Financial blogging differences between men and women?
moneyrelations :: Aug.24.2007
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More water cooler discussion. My colleague and I were discussing summer reading the other day and I disclosed that I was reading up on personal finance. She chimed in that she had gone through an investment book called “Chicks Laying Nest Eggs”. Uh-huh. Not “The Intelligent Investor”, “The Four Pillars of Investing”, but a book on… poultry? In her words, it is a true story about a group of women who started an investment club and how they made lots of money beating the pros consistently. I guess the book is supposed to be women friendly and speak in terms in which we can relate. Frankly, I’m not sure how I feel about marketing to a specific gender. Not having read the book, my hackles started to rise. Are they dumbing it down for women? Am I being oversensitive without just cause? Then self-consciousness takes over. Do I blog like a girl? And if I do, what’s wrong with that?
Since I started blogging, I now know a little bit about niche markets. However, I don’t understand why if the financial advice is good, you would alienate half the population? Perhaps it’s a matter of the personal finance pie being so big, you just want to get your slice. Just look at David Bach’s bestseller, “Smart Women Finish Rich”.
I’m not going to explore the psychological differences between men and women regarding money, because I don’t want to be labelled like an astrological sign. However, I did review my reading habits of finance blogs. I have to admit that the blogs I like are primarily authored by women. From my observations, women tend to dispense financial advice in the form of a diary which promotes readership loyalty. Men mainly blog about facts to become a trusted source of financial matters. Both methods work; it’s just a matter of taste. And of course, the super successful bloggers use a combination of both techniques.
Recognizing my personal preference made me less snobbish about my book reading habits. After all, if you learn something from it, isn’t that all that matters?
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It’s an interesting question. Being a male and having my own PF blog I’d like to create content that appeals to both genders. But is that even possible? It hadn’t occured to me until seeing your post that females might have a completely different take on this stuff. I’d like to think of myself as far removed from being a sexist chauvinist as they get. Nevertheless it seems indisputable that men and women have some very fundamental differences between them.
Some time ago I was borrowing every finance and investing book from the local public library that they had. Both male and female authors, gender was not an issue. I was just looking for facts and trying to learn everything I could. I have to admit that when I saw the authors name Constance Brown I suspected I would find a rather poorer quality book on account of the female author. I was pleasantly surprised by the book and would now rank it as one the top technical analysis/investing books I have ever read. By the way it’s a very factual, analytical and technical book for top level professionals.
So I have to ask myself, is it really a difference between the sexes or just differences between unique individuals independant of gender?
Hi GI,
Thanks for stopping by. It’s funny, I had first objected to reading financial books that targetted women because I thought they might be patronizing. However, I had no problem reading “Dummy” books. Go figure.
I think at the end of the day, I just appreciate writers who can get their point across in a simple and concise manner. I think we all do. If I make the premise that authors who target books for women write in plain language and on point, why isn’t this the accepted practice?(!) Look at how everyone always compliments Warren Buffet on his annual reports for Berkshire as being easy to read. There you have one of the best investors in the world who doesn’t need to prove how smart he is by using language in which everyone can understand.
I realized a few weeks ago that I have been consistently commenting primarily on women’s sites and not men’s! Am trying to broaden my horizons now. For awhile there were so few Canadian women PF bloggers too so I am excessively pleased to find new ones. I also tend to be country biased, looking for Canadian blogs to add to my blogroll. Having said that I also really enjoy making blog friends from all over the world so I guess I better broaden those horizons too
Carnival of Personal Finance…
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance. For those of you looking for/expecting the book giveaway I’ve been doing all month, please check back at the end of the day. For those of you who do…
Since I’ve started blogging its been interesting to note that most people quoting me have assumed that I’m a guy. I don’t make any reference to my own gender (because, who does?) in my writing, but I do prefer a pink theme.
I think people assume that a blogger on ‘personal finance’ is male until proven otherwise. Only once has someone stated a reason (unsolicited) as to why they thought I was a particular gender, I wrote a post on gambling, so they reasoned that I was more likely to be a man.
I guessed that you were more likely to be female, because I’ve never seen men post on gender issues.
