How to Stand Out as a Movie Blogger Without Competing with Huge Sites
I answered this question on Quora recently so I thought I'd share...
How can we write a good movie blog?
After working with hundreds of blogs over the past 4 years, I see blogs get stuck in the same place.
They try to compete with everyone, on every topic.
It's like opening a restaurant.
Don't open another 'we sell everything' diner.
Open the one shop that only sells great, handcrafted grilled cheese sandwiches.
You'll become the go-to spot for that one thing.
For your movie blog, this means forgetting the 1,000th review of Dune (for now anyway).
Write about that one 90s sci-fi movie you're obsessed with.
That's your 'grilled cheese'.
Here is the framework I've seen win:
- Focus on movie titles that are underserved. (Your 'grilled cheese'.)
- Understand the current structure of other blog posts.
- Remove the parts that you think are boring.
- Add the parts that you think you’d appreciate.
- Speak like a movie-watcher, not a movie-reviewer.
Pay special attention to #5.
Your niche finds the reader, but your voice makes them stay.
People don't connect with formal reviews; they connect with real people and their unique takes.
This is the part most established blogs are too afraid to do.