For the last several years, I’ve had lots of ideas for various blog posts and videos, but there’s been a lot of stuff stopping me from ever making that video or writing that blog post. Early in my career as a video professional, I was blessed with the opportunity to work with several wealthy entrepreneurs who seemed to know a lot on the topic of branding. They pretty much instilled in me that it’s not okay to post about different topics.
Of course, this is a giant ocean of a topic with numerous books, articles, and videos about making a brand for yourself. Lots of people said you needed to have a blog, you needed to have a YouTube channel, you needed to have this, you needed to have that… The biggest theme I saw across all of them is they all had a pretty solid focus on everything they ever posted. It was always about entrepreneurship, business, getting more clients, and making more money.
That’s all great, and probably a good idea for running a business. But I always struggled with “my brand”. I felt like it was this made up version of myself that I didn’t even know. And the biggest rule this person had to follow was “consistency”. Always post about the same stuff on a regular basis. This ground my entire creative process to a screeching halt.
Don’t let a ‘brand’ stop you from doing what you want
I’m not a single-minded person. I have tons of different interests, likes and dislikes. I want to share a lot of it. In January, I’m into motorcycles. Suppose in April, I’m into airplanes. In August, I’m into kitesurfing. In November, I’m into computers. There are, however, a small group of interests that hold my attention for long periods of time. But I could never focus on one topic forever and post about that one thing on a regular basis. That’s way too robotic for me.
So all this makes me take a step back. Why am I doing this blog? Why am I making this video? Do I have an audience? Do I even want an audience? Should I do this to make money? Is there any money in it? Is this worth pursuing? I have no idea how to answer pretty much all of these questions. But after trying to figure out the answers for over 3 years, I realized I wasn’t actually creating anything.
I never made videos, I never wrote posts because 98% of the time, they didn’t fit into one particular category of content. Sometimes I wanted to share tutorials. Other times, I wanted to make a comedy skit. Other times I just wanted to share my experiences. But because all those things were never “focused,” I could never figure out how to include them in a social media feed or post them on my website or upload them to my YouTube channel.
SEO is great, but don’t let it restrict you
I am focused. Just not on the same content, all day, every day. I don’t know how to fit that into a plan or a channel. Should I always “give the people what they want”? I don’t really have a niche. I don’t really have a focus. But I am sick of feeling restricted by having to follow the mountains of rules that ensure great SEO and conversion, and profit, and whatever.
If you’re like me and you feel constricted by the idea of sticking to a specific topic for your vlog/blog channel/feed, do yourself a favor and experience the freedom to post about different topics. Don’t let some made up guidelines for ‘success’ define whether or not you should do something that you want to do. I would just suggest posting content because you love it and are genuinely interested in it. Don’t post because you think you might make a fortune off a viral video. It could happen, but it’s like trying to hit the lottery.
Anyway, that’s all I’ve got! Hope this helped you answer a few questions on posting about different topics or straying from a specific topic. Yeah, you may lose some followers, but just be you.