[...] Relations’ Financial Blogging Differences Between Men and Women. I definitely blog like a [...]
WW: I totally agree with you. I tend to comment on women’s sites as well. They tend to go off topic more so I can actually think up of something to say, lol.
Plonkee: Ahh, touché. You’re right - guys would not post on gender issues. Even without the subject of this post, I think it’s a dead giveaway that I’m female. Just more relaxed I guess. And I thank you much for dropping by
I think you nailed the difference–”women tend to dispense financial advice in the form of a diary which promotes readership loyalty. Men mainly blog about facts to become a trusted source of financial matters.”
Women are more willing to say, “This is what I think, but do you have a better idea?” while men say “Do it this way.”
I used to read The Financial Philosopher until he (and of course, it was a HE!) put down “trivial” bloggers who write about their daily financial minutiae as “not as sophisticated as I am.” True, and count me among the unsophisticated. I prefer real people with real financial lives. That includes some male bloggers, but I, too, find myself drawn to the women.
Strange, I thought that the majority of PF blogs are written by women. I feel like female bloggers are more open about the problems they face rather than just what their plan is. But now that I think about it, a lot of really popular PF blogs are written by guys — I just don’t read those much because I like smaller blogs!
Grace! Thanks for dropping by! I read your submission to the Carnival and I loved it! Great sense of humour! I’m doing a round up later in the week as a thank you to the host but you’ll be included as one of *my* picks
Right, getting to your point. I use the comparison of finance blogs to a bunch of Oprah shows. Everyone has their own human interest story. There are only very few blogs that will be your “nightly local news” which I think is way harder to accomplish as you need to gain the trust of the people as a person of knowledge. I also don’t fancy watching the same news stories on competing stations. I might flip the channel occasionally but I generally stick to my preference. That being said, I checked out the Financial Philosopher and wow, those are what I consider “news” stories. He does have the credibility of being in the industry though. The question is if I want to be bombarded by financial news daily? It’s beyond me at this point. I’ll stick to my reading and posting of financial human interest stories.
Jon, welcome! I generally like the smaller blogs too as they get more “real”. These are real people with real struggles and triumphs. The make it “personal”. I think there is more at stake in a bigger blog. You have a reputation to uphold and again, the question of trust and authority come into play. It’s also a very interesting point you bring up about problems and planning. Is it because women overshare which tends to lead to better blog reading?
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“From my observations, women tend to dispense financial advice in the form of a diary which promotes readership loyalty. Men mainly blog about facts to become a trusted source of financial matters.”
That’s a very interesting observation. I have a mix of 50-50 male-female bloggers in our network and I think you are right about this observation.
Insightful food for thought included in your post, plus the subsequent comments. I often wonder about the author of blogs, because I think who you are and where you come from can influence what you write.
My blog title makes my gender obvious. I do wonder if it alienates male readers or childless people. Add this to the “$M” word, and I guess I might be targeting a particular niche!
As an answer to my own curiosity, I’m inviting you (and other PF bloggers) to submit relevant information to be included in my list of blogs. If you’re interested, please see:
Are You A Blogger? Want A Link? at
http://millionairemommynextdoor.blogspot.com/2007/07/are-you-blogger-want-link.html
[...] 3rd time by saving a bunch of money switching to Geico! Good job! - MoneyRelations posts about the battle between men and women financial bloggers - this one actually was pretty interesting and made some good points. - Why is [...]
I think that advice geared toward specific genders is sometimes necessary and helpful–though I certainly object to any “dumbing it down” for female audiences. Think about it; we all accept gender specific advice and support on almost everything else, from sex to religion–why not our finances too?
When a women has a unique financial situation or a different perspective, advice geared towards her is often appropriate and beneficial. For example, there are a lot of young single women wanting to purchase real estate these days. Those women (myself included) may have unique concerns, goals, and insecurities about the purchase. Sure I could pick up a book on “buying your first home,” but I’ll probably get more out of one specifically geared to–and/or written by–single females buying a home, as long as it’s equally informative. A book/support group/website on financial considerations for elderly widows might also be appropriate.
