Where Do I Go From Here?

Blogging is an interesting endeavor. For some it is a job. There is the need to generate income on a regular basis, rank near the top during a Google search for your topic or niche, be very active in social media, and constantly educate yourself on the latest trends in the field. These are professional bloggers.

For others blogging is a hobby, a creative outlet. If only a few people ever read and comment on what is written that is OK because the goal is personal expression and satisfaction. If others come along for the ride, great. If they don't it isn't a big deal.

Then there are those who dedicate a fair amount of time to researching, writing, and promoting their site. They write for personal reasons but also work to build traffic and maybe generate a little income, enough to cover some expenses. They have enough ego involved to want to generate increasing levels of traffic and recognition. They don't get as deeply into keyword research, link building, and many of the tricks that professionals use but more so than someone who blogs just for purely personal reasons. Let's call them semi-professional bloggers.

This last group is the one I believe I belong to. My writing is an important creative outlet for me. I spend at least three hours a day, sometimes more, doing something blog-related. My writing for other web sites, book sales, Amazon Affiliate checks, and an occasional ad on the blog itself generate some money each year. It is enough to cover expenses, pay for a new computer and printer ink, but is not a significant source of satisfying retirement income. That is OK because I am not willing to turn blogging into a job.

I just passed a significant milestone a few days ago, at least for me: over 500,000 total views. Having half a million clicks is small change for the professional bloggers but I think is good for a semi-pro in a rather narrow niche. 

Which brings me, at last, to the point of this post. I have been writing about building and living a satisfying retirement for almost three years. I think I have covered virtually every topic and concern several times over. Unlike the majority of retirement-oriented bloggers I don't spend time dealing with in-depth financial issues. Too many others cover that subject much better than I could. Also, I believe a successful retirement requires much more than just financial issues. I attempt to cover all parts of what makes this stage of life happy and fulfilling.

So, here's my question to you: where do I go from here? Good friend and fellow blogger, Barbara Torris, recently decided to stop writing exclusively about retirement. She has been in this niche a lot longer than me and began to feel the same way: What else is there to say that doesn't bore me and my readers?

I have no plans to abandon the satisfying retirement niche that I have worked hard to establish. Since retirement is a time of constant change and evolution I can continue to find things to write about.

But, I'd also like to expand my topic selection a bit. Obviously, with the new RV and the number of trips Betty and I have planned for the next several years I will have all sorts of opportunities to write about those adventures. Betty's photographs and our adjustments with Bailey, our dog, adapting to weeks on the road will give me all sorts of ideas. Too much emphasis on that, however, will take me out of the retirement niche and into the RV universe. If a reader isn't interested in RV travel then a little goes a long way.

Over the past year or so some of my writing has been a bit more personal. The response to those posts is usually good. One problem is I had a happy childhood in a two-parent household with no major traumas or events and a very happy 36 year marriage so I don't have a lot of angst to expose.

I have touched on my spirituality and its role in my happy retirement. But, a little of that can go a long way, too. Much like the RV posts, my spiritual development is really only interesting to some people. Others will be driven away.

So, I would appreciate you putting on your thinking caps and giving me some ideas on topics and subjects you think I might be able to write about and you'd like to read. Importantly, they don't have to be restricted to retirement.

Would you find movie reviews interesting, where to find streaming movies on the Internet, maybe more book reviews? How about a discussion of home maintenance or financial record keeping?  Any issues concerning marriages or grandkids?

How about something that interests or concerns you that has nothing to do with retirement directly, but is more related to having a satisfying life? Maybe lists of great blogs in other subjects?

OK...fire away. What can I write about that would keep you coming back and keep me blogging away?