Making My Own Blogging Niche

Lately I have been feeling a bit blah.

Not homesick, not grumpy, not depressed from the weather (okay some days maybe), really just blah is the best way to put it. I have been finding myself feeling very unmotivated in general and lacking inspiration, particularly when it comes to blogging.

So this past weekend when we woke up to the sun shinning through our windows I knew an outdoor adventure was just what I needed to get a bit of inspiration back in me!

Thanks to a sunny Saturday spent playing around the Icelandic mountains I am heading into April feeling rejuvenated and full of ideas! I mean how could I not feel rejuvenated after spending the day with views like this.

With my new spark of inspiration I started thinking over the weekend about why I have been feeling this lack of motivation lately towards my blogging?

I realized that lately I have been putting a lot of pressure on myself to stay with a niche, the travel blogging niche to be exact. Finding your niche is what you hear over and over again as the key to being a successful blogger. For me though, trying to fit myself and my blog into this niche didn’t help me with the direction of my blog, instead I have found it causing me to lose the joy I find in blogging.

Instead of just sitting down and writing whatever I felt like I found myself stopping and thinking “does this post fit in with my niche”? Feeling this pressure of keeping within my niche kept floating around in the back of my mind every time I went down to write, and it quickly began influencing what I was deciding to post, and not in a way that I liked.

I totally get that it is important to have a sense of direction with your blog. Writing about topics all over the place is going to confuse you and your readers so I am all for having a sense of direction with my blog. I just don’t want this direction to completely define my blog or feel like a restriction on my writing.

So the question I have been asking myself lately…

Just because I live abroad, does that mean I have to have a travel blog?

I want to write about travel, because I personally love travel. I don’t always want to write a post full of travel tips, because sometimes I don’t want to be helpful. Some days I just want to share my awesome trip with you all and relive the great memories. And to be honest, I don’t travel near enough to dedicate an entire blog just to traveling posts.

I want to write about my life as an expat, because life as an expat is currently a major aspect of my life. But I don’t want to write a blog where all I talk about is expat life and all things that surround it. Some days I don’t even view myself as an expat anymore. Some days I view Iceland as the place I have lived for awhile, and I just want to talk about my life in Iceland, not my life as an expat.

I want to write about Iceland because I love exploring Iceland and sharing places to see and things to do here. Other times though I just want to post some pictures about the random adventure I just had in my adopted home that will not be beneficial to anyone but my own personal memory.

And other times I want to write about that embarrassing thing that just happened to me. I am quite excellent and getting myself in awkward situations and have to share these stories with someone.

Or I just want to write about how stressed I am with life. Nothing about travel, being an expat, or Iceland, just a plain ole heart to heart all about me.

And this long ramble of thoughts that I made H listen to brought me to this conclusion. I am never going to be one of those bloggers that fits into a “niche” and stays within those lines. Instead I want my blog to reflect me, and all of the randomness that happens in my life. I want to create a place that when you read along it feels like we are talking over a glass of wine about life, not reading an edited version to keep it within the niche.

Because life unscripted is way more fun!

Question of the Day?
Where do you find inspiration? To my fellow bloggers do you try and stick within a niche?

March 30, 2015 by Kiki

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http://www.alovelylifeindeed.com/ Kelly @ A Lovely Life, Indeed

I am in a similar boat when I try to define my niche. I attribute it to my own distracted thinking, but I prefer unscripted. :-) Write whatever is on your heart at the time. Your readers follow you..you’re building relationships. Better to have strong content. :-) Have a great week! I’ll be reading.
http://sophieinclogs.com Sophie

I personally think you have a really great variety of content - lots of helpful tips, but not to the point where we don’t get a peek into your life and who you are, not as an expat, not as a traveller, just as a person :) I also find it difficult to decide what to share and what not to share … what you wrote about expat blogging in particularly really rings true to me: I hardly even consider myself an expat anymore, so to try to keep my posts within that confine feels impossible and frustrating!
http://www.ohheyblog.com/ Oh Hey Blog

As long as you don’t turn into a blogger providing blog advice to all the other bloggers currently creating blogs then I’m sticking around…! Seriously though, I personally love reading blogs that are just personal, that don’t constantly repeat the same flat lays and routines. I like real life and I like reading what your version of real life is like. Hold that head high lady bug x
http://prettythingandco.com/ Madaline

I know I’m niche-less and honestly I like it! I guess you could technically lump me into lifestyle but I like to think my blog is a bit of everything - kind of like me! I have tons and tons of interests and I hope they somehow come across on my blog.
The slow pace

