Why should you start a niche blog?
Well, there could be many reasons.
Maybe you have a special interest in a niche.
Or perhaps you have reason to think that it’s a “hot” topic to pursue.
Someone might have told you that the way to profit from blogging is to offer products to a very narrowly defined audience.
I coach many bloggers who want to start a niche blog because they haven’t been able to turn their blogs into a profitable business.
Typically, they have an overly generalized blog about broad topics like living a healthy lifestyle, or having a positive mindset, or how to optimize a website for search engine rankings (SEO) or some such thing.
Some bloggers have simply been writing a blog about their lives.
It’s pretty difficult to monetize these extremely broad-based blogs.
So, it’s not surprising when these bloggers inquire about starting up a niche blog.
What is a niche blog?
When I talk about a niche blog, it’s probably more accurate to refer to it as a micro-niche blog.
Call it what you like, the key concept here is that a niche or micro-niche blog opens you to a whole new world.
That world is called a highly targeted audience.
It’s pretty difficult to appeal to a highly targeted audience as a blogger.
In fact, establishing yourself as an authority or leader in a micro-niche is the best way to do that.
A niche blog is like a specialty blog.
It’s a blog designed to appeal to a very specific crowd of people.
When you start a niche blog, you do it with the intention of marketing to that specific crowd of people.
When is it a good idea?
It’s a good idea to start a niche blog when you can use it to appeals a target audience.
And that audience should consist primarily of people who are likely prospects for specific products and services you plan to promote.
So, for instance, you might want to sell ski equipment.
Your niche would be skiing.
Maybe your blog would feature skiing tips.
Like these…
You could include related videos on your blog like these…
Or you might even create your own skiing videos if you are an expert.
And you could develop a list of content ideas to help solve the problems your targeted audience has.
It would be a good idea to create a niche blog for skiers if you could provide this kind of content on a steady basis.
And you could even narrow this niche.
How about writing a blog in a micro-niche like
- New England skiing
- or… skiing in Vermont
- how about… skiing in Stowe, Vermont
Those would be geographical niches.
Or, you could consider a topical micro-niche like “beginner skiing tips”…
How about a micro-niche based on age…
You see, it’s a good idea to start a niche blog if you can identify a specific audience to market to.
And if you have a good idea of products and services you can offer them.
When is it a bad idea?
There are a few times when it might be a bad idea to start a niche blog.
No Market
First of all, you have to do the research to confirm that your niche topic has a realistic chance to make money.
If your niche topic has profit potential, you should see that other blogs are already making money in the niche.
You can even expand your research to include things other than blogs.
Are there a lot of books being sold in your niche topic?
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Check Amazon and do a quick book search on your topic.
This should give you a quick idea of how profitable your niche might be.
You won’t see a lot of books, or a lot of book sales on topics that are not profitable.
And you could also check to see if there have been any “Dummies” books written on your topic.
A lot of market research goes into creating a “Dummies” book.
These people know their stuff.
If there’s no market for your topic, there won’t be a “Dummies” book for it.
And if there’s no market for your topic, it’s a bad idea to start a niche blog for it.
No Products
The second reason it might be a bad idea to start a niche blog, is this.
If you don’t have a good source of products and services to promote on it, you won’t be able to monetize it well.
So before you rush off and start writing on a niche topic, plan what products and services you will be promoting.
If you have a blog in the skiing niche, what would you promote and sell?
There are many ways you can go with this, including
- Skiing equipment
- travel packages to ski resorts
- skiing instructions
Here’s a British skiing blog that has just tons of ways they are monetizing their blog…
And those are just a FEW of the ways this blog is monetizing!
Think of all the ways you could monetize your niche, too.
Now, you don’t have to sell everything under the sun.
You could have a real micro-niche blog that is focused on just one little thing, like say “Ski Boots” or “Skiing Getaway Packages.”
So think of what style you want to develop and grow your blogging business.
It doesn’t matter so much WHAT strategy you choose, as long as it’s well thought out, deeply researched, and all mapped out BEFORE you start your new niche blog.
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Why should you start a niche blog?
