When I began blogging I wrote about recovery and amusing things which happened in my day. As time as passed I’ve branched out to include products I dig, inspiration I’ve found and more. Writing has become an outlet for me as well as a way to connect with all of you fabulous folks out there!!
The day I became sober I decided to shed my per-conceived notions about people and the labels we so readily apply to ourselves and others.
I was a label-lover. Whether it was brand name clothing, titles at the office or a social group I belonged to…..I allowed the titles to define who I thought I was. It was comfy all cocooned in the safety of the box I identified with but underneath…deep inside of myself I wasn’t satisfied. In the end the titles didn’t work…..they didn’t cover my entire self.
In reality I am so much more than a label, title or in the blogging world “niche”.
niche
~ noun, adjective, verb, niched, nich·ing.
- pertaining to or intended for a market niche; having specific appeal: niche advertising.
Sober Julie Doing Life won’t ever fit into a single niche nicely; that makes it challenging at times when working with brands. Frankly I thought I gave up caring about this the first time someone turned me down for a program because I speak openly about my faith and alcoholism….but every now and again I’m caught off-guard because I’m viewed as being in a niche which isn’t appropriate to a brand’s image.
Ultimately I knew that I was going to run into these situations when I launched Sober Julie Doing Life into the mainstream blog audience. There will always be people who are uncomfortable with how open I am (they love to announce this to me when I’m out and about in suburbia), and certainly there will be brands whose image won’t marry up well with mine.
Thankfully I have found fabulous brands, bloggers and networks I’m connected with and I’m grateful to be associated with each and every one of them.
I’m okay with the fact that I don’t always fit in. Finally at almost 40 years old I can say I’m loving where I am at in my life, with or without a niche.
Why can I hear Whitney Houston singing “I’m Every Woman” right now??
The fact that I’m a size 12 and write about healthy eating may not ever win me the Top Lifestyle Blogger award, but I promise I’ll share cookie recipe at times too.
Today I’m embracing my quirky, unique, edgy self and the blog which goes along with it. The one thing you can be certain of is that the voice you read here will always be mine….and mine alone.
How about you, are you embracing your “outside of the box” self for all that you are…..or are you finding you’ve hemmed yourself in a bit and are ready to spread your wings past the self-inflicted restrictions?
And that’s why people love you and read you, Julie. You have built something amazing by standing by what you believe in and inspiring others. Pretty cool!
I believe the ‘Don’t Niche Me In’ group was where I first met you at Blissdom. I don’t like labels either. ;)
One thing I’ve come to realize as I meet more and more bloggers/online peeps is that I will love your blog if it sounds like you in person. If your online voice matches your real ‘voice’ , I’m a fan of you for always.
If i’ve been reading your blog and meet you IRL and feel that you are fake or somehow being something else online, I will likely not continue the relationship.
Might be harsh, but I don’t have time to waste on people who do not value their ownselves.
I so get where you’re coming from because my blog doesn’t really have a niche either – people ask me what I blog about I say every and anything and they get confused. Why? Am I, in person all about one thing? No – there are so many aspects to my personality, and for me, my blog represents me – or maybe I should say my blog IS the online me – so I refuse to niche myself in, just as you have.
What has recently been upsetting me is that ppl have recently been saying that Bewildered Bug is a product review blog. It’s not. I have personal stories. I have mental health articles. I have food allergy articles. I have recipes. I have rants. I have raves. I have fiction. I have a little touch of everything that touches me or my life.
I guess my wish is that people should realize that maybe we don’t NEED to be niched in – in the same way that in real life, I hope never to be niched in either.
Thanks for writing this girl. <3
Love this post! So much of it is true! Glad you spoke your mind, and continue to to so. I’m not very big on ‘niches’ either, and I think the most beautiful, creative and genuine people come from being THEMSELVES!! SO glad you wrote this <3
This is such a fabulous post! Julie, I love that you have a voice and will be heard. You are open, honest, and have a great deal of integrity.
Good for you for writing this post, lady! xo
I think niches are overrated so always said I didn’t belong to one. However people kept insisting I had to put myself into a niche so I finally did. My niche is Me! Me is a perfectly awesome niche in my opinion.
You and niche are 2 words I’d never use together.
When I first met you at the Social Fabric event in Toronto before Blissdom in that wildly amazing colourful coat, you stood out as some who was cool and didn’t want to be put in a corner (“No one puts baby in a corner!”)
Those brands who recognize your uniqueness and strength will work with you. And you’re right, there will be some that don’t fit. That’s okay.
Stay strong in your faith! Please keep being you!
Personally, my blog isn’t hemmed in but at times i find it lacks focus. That can be an issue to. But it is what it is….and I’m okay with that.
I love what Wendy said!!!
I LOVE these labels that some PR people give women bloggers in particular. At a party just before Blissdom last year, three of us bloggers met with an exec to a popular Toronto PR firm, only one of us was a blogger that discusses mommy-hood on her blog, and the other two of us could be squashed into the Lifestyle section if needed. Anyway this exec could NOT stop mentioning “mommy-bloggers”, even if her life truly depended on it. The entire time we were saying things like, “… I’m not a mom.”, but she’d breeze through those type of comments and still discuss how cool we were for blogging about our children. *facepalm*
Like Wendy said, you’re not going to let anyone put you in a corner, and that is amazing integrity for yourself and your online world.