Blog ¦ Do I need a Niche?

I feel like the word niche is a term that bloggers throw around a lot. I have read so many posts about how to start a blog and so many of them suggest that you MUST have a niche and I have to say I'm not sure I agree. People say that without a niche you won't gain a loyal group of readers and then in the next breath say that it isn't all about stats.

 

What I don't understand is why some people think that people shouldn't mix topics on their blog, I understand that some readers like beauty and some like lifestyle but surely by writing posts that fit under both those categories you are widening who's reading your posts. Maybe those readers might not follow as you don't post enough lifestyle content for them but in the grand old scheme of things does it really matter. It doesn't matter what you post in my opinion if I like the style of writing, the photos and the personality of the blogger I follow, fair enough I might not read every post that they put up like I do with some of my favourite bloggers however surely my irregular reading is better than me not reading at all.

 

So when starting a blog if you want to start with a niche then that's cool but don't ever let that niche define what you post and force you to churn out content that you hate when there is something that you feel you could write so much more passionately about however you know it doesn't fit you niche.

 

I'd love to know what you guys have to say about having a niche! Let me know in the comments.

Blog ¦ Keeping organised

Something I wasn't aware of when I first started my blog was how much hard work it takes to keep it organised and regularly updated. Today I thought I'd talk to you about some of the things I do to keep myself organised. 

Blog post calendars 

This is a quick and easy way of finding what I've already written about and making sure I have a nice balance between my posts. By using these I can see easily how many of each type of post I've put up. It's also just nice to look back on my previous posts and see what I liked writing about 6 months ago. 

My Filofax 

I wrote an entire post about my filofax //Here// I find it so handy as I can write ideas down whilst i'm on the go but I also put in all my posts and any blog achievements like 1200 followers on bloglovin and so. It's really nice to be able to flick through and see when I hit big milestones and I also find it really handy for if I'm out and I want to know what post has just been published. I also have a little section for my blog where I write down all the series I have going so I always know what number I'm up to and a little section to write down all of my favourites. 

A post planner

This is something I started at the beginning of January and I've found it's really helped keep me organised. Before I had a habit of taking photos for a blog post and then never actually writing said post. This way I write down the post idea take the photos and then I can see what posts I have to write, it's also good for if I have a bit of bloggers block because I know if i've got any post ideas already! I can also mark on here if i've put reviewed products on my product directory as I tend to forget to do that. 

Ideas bubbles 

I tend to go through stages with ideas for posts, for one month I'll have 50 ideas and then for the next I will only have 5. I never used to write down my ideas and by the time I got to taking the photos and writing the posts I had either forgotten them or decided I didn't like the idea. By writing them onto idea bubbles I've realised I can now easily go back to the bubbles if I'm feeling a little uninspired but it also helps sift out the good ideas from the bad ones. 

I'd love for you to let me know if you have any blog organisation tips and if you've written a post like this i'd love the link. 

Big blogger, little blogger, cardboard box

Recently there has been a lot of talk in the blogosphere about "Big bloggers" Can I just ask the question here, what is a big blogger. Is it the amount of followers they have, or the number of pageviews they get on a daily basis. Or is it the amount of events they go to and how many PR samples they get sent. We can all get a little down about it sometimes it's only human. 

Let's face it at the end of the day we are all in the same boat whether you have 5 followers or 50,000 we are all swimming in a rising sea of thousands and thousands of bloggers. Would we not all be best just helping each other out. So a little word to "Little bloggers" perhaps you will be were the "Big bloggers" are one day and perhaps you won't but as long as you enjoy what you're doing never give up!  I'd really like to know your opinions on this! Let me know in the comments or tweet me @Coleoftheball

Blogging 101 - Things I wish I knew back then.

Next month I will have been blogging for two years which is completely crazy. Today I though I would write a post for all you lovely people that are thinking of/have just started to blog. I really hope you enjoy this post and if you have been blogging a while let me know what you wish you knew when you started. 

1. Appreciate comments. 

That person that comments on everyone of your posts comment on their posts too! Also don't ignore questions from a readers perspective it's one of the most infuriating things ever! 

2. Blue Tac will be your best friend.  

Ever wondered how bloggers always manage to get products to stay still no matter what surface they are on. We owe it all to blue tac! 

3. Blogging is hard work. 

You have to make time to photograph and to write it's not easy but it's super rewarding. 

4. You won't get thousand's of followers over night. 

This leads on nicely from my last point, you have to put the work in to the rewards end off. Bloggers work super hard to build up followers. 

5. You don't need to own every MAC lipstick made. Ever! 

This is one especially for beauty bloggers, Mac lipsticks are such a highly raved about product and I must admit I was embarrassed at first to admit I owned none. I mean come on past self they're just lipsticks. I'm perfectly happy with my little collection of four now.

6. You CAN blog on a budget.  

Just because you can't afford high end products DOES NOT mean you can't blog. Can't get the latest release that's fine as long as you are passionate out what your writing about you will be fine. 

7. It's ok to have no ideas. 

Bloggers block is something most bloggers will experience at least once, and the worst thing you can do is let it get you down as it just makes it worse. Take a break and soon enough your creative juices will begin to flow. 

8. Carry a notebook. 

Again leading on from my last point (Hey I'm getting good at this!) If you have an idea write it down and save those ideas up for when you have a little block, it really helps. 

9. You don't need an expensive DSLR. 

Just because your camera isn't the newest or the most expensive does not mean your photos will be bad quality. Every photo on this blog is taken using my point and shoot Nikon S2600 it's nothing fancy and doesn't have twelve million buttons but it gets the job done so what more would I want. 

10. Don't let your personality get lost.

And for my final point (I sounded a little like a magician there haha) Don't let your personality be drowned out by the pressure to produce perfect content I love nothing more than reading a post with some little thoughts in brackets like in this post (Shameless self promotion on my own blog Oh dear) produce amazing content but don't forget to be you at the same time! 

If you enjoyed this post let me know I might do a second one if you did!