It also depends on your blog. If its a personal blog the random stuff is good but a focussed blog needs to be just that. Focussed.

One finally thing to bear in mind with testing ideas is that you can think its great, publish it and then look back in 3 months and think "what the hell was I thinking". Testing your ideas is sometimes for the best

I think this "don't get too personal" thing is way too over rated! As a matter of fact, I read a couple of weeks ago, in the blog of a six figure problogger (he made well over $100,000 so I trust his opinion), that we should get personal. Not just write in a personal voice, but actually write about personal things. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he said we should spill all our guts, or write a diary entry, but we should make our posts personal. I was taken aback, bc it seems every third post as of late seems to be titled "Don't Get Personal" in your posts. The first time I read that I thought it was way over rated, and I still do. I believe on problogger said it, and many repeated him after that. I have seen so many write without a voice that posts have been totally dry. I'd also like to say that somebody may be interested in something personal in your life, when you are using as an illustration to make a point. I have seen many good blog posts set up this way. I am wondering why you or some others would think automatically that the average person wouldn't be interested in what goes on in my or someone else's daily life — if I were using it to set up a post? And please don't say I'd only be interested in your life if you were using it to set up an example in a post, if you were a rockstar, or a star or something. That's not true. I'd be interested in your life, if you were using it as an example to set up a post, no matter who you were, celebrity or no! I see a little more of the lives and personalities coming out in the probloggers I read: Chris Brogan, Darren Rowse, David Risley, etc. I'm certainly not saying they write diary articles (gosh no!), but I love how they are willing to share their lives with us! It makes reading the rest of their blogs, full of tips for improving our blogs, all the more memorable. Ok, I've said enough. And yes, my blog reads too much like a diary, LOL. That's the way I was instructed to do it when I first started almost 6 years ago. I have done some niche blogs however, and will do more soon. Thanks for letting me leave this comment!

krissy knox

connect w me on twitter:
http://twitter.com/iamkrissy

I really need to keep this advice in mind whenever I am blogging.. I tend to get carried away when writing about my personal stories and experiences.. haha.

Good post, Rob!