What I love about owning a forum and being on social media is that it makes it easy to zero in on common mistakes or issues that arise with newbies.
They also provide ideas for my blog posts. So thanks everyone for all the participation and questions you pose. 🙂 They inspire much of my content here.
The “All About Me” Focus
There’s a member on Website Babble who was posting ideas about their upcoming website. The site was going to be based on the person’s life and activities they often partake in.
The reason these are often go-to ideas because it’s much easier to write about things that are currently going on in our lives.
When people struggle with topics, they often start with material that’s closest to them.
Where the Problem Lies
One reason I don’t suggest people go the personal/about-me route with their new websites is it’s often difficult to draw people into your site if you’re only talking about yourself and your life.
Remember, no one knows who you are and when’s the last time you became grossly engaged in a random, personal website authored by someone you didn’t even know?
Aside from well-known, branded sites you follow (the ESPN’s and CNN.com’s of the world), you typically begin following a website by a person you don’t know because the site has educated you in some way, solved your problems or taught you a new skill.
That is why I tend to take the same approach with all of my websites. I’ve discovered the incredible power of fulfilling needs and being able to teach people how to do various things.
Problem-solving/tutorial websites build trust and loyalty because you are focusing on the needs of your visitors. After all, most people searching the net are looking for answers to questions, solutions to problems and tutorials for how to do something.
So I’ve found that creating these kinds of sites draw people in much better than personal/about-me websites.
Success From Sheer Randomness
Now, I can’t publish a post like this without talking about the exceptions. Of course there are many people who own successful websites or YouTube channels by keeping it personal or completely random.
Let’s face it. Some people are just brilliant at drawing people in.
Look at Ray William Johnson on YouTube. This has got to be one of the most random channels ever, yet it has 5 million subscribers, over 1 billion views and he has earned millions of dollars in YouTube partner revenue.
Yes, millions of dollars. Shall I pause and give you time to pick up your bottom lip? 😉
His videos are about as random as they come, but Ray has an uncanny ability to draw people in through the presentation, entertainment, comedy and creativity.
Love it or hate it, he knows how to capture an audience.
And I’m sure you could probably list a handful of other people you follow who have become successful just from chronicling their personal lives or creating random videos on YouTube.
So when you see success like this, it’s natural to want to emulate that same strategy with either a blog or YouTube channel.
For The Rest of Us
People like Ray Williams Johnson are the exception more than the rule.
If you don’t have the ability to draw people in through your writing, storytelling, comedy, video effects, etc. then it can be a real uphill battle trying to become successful just writing or talking about personal/random things in your life.
The exceptions make it seem so easy and effortless, that we often forget how much creativity and talent goes into sites that you may consider random or fun.
When to Get Personal
Now of course, once you have the success from your first website, then it’s a lot easier to get people interested in more personal or random topics because you now have an audience that may be more interested in you as a person.
As Ken Evoy said in one of his books, No one cares about you until they figure out how you can help them. That quote has stuck with me since I read it, and I think it’s so incredibly true when it comes to building websites and engagement.
A friend of mind put it even more bluntly and said, Most people don’t find you as interesting as you think you are. Yikes! As mean as that may sound, there is a lot of truth to it.
So what’s the right approach to sites that are more personal?
One example I often use is Whitney (aka Naptural85) from YouTube. She has a very popular natural hair channel that is chock-full of tutorials and great styling tips.
After her first channel gained so much success, she branched out and created a more personal/fun channel where she chronicles completely random events with her loving hubby, Felipe. Her hair channel helped fuel the success of the personal one.
Had I not learned so much from her first channel, I wouldn’t have been so inclined to watch as many of the random, personal videos about her life. But now that she has engaged me with her tutorials, I’m more interested in the person behind the camera.
Of course, this example just happened to be a vlogger, but this could also apply to websites as well.
