Prior to starting this beauty blog in 2007, I had a personal blog that I was blogging on for 2 years. I wrote personal anecdotes, shared recipes, lifestyle stories, etc on that personal blog. To me, that was a sort of personal-cum-lifestyle blog, which was why I dedicated Beautyholics Anonymous solely to beauty stories. BA was primarily a beauty blog and while I included a few personal stories here and there, to me, it was still a beauty blog and where I share my passion about skincare and makeup.
The personal blog is long defunct and I must admit that without another blog to take on the load of personal and lifestyle categories, I started to include them into BA. What started out solely a beauty blog has turned into a somewhat beauty-lifestyle blog. And I’m not the only one.
I’ve seen this happen to many beauty blogs I subscribe to. Over the years, they have evolved from writing about beauty stories alone to lifestyle, home, food, personal stories and so on. The blogs’ names still remain the same but the style has changed. Those blogs are no longer just about beauty alone.
This begs the question if you’re starting out as a beauty blogger: should you stick to just blogging about beauty or should you broaden your niche?
This depends on your vision for your blog. Do you want it to solely be on product reviews? Do you want it just to be about products and tutorials?
Personally, I tend to categorise beauty blogs to two types:
1) You’re a Temptalia, where you focus on detailed product reviews and beauty stories, or
2) You’re a Karen from Makeup and Beauty Blog, where you write anecdotal product reviews and fun, lifestyle stories.
This is not to say that one type of blog is better than the other. Both types of blogs are equally good. What do you reckon your style of blogging is? Maybe it’s different from the 2 types of blogs mentioned above?
I used to think that I could just stick to beauty stories but it turns out, I couldn’t. I wanted to write more. I wanted to add stories on travel, on health and fitness, etc that has nothing to do with skincare and makeup. As my blog grows, my readers follow along my journey and they see me grow as well. I’d love to be able to share personal stories with them on the blog too instead of just sharing them on social media. I’ve had readers who have followed me all the way from my personal blog and onto BA, witnessed my heartbreak in a broken relationship, shared my excitement in meeting someone new, followed my journey from Malaysia to Australia and to what I am today. I want to be able to share more on BA, which is why it’s no longer just a beauty blog.
There’s nothing wrong with just blogging about beauty if that’s what you like. If you find that you don’t just want to blog about beauty and that you’d like to blog about fashion, health and fitness, food, home, travel, etc too, then go for it. There’s no need to pigeonhole yourself to just one category. Blogging gurus say that the riches are in the niches but I’ve seen so many lifestyle blogs grow to become very popular these days that frankly speaking, that statement no longer bears much weight.
Having said that, do try to keep the topics to what your blog really is all about as pertinent as possible. There’s no continuity of content if one day you’re blogging about an eyeshadow palette and the next day you’re blogging about the best place to buy tyres for your car. This confuses new readers who may not understand what your blog is actually about.
The beauty of blogging is that it can be about anything and everything. So what will yours be?
I think beauty bloggers that broaden their topics is a great idea, although .. it’s best to keep close ties with the original theme. When beauty bloggers start venturing off to their “follow me around” vlogs then I personally tune out.
Also, adding new topics allows viewers to learn more about you and helps viewers find common interests. For example, I know a lot more about Karen (Makeup BB) than I do about Christine (Temptalia), so I tend to connect with Karen’s blog/youtube a bit more as it’s more personable .. to me anyway.
Monica.
PS: I’d be interested in knowing more about your running .. perhaps you have fav athletic clothing, shoes, gear that you’d like to share.
MonicaP recently posted..Blissmo Box No. 5 â Beauty
Yeah that’s what I thought Monica. I do prefer blogs that are more personable, which is why I prefer anecdotal reviews than the really technical ones. Having said that, there’s a place for everyone, and Temptalia’s style of blogging and product reviews are amazing for when I want to buy something. 😛
PS: Hahaha what a coincidence, that’s exactly what I’ll be blogging this Friday! 😀
My view is that it depends. You see, often people start blogging about beauty with a domain name that’s very narrow. That’s because that’s what the SEO experts tell you – pick a domain name that defines your niche. And yes, they want you pigeonholed too. So if you have a domain or blog name with the word ‘makeup’ or ‘perfume’ or ‘fragrance’ or ‘skincare’ in it, I think you’re a little stuck, if your interest starts to wane. Using the word ‘beauty’ can broaden the scope further, should you decide to branch out one day, because there are many aspects of beauty.
