Which of the 7 Major Blog Types do you fall under?
"Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else" - Margaret Mead
Hey there lovely Mumma xx
Today I’m asking the question: Which of the 7 Major Blog Types do you Fall Under?
When I first started blogging (a long time ago) I didn’t realise there were different blog types!
I just thought a blog was a blog and that was it…
How naive was I!
In today’s post, I’m going to share with you the 7 different types of blog that I feel, cover pretty much all the main & popular blogs online…
If you have no clue as to what you want to blog about, you’ll probably find your idea fits into one of these 7 blog types anyway.
So let’s get into it…
“Before we get stuck in, I need to let you know that this post does contain affiliate links throughout and if you make a purchase using one of my links, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you”.
What is a blog type?
Put simply, a blog type is the way in which a blog is defined…
This includes the type of content on the blog & also how the content is written & delivered to its readers.
So, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of all the major blog types right now…
Personal Blog
What is it: A Personal blog is one where it’s focused on you, where you share your journey & it can be an intimate experience for your readers.
It’s usually a single person, rather than a company & content is shared via stories, which can pull you in emotionally, putting your heart on the line, for all to see & share…
It can be an online diary or commentary, of the goings-on in someone’s life…
These blogs are infused with the bloggers personality & draws them in with their ability to keep readers fascinated with the uniqueness & stories they tell.
What do Personal Blogs include:
There’s tons of things a personal blog can write about:
Work
Hobbies (one or multiple)
Relationships
Personal Issues
Adventures
Daily Life
Experiences
Recording opinions & views
Sharing ideas
Something you want to learn
Beliefs
Thoughts & Feelings
Sports etc…
It’s a blog which attracts like-minded people, who share the same interests as the blogger & it makes a difference through positivity.
The challenge with these blogs is finding that connection with people because it’s a blog that needs true connectivity with readers to survive.
Example of a Personal Blog:
Tim Ferriss is best known for his hugely successful book “The 4-Hour Workweek” & his popular podcast “The Tim Ferriss Show”.
He’s a successful entrepreneur who advocates travelling & living life more while working less (hence the title of his book)…
Personal Brand Blog
What is it: This blog is for those who are wanting to place themselves as an expert or thought leader.
It includes personal views, bloggers own experiences & is about connecting with more people & having more opportunities.
It’s about the person behind the brand, rather than a company & it’s about giving a personal touch to the readers.
Nobody likes that corporate gumf feeling…
These blogs usually include articles that help people on a topic as much as possible & can include coaching, guidance & freebies for readers to sign up & get!
People want to build a strong & personal connection with the bloggers they come to love…
What do Personal Brand Blogs include:
Personal brand blogs tend to be more visual when it comes to content creation because it allows readers to see more of them.
They tend to be the bloggers who are seen everywhere (all over Social Media), putting themselves & their brands out there…
Writing & creating content consistently is what builds your brand up.
The more you create & post, the bigger it gets, but it does take time…
You’re not going to grow a personal brand blog overnight (or even over two nights for that matter).
It will be a long winding road, but you will get there with time, patience & persistence.
Personal brand blogs may include:
Videos
Podcasts
Social Media Posts
Infographics
Webinars…
Example of a Personal Brand Blog:
Marie is one of my favourite bloggers & female entrepreneurs out there…
Best known for MarieTV (which I absolutely love & you gotta check it out) B-School (her signature program) and her famous catchphrase:
The Place To Be To Create A Business & Life You Love!
She’s truly dazzling & has one of the TOP digital educational empires around.
Personal Services Blog
What is it: This blog’s main focus is on the personal services which can be offered to an audience.
Content is created around the service, giving as much information as possible, enticing them to hire the company or brand for it’s services.
This type of blog works beautifully within a local range because people can take action on the services being offered.
These blogs can also make money via affiliate sales & ads.
What things are covered under Personal Services:
Ironing
Mobile Pet Grooming
Dog Walking
Dry Cleaning
Babysitting
Beauty Therapist
Nail Technician
Mobile Mechanic
Seamstress
If you have a business from which you want to get more traction & sales, starting a blog & writing fun & enticing content could really help you do this!
From all those personal services mentioned above, there’s fab content which can be written on a blog, about every single one of them…
Let’s take the Beauty Therapist service as an example:
If you’re a beauty therapist, you can write all kinds of articles to help people & give them more information on your service.
How to look after your eyebrows in between treatments
How to relax at home after a massage
3 essential oils to use when giving yourself a home facial
Having a services blog not only provides information on the services you offer, it also gives more value to your readers & customers, by presenting them with a hub of helpful & valuable resources to go back to time & time again.
Example of a Personal Services Blog:
I’ve used this company as an example as it’s not only a services website, but also a blog (I also loved the name of the website as it’s super cute)…
Although it’s advertised as a dog walking service, they’re passionate about caring for all kinds of animals.
They offer a range of services & write interesting content on their blog!
Lifestyle Blog
What it is: This blog focuses on your reader & shares everyday fun activities & interests & are the most popular blogs to start.
It can be confused with the “Personal Blog” we’ve already talked about, because the two do have similarities.
The difference is, that the Personal blogger shares their life with you through their writing, often wearing their hearts & emotions on their sleeves!
Their personal stories are put across on a more intimate & emotional level.
Lifestyle blogs however showcase a variety of different things in their content, including all kinds of activities, interests & goings-on, which are inspired by their personal life, in a fun & exciting way…
They tend to be very visual, sharing their content with extremely high quality, gorgeous photos & videos!
They also share their content over Social Media, reaching a wider audience.
