My Blog Rebrand & 5 Reasons Why I’m Shifting Focus

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve hit a roadblock. Blogging was beginning to turn from something that I WANTED to do, into something that I HAD to do. In addition, there were a multitude of other factors at play that made me want to just sit back and take a break. I’ve decided that I’m going to put my blog through a rebrand. Simply put, a rebrand means “to change or update the brand or branding of”.

In pursuit of my rebrand, I read an article from shemeansblogging, which included a step-by-step guide for how to rebrand successfully. I’ll touch on this article as it provides a lot of valuable information about the rebranding process. To wrap up this article, I’ll touch on my thinking in terms of the leadup to my rebranding realization, why I need a rebrand, and how I plan to approach this process moving forward.

So as to provide value for you (the reader), I’ll first begin by outlining reasons why YOU should possibly think about rebranding your blog.

Why You Should Think About Rebranding

Rebranding a blog should be a decision that is not taken lightly. Think about it, you’re shifting the entire focus of who you are, what you’re writing about, and the type of people that you’re trying to attract to your blog. Although time consuming, rebranding your blog might be necessary. As for why you would want to rebrand your blog, there could be a multitude of reasons.

• You’re unsure of the direction of the blog
• You have no end goal in mind with your blog
• You don’t know what type of person you’re trying to attract with your posts
• Your blog name no longer makes sense for what you want to write about
• Your blog lacks direction and has an unclear message

If you feel that any of the above applies to you, rebranding your blog would be the best course of action. As for how to go about rebranding your blog, I will refer you back to the article by shemeansblogging. The article does an amazing job of laying out a step-by-step guide for how to go about the whole process. For now, I want to touch on the reasons for why I am rebranding my blog. It wasn’t an easy decision, but I felt it was necessary if I wanted to continue my blogging journey.

Rebranding MY Blog

When I first started this blog, I was excited. I was excited about the fact that I was starting something new, stepping outside of my comfort zone, and developing my own brand and voice. As I began writing articles, I was riding the high of starting something new. For instance, think about the people who devote themselves to getting in the best shape of their lives when the new year rolls around. They hit the ground running in January and all but vanish from their goals by February. That is what it felt like when I started this blog.

It started to become very apparent to me in the last couple of weeks that something needed to change. I no longer enjoyed writing, I had little motivation to create anything of substance, and I was tired. Thus, I have decided that I will rebranding my blog.

These are the reasons that I’m putting my blog through a rebrand.

1) Blogging Began to Feel Like Work

While working a 9-5 job, I’ve done a pretty solid job of balancing both of my responsibilities. I would work on my blog in the morning, go to work, and then work on the blog again when I got home. Working on the blog didn’t feel like work when I first started. It felt like I was doing something that I enjoyed. However, that feeling slowly began to fade.

I began to neglect my blog, put off writing content, and throw something together for the sheer fact that I felt like I needed to put something out there. It felt like I was being forced to do something rather than it being a passion of mine. When my passion began to feel like my work, I knew it was time to take a step back.

2) I Had No End Goal in Mind

When I started this blog, I did have an end goal in mind. I had an end goal in mind that went something like, “I want to make money from blogging”. Although aspirational, there’s nothing to shoot for with a goal like that. The goal I had set for myself was vague and ambiguous.

I realized that I had no clear direction for how to ultimately achieve that goal. There are an infinite number of ways to make money from blogging. You can make money from advertisements, affiliate links, sponsorships, selling products, and so on and so on. With no end goal in mind, it felt impossible to figure out how I wanted to make money from this blog.

3) My Passions and Interests Have Changed

I just want to make this clear from the jump, but personal development is something that I’m still very passionate about. In fact, it’s something I actively practice day in and day out because it’s who I am. However, I’ve become involved with other passions and interests recently. I want to be able to explore these new passions and interests, while not having to feel like I’m drudging through articles just get them out onto the internet.

For instance, one of my newly found interests is photography. I’ve started to do more research in what it means to be a photographer, how to take good photos, and the different types of photography. I want to be able to explore these newfound routes and passions to see where they take me.

4) Defining My Niche

In keeping with my discussion of personal development, I quickly realized something drastic. The personal development niche is HUGE. There are entire blogs dedicated to specific subtopics such as habits, productivity, and even morning routines. I had concerns that I was suffering from blogging FOMO. I felt like if I focused all my energy on one specific topic, then I would miss out on the opportunity to appeal to other readers interested in a specific topic.

When I would run this through my head, I imagined someone visiting my site and going, “Wait, so this guy writes about Stoicism, habits, morning routines, and moving to a new city?”. In order to become a successful blogger, people need to know what to expect when they’re visiting my site. Ultimately, I need to define my niche and get really good at providing valuable information for those people who fall in my niche.

5) Blogging as a Means to an End

My final reason for choosing to rebrand is that I was using blogging as a means to an end. My ultimate goal in life is to start traveling more and eventually travel the world. In my mind, I thought that I could use blogging as a means to do that. I was using blogging to achieve some alternate goal, which in turn made me resent blogging altogether. I decided that if I’m going to blog, why try to avoid the real reason that I’m doing so? If I want to travel, I should blog about traveling. I shouldn’t blog about personal development so that I can hopefully make money and then start traveling. Blogging was a means to an end, not the end itself.

What’s Next?

As my blogging journey hits a roadblock, I’m asking myself, “What’s next?”. In order to successfully rebrand, I’m going to take the next few days to sit down, rethink, and plan out my road map for this blog. I want blogging to begin to feel like a passion again. I want to have an end goal in mind so that I’m not running around like a chicken with its head cut off. I also want to explore my other interests and define my niche.

I hope that I’ve given you the strength to rebrand your blog while going through one of my own. The road ahead is unclear and uneasy, but we won’t stop till we get there.

Stay Mindful!