What image are you trying to portray?
Interestingly I am not talking about your personal image. If you would like to read a really good post about personal image and style go to Susan Young’s blog and in particluar to the post ‘Image & Style – what’s the difference?‘.
What I am talking about is your professional image, the image you portray on your blog. In the weeks before I opened Art-next-the-Sea last July I invited artists to visit the gallery while we decorated with a view to exhibiting their work. All were very complimentary and said they would love to exhibit, apart from one artist who said ‘what image are you trying to portray?’ I, of course, had not considered this at all. I imagined I would invite 20 or so artists to supply me with some of their work, hang it in the bays and hopefully sell it. We had a bright, modern space, well lit, a good graphic artist had designed a great logo, and we had lots of enthusiasm for the project – but I didn’t consider what image the gallery was portraying.
I pondered on what he said as the weeks went by. Had I got it right? Had I got it dreadfully wrong? We sold well, artists liked exhibiting at the gallery – isn’t that what it’s all about? I asked lots of people their opinion about an image. Were we heading down the wrong path?
The response was a resounding ‘NO’! Everyone loved our eclectic mix, customers and artists alike. Our gallery provides something for everyone. We have a real mix of genres, a good selection of crafts, a great variety of single artist exhibitions throughout the year. I decided an eclectic mix is good.
And so to my blog. When I started blogging John Thornhill said ‘write about anything’. So I did. After a while I wondered if I should have an ‘image’ for my blog. Should I stick to one topic? Should I try to research an area of interest more and focus on that?
I bet you know what I’m going to say. I’ve decided I like having an eclectic mix. I like writing about anything that takes my fancy. If I had to tell someone what my blog is about I would say ‘it’s about life’.
Enjoy the journey.
Hi Mandy,
Very interesting post, I buy your ideas, this is what I am doing now having an eclectic mix.
An info to share with you, my blog is having a PageRank of 3/10 by Google.
Happy journey.
Albert Lee
That’s really good news, Albert. I aspire to join you in those top pages!
Enjoy the journey.
Mandy
Hi Mandy,
This really is an interesting post, i too have thought the same about making my blog a niche blog for targeted traffic, but then i thought it wouldn`t make a difference because of my name John Edwards and the niche being eBay both are massive in the organic search results so no matter how hard i optimized my blog it will never appear on google 1st page , so i might just write about anything !
TTFN….Ed.
Thanks for visiting, Ed, and thanks for the comments. I like the eclectic blogs. They are so interesting, I’m never quite sure what I might read about next! There’s something for everyone.
Enjoy the journey.
Mandy
Hi Mandy
an eclectic mix is definitely the way to go, I write about sales, customer service and marketing, all the while I am trying to make a fairly boring subject sound interesting. If I had to start again I think I would have been more eclectic too.
have a great week
cheers
Steve
Sounds like we’re all ont he same wavelength – thanks, Steve. (Nice to see your vids are back!)
Enjoy the journey.
Mandy
Mandy eclectic is best in my opinion because it leaves something in there for everyone. Beside that, when someone searches for something you have a better chance to be listed and therefore should have a better chance at more traffic for your site.
I like many different types of music too, so I guess I’m eclectic about a lot of things…..gotta keep open to a wide range of things. It makes life more interesting and exciting.
Have you checked out our “Green” site yet? http://www.ourgreenlifebiz.com
Jay
Excellent info, Jay, thanks. I do like the eclectic mix sites more. Just about to pop over to your green site now…
Enjoy the journey.
Mandy
Hi Mandy,
There all these talks about finding a niche, yet keeping it personal and real I feel is one of the keys to a successful blog. Your blog entries are always interesting to read so keep ‘em coming
Many Thanks,
Svenja
Svenja, thanks so much for the comments. I’m glad you enjoy my posts. I will certainly keep them coming!
Enjoy the journey.
Mandy
Hi Mandy
Thanks for the mention on your blog, but I love the post itself. I aim to write about ‘what I know’ and am now at a point of thinking, how far can I take this before I become repetitive. I like the idea of adding some eclectic posts into the blog to add some more of my own style and personality.
I look forward to your next post.
All the best
Susan
Hi Susan,
Thanks for visiting. Links are good and I will always try to include a link to something that emphasises what I have said. I love your blog but I do know what you mean about becoming repetitive. The nice part for me is that something pops into my head and I decide to write about it. My next post is coming from a comment that was made at church last night and I thought it would make a good post. Watch this space!
Enjoy the journey.
Mandy
Hello Mandy,
Great post as usual. I do some painting myself so your new gallery was interesting. But I was especially relieved to have your analysis of an eclectic blog. I have gone the same route, it’s the only way I could post regularly without getting bored.
John
Oh splendid, John. I really like the eclectic blogs, as Jay says, something for everyone. Glad you like the look of the gallery. We worked really hard on it. One of my follow up poducts is ‘how to make money from your art’. Maybe I can sell you a copy when it’s done?? He he, only joking, you can proof read it for me, see what you think.
Enjoy the journey.
Mandy
Hi Mandy
I see no problem in writing about stuff that you fancy writing about, in fact I like to read blogs which have a sort of random theme to them because there is always going to be something that’s going to interest me. I also believe that life experience and advice should always be shared and not kept to the individual.
Cheers
Ben
Brilliant point made there, Ben. Yes, it is all about sharing.
Enjoy the journey.
Mandy
Mandy,
This post is exactly what I needed to read. My blog was all over the place at first, and now I have been concentrating on my ebook field. I think what I need is a happy medium. Concentrate on my field, but add a little flavor to entertain occasionally.
Thanks for the reminder…
Love you blog…
Kathy
Hi Kathy,
Thanks for visiting and thanks for the comments. I do believe you are right, a good mix, a lot of flavour, and always entertaining.
Enjoy the journey.
Mandy
Hi Mandy,
This is a question that I think many of us wonder about. I love that you are not trying to portray any specific image…just about life and what comes to mind to share.
I’ve been out of the loop for about a month now (life happens sometimes, doesn’t it?!), but it’s so nice to see your many comments on other students blogs and on the forum! You are a great inspiration and it sounds like you are reaping some of the seeds you have so faithfully been sowing!
Enjoying the journey and hope you are too,
Kelly
Hi Kelly,
Thank you so much for visiting. I like to keep up with fellow students and how they are developing! I’ve missed your presence so it’s nice to know you are back in the loop. I look forward to sharing more comments with you on both our blogs.
Enjoy the journey.
Mandy
Mandy,
Great post and something to think about. Sometimes, it’s a very small thing or comment that will change our perception and make us ponder things in a totally different way. Glad to see you still have time to write posts with all of the blog visits. Take care and stop by when you have “time”.
Patrick
http://patrickwooley.com
I’ve always got time for my blogging friends, Patrick. Thanks for the visit, glad to have inspired you.
Enjoy the journey.