What Makes a Great Local Blogger
by Matt on Oct 13, 2008 in Blogging
As hyperlocal blogging grows, we can expect more people to wonder … Can I do this? Am I cut out to be a good local blogger? While I don’t think there’s a formula or recipe for local blogging success, I do think there are some personality traits that will make you more likely to succeed. I’ll share those below, along with a couple traits I think are unnecessary. And, please, add to my list in the comments — I value your wisdom and contributions.
Things You Need to Succeed in Local Blogging
1. Passion
I’m choosing my words carefully here. I don’t think you need to love your hometown, but I do think you have to care about it … a lot. Passion can be expressed in different ways, including being critical of the things you see happening in your hometown. You don’t have to love all the decisions your city council makes, for example, but you’ll be a better local blogger if you’re passionate about those decisions and what they mean to you and your neighbors. You should have a passion for where you live, and the people that live there.
2. Interestingness
This can be expressed in different ways:
- Being an interesting blogger. We connect with people who are interesting, who have personality. We’re drawn to people with opinions, even if those opinions aren’t the same as ours.
- Having interesting content. If you’re not Joe Personality or Jane Opinion, interesting local content can still attract readers and make a great local blog. How do we define “interesting local content?” That sounds like a post for another day but, in short, I’d include things like local business reviews, interviews with local politicians or newsmakers, local photo tours/galleries, etc.
3. Good Writer
You don’t have to be Hemingway, but I’ve always believed that better writers attract larger crowds. I can easily name several exceptions to this rule in the marketing blogosphere, and I’m sure you could name exceptions, too. But if you’re one of several local bloggers in your area, I believe … all other things being equal … that the better writers will be the most successful.
4. Outgoing
You need to connect with people to grow your blog. This is true whether you’re a local blogger or not. Blogging is a conversation, and if you’re not the type to want to connect with others, you’ll probably find it much harder to succeed. Outgoing people are typically more interested in what others believe, and that curiosity will be very helpful as you grow your hyperlocal blog.
5. Newshound
Not every hyperlocal blog is going to be about local news. You don’t have to attend city council meetings to run a good local blog. But no matter what your local focus is, I think it’s important to want to know about your community and be able to sort out what matters to other local people/readers. Even if you’re blogging about the best shopping deals in your city, or doing posts on local stay-at-home dads, or families that home school … there’s still an element of being a newshound in all of that.
6. Honesty
The old saying tells us that everyone can be anonymous on the Internet, and that anonymity often allows bloggers/commenters/web users the freedom to stretch the truth. I don’t think you have that luxury with a local blog. Your readers will be your neighbors. They’ll often be as familiar with what you’re writing about as you are. You don’t have the luxury of pretending to be something you’re not, or making up content that tells a good local story … but isn’t quite true.
7. Patience
Hyperlocalblogging is still in its infancy. Blogging itself took years to go mainstream, and in most cases it’ll take local blogs a while to gain widespread respect and trust. You’ll need to promote your hyperlocal blog, and you’ll need to be patient as it grows.
Things You Don’t Need to Succeed in Local Blogging
1. Longevity
There’s a common perception (that I’ve probably perpetuated on HyperlocalBlogger.com) that a successful local blogger is someone who’s an authority, someone who’s been living in the area a long time and knows the local people, places, and stories that are worth telling. But I think a good writer could easily create a compelling local blog even if s/he is new to the area. In fact, in some ways, reading the local blog of a newcomer could be a lot more fun and interesting than reading the blog of someone who’s been around the block a few times (as they say).
If you’re new to your area, don’t let that stop from you starting a local blog.
2. Technical Skills and/or Money
This applies to any of type of blog: There are almost no barriers to starting a local blog. Blogger and Wordpress.com are free; just choose a name, a blog design, and start writing. Digital cameras are brain-dead simple these days, not to mention unbelievably inexpensive. Blogging used to be the realm of geeks and early adopters, but today anyone can do it. If you think you’re not techie enough to start blogging about your neighborhood, I’d encourage you to give it a try anyway.
Your Turn: What did I miss? What do you agree or disagree with?
Comments
11 Responses to “What Makes a Great Local Blogger”
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matt this is a handy list - it’s good to see a stress on the need for intersting content. It is blindingly obvious but an avalanche of opinions really doesn’t work locally. And the ‘empty restaurant’ feeling of most hyperlocal web2 top down networked sites shows what happens when you put technology before content.
one of the things you miss perhaps is a human network - it is very hard to succeed without a decent human network on the ground feeding you information and of course driving new people to your site. check out the successful local site i run with a team of about five people in London’s Kings Cross - http://www.kingscrossenvironment.com or the discusssion around local content at my ultralocalvoice site linked from my name above
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I like your point about longevity. There are definite advantages to being a newcomer. As a newcomer, you question things an old-timer might take for granted, and you don’t assume your readers have all the background knowledge. That can mean interesting stories that are more accessible to all readers — newcomers and old-timers alike.
Susan, I agree. I started the Mercer Island blog when I moved to the Island, and every time I was curious or surprised about something I blogged it. It can be interesting for longtime residents to see their home through the eyes of a newcomer.
Matt, by the way, good list and great blog. It’s nice to see a blog to connect all the local bloggers our there.
I think a local blog could work fine if it’s heavily opinion-based, William. I think it would have to be someone with interesting/strong opinions who’s not afraid to really speak his/her mind, with no fear of offending the neighbors. It could work.
I do agree about the idea of a network, as you mentioned. That’s a good addition to my list. Thank you.
Susan and MIB (hmmm, wish you’d share a name, instead!), thanks for joining the conversation!
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That is a brilliant summation of the challenge. Can I suggest one more thing you need? Persistence.
You need to write regularly to build a community of regular readers and you need to be persistent in chasing up stories - in the UK at least, requests from bloggers for information are often ignored. It took me ages to get on the press list for my local Council - now they write to me suggesting stories.
Persistence is a GREAT addition, Nick - thank you. I’ve been struggling with that myself lately — just not feeling like I want to write most nights. (And being a bit under the weather hasn’t helped.) Gotta get back in the groove and be persistent about it.
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