Creating content for a blog is a fantastic creative outlet. Many people blog just to get their thoughts and words down on “paper”. That’s how I started. But after blogging for over a year I’ve come to realize I need to have a blog focus. A “niche”, if you will.
It took me a long time to figure out what I wanted to focus on. I have a post on why I started blogging. It basically says I was hoping to be a “backstage mom” for my daughter Emma who was interested in the modelling and acting world. While that’s not totally off the table, it’s not at all what I’m blogging about now!
I’ve come to the conclusion that mom bloggers are a dime a dozen. While that’s great for finding folks to follow and write for, it also means it’s a really saturated market.
Being a mom blogger means writing about family, parenting, and tips and tricks for an easier family life. (Or at least that’s what I think it’s about!) I’m down with all of that, but I want to have an even more narrow blog focus. As I work 32 hours a week outside the the home I thought I’d add that to my mom blog. So then I was a “Working Mom Blogger.”
After hunting up other working moms I realized everyone is in the stage of just going back to work after babies, or raising toddlers while trying to balance working and parenting. And that’s not where I am.
I’m almost 40 – my girls are “kids” not babies, toddlers or pre-schoolers. Soon enough I’ll be dealing with tweens and teens, and I’ll still be working and juggling 1000 things a week. So there – that is going to be my blog focus. Working parents with school aged children.
But you know what? I’m having a hard time finding others in my niche. I don’t know if that’s a good thing, or not. I want to reach the people like me – they are ones I can speak to with authority!
While I’m happy with my decision on where to focus my blog, I still feel unsure. Are there people out there who will read it? (Besides my family and friends!) Can I grow a following, or find a tribe, of like minded readers who are in the same stage of life as me?
This is where you come in. Are you a working parent? Are your kids “older”? You are my target audience. I would love it if you would follow my blog. And share some of my content – anything that speaks to you, or you identify with.
When you follow me you’ll get 2 emails a week with my fresh blog content. You will also get the occasional unexpected email from me. Some of them are updates – like mini posts I only share with my followers. But you will also get the chance to weigh in when I’m looking for input. In fact I’m percolating a future post right now that I’m going to be crowd sourcing. So keep an eye on your inbox!
To sum up this slightly ramble-y post, I’d like to say that it’s okay if you don’t have a niche. Some bloggers do amazingly without a narrow focus. I’m not one of those people. I need some direction so I can create posts with meaning. Otherwise I’d be writing about the awesome bottle of wine drank the other week, and I’d go on about it for 400 words. I don’t think anyone really wants to read that!
Do you have tips to share for others who are wanting to narrow their blog focus? It took me a long time to be comfortable with the area I chose to blog in. But now it’s easier for me to make posts because I know who I’m talking to.
Following my blog is also a two-way street. If you want to reach out to me, please do! I love hearing from my readers and I am always open to suggestions on my page itself, or ideas for new posts. Feel free to visit my contact page for my details. And I really can’t tell you enough how excited I get when I see someone sharing my work. Let me know if you share things (FB, Twitter, or wherever!) and I will be sure to “Like” your posts.
~Jess
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