Business is becoming more digital these days. So, this means that bloggers and becoming increasingly more vital to business. If blogging is a business model you're interested in, then knowing how to choose the right blogging niche is the most important decision you will make. We'll go through all of the relevant methods to find the niche for you in this article.
What is a Blog Niche?
A blog niche is like a homing missile closing in on its target. The object of a blog niche is to target a specific audience by covering a particular aspect of popular topics. Examples of this are technology. Today's world is evolving faster than most care to admit, so this leans towards technological advances. But what does that exactly entail? Well, if you consider technology as an example, the topic is so broad, we could be here all day trying to figure out what we want to talk about.
So, what if we choose a particular pillar that helped hold up the foundation of this popular topic? Instead of looking at technology, break it up; you could focus on the fundamentals and construction of technology; perhaps you can look at the infrastructure and support behind technological advances, or maybe the strategy behind the development of technology.
Once you have choices, you can narrow it down further. For example, let’s look at the strategy behind developing new technology. You could investigate the cellular and communications sector. Then, there is the home appliances section, maybe even talk about NASA’s space technological advances.
The point is that you look at a topic and start breaking it down into smaller pieces that target a specific audience. This way it allows your blog to be specific and very relevant to your audience because your blog content is very focused on the information they are seeking.
The Purpose of a Blog Niche
When a reader finds a blog that specializes in a particular niche, they will be more likely to follow and consume the content that comes from that blog. Why, may you ask? The blog fulfils a need that gets the reader thinking and talking about it. The minute the blogger can get a reader hooked and talking about their blog, the more viewers and audience that blog will get.
There are often specific differences between a general blog and a niche blog; for example, an article titled ‘What is the International Space Station?’ is often a general description of what it is and what it consists of. But an article that is titled ‘How the International Space Station uses electrolysis to produce oxygen’ is zoomed in on a particular section of the space station- a niche blog title that will draw a specific audience to your blog.
How to Choose the Right Blogging Niche
Great, so you have decided to start a blog so, where do you go now? Start thinking about what you would like to write about and how it could fit into a niche. Start by brainstorming all of the things you are interested in, you have skills in, and you have experience in. This is your core list and what you should focus on. Why? Well, when you have an interest, skills or experience in something then it'll be a lot easier to start writing about because you already know a lot about the niche and don't have to research or learn about it to get started.
Also, being interested in the niche is important because you're more likely to pursue the business and continue blogging if you are passionate about the topic, so don't underestimate this part.
Once you have selected a list of subjects you would like to focus on, you need to choose your preferred 5 and start researching them.
Is there an audience for your blog niche? This should be the first question you ask yourself. By this, I mean traffic, so does your niche have enough monthly traffic to justify you writing for? Use Google Trends and Google Ad's Keyword Planner to assess a niches popularity and potential traffic. You can find keywords relating to your niche and identify the potential traffic for these from Google Keyword Planner.
Check out this article for how to use Google Keyword Planner for this purpose. If you do not have an audience, you do not have anyone to write for and no one to consume your content. With an audience comes exposure, and with exposure comes a potential income. By thinking ahead and planning your content around a particular audience, you can establish the best possible road to take next.
Once you have checked the niches traffic stacks up, then its time to identify your target audience related to your niche. Start making a list of the demographics of people who are interested in your topic. Note, down things like their typical age, sex, income, location etc. Once you have this, it'll form the basis of how you should aim any of your blog writing at, to cater to this audience.
Once you have found your niche and target audience, you must research, research, research! As a writer, you need to understand your niche and what people are discussing regarding your niche. Below are some places you can go to and search for these answers. In all of these research places, you should look for your audiences pain points. What annoys them? What answers are they looking for? What advice would help them? If you can identify and provide solutions to their pain points in your blog writing then you will have a great strategy to start your business from.
Often Reddit has been associated as a toxic social platform. Yes, there are toxic subreddits, but they do not make up most of the social platforms. Reddit is one of the best open social forum platforms out there.
