write? How many topics pop up on your blog?
Courtney Lovell says
I don’t really have a “niche” but a lot of my blog posts are about being/staying organized as well as a few DIYs, decorating posts, and other random things. But I feel like the majority of my posts are about how to make life better via pretty things and staying organized with everything and a few other ways to make life better. So I feel like even though the posts I write are all a little different, they’re all working towards the same goal.
Loved this post! It helped me narrow in on my why (as you can probably tell from the above paragraph).
– Courtney
courtneylthings.blogspot.com
Angela says
Yeah, see coming up with the theme really helps out! Looks like you have it down.
Maria says
I have two blogs and one is for my professional life and one is for personal.
So the personal one I write whatever I feel like and don’t niche it at all. My other blog is all about digital media and what happens there.
I love this blog!
Angela says
It always helps if you can divide things up a bit. I write another business blog that’s helpful to keep some ideas separate myself. And thanks :)
Jennifer says
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I so needed to read this tonight.
I have a food blog but I don’t want to just write about food. For the past six months I’ve been writing about other subjects in addition to recipes but I worry about being “all over the place.”
So I’m going to take your advice and think about all the posts in terms of my theme.
Angela says
I think once it doesn’t seem all over the place to YOU, it really helps. Before, I don’t know if anyone noticed how many things I had going on (probably), but it really frustrated me not to have a clear theme and categories. Once I sorted that out I felt way better so I’m sure you will too, without having to stop talking about all that stuff!
Sarah Noel says
This could not be more perfect timing. As I was driving into work, I was thinking, I’d love if I could write about more, but I’m in a niche (marketing for small business). BUT, maybe I can use your suggestions to expand a little bit – perhaps, working mom topics could also be appropriate.
Sarah Noel | http://www.sarahsmirks.com
Angela says
Totally. I get why the niche thing is there and why it’s really helpful to streamline things, but we’ve seen so many successful blogs with more open ended focuses, so as long as it makes sense in terms of the big picture, I think it’s great! Definitely think working mom topics completely fit!
MsCrookedHalo says
I have been meaning to fix my blog categories for months now. I am also assigning each category a day of the week. It makes it easier for me and for my readers.
Angela says
Interesting idea!
tonya says
I’m still figuring this out. My blog is about my art. I say I love fashion illustration but I haven’t been posting many fashion illustrations. I’ve been posting about art classes I’m taking & such. It’s still my art but I have a lot to improve on on my blog :)
Angela says
Sounds like you’re on your way. I had that same problem. I always said I was a DIYer, but I kept posting things other than DIY! When I realized I wanted to expand categories, I shifted a little from DIY.
FIT by Emma Hå says
Thanks for the tips! I write one blog about only nailpolish. And my second blog used to be a personal all-over-the-place blog, since I felt that everytime I tried to niche down I amputaded a part of me. But know It is a health- and training blog and I still manage to keep it “diaryish” enough for my needs. I just focus on the food I ate on every occasion instead of the people I met ;)
Angela says
That’s great! I know for some of us who like to write about 5+ topics, we don’t want to have five different blogs! It seems like you’ve got it down!
Sam @ Love and Wonderful says
I used to have one niche and sticks to it every single time I had my blog running. Now, I designed my blog to have a few niches but they are interrelated. This is how I don’t have limited topics to talk about and can also expand my choice by writing variety of topics.