Have you blogged today?
It seems like everyone and his or her dog is blogging these days. Considering that there are approximately 42,000,000 WordPress blogs online*, it's safe to say that even your old college roommate is probably blogging away.
Let's face it – having a blog is popular and, if you want to be a part of this trend, now is the perfect time to start a blog.
Lately, I've been receiving a lot of emails asking me about diving in and starting your own blog. One question that gets frequently asked is, “how do I find my niche?”
A niche is a topic, passion or idea you write about extensively on your blog. In essence, your blog only talks about one thing – your niche.
Why in the world would you want only to talk about one thing on your blog? Wouldn't you get bored? Wouldn't people get bored reading the same thing over and over again?
The simple answer is no, they don't. People actually like to be invested in niche blogs because they want to learn from them.
In this post, you will learn why you need a niche and how to pick the right one so that you can generate more traffic to your blog.
Why Do I Need a Niche to Blog?
You do want traffic, right? People seek out niche blogs more than they do other types of blogs, such as lifestyle blogs, that focus on a variety of content.
[tweet_box design=”box_09″]Q. Why do you need a niche blog? A. People seek out niche blogs more than they do other types of blogs.[/tweet_box]
Just imagine going to an antique store that has china, glassware, trinkets and tchotchke all spread out in different areas?
A wine glass would be next to a troll doll and a piece of china would be sharing shelving space with a hurricane lamp.
Trying to find exactly what you want to buy would be difficult, wouldn't it?
This is exactly true of your blog; if you blog about different topics each day or week, people will be confused about who you are and what you stand for.
Having a niche blog solves all of this. Here are some more reasons why it's better to have a niche blog than a jack-of-all-trades type of blog.
1. A Niche Blog Helps Make You an Authority Blogger
Since your niche is something you are familiar with, writing about it should be relatively easy.
Everything you write about will end up being original and based entirely on your experiences and knowledge about your niche.
People will start to come to your blog solely to learn from you.
A great example is Pat Flynn.
While Pat didn't start his success as an influencer blogger making money online, he built his reputation by carving out a niche and sharing his experiences of his wins and failures with his readers.
Readers now flock to his site to sign up to his newsletter, learn how to make passive income and to follow the path Pat took to success. Read more about Pat in his book Let Go!
2. A Niche Blog Can Help You Make Money
When you become an expert in your niche, people will start to trust you and listen to your advice.
This can come in handy if you want to start monetizing your blog. Some examples of generating income from your blog are:
- Sell an eBook or eCourse. Expand on your blog's message with eBooks or eCourses. Once you are an authority in your niche, you create high credibility, which translates into readers who trust what you have to say enough to buy it.
- Offer coaching support. Cataloguing your success in a particular industry on your blog can lead the way to offering one-on-one coaching sessions for those readers who want that extra attention.
- Promote a product through affiliate marketing. Once you have proven yourself on your blog as a credible and knowledgeable person in your niche, people will trust your judgment with recommending something.
- Display Google ads on your blog. Your niche will attract a specific type of audience, which means you can advertise to them on your blog. Watch this video for instructions on setting up AdSense
3. A Niche Creates “Superfans”
Not every niche blog creates fanatics, but blogs that do focus on a core theme can generate a huge following of superfans.
Superfans, or advocates, are your readers who represent and talk about your blog in a positive way in front of many people.
Many of them endorse what you stand for and will tell anyone who listens how great of a blog you have. They provide credible and trustworthy promotion, as well as visibility for your blog.
For businesses these people are called brand ambassadors, and it's the best form of marketing there is – word of mouth.
When people start talking about your blog on social media, with their friends or on their own blog, you'll see more traffic coming to your site because people will want to see what you are all about.
Superfans are the best to have because they are loyal to your blog and your overall blog message.
How Do I Pick My Niche?
Now that we covered why you need a niche – and how powerful it is to generate traffic and income – let's go over how to choose the right one.
For a new blogger, finding a niche can be hard; you might think everything has been said before. Why would anyone want to read another blog about recipes or fashion, for example?
Most likely people won't want to read another recipe blog, but they might want to read a toddler-friendly recipe blog. Or, instead of having a fashion blog, why not have a blog focusing on fashion tips for the busy mom?
Narrow Your Choice
See, when you pick your niche, you need to narrow it down and make it specific – in order to attract your target audience.
For me, my general topic was to start a blog about blogging. But, in order to compete with the thousand other blogs out there that are about blogging, I had to make mine more focused.
That's when I decided to provide actionable tips for beginner bloggers – focusing on helping them generate traffic and income.
Pick a Topic You Are Passionate or Knowledgeable About
You might think you want to blog about toddler-friendly recipes, but can you do that week after week, year after year?
Running and maintaining a blog is difficult – from coming up with blog topics to promoting it on social media to having a consistent content schedule – it can all take a toll on many people.
You have to ask yourself honestly, can you write with the same amount of gusto until the very end? Can you give your blog the time and commitment it needs to grow?
What happens if you already picked a niche, but you just don't have the heart to keep on managing it?
There are many paths you could take. You could:
- Stop blogging. Maybe you're not cut out for blogging. That's okay; blogging isn't for everyone.
- Take a break from blogging. Instead of giving up entirely, why not take a month off, or even just a week? Give yourself some much needed “me” time, and when you're ready you'll hopefully come back with a new perspective on your blog that you didn't have before.
- Blog less frequently. If you started posting twice a week and are having a hard time keeping up, you can always drop down to posting once a week or every other week. Readers will stick around if you continue to create useful content.
- Start a new blog adventure. Maybe you found you no longer have the passion for writing about your current niche. Why not start a new one?
- Open your blog up to guest posting. This is the best of both worlds – you can take a break from writing and still have your blog running with guest posters' content, much like Ms. Ileane does here on Basic Blog Tips.
Wrapping It Up
Having a niche for your blog is important if you want to grow your readership. A niche helps readers understand your blog's message, who you are as a blogger and what type of content you publish.
Niche blogs are also great for building authority in your niche, generating income and amassing a huge following of super fans.
So, if you want to start a blog and can't figure out what to blog about, try finding something you are passionate or knowledgeable about. Then narrow it down in order to appeal to a target audience and ask yourself if you can write about it for the long haul.
Be confident with what you choose and go with it! Start your post and keep on writing.
Now it's over to you. Tell me how you came up with your niche and are you still writing about it?
Recommended Reading:
- The Ultimate Guide to Blogging: What To Write About, How to Promote Your Blog, & How to Make Money Blogging
- Ten Things Every Successful Entrepreneur Knows that the Rest of the World Doesn't: Ten Easy Steps to Create a Successful and Sustainable Business
- Zero to Blogger in 30 Days!: Start a blog and then join the 30 day blogging challenge to get results (Blogging book 1)