We don’t fit in a niche and we will never will. And even though every Blogging 101 course recommends to find your niche, we just prefer having a great time when blogging. No pressure, just fun. Our blog started as a travel blog but soon we realized we couldn’t keep up with the travel blog scene. We have corporate jobs and we can’t travel full time, so talking about travel only was difficult. Then we realized we loved wrtiting about food and make up and fashion and our everyday life and… well, that’s what we do. We share a little bit of everything and maybe we are not the successful bloggers we would like to be, but at least we do what we want and we have fun. Besides, it’s ur blog and we can write what we want to! ;)
xx,
E.
http://www.theslowpace.com
http://www.rhymeandribbons.com/ Amanda @ Rhyme & Ribbons

I think the travel niche is an easy one to get forced into when you live abroad. I try to only write about things that really interest me….so like a lifestyle blogger who likes to travel ;) xx
http://www.theoverseasescape.com/ Margo

Niche, no niche, whatever you’re doing is EXACTLY right. Don’t waste your time evaluating yourself against what you’re ‘supposed’ to do. It’s exhausting and definitely not fun - I’ve been there and it sucks. Keep doing what you’re doing, k? If there’s any indicator of your success it’s how many of us comment on each and every post of yours. We identify with you! If you’re feeling low on stimulation, don’t feel pressure to post! I recently read something that said we develop a lot of our creativity when we don’t focus on trying to be creative, which is so true. I’ve been reading some great nonfiction books (check out ‘Bold’ if you’re interested) and ideas just come to me out of nowhere. You know? Post whatever you want to share, we’ll all be here.
http://www.adeecodedlife.com/ Dee @ A Deecoded Life

You definitely don’t need to stick to just niche-blogging. Amanda (Rhyme & Ribbons) is a travel blogger, for example, but she doesn’t just blog about travel all the time. You can do the same.
http://www.onepennytourist.com/ Penny @ OnePennyTourist

If you’re unhappy you either won’t blog or it’ll come through in your writing. Both of these things seems to me to be far worse than blogging outside your niche when you want to.

Be happy and your readers will be too :)

(Just keep posting beautiful photos like above *sometimes*, ok? :D)
http://www.brookemeaganjones.com/ Brooke Jones

I totally get my inspiration from the outdoors. Every time I’m feeling in a rut, it’s off for a coastal hike along the ocean I go! It fixes everything!! I can definitely related to the blogging niche dilemma. I’ve spent a lot of time lately trying to decide where my blog fits in and it depresses me a bit to think about limiting myself. So I’m trying to define myself more broadly because who wants to be one-dimensional! I think the reason I’ve actually quit blogging in the past is because I got trapped in a blogging niche that I no longer related to and my lack of inspiration just led to burnout. I think it’s important that we write about what makes us excited.
http://ofgoldenroses.blogspot.com/ Sara Rose

I loveee this post! When I moved back to the states I had such a hard time trying to figure out what to do with my blog. My blog had always been travel in England, and it let weird to post about anything else. But I realized my blog is MY blog and I can really post whatever I want! :)
http://www.twofeet-oneworld.com/ Jessi @2feet1world

Yay for making your own niche - I agree it is more fun and easier to write than trying to stick in what you see as a particular spot. The mountains look incredible! I definitely get inspired by being outdoors too - I often think of posts I want to write while I’m out running and not even thinking about blogging particularly!
http://www.thriftygypsytravels.com Katrina Elisabet

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. I’ve also been feeling highly unmotivated lately, but a little bit of sunshine cures a world of apathy ailments! And I’m glad you’re not trying to stuff yourself into a niche; it’s so much better to just let the “niche” develop on its own with all the things that make you unique. Your blog already reflects that in a lot of ways, and I’m sure it will continue to do so!
http://www.thesunnysideofthis.com/ Isabel

Yey :) Exactly, having a niche strategy has it’s pros but I think the point of blogging is connecting and making conversations with like minded-individuals, and so in the end it should be about having fun and sharing about the things you love. Go Kiki, I know you will still have wonderful stories to share!
http://letuswanderlust.blogspot.com/ Carly @ Let Us Wanderlust

Good on you Kaelene! I feel like this is such a worthwhile thing to learn or realise about blogging. In answer to your question, nope - I don’t want my blog to fit into a specific niche. Just thinking about it makes me bored. I want to write about and share all the things I love and have my blog first and foremost a blog that captures my memories and the person I am. That doesn’t mean I always find it easy to not let the “only niche blogs are successful blogs” mantra we hear so much about creep in. I just do my best to remind myself why I love my blog. I’d never want it to be a reflection of anything other than me and my life at the end of the day. Good on you for pushing back against the niche idea!
http://www.rosecoloredwater.com/ Liz Carroll

