It's time for Backstage Blogging Section TWO!!
Section One of backstage blogging centered around blog utilization. I asked a group of thirty bloggers who had been blogging for less than six months "What do you hope to accomplish with your book blog beyond sharing your love of literature?" You can see their responses to that question: here & here. I also asked a group of thirty bloggers who have been blogging for over six months to several years "As the operator of a well-known blog, how do you put your star power to good use?" You can see their responses: here & here.
This next section is centered around voice! I asked those thirty newbie bloggers: "Is the idea of finding your voice and creating a unique blogging identity intimidating?" You can find their responses here and here.
For the next two weeks I'll be featuring another group of bloggers and finding their opinions on voice!
(Special thanks to Susan from Wastepaper Prose who inspired and helped me develop this series!)
How important do you think it is for a blogger to establish a unique identity online?
For me, it was never a matter of establishing a 'unique identity.' I never set out to try to do that. If you manage to establish one, that's fantastic. But my blog is just an extension of who I am, and that's all I ever tried to do: represent myself to the best of my ability. I think if you manage to represent yourself through your blog well, you'll have inadvertently created a unique identity - after all, there is only one you.
-Nicole of Word for Teens
I would say that it's just as important as establishing a unique identity in your every day life! Be yourself when you blog and like-minded people will find you and read you. You don't have to be all flash and loud to get attention. Be yourself, find your voice and you will BE unique. Don't try to blog like someone else does, you're not being true to yourself and people will notice. That's my $0.02 Old Canadian Person opinion anyhow. ;)
-Cat of Beyond Books
We believe that it's important that each blogger be themselves. There are some "rules" that bloggers should think about following to be professional and that will help them with ease of reading and that appeal to publishers and stuff, but beyond that, it's important to be yourself and within that, you'll find your own unique identity. We don't think a new blogger/or an established one, should go out of their way to find some crazy unique point of view so they are totally different from everyone else. We believe that by being yourself that in itself will create a unique identity.
-Pixie & Stacey of Page Turners
I think it's very important-- when I read a review, I want to be able to tell who wrote it. I'll remember the person and blog better that way. If you don't have a unique identity or distinct personality/style, I really won't remember anything special about you or blog, and there's a chance I may just skip over your posts. If you have your own unique identity, you'll stand out more.
-Khy of Frenetic Reader
I would love to say it is very important, but I think that it pretty much just comes naturally according to your personality and your likes and dislikes. Sadly, it's not something you can force or 'establish', in my opinion. Your constant readers will always identify you in a certain way. They are the ones who know what you enjoy best and what you don't. However, in blogging (and in life) I would strongly dis-encourage anyone from trying to be like someone else. We strongly want to avoid groupthink as a blogging community. You should hold on to that uniqueness we all have and embrace it, instead of trying to like what everyone else is liking. And yes, just like in literature, it is unique voices who I want to read. When you enjoy what you do and be yourself, it shows.
-Sab of YA Bliss
I'd say it's fairly important! Consider it in terms of class superlatives. How do you want to be remembered in the 'YA blogger yearbook'? What can you offer readers that others cannot? It's never about trying to be someone you're not: it's about discovering what you already have that, with practice, time, and experience, will add to the world what it lacked before.
-Steph Su of Steph Su Reads
I think it’s extremely important to have a unique identity online. It’s what sets your blog apart from all others and will keep readers coming back to see what you have to say. At the same time though, don’t worry about it too much. It will all come out naturally, especially if you really enjoy what you’re doing, but it may take a bit of time. It’ll get there though and other people will take notice.
-James of Book Chic
I think it’s somewhat important, because establishing a unique identity online with your blog is one of the reasons why people will continue to keep reading your blog, in my opinion. For instance, if the identity the blogger creates is friendly and distinctive, it’s a sure thing to say I’ll keep reading that blogger’s blog, as will most others probably.
-Lauren of Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf
As a blogger, I think that you should have your own unique identity. I hope that my personality shines through in my blog by my reviews, discussion post, memes, and vlogs. Try to cover books in unconventional ways or by using your own experiences. Make sure that you are true to who you are and remember that, if you can't bring yourself into your blog, maybe you are doing something wrong. Just find what works for you and enjoy it!
-Sarah of Sarah's Random Musings
When I first started blogging, I didn't think much about creating a unique identity. I just blogged book reviews and my various ramblings. But now, my feed reader is full of blogs and I'll admit that there are times when they all start to look the same. So I think it is important for bloggers to have something unique that makes their blog stand out. I know that's hard to do when we're all working in the same niche or YA or MG book blogs, but I think it helps to have something special on your blog. Maybe it's a weekly question or poll, maybe a meme, pop culture news, movie reviews, retro reviews-whatever! But in the sea of book blogs and book reviews having something that stands out can be a breath of fresh air.
-Sarah of GreenBeanTeenQueen
One of the the biggest "mistakes" I see with new blogs is copying. When you are first starting out, it can be tempting to "steal" a successful formula - whether it is a certain voice or special features - in an attempt to get popular fast. You are unique - so just let your personality shine through in your blog and you'll find your following.
-Lenore of Presenting Lenore