I had a conversation with a friend of mine yesterday and it brought up some good points (made by me of course). We started talking about blogging and more specifically his stock market blog. He is a smart guy and I’m sure has lots of interesting stuff to say regarding his full time job as a stock broker but just doesn’t know how to articulate it. Well, he knows how to say it, just not who to say it too. Blogging is not easy especially if you do not know who you are blogging too.

Here is a convo that Cody and I had about who he was blogging to, I think it can be helpful to some of you out there.

Codyx: do you really think that i try to keep up that stock market blog ev
Evan: why dont ya?
Codyx: no traffic, not a good niche
Evan: its a great niche, traffic takes time
Codyx: i dont agree
Codyx: there are thousands of quaility blogs out there about the same thing
Codyx: it would take huge amounts of effort, full-time job amounts, in order to produce a site that will get popular in that topic
Evan: http://www.problogger.net/archives/2006/10/17/top-100-blogs-have-an-average-age-of-338-months/
Evan: i disagree it just take quality content and a little self promotion
Evan: pick stocks that are good, bad, sort of thing, relate to the masses
Codyx: i dont have the ability to do that yet
Evan: why not?
Codyx: i dont know shit about the stock market compared to the professionals
Codyx: im still a rookie
Evan: thats not what its about
Evan: you posted a lot on amazon in that message board thread
Evan: that could easily be a post
Codyx: not about amazon stock
Evan: it was about how the stock was and wasnt affected by the news
Codyx: talking to some idiot college kid who is probably stoned and mad that he is getting stomped on by the big guys isnt exactly wall street stuff
Evan: doesnt have to be
Evan: you arent going after the wall street trader market, go after joe blow home trader
Codyx: no interest in going after him, the little guy trader out there is almost always wrong, there is an actual theory out there that says do the opposite of the house wives to make money
Codyx: i dont have an interest in dumbing stuff down
Evan: who cares if they are wrong
Evan: they are the ones who are using the internet to find info
Evan: they are the ones who will click on your ads and sign up through affiliate programs
Evan: u dont have to dumb stuff down people want to understand it and think they are smart
Codyx: true
Evan: the whole thing about blogging is understanding who your target is
Evan: i read your stuff b/c i know dick about the stock market and hope to pickup stuff
Evan: not b/c your cute
Codyx: i guess your right
Codyx: i just wasnt targeting joe blow

Cody wasn’t targeting Joe Blow and that is the type of user who is going to find his blog and continue coming back looking for information, signing up to your mailing list, clicking on your ads and buying with your affiliate links. While you want to keep your blog content focused around a niche, it doesn’t mean you have to target a small niche population, in Cody’s case a stock market blog doesn’t mean he has to only target the small group of professional traders.