You do you! We love it!
Samantha Bender

I agree with you, and I’ve had some of the same thoughts. I don’t have a niche in any way, shape or form, and I’m completely okay with that. I think people’s interests, likes, hobbies, etc. change too often for niches to be practical for everyone.
http://www.sedivaabroad.com/ Sarah Elizabeth

Aaaah, girl, I agree with you, and I’ve been feeling almost identical lately (why do I always say that on your blog?). I’m glad you’ve reached that conclusion and are feeling inspired. Just what you need as a writer sometimes, and a blog is a reflection of a person, not necessarily a niche. You’re you, and if that happens to be a brand as well, well woohoo. Congrats, lady, and I promise to keep reading (teehee) xx
http://alexfahey.blogspot.com/ Alex Fahey

I’ve been feeling the same way. We are going home soon and I’ve beens stuck with trying to decied where to go from here in terms of the blog. I haven’t made a final decision, but it’s good to see how you handled yours!
http://www.chicadeedee.com/ Dannielle @ Chicadeedee

To be honest, I get sick of niche bloggers quicker. Let’s face it, there’s only so many times you can post about one thing. I understand that these blogs serve a specific audience, and while I may not read every post, I only read whats interesting to me. I think its the same with bloggers who don’t have a niche as well though, I might not be interested in every single post. I think what I’m trying to say is I like bloggers who are real. They write about what they want, and I’m nosy and like seeing into other peoples lives.
http://www.travelfearlesslyblog.com/ Christa

To be honest I started following you because you live in Iceland and I love your writing. I divided my blogroll between Travel Blogs and Expat Blogs and you’re in the “expat” category of course but I think if you wrote about anything it would be interesting. I suppose my niche is family travel but that’s mostly because I HAVE to be in that category. I can’t really go traipsing about the world without my family EVER, right? But that doesn’t mean a single person or a couple wouldn’t find value in my posts about Irish B&B’s. I guess niches just give some consistency to a blog
http://snowintromso.com/ Van @ Snow in Tromso

When I started blogging, I was really careful to only publish travel related posts. But now I actually enjoy writing about my life and things that are not necessarily related to travel and I think my readers enjoy that too. Blogs that only cover one topic can be so boring anyway!
http://www.seeyouinaporridge.com/ Kristen @ SYIAP

niche, schmice. i don’t have a niche, and i dig it. i love to travel but don’t travel nearly as much as i’d like, or enough to call myself a travel blog. i’m an expat, but no-one wants to hear about an expat living in the US because most expat bloggers seem to be Americans living elsewhere. I want to write about what I want to write about, it won’t appeal to everyone but that is okay.. gotta make yourself happy!
- http://www.adventuresofalondonkiwi.blogspot.com/ Emma @ AdventuresofaLondonKiwi
  
  I wanna hear about expats in the US!
- Danielle Crouch
  
  I would love to hear about expats’ experiences in the US! As one of those ever-present American expat bloggers (I live in Germany), I’m curious about what it’s like from the “other side.”
http://www.adventuresofalondonkiwi.blogspot.com/ Emma @ AdventuresofaLondonKiwi

Yes!!!! I’ve always rallied against a niche because that’s not my own personal style :) How about having 3 niches. Or a vague ‘Kaelene’ kinda theme to it?
http://fromthedeskofj.com/ Jenny | From the Desk of J

I just drafted a blog post this morning with similar feelings - sometimes I feel like I’m an “unsuccessful” blogger because I don’t have a niche. The thing about being a lifestyle blogger (at least for me) is that you can write about so many things that it’s easy to get lost in what your blog stands for. I personally love reading blogs that don’t have a specific niche, because that means there’s something new and different each time! My blog is a hobby, not my job, so I really try not to let it stress me out too much, even though it does sometimes!

