Or, once again I am talking about stuff I don’t understand
Photo credit ©phauly
See that picture in the page in a book? Yeah, I’m not sure what it means either. I do a lot of reading around the internet to try and figure out this blogging business but the truth is, I don’t really understand most of it, and what I do understand I have trouble figuring out how to apply it.
Like a “niche”. What is that supposed to be?
(By the way if you give me the literal definition of the word niche in comments, I probably will have to ban your IP. Do people do that to you? Doesn’t it irk one? Does it not seem to be obvious that I know the definitions of common words and sometimes feign ignorance for comedic effect? Isn’t that the most likely explanation? These people need to be whacked in the back of the head with the OED.)
Bloggers put a lot of stock in the “niche”. There are sites that tell you how to choose the right niche. Which niches are profitable. Why readers will leave you if you don’t have a niche. So I though, hey, I should get one of those.
And then I was stuck.
My blog title doesn’t really tell you what this blog is about, only one little series of posts. Now, I thought about changing the title, but to what? I like “I hate my message board” and I rather fancy the idea that it’s a bit perplexing. Maybe intriguing. Certainly it turns away people without any sense of humor, which is to everyone’s benefit. Perhaps it gives the impression of being a random jumble of words that isn’t supposed to mean anything like “Hello robot ok zoomfastby”, which is okay by me.
I made the choice not to let my blog title limit me and thought some more about where to narrow my focus. And again, I was stuck.
The thing is, I don’t really want to narrow my focus. If I want to write about disgusting candy, I don’t want to worry about turning off the readers that only want to read about reasons I hate blinkies. If I want to rant about racism, I don’t want to worry that the readers who came for slankets and cargo comforters will be turned off. I want to be able to go on a diet and write about it and give away a 3 pack of baconnaise, all in the same month.
So, I’ll just continue on doing just that and trust that there is an audience for it.
Which brings me to “authority”, another word I’ve run into a lot and I’m not sure what is meant by it. I read this post by Copyblogger (great blog by the way) on How to Become an Authority Blogger. At first, I was distressed because it seems that the only thing I’m an authority on is knowing what stuff interests and amuses me.
Then I realized, hey, great! I’m an authority on something very, very important. All I have to do now is convince other people it’s important. That’s certainly a lot easier than becoming a know it all about real estate tax or women’s shoes!
See, I’ve been doing a lot of what I’d call life work if “life work” didn’t sound somewhat precious for the gristly likes of me. A lot of that has been focused on figuring out what my life purpose is. And I realized two things:
- I like to entertain
- I like to share things
That’s simple enough, isn’t it? And I can do it, can’t I? You might call it confidence or arrogance or even pigheadedness, but I believe that I can make this work. I trust that there are enough people out there who will find a blog about stuff Tracy wants to write about interesting enough to continue on with this blog work. So my niche is Tracy and my authority is Tracy and I will worry about this no more.
PS please say something in comments otherwise I will have a crisis of confidence and overanalyze your silence and my Go Group will have to work overtime.
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
Tracy, think of the freedom you have: Your title and niche are so ill-defined, you can switch from food that tastes like other food to dieting and racism without getting too worked up about it.
You entertain me, and I always look forward to a new post. Congratulation, you are a Successful Blogger. (Please note the caps — they indicate serious business.)
And every time you mention your Go Group, I get jealous, because I think you’ve found people to play ancient Asian board games with. I suppose I should be jealous of what it actually is, but I’m much to conceited to think I need something like that.
John Roach´s last blog post..The power of peer criticism
You and I have a lot in common. I guess my niche is mommy blogger, but I’m not really a mommy blogger because I write a lot about feminism and most mommy bloggers don’t. I also occasionally discuss finance and self-improvement. Much like you, I can’t limit myself to a tight niche. If I do, I would become bored with blogging and stop altogether.
Sometime this past week, someone Twittered something I really like (sorry I don’t remember who!).
