How To Make A Blog Part One: Getting Your Niche Right Is Crucial

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How To Make A Blog Part One: Getting Your Niche Right Is CrucialWhat is a niche?

The definition of a niche is “A special area of demand for a product or service”.

For instance, if you were to search for “time management” on Google, you would receive over 137 million results.

Albeit, “time management” is a niche, it is rather large and generic. If you performed a Google search for “time management for nurses”, you would receive over 21 million results.

As you can see “time management for nurses” is a smaller niche than “time management”.

However, each one, “time management for nurses” and “time management” is a niche.

Why having a niche is important?

This is where many blog owners go wrong. They pick a niche because they THINK it will be a good way to make an income. They don’t realize to make money via a blog is not a ‘get rich quick’ activity – it’s a long-term activity and after 2 or 3 months when there is no money coming in, they get bored and give up.

It really is worth spending time on choosing your niche. I’ve come across so many people who start blogging in a niche and they make no money whatsoever. They work hard, they are committed but get that niche wrong and no matter what they do, they’ll never make any income.

Having a targeted niche means that visitors who come to your blog will be looking for what you are offering.

For instance, if your blogging niche was about “time management”, there are a million and one things you could write about “time management” and you will not be providing specific enough advice or products for the majority of your visitors as the niche is too vast.

But if your niche is “time management for nurses”, there is less to write about but you know the visitors who are coming to your site are interested in “time management for nurses” and are more inclined to return again and again (and purchase from you!).

Also blogging in a smaller niche means less competition.

How to determine your niche

Know your subject

If this is your first blog, or you’ve tried blogging in the past and failed it’s possibly because you chose the wrong subject to blog about.  I always recommend you start with a subject you know well and are passionate about – a hobby, specialized skills or life experiences.

Why?

Because if you are knowledgeable and passionate about the subject the blog post creation will be much, much easier.

If someone you love has an on-going medical problem, for example, your experiences and knowledge will help others.  If you love jazz or you own and maintain a vintage vehicle there will be lots of other people interested. A great blog educates and you become the teacher.

Passion is the key

Remember you’ll have to write hundreds of posts for your own blog, comment on others people’s blogs, write articles for distribution and possibly guest post, so the more you know about your subject and the more enthusiastically you can write the easier it will be for you and the more informative it will be for your reader – you want them to keep coming back.

Is there a need for your niche?

If there are other active blogs and forums relating to your subject, then you know there is an interest in it.

Blogs and other forums can be great sources of information and ideas.  If you are passionate about your subject, you have probably already subscribed to your favorite ones.  This is excellent because if you’ve been leaving helpful comments you have already begun building a reputation.

If you see the same questions and problems arising frequently, you can solve those problems and answer those questions by writing a post and linking your comments back to the relevant post on your blog. This helps to increase traffic and add a valuable backlink to your site and we’ll talk about the importance of backlinks in a later post.

There are very few subjects from which you can’t make money online these days and you probably already have an idea in mind. If you haven’t decided on a niche yet, it will make it a little more difficult, and spending some time doing careful research can save you a lot of money, time, frustration and heartache.

So if you have the knowledge, the experience, the passion and there is an on-line demand for such a niche…you could be onto a winner!

But there is one more major key ingredient:

Make your blog a business

Now it’s time to get down to business – and internet marketing is a business – your blog will be your business. If you want to make money from your blog you’re going to have to dedicate a set amount of hours to your business every week, plan exactly what you are going to do, set yourself goals and get organized.

Starting an internet marketing venture costs very little moneywise, just the price of hosting, a domain name, the monthly cost of an autoresponder service and any other tools or software you think you may need. If you can afford to, it’s always a good idea to reinvest any profits you make early on to make your blog creation more efficient. We will cover the best tools to use and outsourcing in a later article.

If you want to be successful this is something you can’t do just when you feel like it. A website can in theory become a completed product. The essence of blogging is like writing a journal – you have to keep adding to it on a regular basis to get subscribers and build readership.

In the beginning your biggest expenditure with knowing how to make a blog will be your time.

Look out for the next post on the series, “How to make a Blog”  – we shall cover the topic of keyword research.

Even better, sign up here and ensure you don’t miss out by being informed when I publish each post in the series, ‘How to Make a Blog’
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34 Responses to How To Make A Blog Part One: Getting Your Niche Right Is Crucial
  1. Mark Aylward

    Happy New Year Andrew!
    I took a few weeks off from commenting (and most everything work related:)

    I have made the mistake of pursuing a niche based on demand, but without passion and it’s horrible. You have to fight to produce content and eventually give up. It’s not worth it and you usually don’t sound credible when you’re writing about something you don’t love. Check out my latest post yourself please. I really like it!!
    Cheers
    Mark
    Mark Aylward recently posted..You Have A Gift – Share It!My Profile

    Reply
  2. Beat Schindler
    Twitter:

    Like all (?) bloggers, this niche business thing initially confused the heck out of me. Do you look for a niche, or do you create your own? There are as many answers as there are people. Choosing a niche, or creating your own, or something down the middle – it’s clear, there’s no escaping the fact each comes with its set of risks and rewards. Whatever works for you – it works if you work it. The worst is to choose a niche and then complain. Niches are assets, not obstacles.
    Beat Schindler recently posted..Can You See Your Future BabyMy Profile

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  3. Corinne Edwards

    Dear Andrew -

    This series is a very generous offer.