Jenny
fromthedeskofj.com
http://www.sara-says.com/ Sara @ Sara Says

I feel the same way sister! I write mostly about travel because that’s my biggest passion, but I also will randomly post about a music festival, a concert I went to, or music in general because that is also a huge passion of mine. Do those 2 things relate? Not really, but they’re both important to me (and what I spend most of my money on!) My music posts don’t get as many views/comments/traffic as my travel ones, but I really don’t mind because its fun for me to share the stories and relive the memories, even if only for a few people (or just myself). Loved this post!
http://meetatthebarre.blogspot.com/ Amanda Elizabeth

When I started I thought my blog was going to be all about fitness with workout playlists etc but then the life + style component kept on creeping back in. At the end of the day write about what makes you happy! I love hearing your day to day….plus you are funny so I definitely appreciate reading all about you!
Danielle Crouch

Thank you for writing this post! Over the past year and a half when I’ve started to take blogging more seriously, I’ve heard over and over that successful bloggers identify and stick to their niche. It’s made me feel at times like an inferior blogger, and I’ve considered changing the sort of things I write about in order to become more desirable and successful. But at the end of the day, if I’m not writing what I want to write then what’s the point? I’m glad that there are also more successful bloggers than me out there who are bucking the system and not settling for one limiting niche.

http://www.solongusa.blogspot.com
http://southernexhilaration.com/ Caitlin @ SouthernExhilaration

Love this! I have been weighing the pros and cons of staying in a niche lately too! I definitely find it very difficult to stick with a niche because I have so many interests. I think writing when you desire about what inspires you is the way to go! Plus things change as life changes. I feel our blogs should change with us! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
http://atstarfish.blogspot.com/ Katya

This is the second time when I read your post and go - what? first of all, exactly my thoughts and second, I planned to write them down and you did it first! :D But yeah, I couldn’t agree more! I haven’t been very serious and full time about my blog, but I’ve always wanted to create some sort of order within the blog, however, without sticking to one particular niche. I realized that since I feel an urge to write usually when I feel inspired, I will create different pages dedicated to my various hobbies/obsessions/things which make me happy. So that’s how I came up with this general theme for the blog: “Lifestyle, Travel and Photography Blogger with Bold Endeavors to Put a Positive Spin on Life Challenges”.
I am just a newbie though, so I have a feeling I will make a lot of changes down the road :)

http://atstarfish.blogspot.com/
http://mishfish13.com/ Michelle @ Mishfish13

I feel this so much, Kiki! Even though I don’t think my blog really has a niche, I do still feel limited in what I can and can’t share. I’m excited to see what comes of this though :)
http://eatallovertheworld.weebly.com/ EmilyAnne Thomason

I love this! Write what you are passionate about and where your heart leads. Your readers will follow. http://Www.eatallovertheworld.com
http://themayfairy.com/ Frankie | TheMayfairy.com

Make your ‘niche’ you. It’ll be the best thing you ever did. Your blog will always be true to you and you’ll always love it. Also, no one else is all up in that niche, so you’ll be beyond original x
http://www.kati-rose.com/ Kati Rose

I think bloggers have put too much emphasis on finding a niche that it causes great expectations and pressures. I know I’ve experienced the “WHAT IS MY NICHE???” dilemma and I think plenty of others have. You just have to be genuine and you and write about what you want to. At the end of the day this is your little space and you have to enjoy it, not be constantly pressured by it.
http://treasuretromp.com/ Nicole @ Treasure Tromp

love this so much!!

Man, I’ve gone back and forth on this and finally decided that my blog’s niche is ‘Nicole’, which I translate as part travel, part lifestyle, all me. :)

You do you, girl. No matter what direction you take, we’ll be here reading.
http://jamiewrit.es/ Jamie [Writes]

I’ve felt exactly the same in the past! I felt like I had to write X number of posts per week or stick to specific topics. It turned me off to things and I decided that it was silly. Write what you want, however much you want! I let my life get busy and don’t post for a while, but when I do, I try to make it thoughtful and as good of an update on all facets of my life as possible. Your writing is wonderful to read, so let your niche be YOU! That’s what everyone here enjoys most of all, which I’m sure they’d all agree. :)
http://www.sagetheblog.com/ Cassie Lee

This is really an encouragement to me. I have been feeling bogged down by topics I feel like I had to write about, and I have been trying to move away from that lately. It’s so refreshing!
http://inkandadventure.blogspot.tw/ Jamie | ink + adventure

I go through this exact struggle every few months. obviously readers are important and being a kindof-internet-famous travel blogger sound like fun. but what I try to remind myself is that I write and take photos because I love to, and first and foremost my blog is for ME. I also agree with a lot of the commenters below- the blogs that have staying power for me aren’t necessarily niche blogs, but ones where the writer’s personality comes through. liking the person behind the blog makes me more of a loyal fan than just pretty pictures and information. so I say: write what you love ;)
http://www.slightlyastray.com/ Anna | slightly astray

