I wanted to talk a bit about the different types of bloggers out there, because it seems like a lot of people get this mixed up. When I tell people that I blog for a living, they think that I’m writing up blogs about what my cat ate for breakfast this morning (which since I don’t have a cat, would make for an incredibly boring blog) or whatever other random thought pops into my head. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that my blogs on here tend to be a little bit random at times, but they do at least have a central theme of “Jobs.” I usually try to sneak it in somewhere, or else the Powers That Be at Families might get a bit grumpy with me. 😛
The idea that when I blog I can write about anything comes from the fact that there are millions of blogs written in every language imaginable that do exactly that. And for the most part, those blogs are considered “hobby blogs.” In this series on blogging, I will not be targeting bloggers who I would consider are blogging as a hobby. What makes something a hobby blog? The following, at least in my eyes:
*Not having any ads on the site, or not having any monetization of the blog, so that you’re not making any money off the blog at all (meaning, even if you aren’t running Google AdSense ads, you can still make good money writing blogs for pay for companies like PayPerPost or by having sponsors for your blog, etc. People also start blogs as a showcase for their work, so they can bring in clients. I would not consider those to be hobby blogs, because the end result is money.)
*Writing on any subject you want to; not having a niche. You can have a niche and still be writing a hobby blog, but the opposite is rarely true.
*Your target is friends and family, and you’re not looking for any traffic outside of that circle.
*Your posts do not share helpful information (like how to fix a toaster or how to crochet a blanket) but instead are blogs relating to your life (“Today I went to the mall and found the most awesome pair of shoes!” kinds of blogs. Unless you’re an online store and you’re trying to sell those shoes, that kind of blog would not be considered anything but a hobby blog.)
*You’re doing it for fun, and you have no strategic plans to grow or get bigger.
If the above sounds like you, then I say go have fun! Go at it, and enjoy yourself. Blogging as a hobby is blogging for fun, and there is nothing in this world that says you have to make your blog any bigger than it already is.
If the above doesn’t sound like you, then we’re in business, because this series is for you. If you’re a hobby blogger, you may enjoy learning some of this stuff I’m about to talk about, but most of it isn’t going to be applicable. Nothing against you, it’s just that if your blog is a hobby, then it isn’t a job, and then I shouldn’t be blogging about it. 😉
There are actually two other types of bloggers, other than hobby bloggers. Read on to my next blog, where I talk about the second type: Blogging as a Job.
This was part of a series on blogging. If you haven’t read the other entries in this series, make sure to check out the summary page for a listing of all blogging articles. Comments and feedback are always welcome – feel free to leave them below or send me an e-mail at Hava L {at} Families dot com. Thanks for reading!