So how about a little brain storming, here.
Or just a little day dreaming for a few minutes.
What kind of niche blog would you find interesting to start?
Why do you think it could be profitable?
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Would you run it along with your current blog, if you have one?
Or change your entire business model and focus purely on your new blog?
I’d love to hear from you in the comments below…
Why should you start a niche blog?
-Donna
PS: Don’t forget to share this article on your social sites 🙂
There are lots of newbie bloggers out that share different kind of topics. Clearly a multi niche site is not very interesting and confusing too, because its attracting mix target audience. THat is not good if you are targeting people to buy a product.
Great post Donna!
Twitter: ebusinessroom
June 8, 2019 at 1:43 pm #
Well-said, Donna.
I was about emphasizing on the need to have a standby products and services to promote on a niche blog before I read where you mentioned that.
We finding it extremely difficult to monetize one of my blogs because we rushed in to launch a niche blog with a half-baked information. If I knew.
Thanks for this amazing piece of content.
Emenike
Emenike Emmanuel recently posted..Popular POS System Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Hi Manchala,
Thanks so much!
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Why should you start a niche blog?
Twitter: mgntcsound
May 21, 2019 at 8:06 am #
Hi, Donna!
Thank you for a great post! I always find it a bit tricky to find the right balance between reaching a large audience (being somewhat broad in your scope) and finding a highly targeted audience by writing about a very niche subject. It reminds me of the book Blue Ocean Strategy (I must admit here that I haven’t actually read the book, but it’s been referenced in a lot of articles and podcasts) where we’re lookíng for a new blue ocean since the ocean that everyone is competing in is full of blood (sharks).
So, what I’m getting at is your advice to make sure other blogs are making money in the niche you’ve chosen. I guess this is where the balance is; enough people making money to prove that it’s a lucrative market but not so many that it makes for a crowded market. Any thoughts on how to start making this analysis?
All the best,
Cristofer
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Hi Cristofer,
Indeed, we have to make sure other blogs are making money in the niche we choose. I don’t know how to tell you to make an analysis but here’s whet I can share: Go to authority niche sites…..do a lot of homework and find out what niche will fit you. There are so many and even if the ocean is full, you do stand a chance of standing out of the crowd. The answers to this is to be yourself. I know you must have heard this a thousand times, but really be yourself and write of list of what niches you are interested in from your heart and enthusiasm.
You can pick any niche but it is up to you to stand out and that means doing videos, writing every day, getting out there in front of those so called competitors. Take the health and wellness niche. There are so many out there and a lot are around for such a long time because they are making money. So check ’em out. Then do one better. Whatever they are doing, add on to your niche. It can be videos, chatboxes, etc.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Why should you start a niche blog?
Hi Donna! Good advice here.
A lot of beginners seem to like to go broad because it makes it appear easier on the surface, – lots of choices for content, lots of different products to promote, many options in all areas.
Of course, you and I both know that going too wide makes it hard to appeal to any one specific person.
I made this mistake myself, with my first blog ever being a general ‘technology’ blog. Because that was totally going to work…
It helps to remember that once you’ve actually grown a bit, became an authority figure in your space, you can always branch out a little bit. Not enough to frustrate your original audience, but enough to cover a little bit more. That helped me become okay with narrowing down my niche early on in my blogging career.
Thanks Donna!
– James McAllister
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Hi James,
When we first start I think we all tend to have a niche that covers a little to much. It does narrow down as we go along. Then we can add on to that niche a little bit so as to not turn off our regular readers.
Thanks for the input.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Why should you start a niche blog?
Twitter: MosClement
May 15, 2019 at 5:09 pm #
Hi Donna,
There is a reason your readers keep coming back to your blog; it is because you always have something valuable to offer. A niche blog is the best way nurture and grow a target audience who are will to buy what you offer. I already figure out my next move in starting a new niche blog. So you see that your article is timely and useful.
Thank you for sharing!
