Comments on: Blogging Productivity Tip: Clear the Rubbish

By: Don

Don — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:21:12 +0000

This post reminds me of the danger of spreading myself too thin. It’s tempting to do a lot of things at the same time but focus is what we need to succeed. Thanks!

By: Raj Dash

Raj Dash — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 06:26:27 +0000

Indeed, Brett. Good points. I myself do a fair bit of screencasting, and when I have time, podcasting. I’ve also now focused down to 3 specific but tightly related sub-niches that are part of a larger niche, with the occasional foray into a few hobby niches. Now this is just for my own projects, not for client work.

By: Brett Bumeter

Brett Bumeter — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:17:48 +0000

Hey Raj, I think you and frets both make good points. There is definitely no 'one size fits all' solution for people and almost always there are different ways to get things done based on what works with any given bloggers individual personality.

Over the weekend, I was speaking with a reporter following an interview. The reporter worked for a local news channel, and was leaving the news business to focus solely on blogging.

They had worked successfully in news for over 20 years, but had found that they were basically creating and managing content for a news site, and not getting any upside for their efforts.

The reporter was passionate about his video work and experience and desire to do more work in that area and train other people to improve their own video skills. The guy was infectious and I'm sure, he will make a great blogger, now that he has finally gotten serious about blogging and literally quit his old fashioned day jobs in news.

The thing is, he is embarking on a new life adventure and even though he had a very tight focus on his niche of teaching people better video skills, he also had some life lessons to share about his past journey through news and his current journey out of news. Both of those areas could definitely be related to his niche and his passion, it was really a question or an opportunity for him to cover his passion from 3 sides instead of just 1.

In running a blog, on a highly focused niche, he would put his investment of time into one basket, but if he faces his passion in three directions he has a better opportunity of making this thing work as one or more of those directions takes hold.

Unlike a blogger like myself, that covers doing business in Belize, direct marketing, mortgage news, technology, comedy and satire, and politics, he had a much tighter focus, but that didn't mean that he had to restrict himself.

On that note, the power of WordPress has been significantly amplified with the advent of the templates option on pages. If you haven't looked at this functionality, it can definitely add a much deeper dimension to your blog and enable you to keep things focused on one site while creating a differentiation on the different dimensions of your passion.

By: frets

frets — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 06:13:47 +0000

I think it’s true that it must take a certain kind of person to run several different blogs, and kudos to them…but I’m not in that club! I’m on the opposite end of that spectrum in that it took me almost a year to find a niche that I found exciting and sustainable enough for me. And the jury’s still out on how successful it may be. But this is a good reminder to me to stay focused and consistent.

By: Raj Dash

Raj Dash — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:33:20 +0000

Brett, that’s a good point you raise. In fact, because I started so many different blogs, it was easier for me to decide where I should focus my time. But at the same time, my thoughts now are that if you are a person who feels strongly about writing for a particular niche, don’t get distracted by other niches. Try to see if you can’t get things going on one site.

By: Brett Bumeter

Brett Bumeter — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:30:37 +0000

In my experience, this works fine either way, multiple blogs or not. Passion is definitely key, and it really depends on how eclectic your passions are in my own real life experience.

I think if you are starting out, starting multiple sites can be a great way to build up your income level. Later, you can start to make business decisions about which business lines (blogs) deserve more attention, marketing dollars, time, writers etc. Let your passion show you which ones work, but let the bottom line guide your business decisions. If you start by working with topics and blogs that you are passionate about, it won't hurt you at all to make a calculating business decision later on as you will simply be choosing from amongst your passions.

By: Raj Dash

Raj Dash — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 11:06:38 +0000

Good luck to you both, Sarbjit and Marly. Focus is something I’m finally trying myself, after 3 yrs of blogging all over the place map.

By: marly

marly — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 08:15:39 +0000

I honestly say that I have this now. I want to be somehow successful in blogging. Your post is like a slap at me but I am taking it as a constructive one because I admit I have clutters. I try my best to clear out the clutters and focus.

By: Sarbjit Singh

Sarbjit Singh — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 02:31:55 +0000

Thank you for the great post.

Its very true that focus is a must for writing, Building a portfolio is always difficult quality-wise. This was my biggest mistake. I tried to write on too many topics in the beginning. Now I focus on just one blog.