My Disclaimer
For the record, I’m not saying you should completely avoid the personal route. All I’m saying is for the average person, it’s usually better to start with a more niche topic that educates and focuses on the needs of an audience rather than going the about-me/personal route right away — especially if your goal is to build a business.
Once your site becomes successful and builds interest, credibility, etc. that gives you more of a license to go the personal route because now you have an audience that will be more receptive to content that is of the “all-about-me” variety.
And you can still have personal information on your niche site — in fact, I encourage it! The key is knowing how to balance personal/helpful information and keeping your visitor’s needs in mind instead of just focusing on yourself all the time.
You should always be asking yourself, How will my audience benefit from this? When you keep that question in mind, it helps you keep your site benefit-rich — which is a better way to draw people in when you have no brand awareness/notoriety.
So what do you think? Have you ever tried to build a more personal site without having an audience? Perhaps you are one of the exceptions I spoke about above? Share your experiences and lessons below!
hi lisa ! i m big fan of yours i hv watched all your videos in youtube related with css and wordpress im new to blogging world and looking forward to get adsense approval and working hard on writing my own unique content so please help me out..thanks a ton
Well,as a new blogger.I think keeping your site personal depends on what you write.I f write about how to make money online then its a must to be personal to build that trust from your readers.But I for example I do health related posts and I keep it personal to a minimal level.Thank for the post Lisa.I shall come back soon.Cheers!
Great Article LISA
Thanks…
I think when the website is personal it ends up with more character and personality.Great article, as usual!
Interesting point of view, one that I don’t disagree with, but will modify to a degree. I think you hit it on the head in mentioning storytelling because on my main business blog that’s exactly what I try to do. I tell stories to get points across, and I always get to the point and set up a scenario after I tell my little story. I think it works pretty well.
Lisa
my blog is a marketing blog for every marketer, and I provide high quality value just like you do, so I’m definitely off the hook on this one LOL 😉
thanks for this awesome information lisa.
Thanks!!
You make some excellent points here. It’s rare that people are going to start following us (or even find us to begin with) if we aren’t offering up something of value. If that something is comedic entertainment, then a me-centric approach might be the best route. I think the best sites reflect the personality and passion of their owner, without reading like a daily diary.
Hi Lisa,
I am a newcomer to blogging, and I have just started a website that delivers inspirational and motivational content geared towards improving people’s lives personally. I don’t have an explicitly focused “niche” like technology, cooking, or (the most popular one these days) cats. 🙂 But mine is what’s considered a personal development blog, like Steve Pavlina’s or Gretchen Rubin’s “The Happiness Project,” in that the niche is “personal development and the USP (unique selling point) is the delivery approach, or to use the cringe-worthy word, “gimmick.”
I use examples from popular music to educate and motivate, so it’s both a popular culture and personal development blog, but more of a personal development blog than specifically about music.
I don’t use personal anecdotes, however, about my own life; I use external examples to illustrate a point on topics like health, finance, and even blogging tips. Is this considered self-centered because it’s geared towards people’s personal mindsets rather than 1-2-3 how-tos of a general nature (like “how to set up WordPress,” “how to install Windows on your Mac,” “how to succeed in business without really trying”)? 😉
I am just confused as to what you mean by “self-centered.” If you mean the banal daily updates from people on sites like Facebook (“I’m going to the bathroom right now”), then I would say that’s a no. 🙂
Yes indeed. My general rule about sharing personal stories is ten blog posts about topics my readers find interesting to one post about something I did that they might find applicable to their own lives. Thanks! Suzanne
WEll, sadly it is true that you can become filthy rich by acting a complete fool on youtube. I have toyed with the idea of embrassing myself on the website for mass profits, I’m just waiting for my integrity to be overtaken by the building desperation of poverty, lolz.