My blog name for instance, is fairly wide. I’m glad I chose something this wide, because I can widen or narrow my niche as much as I like. I attempted a more narrow “beauty” niche earlier on, but after a while, I couldn’t stick too strictly to it. I wanted flexibility, and that’s what I’m doing now – keeping to a core of beauty (in the traditional, makeup, skincare sense) while allowing myself the flexibility to talk about or discuss other interests, discoveries or just nonsense that spring to mind, on other days. Not only does this mean more to blog about, it means I regain my enjoyment of blogging – which for me is all about the writing. Subject matter is negotiable 🙂
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Ding ding ding! I must admit I enjoy beauty blogs that don’t just blog about beauty more than just the really focused beauty stories-only ones. Still, there’s a place for very detailed reviews, especially when making a purchase decision, which is why blogs like Temptalia’s do so well.
I did think that if my blog name were to have “makeup” in it, it wouldn’t have lasted long because I know I won’t be able to write just about makeup for long. Same goes for skincare, no matter how much I enjoy it. Like you said, there’s more room to write about. I can’t write nor read that many product reviews in one go … I’d be bored out of my mind! 😛
Time I really love your blog,your funny and funny goes a long way for me….. let’s face it beauty is just a bit of fun…I don’t want serious ..I like your honest fun style….your writing is enjoyable ,you could write anything…..expand what you write about if that’s what makes you happy….I’ll read anything you write because it’s fun !!
Aww thanks Katie! I’m so pleased you enjoy BA! 😀
Tine sorry
Idlove to hear some stories about animals,have you got any pets tiTine ? I have a Pomeranian cross called noddy and boy is he funny,he can be a grumpy little fart too ! I’d love it if you explored the world of indie perfumes,and reviewed them…I got a sample pack from possets once,very interesting,beautiful names and smells..
I do! I have a terrier mix called Janey. You can check out blog posts I’ve written about her under the category Janey in my archives. Aww Noddy! Love that name!
I haven’t actually used any indie perfumes, believe it or not. I’ve heard a great deal about them particularly the ones on Etsy. I’ll check ’em out! 🙂
Oh Janey how sweet…I will check her out !!
I think that it’s a lovely and personal touch when you expand your niche a little bit. As a blogger what we do is very much about the connection we create with our readers, and I think by adding a personal post here and there you’re helping the readers to get to know more about you – not just about the products you like.
x
Belinda | TFEC recently posted..What is Marketing & Why is it Important to Your Business?
You’ve hit the nail on the head, Bel. I agree; it definitely adds a personal touch to the person behind the blog and screen. I’m not a fan of beauty blogs that only churn out product reviews after product reviews without adding any personal touches to them, no matter how thorough they are with the reviews. They’re the ones that are great Googling reviews for but not so much to follow in the long run.
It is those personal touches and details about your life that I identify with (and your ability to laugh at yourself) and make me return to your blog over and over again. There are countless young women reporting on their cosmetic trials but not many that have your winning combination of wit and honesty.
Awww thanks Catherine! Life’s too short to take ourselves so seriously. 🙂
I noticed when I stopped blogging in 2014 that a lot of the beauty blogs I followed had turned into beauty / fashion / lifestyle blogs overnight. While I don’t mind the blogs I read going off piste with a different topic now and again I like my beauty blogs main focus about beauty. Karen at MBB gets the balance right of reviews, a bit fashion, food and of course Tabs!
I read you for your skincare reviews!
Hahahaha I love it with Karen photoshops Tabs. Hilarious!
Variety is good but it’s best not to blog on a topic that’s too far a stretch from the main domain. Having said that, it depends on the personality. Sometimes I get tired of blogs that show too much of their face, doesn’t matter they are shown in a variety of different ways. Strangely, this applies to beauty blogs but does not apply that much to fashion blogs that I read. It must have to do with presentation.
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Paris B and I talked about beauty blogs that show 20 photos of the blogger’s face when reviewing a beauty product, mostly of the blogger holding the product and we’re like …errr and your point is? 😛
Personally, I like your writing style and I would love reading non beauty products related posts from you.Hehe besides, if you ask me, I think fitness, nutrition, health and wellbeing (both physical and mental) relates to beauty too :p
Aww thanks Adrienne! I agree; fitness, health and all that relate to beauty too, not just heaps of makeup and skincare. 😛