Each subreddit has its moderators to control the forum's content, which creates a safe and informative environment. Reddit is the perfect place to read up on your blog niche and potentially even engage with the Reddit community and ask questions about your blog niche. It's a great source of information, so do not forget to use Reddit for your research purposes.
Quora
Like most forum and discussion platforms, the information given is only as credible as the person giving it. Likewise, the answers provided on this platform are only as detailed and precise as the question allows. However, this does not dismiss the strength of Quora as a Q&A platform. Many burning questions have been asked on Quora, and most of them have been answered by credible professionals. Granted, everything in life that is generally opinionated must be taken with a grain of salt, so remember this when gathering information for your blog niche.
This is a powerful social media platform that prides itself on sharing people’s experiences in life. Although Facebook is generally considered to be a social media platform, it has recently opened options that allow people to find information. There are multiple groups people can join and create themselves and pages and information about your potential blog niche.
Just like other Q&A sites, Facebook allows you to create or join a group of your choosing. In this case, it could be a niche topic that relates to your blog. Do not underestimate how powerful this can be for your blog. Not only can you find information, but you can get potential readers and their problems and questions which need answering.
Another platform but, unlike Facebook, LinkedIn is considered more of a corporate social platform mainly focused on professional careers and how the world of business is changing. You can find updates on new markets and new technological advances. It’s a great place to network with people that you may otherwise never meet or be able to engage with. LinkedIn is a powerful source of information, and do not underestimate the exposure you can get from being on this platform. You can read up on your blog niche, engage with the community, build connections, which will help you establish an audience.
Is My Choice of Blog Niche Profitable?
You would need to rely on your research to answer this question. Some things you can look at are how many people are searching for your blog niche. What is the engagement when people talk about your niche? Could your chosen blog niche potentially become more popular down the road, and if so, why is that? Once you start understanding if there is a demand for your chosen blog niche, you will slowly begin to establish whether it can be profitable or not.
Does Enjoying the Writing for My Blog Niche Matter?
Initially, it will not matter as much, but you would need to set up a blog niche that you enjoy writing about in the long term. In the early stages of your blog niche, you may be able to alter the topics here and there. But when your blog starts growing and gets bigger, it becomes more and more challenging to make these alterations without affecting how many readers you have. So, its important to pick a niche that you're interested in as we discussed previously.
Generally, it is a good idea to pick a niche topic you would enjoy because there will be days that you struggle with pushing out content. A state of demotivation can start creeping up on you. This demotivation happens to everyone but is worse when you are doing something that you don’t enjoy. The time and effort put into creating your blog are so impactful on your life that if you do not enjoy doing it, chances are it will fail in the long run.
What is the Longevity of the Blog Niche? Will People Be Reading About this Topic for Years to Come?
This question is based on what type of blog you pick. There are many evergreen blog topics that will never die because they are forever changing and evolving. Examples of these types of blogs are technology, business, finances, and health. These four topics will guarantee longevity on a blog because there is always something new to discuss.
So, does this mean blogs outside of these four umbrellas will not survive? No, there is always the chance that a blog can survive; there is no real science behind creating a blog that will last forever. All that you can do as a writer is keep on your toes and know that you may need to change the way you do things.
New ways of promoting blogs and generating content will constantly be changing, and as a writer, if it impacts your niche, you need to be willing to change with the times. I am not saying you need to make changes every week but, look at the blogging community as a whole or even just those under the umbrella topic you have chosen, and see what other people are doing.
‘Change is the law of life, and those who only look to the past and present are certain to miss the future.’
John F. Kennedy
Are you Qualified to Write About This Blog Niche?
I am not talking about degrees here; your readers want to know if you understand what you are talking about, or if you are going through a learning experience, your readers want to know where you’re coming from. An example of a learning experience people may be able to relate to is on a video game design blog.
Suppose the writer explains that they are taking a journey through the video game design spectrum and is explaining their process and how they came to be where they are today. In that case, the reader can associate with the blogger from the blogger's perspective. This type of blog is on a different level than a person that has asserted a level of knowledge based on achievements in the industry. This knowledge is coming from an in-depth understanding of the topic based on his experiences.