Thank you for pointing out mistakes that are often overlooked by new bloggers! It serves as a reminder to even active bloggers like me.
great post
while running a personal blog its better to get reader opinions
so as to write what they are expecting
I keep thinking that people are missing the point of your post Lisa. No one goes to a website because they want to hear someone’s personal story unless in some way it will help them. As cold as it sounds, people only care about what’s in it for them. They want to to know if you can solve their “problems” or not. If you can’t they will be gone. So your website is never about you. It’s always about “them” and whether you can help them… or not. It’s really just marketing 101.
Agree Rick and maybe it’s the fault of the author’s delivery (Ahem). LOL! I am by no means saying your site should be void of personality, but for the average person you don’t build a business talking about yourself. The Ray William Johnson’s of the world are an exception and that doesn’t mean people don’t get a kick out of personal/random websites. However, the rest of us need to start with educational/problem-solving/tutorial websites to get our name on the map. Thanks for clearing that up. 🙂
I think it is ok to talk about yourself, however only to a certain extent as it can drive people away rather than appeal to them as this makes it too similar to a blo. It is fine if you are genuine and provide solutions.
personally I think it’s nice to have one blog “about me” so we can get to know a little about the person but mainly we look at people’s blogs for information, tips and to buy their products, that’s what it’s all about in my opinion.
Good point It seems like if you do it just right then in the end all you have to do is just talk about your life. That’s basically all the myspace guy does on google+ these days.
Do you think its more important to brand yourself and an individual or your brand/blog?
Hi, Lisa
I agree with you. I don’t really like too personal blogs. I can’t understand how someone’s pictures from a picnic for example can be helpful to others. Even thought they might look interesting, I don’t find them useful. Even though blogs should be personal, my priority is to create useful posts and help my readers.
The average folk should only occasionally write about personal stuff. This can be done for example if you want to add a personal note to your blog. I have seen some bloggers that try to make their readers identify with themselves by relating personal stories. 🙂
It’s true that web site owners should put their readers and users first to become more successful. If they create content that helps and interests their audience, they have better chances of success. In my opinion they can still include personal bits of content here and there to entertain the readers and to make the site more authentic. Thank you for this interesting post.
Lisa, you are right. Only celebrities can start a blog about themselves and be successful.
The average folk should only occasionally write about personal stuff. This can be done for example if you want to add a personal note to your blog. I have seen some bloggers that try to make their readers identify with themselves by relating personal stories.
Hey Lisa, I know Ray William Johnson. I have been watching him before I started blogging and I must say that he really knows how to capture an audience.
His videos are really funny.
This goes to show that once you publish contents or videos that people want, you can use it to make a living from it. You just have to know what people need.
Great post and thanks for the tips mentioned.
I totally agree. I never read personal blogs because they rarely contain anything of any interest. They are nearly always just plain boring!
I don’t name people like Ray Williams Johnson “exceptions” – they make a difference in the blogosphere between pros, amateurs and novices
So Christian, you believe there are no exceptions? Or are you saying that talking randomly about one’s personal life like Ray Williams Johnson is a great model?
Self-centered can be parlayed into a top blog and celebrity stardom. Don’t think os? Look at this:
http://xiaxue.blogspot.com
Hi Dave
This is exactly why I wrote about the exceptions in this post. Of course, there are always going to be people who can learn to build a business this way. However, if someone comes to me and says “Hey, Lisa I want to start a business online. What’s the best avenue to take?” I would not tell the average person to create a blog about yourself. That’s all I’m saying. 🙂
Makes a lot of sense! But sometimes the hard part is to actually see the “It’s All About Me” part. It’s something that people have to learn from their mistakes. Got to get bitten to know that it hurts! Lol!
Nice post, Lisa. I agree that many blogs out there are too self-centered. I, for one, am not interested in reading personal biopic of another person. I fully agree with what you have said.
Blogging began with people sharing their diaries, including every detail. Unless you are famous, most readers don’t care about that sort of thing. The personal touch comes from listening and doing your best to empathize with what readers are thinking. If your reader is convinced that your goal is to edify, entertain, and/or amuse THEM, then they feel a connection.
Well said.
