Ever since I joined Boarding Area I have noticed a significant uptick in traffic and new visitors to this site. While these new visitor comments have been overwhelmingly positive, there have been a few comments left by people who question my credentials as a blogger in general. Within the Boarding Area network, there are over 40 bloggers who cover an increasingly broad area of travel topics. That makes it important for each blog to find their unique voice and audience in order to differentiate themselves from the crowd.
Last week a comment was left on one of my posts that got me thinking. A new reader flat out asked me a question that should have been able to answer easily and without hesitation. Here was the comment:
“Here’s my question:
What unique quality do you bring to BA?
This is an honest question too…”
My first reaction was to view this comment in a negative light, as if I was being called out by this reader for not being “good enough” to be on Boarding Area. After calming down a bit, I realized that the reader had a good point and that perhaps I needed to further clarify the value that I bring to readers.
What I wanted to say was simple:
“Because it’s me writing these posts”
I am living these experiences and I am writing about the world through my eyes. By sharing both the good and bad aspects of my travel experiences, those who follow along can be more wise when it comes to enjoying their own travels.
Much of what I have learned about travel and “travel hacking” has come from reading online sources, many of whom are also Boarding Area bloggers. The truth is that if I were to rely on just one source for information about travel, I would be not have a complete picture. The world is huge and has far too many nooks and crannies for one person to be able to adequately cover all of the possibilities. By reading multiple sources on a topic, you begin to have a well rounded point of view of what is possible.
In that sense, I may be just one source of many for a reader who is looking to broaden their horizons and learn more about traveling the world using points and miles. Being one of a handful of trusted sources for my readers is ultimately a sweet spot where this site should be. Knowing that I will not and should not be the only source for readers is the reason why I often link to posts from fellow travel bloggers to provide further information about a particular topic. The collective wisdom of many is greater than that of one.
This comes full circle to the value that Boarding Area can provide to those eager to sharpen their travel experiences. By providing many points of view and experiences, they can make the reader more educated and well rounded when it comes time to travel.
So how did I actually respond to the question about the unique quality I bring to BA?
“First of all, there are many great people at BA, so what I say next does not mean to infer that other blogs do not possess the same qualities, but here it goes: sharing real experiences without outside influence, a sense of humor, strong business and technology acumen that helps provide meaningful commentary on industry happenings, passion for learning how to do things better/helping others… and hustle.
Of these qualities, you could argue that many other bloggers have them as well. Those who become loyal readers will find that they appreciate the accessibility and humility of my blog posts and they will become better informed as a result.”
You could argue that my response was in line with what I wrote above, but also that I did not emphatically prove that I provide an absolute unique value above all others… and I am comfortable with that assessment.
If nothing else, this site is capturing my experiences as I travel the world. I can look back on this site for years to come and have a diary of my memories, thoughts and struggles as I was doing something that I loved. While I hope to see this site amass a loyal following, I am most comfortable with this site preserving my memories and inspiring others to create their own memories.
Whether I become someone’s only source for inspiration or just one of many does not concern me. It’s saying something interesting and sharing in unique experiences that matters most.
My experiences are unique and henceforth everything in this blog is unique.
Moving forward, I am going to continue to experiment with new topics of conversation, post formats and ideas to continue to make this blog unique. My hope is that you will follow along with me through that journey and that I can help you find your own sources of inspiration.
For those of you who have been reading along for a while now, what do you find unique about Jeffsetter? What keeps you coming back? I would love to hear in the comments.
If you are reading this far and still have questions, I would like to hear that too.
Fantastic post.
Thanks Jeff!
Just for as long as you didn’t pimp out credit card links like many others, you would be unique compared to most BA bloggers (or bloggers in general). It would be a positive one on my book!
Scott – I don’t currently even have Affiliate links, so not going to happen soon. If I do get them, I would be working under a policy to only promote credit cards that I personally have and only use affiliate links on credit card pages, not in posts.