I’ve been working my way through ProBlogger’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog.  One of the earliest assignments is to craft an elevator pitch.  The difficulty is, creating an elevator pitch requires you to have a pretty good idea of what your blog (or business, or whatever) is all about.  Some people may already know this, and just have to hone it to create a focused statement.  Some of us, though, don’t really have a well-formulated idea in the first place.

This was me.  Oh, I had a vague idea, but it was very vague.  Homemaking is such a broad topic – and there are so many “mom blogs” out there – that I didn’t have a clear idea of what constitutes my homemaking blog.  I decided the first step was to figure out what questions I needed to ask myself so I’d know what I was trying to answer.  This post is me sharing those questions with you.

The Questions

The answers to some of these questions will overlap quite a bit.  That’s okay!  The purpose of having them all here is not necessarily to provide different information, but to provide different perspectives to help you flesh out what your blog is all about.  Where one question might not really resonate with you, others (hopefully!) will.

• What problem does my blog solve/what need does it fill?

• What sets me apart/makes me unique?

This could be what makes your blog unique.  Or, if your blog is similar enough to others that it’s YOU who are the selling point, what makes you personally different from others in your niche?

• What do I do that no one else does, or how is my “voice” different?

• What is my goal?  What do I want to accomplish with my blog?

I’m not talking about whether or not you’re looking to earn money with your blog!  I mean what do you hope to accomplish with your content?  Teach complete novices how to play the guitar?  Generate excitement around your business’s product(s)?  Convince people that iPhone is better than Android (or vice versa)?

• Who are my readers?

• What is my major niche?  What sub-niches fall under this heading?

Or, to put it another way:  “What topics do I cover?”

If you know what the sub-topics are, but have a hard time seeing how they fit together, you might consider making a mind map, so you can do this “in reverse.” It might help you to visualize what they have in common.  (Tip: This could be a good starting point to deciding what category headings to use for your blog.  I will definitely be using this step to improve my own category list!)

• What products would fit in well with my blog? 

Even if you don’t plan to feature any products, consider answering the question.  It can offer another angle to help clarify your blog’s subject matter.
Do you have other questions to suggest?  Please share them in the comments; I’m sure I can learn from you!