Great advice. For a while now, I thought that the reason why my site was failing was because I wasn’t giving it that personal touch.
I think a lot of people are misunderstanding this post and it’s my fault for not making this more clear.
I’m not by any means saying you shouldn’t have a personal touch. There’s a big difference between having a useful blog withe a personal touch and a blog that talks nothing about you and yourself all the time. The latter is what I’m against for new bloggers. Some people can get away with it, but for the rest of us, it’s best to create a useful blog, but it’s certainly ok to tie in your personal experiences here and there.
What, you mean noone cares what i had for breakfast?
LOL! Shocking isn’t it? 🙂
Honestly, that’s a really interesting perspective. Thinking about it now, I believe I suffer from being ‘self-absorbed’ on my blogs. I think I always thought being super personal was a good policy, but now that I think about it that’s probably just because the famous bloggers I grew up reading have fans that ‘do care’ about their personal lives. Anyway, a lot to think about so thanks!
Lisa,
Your spot on about making about a site about just you or your thoughts. Unless you are Warren Buffet or someone of importance (don’t get me wrong we are all important), but say who really cares what Garen Arnold is doing or has going through his mind throughout the day :). Blogging about stuff you are patient about/ hobbies/ or how to’s is great (as you started). Keep your personal route to your “about us” page, but really you do make some good points.
But Lisa, you do have a good business mind and I wish you the best in your endeavors; your a talented writer 🙂 You have a great smile 🙂
Garen
Thank you!
I give personal information like my facebook profile so that my readers know who I am, I think it’s a key point to build trust
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being personal and showing off your personality. But the average person probably shouldn’t attempt to start a business just posting random, personal things on their site.
I will never stop blogging about my day-old toenail clippings. NEVER.
But, I suppose I could change it up a little, introduce a tutorial aspect to the whole game if I must.
I wondered why people stopped coming around my site. I was positioning myself as the black Dos Equis man of the blogosphere, but apparently reality disagrees with me. Aw, shucks.
I think guys like Ray William Johnson inspire us in the sense that “it CAN be done”. You likely can’t do it the same way, though, but the potential is there!
*heads to site now to check out your toenails* LOL
One of my favorite marketing quotes is from Dale Carnegie… “You can make more friends in 2 months being interested in other people than you can in 2 years trying to get other people interested in you.”
Another is… “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
That about covers it for me.
Nice quotes, Rick!
Thanks Lisa. BTW you are a great example of someone who does it the right way.
Hi Lisa,
Your insights are always right on point. People only care about personal musings after they view you as an expert on some level. It’s after that point that they care about your personal life. Reality TV is evidence of that – the most successful shows are the ones that are about celebrities – people that everyone already knows about and likes.
You’ve mentioned some great pointers to think about when considering starting a personal blog.
I struggle with balance. Initially I erred on the side of not saying ANYTHING “personal” on my blog/site. It was Michael Hyatt’s website (michaelhyatt.com) that first schooled me that at minimum I need an ABOUT PAGE and to include a PICTURE of myself… so that people can see who is writing. Then I remember something from you (a post or video) saying don’t just regurgitate news in my own words or simply paraphrase stuff. You said to make it personal and relevant by sharing my opinion and why. (Of course, that is very different from what you’re cautioning us about in this post.) So, for example, instead of just giving information about a new clinic in town that’s open on the weekends with no appointments needed (a new trend), I detailed my visit to the clinic, sharing the info in a fun way. So it’s a balance. And I’m still learning it. All that to say, I totally agree with ya 🙂
Stay encouraged with your posts that tell-it-like-it-is. And thank you for them. Glad someone out there cares and has a mission (and is brave enough) to tell folk about the crazy stuff they do. Like the me-me-me-athons. Clearly your heart is to help folk… 2 Create a (Successful & Effective) website. (And I love all your disclaimers. You’re good at predicting what some of your subscribers are gonna say. Alas, some folk will miss the point and be argumentative no matter how clear you are.)
