What is the best way to shift a blog topic niche and focus?

Finance after 50

It’s hard out here for a…..writer

When I launched this blog over a year ago now, I must admit, I thought it would be a little bit easier. At least to get random traffic.  Boy was I wrong.
I was NOT expecting, “que the crickets”, that’s for sure. Man, the internet has changed a lot since the days that me and Al Gore invented it.
So in the past 3 or 4 months I’ve settled into the realization that this is going to be a LOT of work. That’s ok. That’s cool. I get it. I’m not afraid of it, that’s always been my MO anyway.

Do what you love

I’ve really been wrestling with my topic choice, because I love all the varied topics I write about. But I just think they might be a bit broad to build a significant and committed audience.
Do I rebrand and refocus my writing? Should I maintain 2 seperate blogs each with a different focus, but some crossover? Do I redirect traffic to my new domain to keep my hard earned “Domain and Page authority” scores? Do I set up all new social media accounts?  These questions will get resolved, but at the end of the day, I think it always comes back to writing about what you really love. I’ve been living this topic for years, and I enjoy writing about it and learning more about it as I move into the next phase of life.  Why shouldn’t I focus there?

What does my life coach say?

My life coach, for the past year, has been there to support me in my efforts and sees value in my work. Granted, I do pay her, but I think she has a unique vantage point that I often don’t see. Having someone in your corner like that, instead of just writing in a vacuum all day can make a lot of difference in whether or not you press on. Also, the realization that this is not going to be easy (nothing worthwhile is, right?) actually helps me focus my efforts and my schedule. You do what you need to, out of necessity, right?

When I talk to her about previous efforts years ago and how I folded 2 other blogs, I explain how this time feels totally different.  It’s almost like an out of body experience when I look at how far I’ve come in the months that I’ve been putting serious effort into this and how much I’ve learned from others and made small contributions where I can.  It just feels right.

Get off the fence

Yesterday, after talking it through with my wife, I arrived at a re-branded name that I could live with. “Finance after 50”. Tada! (Que the crickets part deux)
It speaks to the demographic that I’m shooting for and doesn’t exclude younger people from taking a peek into their own futures. My wife shot down “OverTheHillFinance” as being too negative. I mean, she POUNCED on that one and said, “No way” as soon as the words left my lips.  When I consider “branding”, I want people to know exactly where my focus is, within 2 seconds.  I think this accomplishes that, better than the self centered focus of “My Career Reboot”.  Regarding branding here’s an article that I found helpful and includes 20 tips to brand your blog.

It’s been fun so far and this journey will never truly end, but at the end of the day, most of the people I’ve come across and connected with are generally supportive and truly want to help others.  That’s what I want to do.  Watch for the changes if your following along.  Hello?

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2 comments

  1. I’d read it even though I’m only 45! 🙂 In all seriousness I’d be interested in learning more about how to position myself to retire after 50, especially draw down strategies or even career moves to increase my income.

    1. Hey BadMoose! Thanks for the comment! Once you get in that range, you definitely start thinking about it. When I was hyper-frugal in my early and mid 20’s, I used to say “If I can’t retire by the time I’m 45, I’ll be pissed off!” As you probably know…things come up that can side track us. I’m working on an in depth post, that picks apart the job sites to see how practical they really are still. Hope you continue to follow along! Thanks.

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