As a blogger, one of the hardest things you might have to do is narrow down what you write about. This was one of the first things I came up against when I realized that I wanted to make a living from writing… my own writing… not just freelancing for others.
You see, I like to write stories about life. Observations, quips, quick little essays that are (hopefully) fun to read, but the truth is that individually they don’t add a lot of value to people’s lives. Perhaps they offer a chuckle or an a-ha! Moment, but I certainly don’t offer many life hacks or how-tos. For example one of my most popular blogs, visitor-wise, is this one (https://thechangingroom.blog/2018/11/13/and-then-i-hit-him-with-a-bag-of-shit/) about the time I accidentally hit a guy in the face with a bag of dog shit. Yes friends, that is my shining literary star thus far.
I’m not actually telling you this for sympathy, I am telling you this because I had a ton of fun writing it and because it has no value for the reader at all (apart from a laugh). I can’t monetize that blog but I loved writing it and I want to write more. Maybe someday if I have enough stories I could create a book of them, and sell that, but on its own my blog won’t be paying any bills any time soon.
But in many ways my blog actually is and always has been fulfilling its purpose: what has happened for me is those stories have built rapport. They’ve built my entire readership. They have humanized me and my experience living alone in a different country. They make me more likeable. They build my community. And community is exactly my purpose in life… and thusly the real purpose of my blog.
I’m taking you on my journey with me. To make you know you’re never alone. To offer a light when it feels dark. To give you shapes to make with your body, and thoughts to feed your mind. Sometimes that’s done through silly little stories, and sometimes that’s done through teaching you what I know about something. But my purpose is to huddle with you. My purpose, in many ways, is your purpose.
Over the last few months you might have noticed I have begun to mix in a few “value-added” blogs: yoga videos, directions to a landmark in town, even this very blog you’re reading right now. These are offerings to my community. These are things that I want to say that you might want to hear, based on what I now know about you. The rapport we’ve built. Sometimes it’s yoga, or blogging, or travel, or a thing I did. I think you’ll want to hear what I have to say where this new thing is concerned, because I know you like my style where this other stuff is concerned. Making sense?
So I still can’t directly monetize that shit blog (LOL), but two things happen: I build a community and I build rapport with that blog. Later down the road if we’re already acquainted and I want to offer a workshop about blogging, and you happen to love my blogs, and you already wanted to do a workshop about blogging anyway, then guess what becomes extremely easy to do?
Sell you on my workshop! And the really cool thing is that because we already have this kind of rapport, we’re going to have tons of fun together. This whole thing is just going to snowball.
And it’s not work. It’s not even remotely work. It’s you building your tribe. It feels like finding friends. So, getting extremely clear on who you are speaking to, and also who is listening to you, are important points when drilling down on your blog’s purpose.
Start by asking yourself these five questions, and really exploring the answers. This will tease out the real purpose for which you’ve been bitten with the writing bug, and help you find the people who are already speaking your language. When you’re writing the things you’re meant to write, you’ll attract the people who need to hear it. It will be effortless for you because you’re already speaking from your heart, and it will be effortless for your audience because they will feel the heart in everything you say.
So, here are the 5 questions I would love for you to consider:
- In what situations do you typically shine the brightest?
- When are you moved emotionally?
- When do you find yourself standing up for the “little guy”?
- What thoughts or ideas give you great hope?
- In what situations are you calm while others are freaking out?
Later down the road I’ll dive deeper into each of these questions, offering some personal insights into my own journey with them. There is a lot to explore in each of these things, so I invite you to sit and really think… write your answers down and meditate upon them.
I promise to do the same in terms of breaking down the answers I arrived at for myself, and sharing my process with you in the coming weeks. I think one of the most fascinating things for me thus far as I fine tune my blog’s offerings, is that it feels extremely right and natural.
Get crystal clear on where you stand with these 5 things, and once you do, the purpose for your blog will rise right up to meet you. The place you can be most impactful in this life will become so obvious that you’ll wonder how you missed it before!
Clear and personal answers to these questions have an added benefit I’ve noticed: they offer you this level of conviction about plenty of other things in life too. Once you know who you’re talking to, and who’s actually listening to you, the whole game changes. Where to put your energy is no longer a question and it’s no longer a source of guilt either. Which, honestly, might be better than nailing down your blog’s purpose.
Maybe this is more about nailing down our own purpose?
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