I want to expand on yesterday’s blog How to Start Building Your Platform. I realized I didn’t get specific enough about a very important issue: Blogging to your niche. And yes this applies to both fiction and nonfiction writers.
For example, If I’m in the beginning phases of writing a book on abstract art, I need to keep in mind with every blog post that my niche is people who are interested in reading about abstract art.
If you’re writing a novel, there’s probably a topical hook that’s relevant to your potential readership. If your main characters are involved in Zen Buddhism, for example, you want to write posts that are relevant to the Zen audience.
So if you want to do a Q&A interview for your blog, interviewing a Zen practitioner would be a targeted and relevant post. Your favorite inspirational Zen quotes along with your take would be another wonderful post.
When you’re researching and writing a book, there’s so much you’ll learn that will never make it into the final cut. Why not use that knowledge in a blog post? If you find it interesting, other people probably will too.
Your job is to find those people. More on this tomorrow.
Question: What writers/bloggers are doing a great job of blogging to their niche?
-Maria Schneider
flickr photo by notionscapital
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Please delete the above monstrosity that I posted, and this one, and I’ll repost when I get the tags right! Teach me to try and be nice and embed links. Ghaa!
~jon
“If you’re writing a novel, there’s probably a topical hook that’s relevant to your potential readership.”
So I need to blog about vampires and hookers, eh? I can see I’m in real trouble here. ;)
I look at a fairly narrow range of blog types so it’s hard to say what bloggers do a particularly good job of blogging to their niche, seeing as I’m sort of in their sweet spot to begin with. If they weren’t serving that niche, I wouldn’t be reading them. I personally like:
Colleen Lindsay’s The Swivet
Alan Rinzler
Helen Ginger’s Straight from Hel“, and
Nathan Bransford.
You’re not doing a bad job of it yourself, I might add.
I still read copyblogger and Chris Brogan from time to time, but they are much more SEO (search engine optimization) focused, and that really is not my interest. As a writer, my main focus needs to be on writing and getting published. I think many writers are beginning to chase SEO instead of concentrating on their art. I know I started to, but am now pulling back.
~jon
Some great advice.
I agree with targeting an audience. Sometimes, though, I think it’s necessary to step just outside of that audience – and I mean JUST outside. By doing so, you can expand your audience.
Hi Maria,
This is a great point to keep in mind if a blogger/internet writer is to be successful. Early on, I was all over the map. I had my blog analyzed and a profound piece of advice was offered: narrow your focus. I did, tweaked a few things and never looked back.
Cheers
george
Not sure if I do a *great* job but I”m working on it. My writing blog targets fiction writers – with a bit of freelance thrown in. The posts intertwine with life because writing is a part of our lives. I have a loyal following so it’s working I suppose. On my single mom blog I write all things single parenting – news, commentary, advice etc. And I still write as a writer and mention the writing life, so it all intertwines.
My current WIP is a novel focused on a non-traditional family — therefore I think even the single mom site works toward platform building. It’s what I know, so it’s what I write — fiction and non-fiction.
Maria, you asked about writers who are doing a great job blogging to their niche. Beth Moore is a Christian author,conference speaker, and ministry leader (Living Proof Ministries) who does a wonderful job of this. Her daughters blog with her on her LPM blog (http://livingproofministries.blogspot.com/), and they have built a large community of women they lovingly refer to as their “Siestas”.
By the way, I think YOU do a pretty great job of blogging to your niche, too! :)
I actually decided to take this advice today, and you can now see my new blog here:
http://brothasgrimm.wordpress.com/
Bizarrely enough, this does relate to my WIP and could possibly help build my base! It’s actually a fictional blog that is supposed to exist within the world that I plan to write about.
Interesting post, Maria. I wonder how narrow that ‘niche’ should be. Is ‘writing’ a niche? JA Konrath has a writing blog, but it’s really aimed at ‘newbies’ which I think is a wonderful, refreshing slant.
My niche is and always will be the mind. It’s my passion. I research issues of ‘the head’ in my ‘day job’ – mental health, cognitive function, mood, medications, psychiatric and physical health – and all that stuff oozes into my ‘night job’ of creative writing (novels, poetry, narrative non-fic). And that’s pretty much all I blog.
Editor Unleashed is a perfect title to reflect your niche. Peace, Linda