The 10 Types of Bloggers

Having spent my fair share of time perusing the blogosphere I have come up with the following ‘types’ of bloggers. Every blog should be able to fit into one or more of these categories.

What kind of blogger do you want to be?

#1 The Guide – Not much original content but provides a resource by bringing info on a topic together in one place.

Upside: Can become a great resource by organizing information in new ways.
Downside: Runs the risk of becoming a repeater (below).

#2 The Expert - A guru in their topic of interest.

Upside: Readers flock to the expert in aspiration of greatness, answers to tough questions or to just stay informed.
Downside: Delusions of grandeur. Some ‘experts’ think a little more of themselves than others do.

#3 The Journalist – Provides topical news with insight where appropriate.

Upside: Just like the offline variety, blog journalists can become a reputable source of information.
Downside: Be careful of spin – unless its part of what makes your blog!

#4 The Muse – Gets readers to think about something in a new way.

Upside: Bloggers with true insight into a topic will find much success.
Downside: True insight is very rare. Unfortunately passionate rants are more common.

#5 The Reviewer – Writes reviews on the latest and greatest.

Upside: People are always curious about others opinions before they buy. Often they will read many reviews before making a decision.
Downside: A lot of competition; especially in popular items.

#6 The Narcissist – All about themselves, readers be damned!

Upside: This sort of self obsession can be entertaining.
Downside: The entertainment gets old very quickly due to lack of new material.

#7 The Rambler – Uses personality and wit rather than content to entertain readers.

Upside: There are some truly entertaining people out there. A rambler’s blog can be a fun pastime.
Downside: Getting long winded or going on a rant gets old.

#8 The Repeater – Is there an echo in here? Repeats content, often without permission, from elsewhere on the web without adding any value.

Upside: Bloggers do this in hopes of getting some traffic.
Downside: Without permission, this is copyright infringement. With permission you may have some hollow success. If you are going to write about someone else’s post or comment it’s best to add some value to the repeat.

#9 The Celebrity – Well known before starting their blog, celebrity’s blog popularity stems from past fame.

Upside: Allows fans to feel ‘closer’ to the stars.
Downside: Can have shallow content or celebrity may be unresponsive to fans comments.

#10 The Reporter – Reports on happenings in life or business. Reporters range from the practical company news reporters to the obsessive. An example obsessive reporter? A blogger who posts what they eat (complete with pictures) at every meal.

Upside: Great information for those interested.
Downside: Make sure someone is interested.

All in all, to have a successful blog always write for your readers and pay attention to your comments!

Have a blog that doesn’t fit? Let me know below!