Lisa is definitely right, June, but the case study you presented is so cute and innocent that I couldn’t help having a look at your blog. I won’t comment on it as it’s far away from my interests and expertise, you know!
As for the current post, count me as one of the patients of “ME.” But I’m constantly trying to get rid of the useless narcissism in my online expressions, and the post (including the discourse in its comments) is surely one of the milestones in the journey. Thanks, ladies! 😉
Great post Lisa,
Although it is a sin to have an “all about me” website, I like websites that have a 5% to 15% about me. With time, you like the bloggers material and writer style and as a reader, it is easy to wonder about their personal life. When the blogger put snippets of their life in a blog, it helps to deepen a personal relationship. Anyone who follow Pat, knows about his upcoming baby girl, however, his last podcast was full of useful information.
You for example, you let your personality shine on your YouTube and your writing. We all know that you are all about keeping it real and upfront with people who want to get started with blogging. You have this street smart personality that people get attached to.
Thanks again for communicating your thoughts.
Readers who visit the blog/site they have the thing to know ‘who is behind this blog’. If it is a celebrity then the followers and subscribers will be more. But if it is not there comes a problem with a trust. And moreover people hate ‘faceless blogs’
hello Lisa you remove one of your blog tab and added other one call same “General Web”. Am letting you know because the other tab you had i was reading something i like before you take it down.
very interesting and thought provoking article Lisa.
I agree that both topic and personality are important. perhaps like you said, start with a topical focused site and inject your personality throughout as you evolve?
from personal experience, my blog’s traffic and readership grew more so when I started blending in personal perspective/experience.
the same can be said about blogging publicly vs anonymously, sharing personal stories here and there when appropriate, hosting an engaging facebook channel, etc.
Yep, that’s exactly what I’m saying. 😉
This is so true, Lisa! There are people on youtube that I’ve recently discovered who have a main channel and a “personal/vlog” channel. And although they have many followers and are very helpful on their first channel, the fact that I just discovered them doesn’t impel me to want to see their “personal vlog” videos the moment they show up in my subscription box. I’m more impelled to watch a tutorial of some sort that they have to offer. Just reiterating what you’ve said above, from a viewer standpoint. Thanks for bringing awareness to this matter.
I understand where you are coming but if you can teach while keeping it personal I think that has the makings of a successful site.
For example, if someone lost a great deal of weight and than can share with others how they did it that is the ideal situation.
It fits with your idea about tutorial/niche site but also keeps this very personal as well.
Absolutely! If you can turn the personal story into a helpful site then it can be a hit! I think that’s one reason my hair site is thriving. Yes it’s personal but I take my lessons and use them to teach/solve problems.
The beauty of following a website, log or forum also is that not only is it easy to zero in on mistakes made on those sites, but, it’s also easier to going and moderate those mistakes as a website owner. When the site is created and made visible online, it should be about everyone, not the site owner. The objective of having the site is to not only make money, but it’s also about the people. People are the life and blood as well as the business of the site. If a website owner is always talking about themselves and making your site all about them, people get turned off by that. So I see we you’re coming from with this and can completely relate 🙂
Hey Lisa! I hope you had a great weekend. I agree with you people should start with a more niche topic that educates and focuses on the needs of an audience.
Hi Lisa
I really think you need a special personality to make a blog just all about yourself. I don’t think that many people can do that, but Ray William Johnson can for sure. Are you kidding me, almost 2 billion views on a YouTube channel…!! I thought you were big on YouTube Lisa 😉
As you might know I am running a Tech Blog myself and find it great to be able to help people with tips, tricks and small tutorials. I think that is the right way to go for me. I try to add in a bit of myself from time to time, but I find it extremely difficult for me. I guess it is easier for some people to add in personality than for others and I guess that is fine too. I do however have information about myself like a picture, a little about my background and I do of cause have an “About Page” too (the most important page on a blog right?). In my niche I see a lot of people making the mistake of sharing nothing about them self. That does not work very well either. If you have a blog you need to make it just a little bit personal otherwise I lose interest in what you have to offer me. I guess it is all about finding the right mix for each individual.