I have the same feelings. Sometimes, I just don’t want to give tips and be helpful (and honestly, I feel like all the bigger blogs out there drown me out anyway). I just want to post my own experiences for my own memories. But then I wonder… why would others care about this if it won’t help them in some way?! And even though I do travel a lot, writing travel posts aren’t my favorite. I like writing reflections and personal essays the most, and I just decided that my blog is going to be an honest reflection of me and my life so I’m going to just write whatever thoughts I have, even if not travel related. I’ve been so much happier about blogging since making that decision. Nowadays, I post a lot more personal essays and travel stories, instead of guides and tips. Sometimes I still wonder if I could have a better blog if I provide more information to help people travel.. but in the end, this blog is for me and blogging is supposed to be fun, so it’s best to just write what makes me happy!
http://www.themidnightblog.com/ Charlotte

Lovely photos!

I sometimes feel the same way and I love the way you describe it. In the end, I think your niche is you. There’s nothing worse than feeling restricted when writing and sharing. It’s your blog, and you should feel free writing about what you want, and not what you should. At least I think so. :)

I’m glad to hear you’re feeling better! Blogging slumps are part of the adventure (I go through them sometimes too).
http://confuzzledom.wordpress.com/ bevchen

People will label you as an “expat blogger” no matter what you write about just because you love abroad, but you just keep doing your own thing. :-) My blog is a bit of everything, and I like it that way.
http://www.tothedayslikethis.com/ Sammy @ Days Like This

Bang on
http://ceciliaintherain.wordpress.com Cecilia

Definitely a bit of everything - and that’s the kind of blogs I prefer to read as well because you never quite know what you are going to get ;)
http://www.toothbrushtravels.com/ Amy - Toothbrush Travels

I know how you feel - I don’t fit in a niche, and whilst my posts aren’t all over the place (i hope) I’ve found that it’s so much easier to stay creative when you don’t restrict yourself. There’s too much pressure to define yourself on the internet in order “to make it big in blogging” but personally I feel that it is your blog and if you want to remember that random story that only benefits you - write about it.

Joins you for a glass of wine (and by wine i mean gin!)
*clink* xx
http://www.amyandthegreatworld.com/ AmyMacWorld

How funny that I’ve been feeling like this a LOT in the past few months! I feel less excited about trying to be a “travel” or “expat” blogger and more interested in writing about random parts of my life, places I liked, etc etc. But, as many others have pointed out, the blogs I love to read don’t necessarily fit in any niche. In fact, some blogs I used to love became TOO “niched” and I don’t follow them as much. I love reading your blog because it is full of your personality and I feel like I know you, even though we’ve never met! So, I think you’re on the right track, and obviously I know everything ;).
Steph Gregerson

I love blogs that jump around a little more. Who has that much money to travel nonstop anyways and how do I get that job? You have been one of my favorite blogs for a long time and your Iceland posts have been stalked by us while planning our trip, but I think random life things and other randoms are good to throw in there. I will warn you that this is coming from someone who has no blog plan and just writes randomly all the time :)
http://loveandlondon.com/ Jess Dante

I can relate so much to this Kaelene. While The Abroad Guide is very niche, I just can’t decide on one “direction” with Love and London. I feel quite similar to you in that I want to cover travel, but in the form of not just tips but also stories about my own travels. And on top of that my readers love (and I love to cover) London. Plus recipes seem to go over well too! I think I’m at the point that you are where I’m not going to restrict myself. I “classify” Love and London as a travel and lifestyle blog when I need to, otherwise, I just do what I want (because… I can!)

Great, great post. Brava lady!
http://insomeplaces.com Brittany

I definitely relate. I feel like all the blogs I love to read are just blogs I identify with several facets of life, not one isolated hobby or interest. I’m new to blogging regularly and have felt a little stressed about trying to squeeze all the things I love to write about out and focus on one niche. It’s nice to read about your thoughts and others commenting here on the niche not needing to be the end-all.
http://weiderjl.blogspot.com/ Jenn

This is great and I agree, you should write about whatever you want. I’ve noticed that lately I feel like I’m reading the same posts by different travel bloggers because there is only so much you can write about. If you don’t limit yourself, it’s definitely easier :)
http://jeansandatanktop.com/ Cass

Preach! I also don’t fit neatly into any of the niches, but I hate how all-encompassing and vague “lifestyle blog” is. Also, I don’t believe I’m selling a lifestyle. I’m trying to start a revolution (it’s slow, right now) for a new blog label. I’m calling mine a Day to Day Blog (which can be shortened to D2D). It both allows for a variety of topics, but does also manage to accurately describe what the reader can expect. Want to join my revolution? :)

Making My Own Blogging Niche

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