I got a comment on my Personal Blogging Crusader post asking what determines whether or not a blog is personal. I hadn’t previously come across anything to answer that question, so I asked the Google Gods and came up with… nothing.
Then I went to Wikipedia, in hopes that I might find something there. Their article on Blogs offered a little bit. “The personal blog, an ongoing diary or commentary by an individual, is the traditional, most common blog.” There are other types of blogs defined on that page as well, but I think the best way to determine what makes a personal blog is to look at the niche.
Pro bloggers always talk about defining your niche. A niche would be the specialty, or subject, your blog focuses on. There are lots of niche blogs – blogs about blogging, technology, politics, decorating, parenting, cooking, and tons of other subjects. I decided a long time ago, when I was wondering whether or not I was a good blogger that my niche was ME. My answer would be that if you can confidently say that your niche is you, and that you write about many different aspects of your life, then you have a personal blog.
Another question that was brought up was that of advertising. Laura asked if the presence of ads on a blog factored into deciding whether or not it was a personal blog. My opinion is that ads have no bearing on what type of blog you have. That determination is made solely on the content. For example, I have a few ads in my sidebar, and I also use affiliate links and have an Amazon store. Reading my blog, however, there should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that I have a personal blog.
Does this mean that if you mention anything about you or your life that you have a personal blog? Not necessarily. For example, Young House Love bloggers John and Sherry blog about all their home improvements, but recently shared that they had a baby. That doesn’t necessarily turn it into a personal blog. Instead, they used this information to show a new series of home makeovers, showing us how they transformed their third bedroom into a nursery and their guest bedroom into a multi-functioning guest room/home office/playroom. While they could have shown these changes without sharing their exciting news, telling their readers small tidbits about their personal life helps keep the main subject matter relevant and bring it into focus so readers can relate better.
On the flip side of that, you can also have a niche on your personal blog. Just because you blog about yourself and your life doesn’t mean that you can’t bring in other interests. I don’t know about you, but I’d be bored with my blog if all I ever did was tell you about my day. Blogging about other things, such as the music I like or this personal blogging series, allows readers to get to know me a little better, because they know not just what I’m doing, but what I’m interested in.
What about you? What do you think differentiates a personal blog from a niche blog?
Other Posts Like Me:
- Personal Blogging Crusader
- Blogging Mistakes – Posting Too Soon
- About Pages for Personal Bloggers
- 10 Tips for Personal Bloggers
- Top Posts of 2011
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