Tag Archives: articles

I’m Not a Typical Blogger (and That’s OK)

nottypicalblogger
As a blogger, sometimes I feel pressure to be more like the other members of my website genre. I look around on other blogs and think, “Man, I ought to be doing that–I bet I’d be more popular.” Have you ever thought that?

For instance, I see other bloggers post zillions of pics of their offline lives, and I feel guilty that I don’t take enough pictures. Or I see them post blurbs about their real lives, almost like a diary entry of sorts, and I end up feeling dumb because my real life is literally not interesting enough to write about all the time. (Trust me, I’ve tried many times to keep a journal, both offline and online, and I even bored MYSELF to death.)

Not only that, but all I’m doing is writing advice articles (most of the time) or trying to get across a philosophical point based off my own experiences. I don’t do any real “crafty” stuff that most bloggers are doing these days; I don’t make goodies for my visitors, and I don’t do giveaways…

Why Trying to “Fit In” with Other Bloggers is Wrongheaded Thinking

It’s pretty clear I’m not like other bloggers. And that is actually OK, even though I still worry about it sometimes.

After all, crafting and photos aren’t my passion, so why should I force myself into doing posts about them, even if it would make my blog more “popular” (which, considering the glut of blogs on such topics, wouldn’t likely work)? It would be as pointless as me in middle school wearing heavy makeup because all the other girls were doing it–I did it because I wanted to fit in, but I hated it and it felt fake.

Instead, why shouldn’t I focus my energy on writing posts that I thoroughly enjoy? My passion for my subject matter will come through and make my writing more compelling, and since I’m writing on topics that are fairly different from the blogger status quo, my site could even be a refreshing change for users. Just because I’m not getting a lot of comments doesn’t mean my blog is unsuccessful; just because I’m not doing what everyone else is doing doesn’t mean I’m not worthy. And the same goes for you and your blog/website.

The Takeaway: Your Blog Should Reflect YOU, Not Blog Trends

If you like to craft and you run a blog, definitely feel free to post crafting articles. If you love to take pictures, showcase them on your blog with no regrets. If you like to write about music and post songs/videos, do that to your heart’s content. And if you write about anything and everything because it interests you, go right ahead–the Internet is big enough for us all. We bloggers don’t HAVE to do anything to be popular…except post!