Blogging Truths Be Told: Writing About Everything?

I’m soooooo tired of hearing content creators say that you can’t write about everything or at least write on the topics that are most important to you.  I simply built up an immunity to hearing things such as:

• You have to niche down in order to grow, because you can’t appeal to everyone.
• And the quickest way for you to grow is to become knowledgeable in a particular niche, so you can be known as an authority on that subject matter. So, please don’t spread yourself too thin to where you’re running yourself down, trying to carry every topic under the sun.
• And certainly, niche down so that your audience isn’t confused as to what your blog is about and what your area of expertise is.
• Then, there’s the whole notion that your SEO will be all messed up if you try to write about too many things, and the search engines won’t be able to place your site on their page 1 for any searched topic.
• Or, you have to write about those things that are trending as hot topics, because those are the topics that the masses are interested in absorbing. Just look at Google and online forums to see the most popular questions being searched out or asked online and then write about them.

I could go on and on with the rhetoric, but I’m over it.

I’ve blogged two full years and some months now and I fought all of the niching advice every step of the way. How dare someone, that doesn’t even know I exist, sit up there on his or her blogging pedestal and tell me what I should and shouldn’t write. This individual doesn’t know me or my writing background and capabilities. And this content creator know-it-all certainly doesn’t know every nuance of the blogosphere. So month after month, I refused to succumb to the same old noise. I mean . . . hasn’t there been a time or two, where someone broke the mold and ended up writing about everything and being highly successful at it?

Well, I can’t say that I’ve personally provided a survey to every blogger out there who’s chosen to fight the “niching down” system to see if they’ve been able to write about everything and be highly successful at doing so. So, I’ll never know if it’s possible more often than not. But, as for me and my own experiences, I hate to admit it, but . . .

. . . the verdict is in and the know-it-alls seem to be on the right track for the most part. What?! Have I finally been brainwashed? No, seriously, there’s some truth (a whole lot of truth) to what the gurus are saying, regarding finding your niche and honing in on it.

Now, I reserve the right to disagree with those know-it-alls who support the idea of blogging about trendy topics in order to grow a blog’s audience. Personally, I think it may be a viable strategy if you’re just starting your blog, but trends and fads come and go. ALWAYS do! So, retaining a loyal audience by taking on this strategy isn’t successfully sustainable long-term.

Furthermore, I don’t necessarily subscribe to the fact that you have to get deep into the weeds with the specificity of a topic in order to be successful with your blog. For example, you might find an audience for your blog posts on the Keto diet for women over the age of 40, who live active lives. And, you might supply your audience with great recipes and meal planning options for every day of the week. But, you might be able to attract an even wider audience by combining your recipes and food information with activity suggestions in the form of exercises and workout routines. Both the Keto diet and exercising cater to the health-conscious seeker. So, I think the two areas are very compatible and could provide a more comprehensive health framework for an audience to build from.

But, that’s just my perspective as a blogger and as a consumer of blog information. Take it for what it’s worth and formulate your own observations from your unique experiences. What do you enjoy reading as an audience member?

Now, I do think that blogging about health topics mixed with parenting topics mixed with writing topics mixed with education topics mixed with personal & professional development topics is a bit much. Such a smorgasbord of a blog can be somewhat confusing to a reader specifically looking for a certain type of subject matter within the blogosphere. That reader really wants to keep coming back time and time again, but he or she may only want to hear about health topics or writing topics, so the blog posts that cover those interests will be the only ones this audience member will read. The other posts on parenting, education, and personal & professional development will be ignored.

And guess what? The content creator described above, who tried to successfully write about all those different topics, was me. Yes, I’m guilty as charged for refusing to niche down. But, I’m looking to change my ways. Two full years of stubbornness has taken a toll on this blog’s ability to grow. But during this period of hard-headedness, one very vital piece of information I managed to observe is that health-related posts and posts about the writing process are two of my most popular topics of discussion here at Degrees of Maternity. So, I should definitely blog about both of those topics, if anything. Right? Wait! But they’re very different in nature.

Well, out of much deliberation and as addressed in my previous posts, Back to Natural Basics (in Content Creation): Focus on the Right Stuff and Back to Natural Basics (in Content Creation): Focus on the Right Stuff (cont.), I’ve decided to create blogging content regarding the writing process. For now, anyway. The choice was a no-brainer. Writing is my passion; and while I may not be an expert at it, I won’t mind doing everything I can to fine-tune this skill set and talk about the journey every step of the way. I enjoy writing that much.

And while I appreciate healthy living and desire to be health conscious in my life choices, there’s so much to learn in this arena and I wouldn’t even know what area to focus on. There are just too many shiny objects to chase when sharing healthy lifestyle content. And I know I couldn’t easily narrow down such a broad subject to a specific topic to blog about. That right there, my friend, would diametrically go against the point I’m trying to make, regarding the importance of niching down in order to grow.

But here’s where I am with all of this. I still don’t like being told what I can and can’t write about. And, I certainly still enjoy blogging about health-related topics, parenting topics, education topics, and personal & professional development topics. And I, most definitely, will not alienate my Degrees of Maternity friends who enjoy reading content from the different topics I just mentioned. So, what to do? What to do?

Well, I’ve identified a way that I can write about all of the things — just not in my blog posts. Here’s the solution: I’ve decided to write about all of my favorite topics (outside of writing and including writing) in the upcoming and recurring Degrees of Maternity NEWSLETTER. Yes indeed, a semimonthly newsletter is a-comin’ and I’m going to include features such as:

1. A comic strip 
2. Information on current Etsy product offerings
3. Information on any new content offerings 
4. Announcements
5. Writing advice
6. Writing prompts for children and adults 
7. Parenting advice 
8. Health and wellness advice
9. Homeschooling updates/remote learning topics 
10. Goals and productivity advice 
11. Progress on Healthy Habits goals
12. Coupons/discounts, rewards, and giveaways
13. Quotes and conversations with my son
14. DIY project stuff or arts and crafts topics
15. Spotlights on other blogs and bloggers 
16. Pandemic discussions 
17. Bringing old Degrees of Maternity blogging series back
18. Book reviews and book reports
19. Reviews on online courses or any content I’m absorbing
20. Audio excerpts of Playground Instruction for the Growing Adult

It feels so liberating to know I can compile all of my topics of interest into a format that I can share with you and that won’t compromise my blogging niche. And just know, I will be writing about EVERYTHING mentioned above. This Degrees of Maternity newsletter is sure to give you a wide range of enjoyable content to peruse. I’ll be providing you with more information on the newsletter in next Tuesday’s blog post. And just to give you a heads-up: I’m going to need your assistance with a very important piece of the newsletter. So, stay tuned.