Both types of blogs share experience, and both are qualified to write about the topic. The difference between the two blogs is the level at which they share their experience and where that experience comes from. One blogger may be self-taught, the other may have degrees; both perspectives are essential and attract a certain audience.
Each of these blogs has essential information for different audiences and to deny someone’s personal experience in a particular field based on degrees or the lack thereof is daft.
A perspective is a powerful tool in the world of blogging; there is guaranteed to be another person that shares or understands your perspective in a way that others may not. Do not let the fear of the unknown stop you from sharing your view of the world with others. You do not need a degree to write about a passion of yours; you just need to take a leap of faith and be willing to fall and get back up again.
‘You may not be responsible for getting knocked down, but you are certainly responsible for getting back up.’
Wally Amos
Check the Viability of the List Made When Brainstorming.
The purpose of looking over your brainstorming list is to see what niches are most viable for you as a writer. What I mean by this is what you want to cover. What interests you among the brainstormed topics, and what are the most successful ideas that will give you a chance to create a successful blog? These are questions you need to ask and be honest with yourself. You are not cheating anyone else except yourself.
Be decisive and stick with your choice; the worst that could happen is that it does not work out, and you start again. If this is the case, you have more experience this time, and chances are you will make a better, more educated choice the second time around.
When looking at your niche’s viability, don’t forget to look at the scope and how narrow or broad you would like to go with this niche; if you go too narrow, you risk not getting enough readers for your content.
Likewise, if your niche is too broad, you may not be able to cover the demand for content, and you might be overwhelmed with choices that will be detrimental to your readers because it will show a lack of focus and direction. It is a beautiful and chaotic balance between the two, but it will be the sweet spot for your niche if you can achieve balance.
Recommended Top 10 List for Blog Niche Ideas
Finance
People are always thinking about money and new ways to either save or make more of it. This is what makes it one of the most popular and recommended niche blogs. The catch is that not everyone is good at or as passionate about finance as others.
Business
In the information age, businesses are popping up all over, and people want to know how to conduct business. So, why not teach them?
Marketing
Whether it's marketing yourself or a company, it is crucial to know how to present yourself to the world.
Sales
People are always trying to sell something and understand how to sell a product or service in a world with many opportunities.
Health and Wellbeing
A hugely popular evergreen topic that has a range of sub-niches within it and is always evolving.
Technology
This is an ever-evolving market that revolutionizes our lives daily.
Education
It is becoming more apparent that we never stop learning and educating ourselves, so this is a powerful topic to consider.
News
Inform the world about local and international developments that may affect the rest of the planet. There will always be news so, there will always be content.
Entertainment
Without it, humans would go insane; it's our downtime and leisure time. Everyone is looking for the next thing that could entertain us.
Travel
Sometimes people want to get away from the day-to-day routine and see the world; some of them can’t afford it, so being able to experience other countries through another person's eyes is a way of relaxing.
FAQs
On Which Topic Should I Start Blogging?
- Consider your passions, skills and experiences
- Consider what you would like to read
- Consider what you can teach the world
- Focus on solving problems
- Write as a leading learner
How to Increase Your Blog Traffic (and Improve Your Blogging Business)
- Use of SEO
- Focus on topical issues and provide good advice and answers
- Create catchy and attractive titles
- Promote on social media platforms
- Word of mouth
- Include photos
- Incorporate links
Can You Really Make Money Blogging?
Yes, it is possible to make money off blogging through paid sponsorships and advertisements. However, it is recommended that you use multiple sources to generate your income.
How to Pick a Profitable Niche You Are Passionate About
- Research your target audience
- Research your competitors
- Test your idea
- Identify problems you can solve
Conclusion
In this article, we've gone through the main methods for how to choose the right blogging niche and so now you need to go out and do some brainstorming about topics of interest and skills you might have, that could be your niche. By doing some thorough research, you should be able to ensure that the niche you select is popular enough to build a business around.