Hi Moss,
Good to know that this blog post is timely and useful for you. It is so true what you mention that a niche blog is the best way to nurture and grow a target audience who will buy what you offer. I have two that I run and at first I thought I had to do as much work as my blog here, but it doesn’t take that much time when you are a seasoned blogger.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Why should you start a niche blog?
Twitter: marquitaherald
May 14, 2019 at 6:18 pm #
Very interesting Donna. I don’t think I could handle another blog and I’m fully vested in my current path, but I certainly see the benefits, especially if you can identify a solid market. Personally, I like focusing on age because it seems to me that more than ever each generation has its unique characteristics. Well, you know what they say, never say never! Thanks for the great information and inspiration!
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Hi Marquita,
Aha…focusing on age is so important. When I create a niche blog age is one of the most important factors because of the way we communicate.
And yes…never say never lol.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Why should you start a niche blog?
Twitter: Lisapatb
May 14, 2019 at 4:43 pm #
Hi Donna,
Very interesting, I just started another one. I’m not promoting it yet as it is in it’s infancy. It is nice to have a niche as my own blog keeps on expanding….Sometimes it is hard to stay within a tight niche. OF course doing research is key and having something to market is also key with any blog now.
I like your new girl here with presents 🙂 I didn’t bite yet on it but was fascinated by her. Nice to see you back and at it Donna 🙂
Hi Lisa,
How great it is that you started another one. Niche blogging can be difficult, but with a little research and all the knowledge you have behind you it will work out ….I just know it! I’m sure you won’t run out of ideas in your new one.
Glad you like my new girl with presents lol. It is from an “agency” David and I have going on. Long story short, it is my new niche!
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Why should you start a niche blog?
Twitter: itsaakashpatel
May 14, 2019 at 12:14 pm #
Hi Donna,
I would like to add one more point is whenever you start a new niche blog, first, do competitors research. Knowing & understand your competitors strategies could complete your half work.
I follow this technique and working well for me.
Btw, it was nice post. Got to learn some more points.
Regards,
Aakash
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Hi Aakash,
Excellent point: doing competitors research is one of the most favorable things to do. Indeed, knowing and understand our competitors’ strategies sure will complete half our work. Glad it is working for you.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Why should you start a niche blog?
Twitter: ravishingravism
May 14, 2019 at 5:17 am #
Hi Donna,
Starting a niche or micro-niche blog is helpful to target customers and become a professional affiliate. It is the only best way to target the niche market and let the customer know about the subject.
Thanks for sharing!
Gaurav Kumar recently posted..The 5 (Real) Best Bluetooth Keyboards 2019 – Full Comparison
Hi Gaurav,
Indeed, having a niche blog is so great when it comes to targeting customers and also affiliate marketing.
As long as we can show the customer we know what our business is, it does work out fine.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Why should you start a niche blog?
Twitter: JitendraBlogger
May 14, 2019 at 1:36 am #
Hi Donna,
Nowadays starting a blog is easy but driving relevant traffic to a new blog is not everyone’s cup of tea. But, we can do one thing like we can choose a specific niche so that we can target a specific audience. In this way, we can easily grow our audience and monetize our blog as well.
By the way, the post was awesome, I loved reading it.
Thanks for sharing such a great post. Keep posting 🙂
Hi Jitendra,
When starting a blog these days it is more simple to do than before. And yes, driving the right traffic to it is what we need to do in order to monetize it. With niche blogging, we are pin pointing a target audience that is more likely to respond to this.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Why should you start a niche blog?
Twitter: vishwa328
May 13, 2019 at 9:26 pm #
Hello Donna,
Niche Blogging is very much helpful to get targeted visitors and make most out of your blog. A Niche is something you are passionate about. It helps you to create quality and relevant information for your users. With a Niche blog you can monetize it perfectly with relevant product and services. It is a win-win situation for both the bloggers and readers. Thanks for sharing these helpful tips and insights.
Regards,
Vishwajeet
Vishwajeet Kumar recently posted..How to Protect Your Blog Content From Copying
Hi Vishwajeet,
Indeed, niche blogging can surely be a win-win situation for us and our readers because we stick to one point and give them the information they need. Then we can monetize it.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Why should you start a niche blog?