Hello Writer bugs!

Want to start a blog? Don’t know where to start? You’ve come to the right place. When you are just starting out, it can be hard to choose a blogging niche. You can pretty much create a blog about any topic. From dogs to donuts to drawing, the sky’s the limit. How do you find the right blogging niche for you? Check out some of these tips!

Write What You Love

Choose a topic you are genuinely interested in about, that you can talk forever about. Your passion will shine through your content. And by expressing what you love, you will find a community of others with the same passion and goals. Trust me, you can find a blog on just about every subject, from movies to making bird houses. If it’s “your thing”, write about that. Don’t pick a subject because it seems “profitable” or “popular”, or your voice will sound forced and eventually, you will lose interest. Blogging can be a fun, enjoyable experience if you pick a topic you care about.

Need to jog your brain a bit? Try these…

• Write a list of your likes, your interests and your hobbies. What occupies your time?
• Consider subjects you are knowledgeable about. What’s your area of expertise?
• Think about the people and businesses you look up to or the websites and blogs you visit often.

Want to know the real test of a good blogging niche? Brainstorm some potential articles ideas. It could be 10, it could be 50. If you can think of possible posts about your topic, you may have found your subject matter.

For me, I love creative writing. I have a Bachelors in English, I’ve been writing stories for years. Although I’m not a published author yet, my heart is in every post. When I was deciding what to blog about, writing was the obvious choice for me. I wanted to help other writers while sharing my experience. And at first, I didn’t think anyone would be interested in what I had to say. And now, I have over 700 amazing followers.

Write from the heart and your audience will find you.

Narrow Down Your Niche

Finding your blogging niche is like a balancing act. If the topic is too broad, you will face a tremendous amount of competition. Also, you may be lost in a ocean of other blogs with similar subject matter. On the other side of the coin, if the topic is too specific, your blog may not gain traction. With a focus that is too narrow, you will have some difficulty creating content and will hit the wall, running out of post ideas.

For example, let’s say you wanted to start a blog on cooking. That’s great, however, this is a very general idea. How many blogs about cooking are out there? A million? Pear it down. Instead of cooking, think ‘vegan baking’ or ‘all things pizza’. See what I mean? Choose a blogging niche wide enough to write many posts about but specific enough to have you stand out from the crowd.

And I understand the temptation to write about multiple topics. People have many interests. However, this ideal works better for magazine publications than blog sites. A blog with different subjects may come off as unfocused and frankly, unprofessional. Think of it like this, I love tacos and cats and bike riding. Should I combine all three of my interests into one blog? Seems a bit scattered. Probably not the best idea. Could I have three separate blogs dedicated to those interests? Absolutely.

I’ll give you a real world example, from my freelancer writer days. My first internship was writing for a blog centered around the Disney theme parks. From travel tips to restaurant spotlights to the rides, there was a lot to write about. Yet it all stayed under the same umbrella. All the content had a common theme, a common vibe. When you find your blogging niche, make sure you find the focus of the subject.

Do the Research

The real question is, is your blogging niche profitable and will it actually earn views? That’s a tough one. No one can guarantee how much money a blog can make. It’s a shot in the dark and fortune favors the brave.

When you have plans for blog monetization, you need a blog topic that has a potential market. Search for businesses, brands and products that relate to the subject matter. By doing a little research, you can better prepare your blog for affiliate marketing. Let’s use that ‘vegan baking’ idea from before. I have a (hypothetical) blog about vegan baking. If I wanted to dip my toe into affiliate marketing, the blog could advertise products like cooking utensils, cookbooks and even vegan snacks. I could also spotlight services or classes on vegan baking.

Now, how will you know your blogging niche will earn views? Another shot in the dark. With the help of a little research, you can gain some clarity on what folks are searching for. Test out terms pertaining to your topic to see the average views and searches on certain sites. Vary the wording so you find the best results. For the Lady Jabberwocky blog, not only would I search the term ‘writing’, I can try other phrases like ‘creative writing’ or ‘fiction writing’ or ‘writing tips‘ as well. Try Google Trends, it’s a tool that can come in handy when choosing a niche.

Bottom line; If you know what potential readers are looking for, you can gear your content towards that target.

For all my fellow bloggers out there, how did you choose your blogging niche? What other topics did you consider? And if you are thinking about starting a blog or just starting out, what do you want to know about blogging? I might write a post about it. Talk to me in the comments, I love to here from you.

Stay safe and keep writing!

Love,

Lady Jabberwocky