As you guys know (unless you are a new reader) I like hosting and going to blogging, social media, and women’s empowerment type conferences and events. At these events you shake hands and exchange business cards with other like minded people. You tell them what you do and they tell you what they do. Inevitably, if you are a blogger, you hear the question “what do you blog about.” If it is a blog event the question often takes the shape of “what kind of blog do you have”. Do you see the slight difference in those two questions.
The question “what is your blog about” is asking about the content of your posts. While, “what kind of blog do you have” is asking what category, or niche, do you fall within, fashion, parenting, beauty, etc. Typically, I have no problem answering these questions. Chasing Joy is about my journey to finding more happiness and Joy in life by trying new things, practicing, gratitude, and setting goals. What kind of blog do I have? For a long time I would say I had a non-niche blog, meaning my blog did not fit with any of the other categories. Then I learned about lifestyle blogs.
Lifestyle blogs are about the life of the writer. Chasing Joy is a lifestyle blog. Almost everything I write about on Chasing Joy has to do with my life. I don’t regularly provide fashion, weight loss, cooking, career or any other kinds of tips or advice. However, I have been known to touch on each of these areas as they come up in my life.
Like I said, I don’t typically have a problem answering these questions. However, there was one time when I hesitated and then withdrew from the conversation. This was at a blog conference. It was toward the end of the multi-day conference and people were getting a little tired from all of the networking. I was seated at a little table with a few other women whom I’d just meant. One of the women asked the rest of us what are blogs were about. Before it was my turn to answer one woman said, please don’t tell me you write about yourself and your life, if I hear that one more time. Some bloggers are so self-centered talking about themselves all of the time. (Not her exact words but close).
I was surprised and taken aback by her reaction. It actually made me not want to mention that I write about myself. I don’t even remember how I answered her question when it was my turn to introduce myself. I know I did not say much nor did I talk about Chasing Joy with my normal level of enthusiasm. Her negativity momentarily cast a shadow on the normal Joy I feel talking about this blog.
I am not sure why, but for some reason the memory of this experience popped into my head yesterday. Now, many months later I feel the need to address the lady’s comments. I challenge her idea that it is self centered to write about yourself. I write about myself because who else do I know better to write about??? More importantly, I write about myself because I recognize that I am really not all that unique. While we are all special and different, most of us have much more in common than we have in differences. If I am struggling to be healthier and lose weight than odds are there are many other women who are doing the same thing. If I am not as happy as I want to be, then there is probably someone else who also isn’t as happy as they want to be.
By writing about myself, what I am doing, how I am feeling, what I am struggling with, and what I am accomplishing; I am, hopefully, letting someone out there know that they are not alone in their struggles. They are not the only one to feel how they are feeling. There is someone else out there setting similar goals and accomplishing similar things. Writing about myself makes me more relatable and more real.
My favorite blogs to read niche or otherwise are the ones where the writers talk about themselves. I like it when the style blogger talks about not only how but why she needed to transform her look from day to night. The food blogger who talks about the recipes that did not go over well along with the ones that turn out great has lots of credibility with me.
Do you like blogs where the writers talk about their lives? If you blog, how would you have responded to the woman?
Isn't it amazing how sometimes something cruel someone said months ago, or years ago, can come back to us strongly?
Every once in awhile I remember something similarly hurtful. Maybe it's the brain's way of saying, "You're stronger now. Try to address it again."
I think you're brave for putting your life out there. The most interesting stuff often comes from writer's private lives, which everyone is not willing to share.
I can say this as a food blogger. My blog isn't nearly as personal. The closest I've gotten is writing an article about cooking for picky eaters.
http://somebodysdinner.blogspot.com/2014/03/meal-planning-for-people-with-different.html
See, it's not the same risk or reward of your style of blogging 🙂
I also love the lifestyle blogs. When I read a blog, I want it to be "real." I love reading stories that may be hard to tell. The food, fashion, photography blogs all seem a little too perfect.
Of course, my blog is about my life…with lots of pictures thrown in. I mean, isn't that's why there is a niche called lifestyle? LOL. I enjoy lifestyle blogs the most. I love getting to know other bloggers through their posts and their lives, I mean it's nice when you learn something, but not a must. I don't know what I would have told the woman weither. I would have fumbled and given her some BS about photographer and helping folks learn instead of saying my blog is about my life and the everyday beauty I find in it. Hmmm. Maybe I'll meet her at a conference soon LOL
This is an interesting topic. I received an email today from someone asking if they could guest post on my blog. They wanted to write about finance or investing. First, I never know if I should accept guest posts or not – lately the blogging experts say no. So I decided she could, but only if she wrote about her own experience with investing or her own career and that she could only link to her own profile. I haven’t heard back from her. I didn’t see any value added to my blog from one of those 5 best places to invest now posts. Likewise I can’t imagine your blog being interesting if you didn’t write about yourself. Even Gretchen Rubin writes about her own life all the time. And like you my favorite bloggers know how to write about themselves and their lives in an interesting way. I was actually trying to come up with a way to write about my life more that sounds interesting – I lead kind of a boring life.
I also met a blogger through an online networking event who had paid to have her blog evaluated. She was told she blogs too much about herself. She became stuck and didn't know where to go next. I told her I wasn't an expert, but I'd ignore the critic.