Whether you’ve been blogging for years or are just starting out, knowing how to consistently create a unique blog that speaks to your unique audience is the most important thing you can do. In fact, it should be the whole reason your started blogging – let’s talk about it!
Create A Unique Blog Or Get Lost in the Mundane
At the last estimate there were 505 MILLION blogs on the Internet. Just let that sink in a minute. 505 MILLION.
That’s more blogs than people in the United States.
With all of those blogs out there, and more being created every day, how do you set yourself apart?
How do you create a blog that you can feel passionate about that is completely different than all of the other blogs out there?
The only correct answer is to be 100% yourself – because THAT’S one thing that no one can steal or replicate!
Just Because You Can Doesn’t Mean You Should
Writing Blog Posts that Matter
I have the technical ability to write blog posts and articles on any subject under the sun – and actually I have. When I was writing for clients I wrote posts on antiques, cats, dogs, herbal remedies, cocktails, where to eat/stay in Florida ( I live in Texas), fashion trends, cars, home improvement, homesteading, goats, chickens, gardening, prepping, homeschooling, parenting, divorce recovery, and more…
They were high quality articles that met the clients requirements, and for many years they paid the bills. Here’s the thing, though –
I wasn’t passionate about most of those subjects. I cashed my check and moved on. If you happen to find one on the Internet and recognize my name you’ll probably notice that my writing style and how I present myself is VERY different from the me that you know.
How to Create a Unique Blog
If you do a search of how to create a unique blog you’ll find hundreds of posts with all kinds of suggestions.
- Be an expert
- Write kick-ass headlines
- See what others are doing…
- Blah blah blah
All of those things will help you have a successful blog but not necessarily a unique one. A unique blog is created when someone consistently writes about a subject that they are passionate about (wait for it – here’s the key) in their own voice.
Here’s the deal – if you are one of my regular readers, maybe you’ve taken one of the Search Engine Seduction courses or seen me speak at a conference, then you know my voice. You’d probably recognize something I wrote EVEN if it didn’t have my name on it. The subjects I teach and write about aren’t unique at all – it’s how I present it.
Don’t Worry About Reaching Everyone
I’m not everyone’s flask of whisky – there are people who can’t stand me or the way I teach and I am okay with that! They aren’t my people, they’re not my tribe, they don’t have my particular strain of blogger dna.
My goal isn’t to reach ALL the people – it’s to reach ALL the people that are MY people. The only way to do that is to confidently speak your message.
- Not the other bloggers’ messages
- Not your journalism teacher’s message
- Not the message you think everyone wants to hear
So how do you do that?
Be Yourself
People read your unique blog because you are offering something they are looking for. Google calls it user experience.
Not everyone is going to stay on your email list, not everyone is going to come back to your blog a second or third time, not everyone is going to buy your course.
The ones that do are your people. They’ll be the ones that leave comments, talk you up to their friends, and show up to your events. They are drawn to your personality and the way you present yourself.
If they wanted to hear from that OTHER blogger that you feel you’re competing with they’d be at that blog, not yours.
Oh, and if you think you can’t be yourself because you’re not special? You are SO VERY WRONG.
Love Your Blog Design
Take a look at your blog. Do you love the design? Do you love the colors?
When I first started blogging and designing my blog I stayed away from red. I was told over and over that red was a terrible color for a blog, especially a food blog, and I should stick with white or light pastels.
Have you ever looked at food blogs? White and light pastels. Sometimes beige.
That’s great if you love those colors and that look but I don’t. I chose red and jadite because I love that mid-century combination. Guess what?
I’ve had a few people tell me that they weren’t coming back to my blog because they didn’t like all the red…but I’ve had so many more tell me that they loved the look of it.
Those are my people.
Speak Your Truth
A few years ago someone left a comment on one of my blog posts telling me that using “y’all” in my writing made me sound dumb and uneducated. Guess what I did?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
I talk like I talk in real life. If you hear me on a live, at a conference, or whatever you’ll recognize my way of talking. I don’t try to pretty it up, or make it perfect, or make it professional.
I just want to make it real.
There are some things I absolutely will not talk about on my blog or on social media, or in public – politics, religious preference, or any sort of subject that carries strong opinions.
It’s not that I don’t have opinions, ask my family – I do. It’s that those strong opinions don’t have anything to do with my blog. You don’t read my blogs to hear about my opinion on those subjects.
There’s no point in potentially offend someone with a subject not related to what they want to hear from me.
If you want to create a unique blog you really need to stay in your lane.
Stay in Your Lane
So, should you just be a diluted version of yourself, never have an opinion, and try not to offend?
Nope.
The opinions you have about your niche? Speak them out with all the fire and spark you possess. If you hate GMOs go ahead and HATE GMOs. If you LOVE using weed killer to make gardening easier – own it!
Stay in your lane, though. You’re opinions will count more if you keep them narrowed down to one main subject. I personally don’t care what Gordon Ramsey’s views on politics are – but I definitely want to hear what he thinks about cooking a steak.
In fact, if he started talking politics I would stop following him – even if his political views were the same as mine. I don’t like companies that have political views – I am not their people. I’ve dropped several companies and products because of that. I won’t even do a sponsored post for them.
Moral of the Story
If someone has to tell you how to be unique you are no longer unique. Make a list of 5 things that makes you unique. Ask a family member to make a list of 5 things and ask a friend to make a list of 5 things.
- Do you use unique phrases and example?
- Do you have a word you use often? A way of saying things?
- Are you fiercely loyal?
- Is there a color that you love?
Find the things that make you unique and use them to create a unique blog. Sometimes the things you are most afraid of sharing are the very things your tribe needs to hear.
Images used by permission: Pexels
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