So, you’re interested in trying to start a blog, but you don’t know where to start. Maybe you’ve done the research and know the right steps, but you can’t find the right topic. Does this sound like you? Well, you’ve come to the right place! Below is a step-by-step guide on how to choose the right blog niche! We’re going to help you brainstorm successful blog ideas, narrow down your focus, choose a topic that will bring you success long-term, and then dominate in your new niche!
Before We Start, What Exactly is a Blog Niche?
Some entrepreneurs take a more scattered approach to blogging by choosing many topics to cover as they meander their way to popularity on their WordPress blogs. While this works for some, this approach can be more difficult to grow a following and more complicated long term. One way to simplify the blogging process and streamline your content to try niche blogging. Niche blogging is writing a blog that connects with a very specific type of audience. Using this method can help lend some structure to your posts.
For example, you could write a generic blog about things related to cooking or you could write a blog that’s catered to millennial vegan chefs cooking from home.
Taking a more specific approach to blogging can help you find an audience that will be more likely to connect with your ongoing stream of content, rather than just a few posts. This will help you gain more followers and build a solid brand as you focus on who your intended audience is.
Brainstorm Your Niche
The first step to finding your perfect niche is brainstorming! In order to stay interested in this venture long-term, it is important to choose a topic that you are passionate about. If you can find a topic you enjoy researching, you are more likely to invest time and effort and less likely to abandon your chosen niche down the road. Plus, liking your topic will help you enjoy coming up with new posts and ideas since you will be writing about a topic that already interests you. Readers can feel your passion as you write and this can be the difference between a good post and a great post!
Identify Your Passions
You may be thinking, “but I already know what I like and don’t like!” Exactly! To begin, start a list of everyday things that you connect with and go from there. For example:
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What are your favorite hobbies?
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What do you do in your free time?
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What’s a topic you like to talk about or read about?
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What classes were you interested in in school?
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If you had a choice to do anything in life and not worry about money, what would it be?
You could also look to outside sources for information too!
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Blogs you already follow
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Magazines
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Social media
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TV shows
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Newspapers
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Shopping and review sites
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Things in your home
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Hobbies
Find a Hole in the Market
Found something that sounds interesting? That’s great! Now it’s time to find a hole in the market. Do some research and check out the competition. Who else is writing about your topic or anything closely related? Is your topic oversaturated with millions of hits? If so, what’s a closely related area that doesn’t seem as popular. What’s a target audience that rarely gets attention within that field?
For example, writing about health and fitness is a go-to topic for many people. A chance to learn better recipes, get more fit, and share this online and while getting paid for it? Sounds great, right? But since that topic is already so popular it’s important to find a new angle or take on it if you’re thinking of entering that space. To begin, do a deep dive and find out what holes exist! Is there a demographic that isn’t being hit? A profession within the field? A geographic area that needs some love? That’s where you can fit in and thrive!
For example, rather than writing just another health and fitness blog, it could be beneficial to narrow in on a more specific and unique topic. After doing some research, you may find that there’s a gap in literature targeting vegan millennials who are living with their parents. This could be a great opportunity to address this!
Validate Your Top Picks
Now it’s time to see if your chosen topic is worth pursuing. You have to assess if there is an audience that will be interested in your blog and if this is an area you can be successful at long term.
Three Key Check-In Questions
Ask yourself a few things before you continue researching.
How passionate are you about this topic?
Is the topic popular to other people?
Is there any type of monetary potential for this topic?
Conduct Keyword Research
Time to find out! You can check this by doing some keyword research. There’s a lot of free tools out there that can help you. Some good examples are KWFinder or Key WordTool. Another method is to Google your topic of choice and to see how many hits come up. This may be a good indication of how popular your interest is. You can then scroll down to the bottom of the page and check out some of the suggested words available. For example when we Googled “vegan millennials chefs who live at home'' from the previous example, this is what pops up at the bottom of the page.
Some of these words may be good words to bid on as well! Or if your topic is too saturated, you could use Google’s suggestions to come up with some slanted new ideas that are more focused or specific.
Can You Monetize it?
The next step is checking to see if your idea can make money. Start this by doing research on some other blogs in your area of interest to see what tactics they’re using. Do they have links to products or banner ads? Are they selling their own version of a related product?
Now, take a look on affiliate pages of shopping sites to see if there are any related products that may fit with your topic. This is a great way to plan for future partnerships later on! If you can partner with any brands and post their products, you may be able to make commissions on any sales through your site! You can also check to see if there are any affiliate programs. If you join a program like ours, once you build a following you can refer people to other sites and get paid commissions when your readers purchase products.
One last monetization strategy would be to make and sell your own products that match your blog niche. You could check out some merchandising companies to make labeled merch, or check out what specific products people in your niche are buying and then make your own version!
Create Your Network and Dominate in Your Chosen Niche!
Now that you’ve officially validated your topic and are set in your blog niche, it's time to build your network and start gaining a following! Start reading blogs that relate to and comment away. Not only does this help you create connections and refer other people to your site, but it aids you in becoming more of an expert in your topic area. It can also have the added benefit of giving you new ideas of content to write about with your own personal spin. Later you can cross pollinate and mix your audiences by guest blogging or collaborating with your new network of fellow bloggers!
Building a network this way helps you better position yourself to start making money. If you choose a product niche or business niche that is connected to other advertisers of bloggers you will be able to sell yourself even more effectively. This will help others see the value in connecting with you, especially if they have a complementary product or business.
Conclusion
Starting a blog is an exciting process! It’s amazing to be able to monetize your interests and share them with the world. Finding a niche is one of the hardest parts of the process, so we hope that our tips above help you find the perfect topic. Once you’re ready to get started, explore our blog hosting options to find the perfect fit for you!