Agree, Thomas. Balance is key!
I personally think all about me blog can be a sucess to people who had or live a different lifes from evertday persons..for examples, people with disabilities either natural or due to accidents..guys like the South African 400m runner
Yes, there are always exceptions. Especially if the videos are inspiring or something very unique about them. But I wouldn’t suggest this route for the average person if you are trying to build a sustainable business.
I definitely understand where you’re coming from and the all about me approach usually bores people, but I don’t exactly feel that your examples back up the statement very well.
RWJ is in entertainment, humor, and comedy and either disturbs people or makes them laugh. He’s created a show that people can rely on for fun which is why he was so successful (not to mention he runs one of the biggest partner networks, Maker Studios), which also proves that consistency pays no matter what.
Your second example is much better, but the only thing is that people love creeping into other’s lives (I don’t get why). Especially on YouTube, vlogging is becoming more of a thing. There is a good chance that people will just like her videos since they definitely seem to be entertaining, even if they never cared about the tutorials.
I actually ran a vlogging channel that was averaging 100 views per day which is small but all I did was walk around and talk about going to the gym and my pathetically boring life to my iPhone in 360p and even that caught some traction.
I ended up closing it because I personally thought it was boring, but got people angry on Twitter… whoops!
It all comes down to what the goal of your site is. If it’s just an outlet to express your opinions and talk about your life, then as long as that is happening, I would consider that a success.
I definitely agree with your final point about focusing on a niche topic. Also, it would help if you’re passionate about it 🙂
Thanks,
-Gabe
Yeah I hear what you’re saying, Gabe. I had some personal home videos with my friends and I singing and dancing (I took them down once 2create started getting more notoriety. LOL) But they received quite a few views but nothing I would have ever made much money from.
Sure, you will get some views from personal videos but in this post, I’m talking about actually building a large audience that you can monetize. While many people have done it that way, I still believe for the average person, it’s better to start with a niche site or channel.
Solid points about Ray. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Well I did forget to mention that AdSense really ticked me off since I earned $40 my first month, then they shut me down. I probably would have stuck with it more if that hadn’t been the case.
YouTube is pestering me to monetize my IM account and I would hate to get that shut down too, since you only really get one shot with AdSense. I might just monetize the account but not link it to my account so that YouTube benefits as well and will be less likely to shut me down.
Gotta play by their rules, I guess!
Anyways, I still agree that a niche site is much better!
Thanks,
-Gabe
Google is really tightening up these days huh? Sorry to hear about that, Gabe. Speaking of that, I’ve always wondered what happens when they close your AdSense account down but allow you to monetize another channel — since they normally pay YouTube earnings through AdSense. Any idea how that works? The YouTube documentation is awful and I’ve been trying to gather facts to do a post but it’s really hard to get facts re their program — especially after they’ve changed everything and opened up monetization to everyone.
They allow you to put ads on your account but they dont share the revenue OR you can open another account with a major risk of having the new AdSense account shut down.
I plan on hosting my own videos ASAP but still using YouTube because of the community aspect.
Great article Lisa. I have a site where I share my personal experiences. The reason the site is so successful is because I also provide solutions to problems that were identified through sharing my life’s experiences. The readers can identify with situations in their lives that are similar and obtain wisdom from my sharing.
Funny, as I am writing this I just realized “it’s all about me.” People love to talk about themselves!
Jordy:
I was just going to say that it’s ok to talk about you as long as it’s about you succeeding at something. That gives the reader value and sort of makes you an “authority” in a subject.
Anyway, Jordy, you beat me to it so I’ll end my comment here:)
This just validates how narcissistic our society is becoming.
Couldn’t agree more. I blame social media. LOL