A lot of blogs out there come under the “Lifestyle” umbrella, & we’re going to look into what these are now… (and there’s a ton of them).
Which ones are classed as “Lifestyle” blogs:
Family
Parenting
Home
DIY
Pets
Gaming
Beauty
Travel
Fashion
Food
Make-Up
Art
Culture
Politics
News
Entertainment
Finances
Self-Care
Health & Fitness
Crafts
Music
Photography
Gardening
Wellbeing…
And the list goes on & on…
Example of a Lifestyle Blog:
I have so many favourite Lifestyle blogs, but my all-time fave is Tone It Up.
The blog shares all kinds of health, fitness & nutritional info, on their website.
Best known for their fun workouts on the Tone It Up App & the fab Tone It Up Nutrition Plan, they’ve built an amazing community of women all over the world.
If you’re wanting to get fit & start a healthier lifestyle, then this blog will definitely help you out!
Niche Blog
What is it: The niche blog’s main aim is to share content & market to a particular & specific niche sector.
It gives your blog a focus in order to help it find an audience.
They’re very good money making blogs, because they can target specific audiences, who are looking for information on something in particular.
Niche blogs tend to have higher conversion rates, due to a loyal following & if you run ads, it can attract high-quality advertisers, because they know that the people who visit your blog are more likely to buy…
Niche blogs take a lot of dedication, because writing about the same thing all the time can become boring & demotivating.
A lot of perseverance & pushing through mental barriers is needed to keep a niche blog going!
Which blogs are niche:
Budget Travel
Veganism
Parenting Toddlers
Sea Fishing
Cats
Working from Home
Baking
Postpartum Exercises
Pregnancy…
Again, there’s hundreds more niche topics out there, but above are just a few I’ve thought up…
Example of a Niche Blog:
My Baking Addiction makes your mouth water as soon as you enter the site, with its delicious, heavenly cake photos.
It’s a great mix of dessert, cake & cookie recipes, with a side of travel baked goods too!
The blog uses ads & is specific with it’s topic – baking… (& the odd life story thrown in).
Enter the site if you dare – you’ll come out with a handful of new recipes (OMG the Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars look to die for) & knowledge of baking fundamentals!
Affiliate Blog
What is it: Affiliate blogs are those which use special links within their posts to promote other people’s products & services, to generate an income (when someone clicks on those links).
Pretty much all blogs have affiliate links within them somewhere & they are a very popular business model.
In fact, a lot of successful bloggers income is generated from affiliate commissions.
An affiliate link is given to the blogger & if that link is clicked & a purchase made, a percentage of the sale is given as a commission…
To have a successful affiliate marketing blog, it takes a balance of awesome blog content, sprinkled with links to recommended products & services.
A popular way to do this on this kind of blog, is to write a review for something & then link to it throughout the post.
It usually takes a long time to build up trust with an audience, before they’ll part with money & purchase something through you.
Giving truly amazing, actionable & valuable content will be what paves the way for those clicks.
You should never write a post just to promote a product/service.
Your readers will see right through you if you do this & they’ll leave, never to return.
Your posts should give helpful advice that action can be taken upon & only recommend products & services that you have used yourself and can give a real insight into.
What can you have on an Affiliate blog:
Product Reviews
Product Promotions
Run Ads
Sign up for relevant Affiliate Programs
Example of an Affiliate Blog:
Pat over at Smart Passive Income, was one of the first bloggers I came across (all those years ago).
He’s an excellent example of someone who’s built a huge online business, selling not only his own products & courses, but by affiliating himself with others too (he only recommends things he’s used himself).
He also has a widely well-known podcast (The SPI Podcast)…
He uses his blog to help people, giving them a ton of valuable information & recommends tools & resources he uses (via affiliate links).
Business Blog
What is it: The Business blog is used for showcasing a company’s products or services, to gain customers.
It’s become a fundamental part of a lot of companies’ overall strategy to get visibility online & is an additional marketing channel that is put into place to help the business grow.
It’s a cost-effective way to drive traffic & attract more potential customers.
So many things are online now, that any business who doesn’t have an online presence is missing out – BIG time!!!
Having a blog as part of a business website is a great way to educate readers on the company as a whole, giving them a foundation of the ins & outs of the business.
Call to Actions (such as sign up boxes), landing pages & other lead generation strategies are used to capture leads, to then filter into a sales funnel.
What can you incorporate in a Business blog:
Customer success stories
Address Customer Questions (within a blog post)
Industry News
Talk about current Trends
Be Visual (Just because it’s a business blog, doesn’t mean it has to be plain & boring)
Consistent, constructive & helpful articles
Explain how your company works
Example of a Business Blog:
Copyblogger are a fantastic business blog, teaching all about content marketing & copywriting.
It’s their thing & they’re really good at it!
If you want to know anything about creating content, then Copyblogger’s 3000+ articles will help you out…
They’re a great business blog, which started out as just one person – Brian Clark!
Over the years, the blog evolved into an 8 figure business, all through the power of amazing content & sheer dedication to a cause of teaching people what they knew – content marketing…
So there you have it, we’ve covered the 7 major blog types…
Personal
Personal Brand
Personal Services
Lifestyle
Niche
Affiliate
Business
You’ll find that any blog you start will come under one of these categories – most probably under the “Lifestyle” type, as this is where you’ll find all the fashion, food & health type blogs, which seem to be super popular…
That’s it for this post.
If you get stuck or need help with anything else to do with blog types – just reach out!
Now it’s time to start a blog and get traffic!
Then you can look at how to money with your blog…
