Don't Start A New Blog. Stick With The One You Have.

I just started a new blog, so I was intrigued when I saw the title of this post.

It's interesting that as I go back to respond to your thoughts, each of your major points seems to speak on behalf of why to start a new blog.

1. My first blog helped me discover plenty about myself including that I am capable of writing interesting content and growing an audience. I've used that self-knowledge to inform my goals and approach with my new blog.

2. I connected with some fantastic people through my first blog, including you, Penelope. I hope to connect to a different audience this time around and to connect on a different set of common interests.

3. By no means did I learn everything there was to learn about my first blog's topic, but that curve has flattened considerably. This speaks to the next point...

4. I started a new blog because I wanted to write about what I am thinking, not a given topic. My first one was named, built, and marketed around a topic. My second blog is explicitly about what I'm thinking. No other promises, at least at this point.

5. I find your position on this point the most interesting and compelling of the five, and I need to give it more thought than I have time for right now. My initial response is to examine whether or not you mean something different by "establish your brand as your whole self" than what I am aiming for--establishing more of my whole self as my brand.

Also, if someone is most interesting at the fringes of a particular topic, why shouldn't that person seriously consider straying from the topic altogether?

If you begin by writing with no topic, a topic will probably emerge (unless you are just keeping a journal), and that topic will likely be in close accord with your more persistent interests.

In the end, if the benefits of blogging come at the intersection of your topic and the center of what's on your mind right now, why not just make them one and the same?

I hope we can make this a dialogue; I think it is a point worth debating. Many will find themselves conflicted as to whether or not to start a new blog, and the fuller the exploration of the ideas, the better for us all.

Hey, Chuck. It's nice to hear from you again -- because I remember your last blog, and I remember being disappointed when I stopped hearing from you on it. So you bring up an interesting point, which is that the most important thing about a blog is that you write. Anything, really. Contributing an idea to a group for feedback is the most important thing. And if starting a new blog is what it takes to get you to do that, then the new blog might be the right thing for you.

Interesting points. One thing I'd point out though is that I think there is such a thing that is a blog about your topic and opposed to being just about you.

I walk that line myself with Eat Sleep Publish, but the ones that really cross over are blogs like Engadget or CrunchGear, where a group of authors lend a collective personality to the blog, rather than making the blog about one person's personality.

Thanks for the link!

Meg,

This is a great point. The idea of PR Interactive is actually very sophisticated and encompassing if you consider that all blogs are some form of PR. The hard part of a blog is figuring out what we want to publicize, and with a title like that, your personal PR can change as you do: Genius title :)

Penelope:

This post spoke to me in so many ways. A few days ago I was contemplating giving up on the blog altogether because I truly didn’t know if it was helping me or hindering me. I write for me, which is why number one on your list hit home. My blog is my outlet to sort out feelings and problems, to help me learn more about myself, cement my opinions, and, most importantly, to grow as an individual. Without a doubt, I’ve been struggling with personal issues, but whether blogging has forced me to dwell on those issues negatively is something I’ve been questioning. I’m already self-analytical; does having a blog exacerbate that and thus prevent natural growth?

I’m still not sure. I do, however, know that I’ve made some wonderful connections through my blog and here at Brazen, I’ve seen my opinions challenged and subsequently change based on new information and facts, and I’ve been able to look back and really see how far I’ve come, how much I’ve grown as an individual and as a writer.

All in all, I’m grateful for what my blog has done for me. And while I’m still not sure how long I’ll keep it up, I believe it’s worthwhile as long as I continue to learn.

Your post was perfect timing for me. Thanks for the reminder!

Penelope, I am myself at the intersection of two blogs and I thought I was interesting that I came across your blog and this particular post. My case is slightly complicated in the sense that I started my blog in my native language (French) with the intention of reporting on issues affecting the place where I live (currently Atlanta). After a year, I have a small group of faithful readers but figured out that there is not a real conversation going on. I did not succeed in creating one. So now I am thinking about creating another blog in English this time about French happenings in Atlanta, since so many people are connected or attracted by my native country and things that relate to it. I am not sure which direction to follow. Creating a new blog? Or continuing the one I have and write from now on my posts in English? I agree that we all have multiple facets that should reflect in what we write but still I am afraid to chase too many birds. Any advice?

I have several blogs and I am overwhelmed with the amount of maintenance it takes - especially trying to maintain them while working a full time job.

Pretty cool post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say
that I have really liked reading your blog posts. Anyway
I’ll be subscribing to your blog and I hope you post again soon!

I think any one of the threads you mention can bring all the rest together. Look how ancillary careers is to most of my posts. Here's an exercise.

Last night I had to stay up all night to make sure the new Brazen Careerist site didn't go down from too much traffic. I stayed up all night launch day because everyone else had been staying up all night writing code and testing pages for the weeks before. It was weird to stay up all night in the office alone, but I was happy to be able to do it so everyone could sleep.

Let's say I had a dog blog: My angle would be that my dog always looks cozy sleeping and it has made me more conscious of making sure everyone gets sleep.

Let's say I had a cooking blog: I'd say that Ryan Healy's girlfriend, Rebecca, brought us cookies and a cake and food does a really good job of telling someone they are special -- especially if you want to say that to a wide range of people. And I was tankful to Rebecca all night while I was eating cookies to stay awake.

Let's say I had a tech blog: I'd blog about developers having to take the brunt of the sleep deprivation on any launch even though every one talks about it like they had it too.

So look, here's my point. The topic you pick is to give a starting point to your audience. That they generally know where you will be writing. And then you can write anything. A topic is not limiting. You can probably still write about whatever you want. But a blog can't get traffic if it can't be classified, described, put into networks, etc.

Blogging takes so much effort. Why undermine yourself by making your blog impossible to market by not having a topic?

Penelope