The Biggest Mistake that Bloggers Make

Last week, I read a fabulous article on Social Media Explorer from the super-smart Stephanie Schwab. She attended Blissdom and in her post The Decline of Blogs (and How PR Can Help Avoid It, this part really got me thinking:

Every time I go to a blogger conference I meet new bloggers, and of course I always ask them what they blog about. Every time, at least a handful of newish bloggers say, “oh, you know, I write about products and do giveaways and stuff.”

But it didn’t just get me thinking about review bloggers though. But about something larger. A mistake that I see so many bloggers make- at conferences, at small get togethers, at party telling a friend. Anywhere, really.

So, what’s the worst mistake that you can make as a blogger?

You can’t succinctly describe what your blog is about.

Call it your elevator pitch, your blog description or whatever name you have for it. The point is that being able to succinctly describe your blog forms the foundation that sets you up for awesomeness. Without that, it’s harder to:

• Pitch to brands
• Match your blog design to your content
• Secure advertisers
• Set blogging goals
• Tell that random person about your blog so they run and tell all their friends 😉

In my DIY Blog Critique Workbook, I quote Darren of Problogger because he said it best:

“If you’re fuzzy on what your blog is about it’s unlikely that anyone else will have much of an idea either.”

Yes, I know we all get tripped up every now and then but if you meet someone and they ask you what your blog is about, do you sound like this?

“I tell funny stories about my life as a mom living waaaay out in the country.”

Or this?

“Um, well, I sometimes write about my kids but I do giveaways and sponsored posts as well and occasionally I throw in a post about blogging. And recipes, oh yeah recipes.”

Sure, you may write about all those things. But what does it boil down to? What’s the glue that binds all your blog posts together?

If you feel a little stuck, think about this: how would you want someone else to describe your blog?

Would they say you’re funny? Or inspiring? Or have a knack for something? Maybe they’d say you always have the best photography tips, or recipes or stories about your kids.

Think about Facebook. Facebook is a place to interact with friends, grab a coupon from a brand, upload pictures from your weekend, play games, share videos, run advertising and so on and so on. But yet at the Facebook Marketing Talks the other week, VP of Product Chris Cox said this about the early vision of Facebook’s future:

Over time, the profile would become more and more powerful as a storytelling platform, providing more and more minutes of that conversation.

In essence, Facebook is about telling stories. A person’s story. A big-name brand’s story. The donut shop on the corner’s story. Lots of stories.

I love that such a complex platform can be whittled down into that.

If Facebook can do it, I’m pretty sure we can too.

Tell me, is this an area you struggle with? Or do you feel warm & fuzzy about how you describe your blog? Do tell!

 Psst… there are only SIX spots left in April’s Content Brew class! Join some awesome peeps and sign up before it’s full!