Can You Blog About Anything? Does a Blog Need Only One Topic?

One of my readers, Dayna, reached out with a great question: “I want to do a mix blog where I talk about everything that interests me. One week travel, the next week pets, TV shows, caring for my family, and so on. What do you think?”

There’s some nuance to this question (which I’ll get to), but here’s my quick answer: focusing on one topic will help your blog grow faster. 👋 P.S. Have a question for me? Ask in the comments below!

🔑 A blog can be about anything and everything, but it’ll grow much faster if it’s focused on one topic area (aka a blog niche). If your goal is to build an audience and make money from your blog, you’ll want to focus on one primary topic so that readers know what to expect when they come back for more. You’ll eventually become an authority on this topic area, which gives you immense benefits down the line. Early focus also earns you the flexibility to expand into other topics later on. Here’s a list of profitable niches to consider.

I understand the natural thought process here, and the temptation to share about all our interests. But for most people, starting a blog without a clear focus is going to be a mistake that ends in lackluster early results & rapid burnout. Here’s why:

I’ll throw you an important caveat here. Let’s say you wanna grow an audience as quickly as possible, so you take my advice and start a blog focused on one topic… great! Are you committed to blogging about this subject forever, now? No.

Just because you start a blog about one thing, doesn’t mean you’ll be stuck with that topic forever.

You’ll be able to naturally shift topics, expand, and evolve in what you blog about in the future. I’ve done this myself many times over the course of the last 12+ years, but always with at least a portion of my audience that’s interested in the direction I’m going.

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Why a Blog Benefits from Being About One Thing (the Power of Focus)

First things first. Without an audience, you’ll almost certainly burn out on your blogging efforts. Step one is attracting your audience.

The sooner you build momentum, get traffic to your blog, and keep some of those readers excited to come back for more, the quicker you’ll feel things working & you’ll wanna pour more energy into your content creation efforts. Seeing the fruits of your labors, is a hugely important feedback loop—delighting readers and hearing it from them will accelerate your growth. It just will.

A clear focus with the topic of your blog will help you gain the early traction you need, in order to grow and eventually expand.

I’ve found that this applies to more than just blogs, too. YouTube channels, and podcasts also tend to be more successful when they’re focused around one or two main themes.

No matter which format you create content in, when your audience always knows what to expect, you’re much more likely to attract people who see you as a source of expertise & authority, which makes some of them want to come back for more. This also helps immensely with monetizing your audience, because they’re coming to you for a specific set of challenges.

What Happens When Your Blog Lacks Focus?

If you’re blogging as a hobby, as a creative outlet, or to practice your writing skills, there’s nothing wrong with blogging about anything and everything that interests you from day one.

If you’re blogging for business (you want to somehow earn from your content creation efforts), an early lack of focus will set you up for a much longer, more difficult journey to monetization. Here are the biggest challenges you’ll face:

• Inconsistent audience: If your readers don’t know what to expect, they might not return.
• Harder to build a brand: A clear focus gives you a strong foundation for your brand (or personal brand).
• Less trust: Consistency builds trust, and trust is the greatest currency for any creator.

That said, there are always exceptions to the rule, but you’ll probably need to come from a very particular set of circumstances.

When Can You Blog About Anything & Everything? Exceptions to the Rule

Of course, all rules have exceptions. I know plenty of successful blogs that cover a wide variety of topics, but they’re increasingly rare today.

Cup of Jo, by lifestyle blogger, Joanna Goddard, is one shining counter example to this rule. She’s long written about her wide ranging interests from fashion to style, design, food, travel, relationships, parenting, and everything in-between.

But Joanna’s success in blogging about everything that interests her, comes down to a few unique factors:

• Timing: Joanna started her blog in 2007, during what I like to call the first wave of blogging. She’s been doing her thing for almost 20 years.
• Consistency: From early on, Joanna worked hard to show up consistently, build community, and as a result, established herself as a top voice in the lifestyle blogger scene, based in New York City.
• Why her audience is here: Joanna’s audience is here for her. Lifestyle bloggers in particular, attract audiences that want to see the creator front & center. Readers want the creator’s take. The subject matter of the content itself, is usually a close second to the connection an audience feels with the creator.

If you already have a well-established personal brand, an audience on one or more social platforms, or otherwise have some notoriety, then that gives you more flexibility to blog about anything.

When your audience craves you more than the subject matter you’re blogging about, you’ll be able to crossover into a much wider range of topics. Just be conscious of staying true to yourself in the ways you show up with your peeps.

Why is Trust So Important as a Blogger & Creator?

Trust is the greatest currency you have as a creator. It takes time to build it, and can be destroyed instantly if it’s abused.

Showing up consistently, educating, and entertaining an audience (or future audience you want to attract), establishes real trust. When you have a single topic or set of closely related ones that you’re consistently creating about, it makes building trust much easier. Here’s why trust is so important as a creator:

• Loyalty: Your audience is naturally much more likely to stick with you if they trust you.
• Engagement: Trust leads to higher engagement rates, as people begin to feel a connection with you.
• Word of mouth: A trusted blog (creator) is more likely to be recommended from one friend to another.

When you create consistently for weeks, months, years—throw in a dash of creativity & experimentation, you’re almost guaranteed to attract an audience over time. Almost. Spend time consistently sharing useful, engaging content where your audience spends their time online, and you’re setting yourself up for success.

Practical Steps to Stay Focused

Whether you’re starting a new blog, or you have one already, here are a few clear steps forward to maintain your focus throughout the inevitable ups and downs as you find your way:

1. Identify your main themes: Start small and don’t try to cover everything. Choose one or two topic areas you’re deeply interested in. Bonus points if you have experience, authority, or expertise on the topic(s) you’ll be creating about—but genuine interest is by far the most important factor early on.
2. Create a content calendar: Plan your blog posts around your core themes, approaching them from different unique angles that align with the overlap of what you’re interested in and what your audience is craving. Grab my free content calendar template, it’ll help a lot.
3. Publish consistently: Consistency is where 99% of new creators fall off, because it’s hard. Make it a game you can enjoy, and you’ll relate to your content creation efforts in a way that’s fun and creates a positive feedback loop. Whether you’re writing blog posts, making videos, recording podcast episodes, or all of the above—if you post regularly, stick to your themes, promote your content where your audience spends their time online, and continue improving at your craft, you’ll almost inevitably begin attracting an audience in time.
4. Engage with your audience: Take time to interact 1-on-1 with your early readers, listen to what they want, and consider adjusting your content approach accordingly.

So, does a blog have to be about one topic? For most people and for the most common blogging goals, yes.

A focused blog helps build a reliable brand and fosters trust with your audience. While there are exceptions, the overwhelming majority of bloggers & creators that become successful, have a clear focus to the themes they create about. This approach will serve you much better in attracting and retaining an engaged audience.

Ultimately, trust is the greatest currency you can have as a blogger and creator.

A unified theme is one of the most effective ways to earn that trust over time.