Instead of finding your tribe, be a leader and let your tribe find you.
Maybe you can just blog for a while and see what happens. Maybe your niche will find you.
I think the real thing in blogging is to be yourself. All of yourself. Challenging, to be sure. (I blogged about vulnerability last week.) But in the end, it’s more fun than ought to be allowed!
Grace´s last blog post..Enough Already
So, just for fun I think you should go to Google Keywords and see what the pay per click value is on “Tracy”. Then I think you should add Tracy to your meta tags, and find a way to include “Tracy” into each of your blog post titles. Then you should write 20 SEO optimized articles with Tracy in the first and last sentence of the first paragraph, using a 2 – 3% density, making sure you add Tracy to the last sentence of the last paragraph of each article.
I’d also be curious to know which Google ads come up on the pages that you have “Tracy-ized”
Just being helpful.
George
Tumblemoose´s last blog post..Do you need an online writing portfolio?
Hi there.
I’m not much of a “niche” person, myself – never have been. In fact, one thing I truly delight in is my refusal to be, um, niched.
And as for your parenthetical about feigning ignorance for comedic effect – yes, I HATE it when people don’t get it and feel the need to EXPLAIN something to me that any IDIOT would know. Sheesh. If you really think I’m that ignorant, why are you still here?
ToyLady´s last blog post..They have sheep in Greece, right?
Tracy,
I think “I Hate My Message Board” is to cool for school and I like the baconaise posts ect. So just keep doing what you’re doing I say.
Gerald Weber´s last blog post..Facebook’s BK Sacrifice App and 6 Other Examples of Brilliant Viral Campaigns
I went into the blogger world with a definitive niche in mind. Dreams- but I kept it jayfrawley.com so I could do other things without ruining the core of my niche. I do book reviews, life coaching post from my personal experience, and write for other blogs that have nothing to do with dreams. It is a niche without a niche. Your site is similar- you can do pretty much whatever you want, but the core niche is “Tracy”- no one else can be in your niche because no one else would put a racism post on the same week as discussing baconaise- that is a true Tracyism.
– it is why I come, to hear your voice- and I am sure I am not alone!
Jay´s last blog post..The Sunday Ponder
My niche is difficult for me to narrow down and become an “authority” on sometimes. But your post has revamped my motivation in writing what’s important to me – not just what I think the topic or niche de jour is.
Hi John! You are absolutely right of course, I do have a ton of freedom. I am not sure if it’s of the “world is my oyster” or “nothing left to lose” variety.
You should be jealous of my Go Group, they are awesome and when we are old we are going to get umbrellas and ride public transportation and rap hooligans across the knees with them.
Thanks so much for the compliments! Pro Writing Tips is one of my favorite sites, too even though I don’t much believe in the “grammar”.
Hi Vered! You know what’s funny, I think the first post I ever read by you was a response to somebody criticizing you for not writing about your children more.
(in case anyone is curious I looked it up because it’s a great post: Hate Mail: Apparently I’m a Bad Mom)
For me, the best part of blogging is not only am I the writer, I’m the executive editor or publisher or whatever the job title is of the person that assigns articles.
I think if I were to limit myself, not only would I be bored, I would be boring a lot of people, too. Not because I think niche blogs are boring, but my writing wouldn’t have that spark.
I agree with Grace. Just be your fun, witty self and your tribe will find you. When we find ourselves surrounded by people we don’t care for, it’s because we were wearing the mask of what we thought people wanted to see. As soon as we remove that mask and let the real person emerge, our true friends, some whom we haven’t met yet, flock to us.
Christopher Laney´s last blog post..Reaching Your Dreams: You CAN Get There From Here
You’re niche is entertainment. It’s like Dooce. You can talk about anything, we just like you’re writing. Screw a niche.
Exactly – your niche is entertainment /humor and you excel at it. Your blog title really says it all.
