What People Say When They Read My Blog

Lately, I’ve started telling friends and fellow car enthusiasts about this blog when I meet them. Quite a few look it up right then and there (If you search “Panamera” and “blog,” it comes up at the top—which makes you wonder just how niche those keywords are…) and they usually say the same thing:

“You write a blog every day? How do you ever find enough to write about?”

I showed the blog to my parents for the first time over Golden Week, and they said pretty much the same thing:

“You don’t know that much about cars, so what on earth do you have to write about? (-_-)”

…Well, they have a point.

First, I Set Out to Write Every Day for Three Months

When I’d only just started this blog, it was getting around three to five visits a day. Even so, I made a commitment: write every day for three months. Naturally, I struggled to come up with topics. I mean, I don’t spend every waking moment thinking about Porsches! (LOL)

On days when I had nothing to write about, I’d post about worries at work or conversations with the kids. For a long time, this was barely a car blog at all. I’d ask my husband, “I can’t think of anything to write about…” and he’d say:

“What do you mean? There’s loads to write about! You could talk about the Panamera’s seat ventilation, or chat with the service technicians when you take it in for an oil change and come away with ideas. There are endless possibilities! (゜o゜)!”

“Yeah, but I’m not a car nut like you! I can’t go that far!ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ” I’d shoot back—without coming up with a single idea.

Thankfully, traffic gradually started to grow. But that brought a new challenge: I couldn’t just write whatever came to mind. I started wondering, “What are readers looking for when they visit this blog? What do they want to know?” And when a post I’d agonized over and carefully crafted got hardly any traffic, I’d feel utterly discouraged.

Six Months In, I Couldn’t Write Anymore

Then, six months after I launched the blog—in December of last year—I overthought everything, my mind went blank, and I simply couldn’t write anymore. “I’ve finally started getting more traffic. I don’t want to quit now. What should I do?” I wondered, so I took a chance and sent a message to a blogger who writes about Porsches and supercars (Their blog is one of the most widely read in this corner of the internet, I think.)

“I started a blog, but I’ve run out of ideas and don’t know what to write about. Would you have any advice for me?”

That was the gist of it.

People Are Looking for Opinions, Not Just Information

It was my first time emailing this person, and asking, out of the blue, “Could you share all the experience and know-how you’ve built up—for free?” would have been incredibly cheeky (I didn’t actually put it that way, but when you think about it, that’s essentially what I was asking.) I assumed I’d never hear back. But to my surprise, a thoughtful reply arrived in less than a day!

It really struck me that successful people often have a generosity of spirit and treat others with genuine sincerity. I learned a lot just from that. I didn’t ask permission to publish the whole email, so here’s just an excerpt:

I took a look at your blog, and I was impressed by how thoughtfully you write. I learned a lot from it.
(Excerpt omitted)
I’ve read a few books and websites about running a blog, but none of them really felt right for me. So, for now, I’m still learning through trial and error with my own blog. One thing I’ve come to realize is that people may be looking for “opinions” more than “information.”
(Excerpt omitted)
Perhaps readers want to feel, “That’s exactly what I thought, too,” or they feel a connection with someone who puts their own feelings into words. Another thing I’ve noticed is that people can feel a sense of connection with someone who teaches them something they didn’t know. Bloggers who make readers think, “I didn’t know that” or “That makes sense” tend to become popular.
(Excerpt omitted)
I think a woman’s perspective can be a real strength. Some female automotive journalists are popular precisely because they bring a perspective men don’t, and I think you may notice things that male bloggers miss.

What Are This Blog’s Three Strengths?

That makes so much sense! How many times did I reread that email?

I opened Google Analytics and Search Console (At first, I had no idea how to use them, but I’m finally starting to get the hang of it.) and tried to figure out what readers were looking for on this blog. I realized it has three strengths.

1) What It’s Really Like to Use a Porsche Every Day

So far, I can only write about the Panamera and Boxster, but I realized that sharing what everyday Porsche ownership is really like—things you won’t learn from a media outlet’s test-drive review—may be one of this blog’s strengths. What’s the real-world fuel economy like? After living with a car for a while, which options turn out to be worth having, and which ones don’t? Writing about things you can’t figure out during a test drive that lasts just a few hours is an advantage.

2) A Woman’s Perspective

One quietly popular post on this blog is “Five Things My Husband Did to Win Over His Car-Indifferent Wife and Buy a Porsche.” I sometimes hear from men who say, “I want a Porsche, but my wife isn’t exactly enthusiastic about it,” or “I bought a Porsche, but I go out driving alone every weekend, and my wife isn’t happy about it.” For husbands in that situation, my posts may be helpful because they offer a woman’s perspective: what wives really think, and how my own husband went about winning me over.

3) My Car-Loving Husband’s Views and Opinions

Even if I can write from a woman’s perspective, a post from a woman who knows nothing about cars wouldn’t be very convincing. Readers might think, “Oh, interesting,” but I doubt they’d come away saying, “That makes sense! She’s absolutely right.” In that respect, my husband is a serious car enthusiast—more knowledgeable than many dealership salespeople, with plenty of hands-on experience (he’s driven all kinds of cars) and, for some reason, an uncanny knack for getting the latest news early. Having his views and way of thinking as a foundation for this blog is one of its strengths, I think.

…That sounds a bit self-important, though. Am I even right? (-_-)

Now I Have More Ideas Than I Can Keep Up With

Ever since I took a step back and figured out what this blog is about, ideas have started coming to me one after another. Once I had a clear focus, I began noticing things in everyday life that fit the blog. I kept thinking, “I want to write about that!” and “I want to write about this, too!” I’ve been jotting down ideas, but the list keeps growing—and now I have more than 20 topics waiting in the wings. I feel like a writer racing to meet a deadline (Though I’m not a professional writer, so I’ve never actually experienced that!)

Here are a few things I’m especially keen to write about right now:

① Test drives: I’d love to share our impressions after my husband and I test-drive the new Cayenne (I hear test drives are due to start around July.)
② Porsche Owner Profiles: I’d like to interview Porsche owners about what they love about their cars and what Porsche means to them, then share their stories alongside photos of their cars taken with my DSLR.
③ Driving trips: I want to take a Porsche out on all kinds of roads—and learn to drive the Boxster with a manual transmission.

That’s the plan for now. All right, time to get to it!