Blogging Focus – Narrow or Wide for Success?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the blogging and Internet Marketing experts tell us that to be successful, what we write about must fall in the convergence zone where our skills and what we really enjoy doing overlap. That zone is the only place where we can find the sustainable passion to keep writing, promoting and moving forward with our project.

It goes without saying that what we do must have relevance to our target audience, must provide value, entertain, educate, enlighten, inspire or offer a service that makes people’s lives better in some way.

That is one of the most difficult parts of Internet marketing to get right and one that most aspiring bloggers struggle with. It is very easy to write about what we like or feel strongly about, but unless it is going to help our readers or provoke them to take action, we might as well save the website costs and just write in a journal.

I know that it is an area I still struggle with. I know that some of my posts only appeal to a certain segment of my readers, I also know that my range of topics is broadly focused, that most successful blogs are narrowly focused and therefore attract more engaged readers. There are exceptions, there are  successful and profitable blogs that have subjects scattered all over the range of polite and impolite conversation.

I have started and abandoned blogs about subjects I was knowledgeable about, were in line with skills I had and could offer value. But it became obvious after a few posts that although I enjoyed the subjects I was just not excited enough to keep writing about them. I am about to mothball one of my other blogs for exactly that reason, I have run out of creative steam, the well is empty, time to give it a rest while I re-think my strategy for it.

With that background, it is always a pleasant surprise to discover a blog that meets the criteria successfully.

Yesterday on twitter, I responded to a tweet from Roberta, that led me to her blog More Thyme Than Dough  a wonderful play on words and as you might guess a blog devoted to food, cooking and recipes. She is acutely aware of the financial constraints many people are suffering from and the difficulty in providing economical but nutritious meals. She also recognises the problems of cooking for one person. Changes in our society mean that the number of single person households is increasing amongst all generations, not just baby boomers.

The by-line on Roberta’s blog – “For those Who Like Their Cooking Served With Attitude Ande Sass” sets the tone for her no-nonsense, easy to follow writing.

I knew from our exchanges on twitter that she was good with words, so much so that I asked her if she was an English Professor, she says not but her blog reflects a love of language and hints at wide and varied reading habits.

As a mere male baby boomer and very infrequent occupier of kitchens, the real value of Roberta’s blog is beyond my abilities, however as a writer and blogger, I have to admire the way she has combined her skill, experience and enjoyment of cooking with her writing skills in a well crafted blog that provides real value to people struggling to provide nutritious meals on a tight budget. Her blog is well laid out, attractive but plain and easy to navigate, no unnecessary stuff. Plenty of detailed instructions with good photographs, so that despite my disclaimer above, if I had to feed myself, the first thing I would do would be to rush to my bookmarked More Thyme Than Dough.

There are also “About”, “Tried It” and “Cooking School” pages.

It is not just a cooking or recipe blog, Roberta writes about other stuff as well so that as readers, we get to know a little more about her, she writes about subjects like “Idiots On the Road”  and provides some good photographs in “A Single Rose Can Be My Garden”

All told a great example of a focused blog with extremely well written content that does an excellent job of providing value, information and entertainment.

Even if your culinary skills are as weak as mine, pay  More Thyme Than Dough  a visit, you will enjoy the experience. (disclaimer – I have no commercial interest in More Thyme Than Dough, I have mentioned it because it is a good example of a focused blog that provides value to its readers)

Wishing you success and happy eating.

 

 

 

 

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net