And while there’s no need for generic financial information–like what a Roth IRA is–to be gender specific, it’s often beneficial when that information is presented in a familiar, comfortable tone and manner–which, for women, is more likely to be a female one. Men and women do think, learn, and often write differently, after all. If I’m reading something by someone who has been through my same situation (whether male or female) I’m more likely to be encouraged, empowered, and informed by what they are saying.
Hi Meg,
I am a lurker on your blog and you’re one of the female bloggers I follow. You’re an inspiration
“Sure I could pick up a book on “buying your first home,” but I’ll probably get more out of one specifically geared to–and/or written by–single females buying a home, as long as it’s equally informative.”
Interestingly, my mom is into real estate but I’m not sure if the issues she faced were gender specific. Perhaps with contractors charging more but I think this is negated with comparison shopping. And also men might be handier with maintenance but is that gender bias? Shouldn’t a book teaching real estate cover this topic for everyone?
What types of issues are you facing as a female with investment properties?
“Men and women do think, learn, and often write differently, after all. If I’m reading something by someone who has been through my same situation (whether male or female) I’m more likely to be encouraged, empowered, and informed by what they are saying.”
True. I think it has to do with writing style. I am a big fan of plain language and I think everyone appreciates that as well.
Is it just me or do woman bloggers have a more conversational tone?
My two favourite bloggers (Mike & Violent Acres) are a man and a woman, so I’m open to both genders as bloggers/writers. The blogs by women that I don’t like are often too “fluffy”, and the blogs by men I don’t like are often too “arrogant”.
So, perhaps I like fluffy men and arrogant women ideally (If you’ll allow me to put all blogs on a fluffy -> arrogant spectrum).
Hi Mr. Cheap,
Hah! I like the description of your blog preferences. You and Mike provide a great mix.
Me, I’m a fluffy female so I’ll work on my arrogance
P.S. I checked out Violent Acres. Wow. Quite ballsy.
Whether one takes a hard facts male approach or a more conversational female approach (if that is the correct way to characterize it), the important point is whether a statement is correct or incorrect, true or false. For instance, if the “group of ladies who started an investment club that beat the pros” is about the Beardstown ladies, then it seems the truth is that they did NOT beat the market (a hard thing to do) or even the pros (an easier thing to do). See this http://www.ifa.com/archives/articles/tyson_eric_1999_beware_the_claims_of_the_stock_picking_gurus.asp
Hi CanadianInvestor,
Hey, thanks for the article.
I’m not sure where I read it, perhaps maybe Amazon.com reviews itself, but this particular investment club got raked over the coals. They did really poorly for a few years and stopped posting their returns on their discussion board.
It’s a tough balance to maintain… You want to encourage people to take interest in their money so you feed the public a good story. But a little knowledge can be dangerous. Perhaps an investment club can create checks and balances but how much fun would it be to say, let’s rebalance and put more in index fund A?
Truth needs to be divulged but does it sell?
[...] say both genders are equal, let’s find out the financial blogging differences between them. Are they still the [...]
I’ve heard so much about this website, so I finally decided to visit it. I have to say that It’s nothing special..
^ Link deleted.
You’re right, nothing special, but I went to your trolling porn website too and didn’t find anything special there too.
Come on, if you want a comment follow link juice, at least say something useful.
I love this article.
Is it just me, or does it seem like a disproportionate amount of blog titles from female financial bloggers indicate the blog is by a female author?
Whereas, it doesn’t seem like that many financial blogs by male authors indicate a male writes the blog in the title.
Just an observation…
I happened to come across your blog and found this post of interest. I am a financial advisor who specializes in working with women. Why?
1. Most women I encounter have no interest in the technical aspects of investing
2. Our industry cannot seem to grasp this and STILL develops marketing materials that don’t appeal to women.
3. Women relate money to emotion.
4. Women speak and ‘hear’ very differently then men.
When I sit across from a husband and wife, often the husband wants to speak in great detail and at length about the specifics of their financial house. The women on the other hand want to develop a real relationship with me, get to know me personally and develop a trust. They then want me to understand the emotion behind their money concerns and help find solutions that a real, tangible and are simplistic.
I guess its true, Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus. The financial industry needs to get this and make changes to its approach!!