The Boutique Blog

With just twelve days to go before Blogging the Brocante Way is unleashed upon the blog loving public, I am knee deep in apps and stats and plugins and in my head there is a little voice going… oooh does any of this really matter??
Not does blogging matter?  Because clearly I love BrocanteHome like the second baby I haven’t got. But do all the bells and whistles it is absolutely, entirely possible to insist you need should you be mad enough to decide that a life in your jim-jams, talking to yourself is the life for you, really matter?
In short m’dears NO: and this is the message I try to get to make loud and clear in Blogging the Brocante Way.

Three Distinct Groups…

You see I believe the blogging world is divided into three distinct groups: those who don’t give a hoot about their audience and blog rather blissfully for themselves, those who obsess over stats and do all the right things, SEO and all and those like me, who resist formulaic routes to success and instead focus on building tiny, passionate communities instead of sending ourselves around the bend chasing huge, dis-engaged audiences for our passion…
This is a week in which I have spent time in the company of both Rachael from Tales From the Village and Ouissi from British Cream Tea: two inspirational, talented women, fighting their own battles and creating full time business’s based on their individual talents, revolving around their lovely blogs and writing books that reflect who they are and what they do.  Apart from the fact that they are both wonderful per se, it is my kind of bliss to be able to drink coffee with women who lead very similar lives to me: bringing up children while trying and in all our cases, succeeding, in making a living from the internet, creating craft or crafting words and selling them on to other women who would like to be able to develop similar skills or who simply admire what we represent and are willing to exchange money for knowledge.
And in both cases I have enjoyed almost identical conversations with both: how on earth do we have the energy to keep on plugging our lovely offerings without exhausting ourselves? Or boring our public to death? How do we get more readers/paying customers/book readers? How and how and how???
And we scratched our heads and ate Welsh Rarebit and ordered more mint tea and shared advice with each other and in my head I was thinking… in the end none of this matters in this new blogging world of ours, for hasn’t blogging changed almost immeasurably recently? Aren’t we doing battle on shifting territory now that the competition has exploded and we can all only regale our very own tiny section of the audience with honesty, commitment and derring do?

This Then Is My Message…

Blogging doesn’t need to follow the formulaic route of taking on endless advertising, hawking products you don’t believe in or chasing vast numbers of readers day in and day out: it can instead be the equivalent of a darling, little exquisite boutique- a place with it’s own atmosphere, clever, consistent branding, and room only for those willing to live it’s message.

Boutique Blogging…

Yes: boutique blogging, that is my message in Blogging the Brocante Way, for we cannot please all of the people all of the time, but all us have the capacity to absolutely thrill a small band of thoroughly delighted customers invested in our passion and willing to keep on seeking out the unusual, and the precious…
So while Blogging the Brocante Way certainly dives into all the basic rules, apps and stats you need to create and promote a truly, lovely blog the focus is almost totally on creating a Boutique Blog, and understanding why truth, passion and absolute commitment lie at the heart of a sustainable, successful blog…
If Rachael, Ouissi and I can do it: you can too…
Order Blogging the Brocante Way here…