A friend of mine told me today that my blog is becoming “one dimensional.” He is right. It has. I have been struggling to answer this question: do I blog only about one area or do I blog about what I want to blog at that moment? Do I find a niche and stick with it, or do I express myself on the topics that are important and interesting to me? Even if it means violating the #1 command for bloggers “Thou Shall Stick to Your Niche.”
Do you run your blog as something that is an expression of your total self, or do you compartmentalize yourself into the specific themes that are allowed only on the specific sites you own.
Is it so unorthodox to mix your professional interests with your hobby, your family, your take on politics or faith?
It is a struggle to decide what the best mix is.
It seems you can find bloggers who do not mind mixing it all up into one blog. I believe this is how Darren Rowse started with his first personal blog. After a short couple of years he turned pro-blogger, where blogging is his full time job. Now he runs multiple blogs and websites depending on the subject, ranging from blogging, digital photography to spirituality and church planting.
Another person that I enjoy reading, and should be reading some more, is Guy Kawasaki (his latest post). In his blog he does not shy from talking about anything that is on his mind, including sharing his vacation pictures.
Seth Godin is another top blogger that captures wide readership. He writes excellent content but often he just points to well written posts by others. He runs multiple blogs as well ”All Marketers Are Liars,” and “The Dip Blog.”
Chris Pirillo amazes me in his online ventures. He is so full of energy that for him running several website and blogs is no big deal. His latest is live internet video stream. (Thanks Chris for the cartoons I used in this post.)
Matt Cutts of Google mixes many different topics in his blog, including his cat.
I think after my friend’s “one dimensional blog” comment I am seriously considering starting multiple blogs, where I can focus on particular themes.
I am looking for feedback on this subject. If you have a definite opinion please share it with us using comments below. If you know of any good resources on the subject feel free to include links in the comments.
In addition to the list of blogs on my sidebar there are many other bloggers that are worth mentioning. I will not be able to mention them all here, but here are some that I have been reading and enjoying: Steve Rubel, Gizmodo, and Lifehacker.
Top mosaic image complements of http://mosaic.maccentral.com/mosaic2/.
Hey Marek,
I’d be wary of spreading myself too thin and appearing direction-less. Also, not all topics are compatible with all readers, and by including them you may end up alienating some readers (and links).
Ultimately, it depends on your goal. If you want to be perceived as expert (which I know you are in several areas), you need to narrow your focus and go deep; perhaps have multiple blogs. If you want to be a more general destination and news outlet, there’s nothing wrong with mixing it up.
If I were to bet, I’d say you’ll get more followers and better traffic across several specialized blogs compared to one general blog.
/Juan
Juan thanks for the advice. You made excellent points (as usually).
Going deep on a few separate blogs does sound like a much better idea than spreading yourself thin all in one place.
I appreciate your feedback. - Marek
Hi Marek,
Don’t worry about niches. Don’t worry about being one-dimensional. Don’t worry about market share and interest rates.
Just post about subjects close to your heart. Simple.
That’s what you do so well. Keep going with your established formula.
By the way, would you like to be the guest judge of this week’s Blog Awards? See my blogpost titled `You Be The Judge’ and let me know.
Cheers
David
http://david-mcmahon.blogspot.com/
Stick with the focused approach. You can link to the other blogs on occasion when you can show a connection between the topics, but keeping the blogs distinct means your readers can decide for themselves which blog(s) to follow. You can still write about what’s close to your heart, as David suggested, but doing so on a niche site means you don’t have to worry about holding back for the sake of a lowest common denominator. Multiple blogs also make it easier to support varying publishing frequencies. For example, Topic A Blog is updated daily while Topic B Blog is weekly and Topic Z is when the mood strikes you.
Focus in a blog suits the long tail nature of the internet. But I understand your urge to diversify. Active minds don’t work in narrow channels.
I used to view people who maintain multiple blogs as either egotistical or just indulgent. Now I understand that they’re exercising this interesting networked voice to express themselves and grow in their many areas of interest.
Of course, actually talking is a type of “voice” that’s fairly effortless to us humans. On the other hand, I personally find the act of managing even just one blog real work!