The Pros & Cons of Writing a Shoe Blog

This upcoming August I'll be clocking in 6 years of writing a shoe blog. This shoe blog, of course! Man, just writing those words: 6 years. That's a long time, people. Considering most give up blogging after 3 months, that kinda makes ShoeTease ancient in the fashion blogosphere.

I've learned a lot during this time. But don't get me wrong: I'm still learning new things everyday & putting up with experiencing highly irritated & amazing stuff. Many specific to shoe blogging in particular.

Writing a Shoe Blog: 6 Things I Love/Hate

Aside from being asked why I started a shoe blog in the first place, people often wonder what makes writing about shoes, well, different. And different it is. I'm often considered a fashion blogger & I get that: I blog about shoes & shoes are fashion after all! But aside from the odd shoe styling/outfit post here & there, shoe blogging is not the same. There is no “lifestyle” involved, no recipe sharing, no travel lusting. Unless, of course, you consider shoe hoarding a lifestyle. I know I do!

As with all niche blogging, there are many perks & certain disadvantages that come with focusing on one particular topic. Especially with respect to women's shoes. Here are a few for me:

Pro: It's Not About Me

Thank goodness! I don't have to showcase every pore as do beauty bloggers, or bare my soul like the mommy bloggers. Or subject people to my usual frumpy OOTDs. True fact: I don't buy many clothes. I know, SHOCKING.

But best part of all, I rarely need to show my face. It's freaking fantastic! I don’t have a particular problem with my face (well, maybe I’m having a little trouble adjusting to ageing – but aren't we all?), but doing my makeup is a drag & my hair's always messy. I'm also particularly guarded when it comes to personal matters & I have a tendency of eating my food, not Instagramming it.

But I'll happily share my shoes (not literally though!).

And luckily with shoe blogging, I get to stick to a topic where I may voice my loud opinions & views on shoes, but it doesn't revolve around me on a personal level. I'm not from the selfie generation, what can I say?

Although I do realize I must bite the bullet now & again and show the face behind the heels (also not to be permanently coined the “faceless blogger”!), I prefer to stick with showing skin from the knees down. Shoefies before selfies. It's truly a motto to live by!

Which actually brings me to a major con of writing a shoe blog….

Con: The Shoe Perverts

Yep, I just said shoe perverts.

Someone's gotta talk about it & it might as well be me. Many men (and women) adore feet & shoes in a…now how shall I put this delicately? In an unsavoury way? And there are so many in fact, that if truth be told, I’ve actually considered taking my shoe blog in “another” direction. It would be a solid business decision, really, seeing how there's a HUGE market for it. I mean, no one’s gonna even see my face right? Yeah, but NO.

Let me interject here that I’m not passing judgement on any of these folks. OK, well, maybe a little with my use of the heavily loaded term “pervert”! But, really, whatever floats your boat; I don't care. As long as you keep my shoe blog & I out of it. There are just some things that I do not want to read, little less see at 7am on a weekday morning. Even if it is #TuesdayShoesday.

And it's not just a matter that my blog's called ShoeTease (you can read how I came up with that name here). Many a fashion loving friend on Twitter have stopped taking shoefies solely for this reason.

I have some amazingly engaged & supportive followers on Twitter that possibly sway towards a quasi-unwholesome shoe loving direction. But they know where to draw the line when it comes to my PG-13 rated shoe blog talking about shoes within the context of fashion, not fetish. The others, get blocked.

#SorrynotSorry

As someone based in Toronto, Canada (read: conservative & uptight) whose audience mainly consists of fashion bloggers, controversy-free brands & everyday fashionistas, you just can't be associated with certain X-rated profiles, ya know!?

Pro: I Get Lots of Shoes

Fashion bloggers get lots of stuff. I get lots of shoes. Which makes sense, cause that's what I'm blogging about! Obvs. I truly love shoes: wearing them, designing them, reviewing them. There's nothing quite as thrilling as opening up newly shipped shoe parcels. And to be able to test out so many types of footwear & shoe accessories for my readers is rewarding & fun.

I get asked how many shoes I own. I'm not really sure, but I think I'll write a post on that subject very soon! But I can say that I receive armfuls per month. You do the math. I repeat: 6 years.

Con: Lack of Shoe Storage

With great shoes comes great responsibility. Like, where do I put them all!? I'm living proof that a gal can have too many shoes. Seriously. I live downtown so spacial constraints are an issue. And I don't live alone.

Do you have any idea how much room a kid takes up? Too many potential shoe closets, that's what!

I can't very well kick out my family to create more room for shoes, but I literally need an extra room for all of them. They're currently scattered throughout my home, lining my shelves, countertops & floors. And that's just the overflow from my closets!

Not that I'm really complaining about it. Truly. But yeah, complete & utter #shoebloggerproblems!

Pro: Great for SEO

You know all those blogging conferences & blogging bloggers telling you to keep focused on one area of interest? Well, there's a reason for that & it has less to do with simply standing out from the crowd. It's a matter of SEO. Yes: Search Engine Optimization. I could nerd out on the subject for hours, but here are my 2 cents:

If you're writing about everything relating to fashion, food, travel & more, search engines won't know what to make of you exactly, especially if your blog is relatively new. Start writing a lot about specific things such as, oh, I dunno, women's shoes and Google will start showing you the love. Like ending-up-on-the-first-page-of-search-results kinda love. Especially if you're trying to establish your blog as a go-to resource. And trust me, there's no love quite like Google love!

Of course, you have to know how to harness that SEO potential, but once you do, it's blogging gold & a great way to expand your reach far beyond your current audience. Or a way to gain one at the very start 🙂

Con: Highly Restrictive

There are a lot of things you can write on the subject of shoes & high heels. Some of them have nothing to do with the physical product itself: like shoe accessories & shoe care. But although restricting oneself to 1 topic is great for SEO, it can be a bit of a pain in the butt. I'm not going to lie: I sometimes get shoe'd out.

Yes, I can get sick of talking about shoes, tired of figuring out new ways to chat about & photograph them. It's much harder to keep things fresh & especially difficult to create original content for Instagram. So to sway a bit from my ordinary shoe blog centred content, you might start seeing a post or two on my experiences with shoe blogging. You know, like this current one you're reading & my most recently ranty post about why I want to quit Instagram! Because it's still about shoes, right?

Do you blog? If so, is there anything you find particularly fabulous or tedious about it?

 

xo Cristina

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