More and more men are starting to buy grooming products and care about their appearance, so it makes sense that they, like their female beauty-savvy counterparts, would be interested in finding out more information about the product and industry in which they’re buying into. Welcome The Handsome Diaries. Created and edited by The Plastic Diaries’ Kimberly Nissen, THD is a beauty blog for men, written by men. There are so many great beauty blogs but very few reference men, and even fewer are blogged by men. While there are a lot of metrosexual males who openly embrace their goal to better their looks, most men are too shy to ask for help,” reveals Kimberly. The Handsome Diaries was created to help those men needing a little bit of guidance in the grooming department. We spoke to Virtual Premier general manager and The Handsome Diaries blogger Adam Nissen about all things THD…
What instigated the start of The Handsome Diaries?
When our editor Kimberly started The Plastic Diaries she realised that men are a species who definitely needed some help too. While many bloggers would have just continued having male-orientated posts within their original site, we felt that men would prefer their own space. A blog just for them.”
How does a male-oriented blog differ from a female one?
I believe the biggest difference is in the writing tone and overall feel of the website. Ultimately both male and female blogs need to provide a welcoming environment for the reader, but what is welcoming to a male is very different to a female. For us, the writing tone is a little bit more ‘Aussie Larrikin’. We give the basic information that men are looking for, plus factual stuff, all with a funny and slightly sarcastic attitude.”
Why is it important to have a male-oriented blog?
Because we are hopeless ... OK, not all men, but most! In general men won't exactly discuss skin care and beauty regimes, but they are interested in improving their appearance and building confidence. A male-orientated blog is a comfortable and acceptable way for men to research and get the info they want. Additionally, men want more direct information rather then the very detailed and emotive content you often see on female blogs.”
Who is the THD reader?
Men... and women actually. Surprisingly we attract relatively even numbers of both sexes to the site. There appears to be a level of curiosity from everyone as to what a men’s beauty blog covers. In terms of our male readership, it is a significantly broad group. The average THD reader does share some common traits though ie 20-45 years of age, in a professional work environment and already purchases a limited number of male beauty products. But you don't have to fall into this subset. The concept of THD is to offer all men simple, no-bull exposure to products, practices and services that can improve their appearance and confidence.”
What’s the level of interest like? How does it grow?
The interest has been great. We knew it would be a difficult genre to build a readership on, but it appears people are definitely interested. It's a little different to our other projects, like ThePlasticDiaries.com, which grows primarily through its exposure in social media and online beauty community groups. THD currently gains its readership from search engines when people look for men's products and practices.”
Are they interactive in the way of leaving comments and emailing the editor?
No. This is a big challenge for us. While the number of readers continually grows, the interactive contributions remain absent. We know they are reading, we know that they are continually coming back, but there is an obvious barrier to them sharing their thoughts or asking the questions they must have. We never expected men to open up as much as women on blogs of this nature, but we will keep trying. Come on lads, have a go!”
Has it been difficult getting on PRs’ radar for THD?
In general most PRs are excited about the concept of a male beauty blog and see huge potential in it for their clients. They do, however, need to be assured that it has an adequate and appropriate audience. As with any relatively untested entity, we need to do a lot of work to gain the PRs’ full support.”
Do you think we are likely to see more male-oriented blogs in the future?
It would be great but realistically I do not see it happening for quite some time. We personally are never ones to shy away from a tough job, and running a male-orientated blog is definitely that. I think of all those bloggers who take an interest in beauty or fashion, they seem to prefer taking a more realistic approach and talking about things for both sexes. It also means they have far more content to talk about which can make blogging a whole lot easier.”
Is it important for a male-oriented blog to have a male voice or could it just as easily be written by a female?
I'm sure a woman could easily write it, but that would miss the point a little. There are some very good online resources for men, written by women. It is, however, important for men to have a regular, trustworthy, male speaking information source to consult. A woman’s opinion can be valuable when it comes to these things, but simply put, men understand the factors and hesitation preventing the purchase and use of male beauty products. Things like, is it a complex process? Is it going to be obvious to everyone that I’m using something (which is not always a good thing)? Am I going to smell weird? How much should I spend? All questions that, in our case anyway, should be answered by a guy.”