Operation LoliBlog: Little Fish, Big Pond Part 1

The blogosphere is HUGE. This shouldn't surprise anyone - there are hundreds of thousands of blogs registered to Blogger alone, and this is just one hosting site in the entire world wide web- and then, add in all of the self-hosted blogs out there, too. A great way to differentiate yourself from this huge, blind mass is to become a niche blogger, that is to say, someone who blogs toward a certain demographic- photographers, food enthusiasts, or, in our case, lolitas. However, of course even these niches are largely filled (though there's always room for more!), and even within your demographic it can be difficult for small blogs to weave their way through the elephant-sized-footfalls of the titan-bloggers. Here, I'd like to discuss this phenomenon: the little fish trying to find her way through the ocean of lolita blogs.

There's much I can (and will!) say about this topic, but for now, I'll start off with the biggest and most difficult part of building your blog: differentiation. You're a small blog with under a hundred followers: how can you possibly compete with the big dogs for content or followers? With some blogs coming in at over 1,000 followers (we're looking at you, Lolita Charm!), it may seem overwhelming and impossible to take on these giants.

As a new or small blogger, there are a few things you have to remember when it comes to generating content. First of all, the lolita blogosphere is not static. What do I mean by that? Well, first of all, consider this: say you're a celebrity blogger who focuses on the goings-on of sitcom stars. You can talk about what they've already done and/or how it's affecting what they're doing now, but you'll eventually run out of the past and begin sitting around waiting for something to happen between Lieghton Meester and Blake Lively. On the other hand, lolita and fashion in general isn't like that. It's personal. If the brands have been churning out the same unstimulating rinse-and-repeat pieces all season, you can still produce content by talking about your own personal activities: the dress you bought for a steal on Mbok, say, or the most recent event you attended. That leads me to my next point: lolita blogging is a people-watcher's paradise. If you can't talk about yourself, talk about other people! And I don't mean gossip, I mean things like, what have the Finnish lolitas been doing lately? Did your best friend wear a coordinate that is just to-die-for that you can't bear not to talk about? The content that loli-bloggers blog is self-made or community-made. That means you're lucky: you'll never run out of it, because there's constantly something in the works. If it's not being churned out by your own mind, it's your job as a blogger to get into the mind of whoever's thinking it up, and say it before they do- or at least report on it as soon after they say it as possible.

But what if you can't? One of the topics I was asked to write about for this series was from a blgoger who feels like as soon as she finds something to talk about, someone else swoops in and says it first. I know exactly how this feels, and it's frustrating to no end, and something I run into a lot. However, here's my opinion on it: is the person who wrote about it you? Of course they aren't, but I'm not being facetious. Say, when Angelic Pretty came out with Jelly Jewelry, you wanted to do an article announcing it, and just when you sit down to write it, bam: The scans are already plastered all over one of the Big-Wig Blogs. You'll probably feel let-down, like you missed your shot. However, instead of giving up, look into why you wanted to write about it. If you just wanted to be the one to spread the news, well... maybe you're out of luck. But more likely, you wanted to write about it because you felt a personal connection to it- maybe you had a wacky aunt growing up who always brought a neon Jell-O mold to every family gathering. Your opinions, memories, and what has affected you throughout your life are yours only, and that means that even if you write on the same topic as someone else, nine times out of ten it'll be different and personal. If you add a touch of yourself to everything you write, not only will you be guaranteeing creative content, but you'll be working your way towards something else that is very important to any blogger, and that is branding. Not sure what branding is? Wait and see, because that's another topic I'm very excited to talk about!

Fellow Loli-Bloggers: What do you do to make sure you're creating 100% unique, interesting content?

Extras:

Why Blog If Your Niche Is Already Stuffed To The Gills?