Thursday, September 22, 2011

Write About What You Know

During my blogging vacation which may or may not have been induced by a quarter life crisis, I received many emails from new readers and new bloggers asking for tips and suggestions regarding creating a successful blog. First I would like to apologize for not responding to many of you. I really do believe in sharing insights and helping other bloggers and it was incredibly rude of me not to return emails to those of you who asked for my help. With that being said, I figured it might be time to do my first ever post about creating a successful blog.


I have seen countless posts regarding the do's and don'ts of blogging. Everyone has their own opinions and the truth is - you ultimately have to find what works for you and your audience. But if there is one thing that I have learned to be of the absolute highest importance it would be this.....

Write about what you know.



When I first started blogging I wanted to be this super chic, fabulous, classy blogger. I wanted to write about fashion, grand adventures and ultra hot topics. In essence, I wanted to be a modern day Carrie Bradshaw. I wrote for posts for months and months with very little success and gained very few followers. I was so frustrated until I realized something very important. My knowledge of fashion is limited. Although I love to travel, my time and budget restrictions don't exactly allow for the grand adventures I want to write about. Most importantly - I am nothing like Carrie Bradshaw!

So I began writing posts about what I know. Essentially, I began blogging about my life as a newlywed. I wrote about my adventures learning to cook and taking care of my mischievous puppies. I wrote about my struggles with my weight and trying to development a positive body image. I wrote about the every day moments of my life: funny, sad, exciting, boring - all of it. And it worked. Suddenly people were commenting on my stories. People wanted to hear more and they began to follow.

The truth is - people can tell when you are being fake. Most bloggers are bombarded with fake every day - fake TV, fake celebrities, fake hair, fake friends, fake romance. Fake. Fake. Fake. People want to read real, true writing.

There is *nothing* more annoying to me than a blogger who always writes about rainbows and sunshine. The last thing I want to do is read a blog where everything is perfect every single day. If you have time to make the bed every morning, cook breakfast, lunch and dinner and keep a perfectly clean house all while looking fabulous, getting in a workout every day and having sex 5+ times a week with your smoking hot husband who brings you flowers every night - then I really don't like you. Chances are you are lying, and if you aren't lying then you are rude for making the rest of us real people feel bad about ourselves.

My life is messy. Being married is work. Creating a successful career is stressful. Balancing friendships and relationships can be complicated. Dinners get burned, pantyhose get torn and sometimes you fall down and bust your butt in front of everyone in your office. Such is life.

So my suggestion to those of you who are creating a blog or trying to revamp your blog is really quite simple. Ask yourself, "Who am I?" Take a long hard look at your life and determine what you should write about it. If you truly are a fashionista who knows all things trendy and fabulous - then write about fabulous trends. If you are a young mother struggling through dirty diapers and sleepless nights, write about the joys of your experience as a new mom. If you are in college dating tons of guys and living it up - write about those crazy nights on the road to becoming an adult. Whatever stage of life you are in - write about it. Write the good, the bad and the ugly.

Because people can identify with truth. If you can get readers to relate to you, then you will get them to come back time and time again. You will be surprised at the true friendships you will develop with bloggers across the world as you share real pieces of yourself with this community. It really is easy.....just be yourself!



Tomorrow I will share a few more obvious, cosmetic tips that I have found useful for those of you who have asked specifics. But I really do believe the key to any successful blog is finding your voice and personality as a writer.

17 comments:

Kaylee said...

Very well put :) Thanks!

Anonymous said...

This is awesome! So true! I love when I stumble on a blog that is down to earth and real. I hate fake people! Thanks for sharing!

Taylor said...

amen

Mateya said...

Omg I love it haha! The people who seem to have it all together are the ones who are probably in an even bigger mess than the rest of us!

Sara Hinton said...

I love this post! Thanks so much for your honesty and reflection. We sound like similar bloggers! Hope you and your hubby have a great rest of the week!
-Sara

www.saraandluke.blogspot.com

So shay said...

Perfect. Love this so much.

Miss Chelsea said...

I have that quote printed on a canvas in my house! I like to think I'm pretty real on my blog... nowhere near the flowers every night and smokin hot boyfriend shiz ha

Katie said...

Extremely well said. Agree 100% lady. I'm having a giveaway right now so enter it :)

PS-haven't decided on the car front yet. Still trying to get a better deal on the Jeep bc the guy was trying to rip me off. SUCH fun.

LWLH said...

Couldn't have said it better! :)
I tried to start my blog off as a home decor/organization blog but unfortunetly I didn't have a home nor organization :)

Rebekah said...

Love this and it's so true. Sometimes I feel like my blog is so boring, but it's for me and it's my life! Gotta be real!

Taylor B. said...

Amen! I'm definitely not a glamorous blogger but at least I'm an honest one!

Megan said...

amen sister.

Michelle (michabella) said...

LOVE THIS! <3

Amber Marie said...

Thanks for a good shot of hoensty, girl! Got a link to your page from Jenni from Story of My Life. Will be following and looking forward to more from your REAL life :)

Jen | Our Life Accounts said...

You make some interesting points. I must admit I don't like it when some blogger's idea of "keeping it real" is complaining all the time. I write a blog for my memories, I don't need help remembering fights or negative experiences in my life. I might write about some of it, but most times I'll just try to put it past me, forget and move on. I like a mixture of sunshine and rainbows as long as its authentic, sometimes focusing on the positive helps you to stay positive. What you wrote that you find annoying rather accurately describes part of my life the majority of the time but it certainly doesn't capture the whole thing. Far from it.

Why is it rude of people to write authentically on their own blogs about their own lives because it makes other people feel bad about their own? Why does it make them any less of a "real" person. In reality I think people are attracted to these so called "real" people because they want to identify and see other people making the same mistakes and struggling the same way they are. I think it's more jealousy and insecurities of the reader than fakeness of the blogger.

Jill @ Bluegrass Belle said...

Thank you for this, because you just made me laugh, and I definitely needed it :) Well said!
"If you have time to make the bed every morning, cook breakfast, lunch and dinner and keep a perfectly clean house all while looking fabulous, getting in a workout every day and having sex 5+ times a week with your smoking hot husband who brings you flowers every night - then I really don't like you."

The Whitfields said...

This is such a great post! So true, amen sister!!



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