And LMAO at George – good one
Kim Woodbridge´s last blog post..3 WordPress 2.7 Auto-Upgrade Issues
Haha! Every time I’m asked what I write about I say Stuff. Or Snippets. Which is entirely true. It’s how my mind works — in snippets and tidbits, often dancing all over the place.
Finding a “niche” has eluded me, in painting as well as writing. I don’t target a particular market for either, which I know isn’t all that profitable. But it fills me, for now. I’m just working to feed my passions — writing and painting, always with family close by and in the mix.
You wrote “I don’t want to narrow my focus.” I find that inspiring. Thank you…
Barb Hartsook @OverCoffeeBlog´s last blog post..How Do You Find the Time to……..?
Hi Grace! You sound a lot like my friend Madame Fabulous. That is a very good thing. I agree, being myself is the best way to be and the only way I see myself really making it!
Hi Tumblemoose! Ha! The jokes on you, I looked it up and Tracy is worth an estimated $2.28 per click! Tumblemoose, otoh, has not enough data to make an estimate. Up your nose with a rubberhose, my friend!
Hi Toylady! I’m so glad you get it. What really, really burns my butter is when they don’t know the definition of the word and c&p from dictionary.com. Also, when I ask for a tried and true recipe and somebody gives me an allrecipes search page. So much annoyance.
Hi Jay, I think it is probably true that not many people would talk about baconnaise and racism in the same week, and you know, that’s a shame. I am totally picture you and I sitting on a log by a pond singing “Rainbow Connection”. I mean that without a trace of irony or sarcasm.
Hi Carla, I think that’s an excellent idea, and I look forward to seeing where that leads you. I might have already said this before on this page, but what I love about blogging is that I’m not only the writer, I’m the publisher, too and I make the assignments!
Hi Christopher! I love this:
I’ve found that to be the case, 100%. It’s a very freeing process, but there is also some pain and confusion. I think that’s why sometimes people give up right as they are about to soar.
Hi weakonomist, I am so flattered that you’d compare me to Dooce! What a nice compliment. You will be the Master of the Economies when I become ruler of the internet.
Hi Gerald! I didn’t mean to skip you. I think you are the cat’s meow!
Hi Kim – so I shouldn’t change the name to “The Korean Mommy Social Club and Old Timey Gospel Hour”? That was the original name of my first group. I think maybe I’ll change my tagline to that for awhile.
BTW, if you know of any good, reasonably priced people that can do a custom header and logo thingy please pass send me their info.
Hi Barb – you know, there was a post on “Problogger” today asking if your audience was like you and I think in a way my audience is. We all have different interests, politics, religions, but what we all have in common is a great sense of curiosity and being interested in many things. I think the commentors on my blog would be an awesome supper group. Could you imagine all the laughs and great conversation?
The way I see it, telling “la Tracy” to pick a niche and stick to it would be like telling, oh, wasshisname who writes those hysterically funny songs and columns – Garrison Keillor, that’s who I mean – like telling him that he’s done so well with that wonky album of cat songs that from now on his niche must be cats. No amusing tales from the farmyard, no musings on Life, no off-the-cuff bon mots about his travels. Just cats. Not that there’s anything wrong with cats, or blogs about cats… but you get the point.
Now, there are all kinds of bloggers who think that Me, Myself & I is quite niche enough, and that may well be the case — I don’t know; I don’t read their blogs; who am I to judge? You, however, I can testify firsthand, are a total original — and funny enough to pull it off. Your readers flock around because we want to know how this wacky ol’ world looks today through Tracy’s eyes — and if that’s not a mark of “authority,” I don’t know what is!
Thanks Rebecca, that really gave me a much needed boost this morning. You know what was hilarious, last night when you posted this, I was lurking around the Authority Blogger forum.
BTW, if anyone is reading this, Authority Blogger forum is an awesome resource. You don’t even really have to have any authority to participate!
great domain name for blog like this)))
————————
internet signature: http://pedeno.ru/