How to stand out as a blogger?
There are so many bloggers in blog land, how do you stand out as a blogger in this already busy world? Do you have a particular niche? Do you write on set days, are you super busy on Social Media?
How do you stand out?
On a trip
In 2011 we took a sabbatical and spent seven months traveling through America and Canada in a camper van. Just before that I started my own blog on reisjemee.nl, so I could let the family read a bit about our trip. But I also placed articles about the trip on verrereizenmetkinderen.nl and the nice thing is that you can still find our report here. At that time I also wrote blogs for mommy websites and we occasionally featured an article in Hirschsprung’s Disease magazine.
During this trip I discovered my joy in writing. And knew I wanted to continue as a blogger even after the trip.
WordPress site
Back home I decided to become a stay-at-home mom but also started training as a weight consultant. Also during this time I started my own blog site on WordPress. Because I didn’t know what the life of a blogger looked like at all yet, I started with a free WordPress site, but in 2016 I decided to turn everything around, bought a domain name and set up my own site.
Meanwhile, I had gotten to know the blogging world quite well and when I closed my practice at the end of 2017, I decided to put my time and attention into blogging and optimize my blog site.
so many bloggers
There are so many bloggers, big bloggers, small bloggers, hobby bloggers and those who have managed to make it their business. But how to stand out in this busy world as a blogger? I actually decided pretty quickly myself that I didn’t want to call myself just a mommy blogger. I may be a mom, but my hobbies’s and interests are so broad, they never fit under this heading I thought at the time. It had to be a Lifestyle Blog.
Here I can put all my hobbies’s like crocheting, knitting, sports, drawing and so on into it. But then again, I can feel free to write about interior design or the household. I like to write personal articles but also to read other people’s so I try to write often.
And these personal stories go with the years, because in the beginning I wrote about guilt towards my children, now I talk about the orthodontist.
How to stand out as a blogger
But how do you distinguish yourself as a blogger? Being unique is important. Staying close to myself is what I try to do, of course, although I do keep things in rooms. Especially when it comes to the boys, I think carefully before posting anything on the internet. Articles I write I write from myself and I stay as personal as possible.
Also, when I post a press release, I let people know why I think this article is important to share.
Passion is important
Passion is important. I blog with a passion and I still enjoy doing it every day. I do take a blog-holiday nowadays and this helps me a lot. I can’t stay focused all year and these days I take vacations at the same time as my children.
I always give this a break and this break ensures that I keep blogging with focus and passion. But also regularity is what sets you apart from others. I blog three times a week. These days an article comes online at seven in the morning.
And once in a while more articles come online or in a week some extra’s like press releases.
Instagram and facebook
Social media I find quite difficult, I do not have a whole bunch of fans who follow me on social media, but they are all real followers. I don’t have any ghost followers or paid for anything. I, of course, really do sometimes bale when I see others who have so many followers. Every day I get spam mail from ‘ buy followers on Instagram’, I always throw those mails away very quickly.
I don’t do that and prefer to have less followers, as long as they follow me for who I am and what I write. My photos’re not styled, there is no filter over them, they get who I am.
Increase my fame
Now I try to stand out through regularity, uniqueness and passion, but how do you increase your fame as a blogger? What I did notice at the Blogger by Nature event, for example, was that most bloggers had business cards. Did not have this and finally started arranging this. I go to more blogger events nowadays and it’s good when you can leave your card behind. I had them made at student printing.
It was really fun to be able to design this myself. There were a lot of options for the business cards, from uploading your own photos to a large selection of backgrounds and logos. I chose a fixed theme and color. I like this color again to match my website. While I was ordering the business card I also made a new canvas picture of the boys.
Nice for my workplace.
Students
Student printing is not just for a blogger, for business cards or photo’s, but as the name suggests it is right there for students. Think of printing theses, reports or readers, but you can also get beer mats, menus or multi folders printed. The website works quickly and is clear.
The only thing that might be better is that you make your products first and only then see what it costs. Of course then you can get rid of it, but you used up a lot of time in making, for example, a business card. Have your order ready, you can still adjust it if needed.
