Do you want your blog to be read? Does the idea of hundreds (maybe eventually even thousands) of people around the world waiting for your next post give you a thrill? Are your dreams filled with your blog’s hit counter exploding due to a post being featured on the front page of Digg?
If you answered yes to the previous questions, I have some advice to offer you. There is one characteristic that your blog should posses that trumps all other–Your blog MUST find a way to stand out from the crowd. Currently, there are millions of blogs that cover every niche imaginable. If you really want to stand out from the very formidable crowd, you must find some specific ways to differentiate yourself from other blogs.
How should you do accomplish this difficult task?
To begin with, you need to realize the most important thing that already makes your blog unique. That answer is you! Unless you are happen to be the result of some kind of government cloning project, there is not another blogger out there like you. As a result, no matter what the niche of your blog is, you need to infuse your blog with your personality, your beliefs, your previous experiences, and your sense of humor. When you really boil it down, your readers are more likely to become devoted to you rather than your content.
Secondly, I continue to believe that blogs not only can, but should have multiple niches. Yes, you will have to be delicate in relating the niches to each other in order not to alienate your readers, but it can be done. Lastly, you should not shy away from voicing your opinion on controversial topics. Even if people disagree with you, they are likely to come back curiously seeking what the “other side” is thinking. There is a great scene in the Howard Stern movie, Private Parts that really drives this point home:
Researcher: The average radio listener listens for eighteen minutes. The average Howard Stern fan listens for – are you ready for this? – an hour and twenty minutes.
Pig Vomit: How can that be?
Researcher: Answer most commonly given? “I want to see what he’ll say next.”
Pig Vomit: Okay, fine. But what about the people who hate Stern?
Researcher: Good point. The average Stern hater listens for two and a half hours a day.
Pig Vomit: But… if they hate him, why do they listen?
Researcher: Most common answer? “I want to see what he’ll say next.”
Unfortunately for me, I only came to this conclusion today so I have yet to benefit from my own advice. This “ah ha” moment came to me as I was going through the blogs in one of my chosen niches, the make money online niche. After seeing all the posts about the exact same topic, I have come to the conclusion that this was the worst possible niche for me to pick as I find it difficult to be original and not sound like an ongoing infomercial. Now don’t get me wrong, there are countless quality blogs in the make money online niche. But what I have discovered is that these quality blogs have become successful because of one major reason: They have been VERY successful in ACTUALLY making money online and have can share with their readers how they have been fruitful. Sadly for me, I am not even close to being in that category so I will have to find a different way to become accomplished.
Now I am not going to completely ditch the make money online niche as I think that the vast majority of bloggers out there will always be interested in ideas on how to make money with their blog. Anytime I find a new way to make money or when one of my ideas turns out to be a complete failure, I will certainly share this information with you. However, I will no longer fall into the trap in finding it necessary to devote a post to an ad network every time they offer a sign up bonus or to discuss a new adsense policy. In addition, I will no longer hold back my opinions on issues (such as politics) in fear of alienating half (or more) of my readers.
The quest to be unique will certainly be a challenge with the million of blogs out there in cyberland. Still, if you can give your readers a truly original product, they will certainly visit your blog seeking more, again and again.
Amen to writing your passion rather then the pursuit of the Adsense penny. The most I ever made with Adsense was about $1000 and that was when I was not thinking much about making money online.
yes i also have to mention you written totally truth and your point also good but it would more difficult, i doesn’t mean anything wrong here but its very difficult, it need to keep going on for long, but nice point.
I agree completely. What makes a blog unique is what makes each one of us unique – experience. Writing from the heart about issues that you have a vested interest in is always going to be preferential to regurgitated waffle scraped and reused from various places on the web. Fresh ideas and perspectives are what turns casual surfers into loyal users, especially when targeting money making schemes.
I think that you make an excellent point about needing to make your blog stand out, which is no easy task. It is also complicated by the fact that we all like different things, however my belief is that if you stick to your passion then others will share your interest in some way.