What works for Anne
Anne Zelenka is advising her readers that they do not need to worry about having a niche for their blog. Here is her rationale:
I blog when I have energy or when I’m provoked or when I’m inspired. I blog about what I want to blog about: mindfulness, virtual teams, enterprise software, web technology, economics, the science of networks, programming, women in technology. That brings me into contact with people who are working on or interested in the same things I am. It also shows them who I am and what my talents are.
This works for her.
Would it work for you or I, who are not already remarkable?
By virtue of Anne’s exposure via Web Worker Daily, she could probably write about catfood recipes, ozone depletion and her local pizza shop and still get a lot of readers (don’t get me wrong, I think she is a fine writer, even if I don’t always agree with her). You and I are probably not as famous - that is, we are not a niche in and of ourselves. We probably need to worry about sticking within a degree of separation or two of our niche so as not to turn our readers away.
Marc Andreessen is another “I am the niche” blogger, by virtue of all that he has seen and done. He too is a fine writer, and like Anne, has the luxury of writing whatever he feels passionate about on the day.
I post to two non-niche-specific blogs and overall they have the lowest reader-per-post figures. Personally, if I want people to read what I write, I need to think about niche. Perhaps you do too.
But I wasn’t “famous” before I started blogging even if I am famous now (though I don’t really think I am). I got the gig at WWD just by blogging about what moved me, not at all by blogging about a niche. And I got work with RedMonk the same way.
And actually, I think had more renown before I worked for WWD and spent so much time on productivity tips! Maybe more people in sheer quantities know me now, but when I was blogging heavily on my own I had more quality contacts (present company excepted
I’m not saying you don’t have to be good. And I’m not saying the niche-of-subject doesn’t work for some people. Just that there are many ways to blog and find some success doing it. You don’t *have* to stick to a niche to find some career gain in blogging.
Hi Anne,
thank you for your comment.
In the circles I move in (social-computing-savvy IA) you are a celebrity - I may not agree with everything you say, but I sure read every word you write
I take your point that what works for one person may not work for another and vice versa, and that niche specificity is not a guarantee of success.
Best regards, Andrew