Focus on what you like
Some of my favorite blogs are what I consider “niche” blogs.
These blogs may be generally categorized under career, style, politics and the ever increasingly popular “lifestyle” design – but they are also very niche. What they have in common is that the conversation they hold is very subject specific: themselves
Whether it’s rompers, boyfriends and startups, human rights and Gen Y or careers and oral sex – you know what you are getting the minute you click in your Google reader. Leave boring, general discussions for text books.
Want a good example of the specific eking out from the general? Here is a post by Brooklyn Home companion on Gen Y women, baking bread and well-roundedness.
Side Note: I know you want examples, here are my favorites: Apricot Tea, Modite, Penelope Trunk, Life Without Pants, Justice for All. Alright, enough blog envy – back to post.
The more specific you become (i.e. writing about what YOU like), the more you are able to find your niche.
To write for your audience, think singularly – not in plurals
There is a general consensus that good writers know their audiences.
This is partly true.
But if you are writing a blog about fashion, your audience could be a stay-at-home mom, a 30-something lawyer or a recent college graduate. Each reader has different needs. Each desires to learn something that is particular to her goals(…especially if they are reading a fashion blog). Therefore you need to accept that at any given moment, your readers will change daily.
And, that is OK.
What does that mean? Write for whoever you have in mind at any given time. Don’t concentrate so much on appealing to several different “types” of audiences at once.
They can always come back the next day.
Do not be afraid to venture into unknown territory
If you are blogging for a career you want to have (which is all the rage nowadays) I wouldn’t suggest writing about a job you have and don’t like (unless, somehow it fits with #1 or #2).
In other words, it’s your job to treat your blog like an academic foray into becoming a subject matter expert. Research, educate and then report your findings (hence – the blog). If an academic slant sounds like too much work (or too geekish) – I say challenge yourself with any questions you have.
About anything.
Then, challenge yourself once more to find an answer.
At the end of the day, that’s what half the world (more, possibly) is doing when they hit the Search button. They want answers.