The first advice anyone gives you about starting a successful blog is to find a niche, and it is good advice. Having a niche gives a blog a clear focus, and a defined goal. It makes it easier to build a personal brand, promoting you as an expert in the area. It attracts an audience and creates a community of people who share an interest in this field. It also makes the blog more attractive to companies in that industry, who will see you as an influencer and a possible promoter/marketer for their brand, opening you to potential partnerships for product and service reviews, adverts, and promotion deals. Long story short, whether it’s fashion, beauty, jokes, weddings or gossip, it’s easier to make money from blogging about a particular topic.

The Red Confidential does not have a niche, and for a long time this has bothered me. In my search for a wholesome meaningful life, my interests are numerous and quite varied.

I love makeup, but not enough to do reviews and tutorials every week. Worse, I’m too timid to do any videos, which I think is the best way to promote physical beauty.

I like to read and tell you about it, but I’m not fast enough to review one every week. I love to travel, but I’m certainly not rich enough to fly to a new destination every month.

I love food but not enough to cook, bake or eat out on a regular basis. Certainly not gossip, I’m too narcissistic to mind anyone else’s business and gosh, I have commitment issues, I would be bored to death if I had to stick to telling you about just any one thing, week after week.

So, I’ve toyed with the idea of changing this to a personal blog instead of a lifestyle blog, despite there being no clear distinction between one from the other. I don’t consider myself an expert on anything, and I feel like I don’t belong anywhere in particular. I’m clearly not going to be successful at this, why bother?

WHY I DO THIS?

Writing
I’ve found writing to be the most refined and succinct way to communicate effectively. You can take some time to go back, edit and rephrased to better project your idea or opinion. If I said I liked talking to myself, you’d think me a little crazy. So, I’ll be professional and say writing feels therapeutic. Since secondary school, I’ve always kept a diary or some journal of sorts I’ve never read, a place to put all those things I’d rather not tell anyone else. Now, instead of a collection of flunked tests and failed relationships, I decided to keep track of the good stuff in my life and share those with you.

Snapping
My love for photography started with great selfies and blossomed. Turns out it’s an inherited trait because my dad also has a thing for photography and is more than happy to model for my stock shots. This blog gives me a reason to click click click and I couldn’t be happier about it.

Sharing
Despite being a recluse, I do like to interact and share an experience, some information about a place I think is great or a horrible product. It is human nature to want to share some things, even if you prefer to be physically unavailable most of the time. Sharing and getting feedback makes me exceedingly happy. I check my visitor count regularly and pat myself on the shoulder saying “You helped 10,000 people this year”. Comments are the best. They give me so much fulfilment. I feel like “Maybe I am not just talking to myself after all!”

CHOOSING TO BE MYSELF REGARDLESS

Some bloggers have this niche thing all figured out, I’m just not one and I won’t apologise for that. Struggling to make sense of all my passions, I found The Red Confidential, so starting this blog had little to do with fame or money. A few partnerships and endorsements would be nice, (I mean, who doesn’t want a little more money?) but I hope that I never consider myself a failure for the lack of them. I’d also love a great community of people who share my passions and enjoy visiting this blog, even though I’d rather not be famous or even known for it.

I enjoy the freedom to explore any topic I desire but I’m looking to put a little structure to posting, with articles on a single topic every month. Till then, wander around with me, you are sure to find something you want to keep.

If you have a blog without a niche, or you discovered your niche along the way, please tell me about it in the comments.

Next Up, Book Review: Essentialism -The Disciplined Pursuit of Less By Greg McKeown

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