    Friends are always telling me they would love to have a blog but they don’t know how to start.

    I have forwarded this to them so they can sign up and follow along.

    (Now we will see if they are serious)

    Reply
  4. Barry from squeeze pages
    Twitter:

    Nice information. while deciding niche, passion is very important. without having passion for the subject, you cannot deliver your best. with passion, you can involve 100% and can deliver the best to your audience.
    Barry recently posted..OPT-IN LISTSMy Profile

    Reply
  5. Matt Kinsella
    Twitter:

    This can actually be quite hard to do and then stick to it. We often want to be as broad as possible to appeal to everyone but you are right, we should concentrate on a good niche. Thanks for the info.
    Matt Kinsella recently posted..Work Life BalanceMy Profile

    Reply
  6. richard
    Twitter:

    I believe the key is to find a topic that you are passionate about. Either you already know the subject well and just love to share your knowledge, or you have a strong interest in learning about the subject and want to share your journey as you learn. You can pick virtually any topic for a niche as long as you have that passion.
    richard recently posted..Free Premium Services To Help You Save and Earn MoneyMy Profile

    Reply
  7. Sam
    Twitter:

    You’re right, it’s all about hitting your niche.

    Sites can do shockingly well with a small audience and even just around 50 visitors a day if the traffic is targeted enough.

    My 2 cents: Dont get temped to enter the massive search volume markets if you don’t have a passion for it. It’s best to find our niche and excel at it!

    Reply
  8. Joel from Blog Solutions
    Twitter:

    Blogging can be great. Most people find it’s not as easy as they thought it would be. Businesses are hard work and as you talk about, blogging is a business. Great series!
    Joel recently posted..Choosing Ideal Web HostingMy Profile

    Reply
  9. Raymond Chua
    Twitter:

    Hi Andrew,

    This place is like a heaven for starters who doesn’t know where to start from.

    You provide a great platform for them. Awesome!
    Raymond Chua recently posted..QuoteMy Profile

    Reply
  10. Debbie
    Twitter:

    It is really great Andrew for you to give out this information. When i started my niche was just “happiness”. I was making some head way, but not much until you talked to me about it and I changed it to ‘relationships”.

    Just a little change can make a big difference.
    Relationships are about happiness but it small niche to work with and write about.

    Made a big difference for my blog.

    Thank you Andrew many bunches for keeping me on the right track.
    Blessing always,
    Debbie
    Debbie recently posted..The 5 Laws to Contribute to Your Relationship Instead of Contaminating ItMy Profile

    Reply
  11. David Rogers

    Even with passion it can be hard work to sustain a blog, so I’d hate to think what its like without! Also the issue of it being a business is important – blogging can be a very cheap hobby if thats what you want. Having a business mentality will create a different blog. My mistake was to be a bit of both.

    Reply
  12. Amy LeForge

    Andrew, the niche thing can be so easy and so difficult at the same time! I think many of the top money making blogs are written by folks who’ve done a good deal of trying and failing before they got it right. That helps me not get discouraged in my own quest.
    Amy LeForge recently posted..Win a Jockey Bra and Purex CrystalsMy Profile

    Reply
  13. Angel Collins

    This is so true. I have few friends who ventured into blogging and wanting it to be turned into a business but they found it really hard to succeed on it and I think that this is one of their problem, not being able to find their own niche. Thanks for giving out this helpful information and I might save this link and email it to my friends. Good job!
    Angel Collins recently posted..MSDSonline Offers GHS Guarantee – Risk-Free MSDS Authoring for GHS Adoption by OSHAMy Profile

    Reply
  14. Barry D.
    Twitter:

    What are some programs that help narrow ones niche market. A program that helps sort keyword to help search for a good niche market. Or is there a specific blog you can reccomend like yours that deals with Niche Marketing, or an e-book.
    Barry D. recently posted..SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORKING THE GIANTSMy Profile

    Reply
  15. Katie Woodard from Hip Hop Blog
    Twitter:

    The niche I chose is definitely not one of the easiest. There are a million Hip Hop Bloggers, but I chose the thing I love, and I think that is the best way to go. Blogging never gets boring for me because I love music.
    Katie Woodard recently posted..Bei Maejor – The Truth Music VideoMy Profile

    Reply
  16. sai krishna

    i think niche is very very important then other things in blogging .. i mostly have experience with 2 niches. 1.Tech niche , 2nd . Blogging Niche .. saying with my experience that Tech niche is very easy to get success and able to monetize with Adsense .. Blogging Niche is very hard to get success but its very very valuable then other niches ..
    sai krishna recently posted..Google making changes to Privacy PolicyMy Profile

    Reply
  17. lee

    I’m glad to subscribe to your blog. You are right. As a newbie, I was very excited to get started till I got somewhere wrong without me realizing. Though I’m very passionate and have plenty of time for online business, I need to educate myself first before I jump to the pool! Thanks very much Andrew for your guidance.

    Reply
  18. Elena Anne
    Twitter:

    This a really good article and I agree with all the things it says but it only says what you need not how. How do I know my niche isn’t too broad? Is there a resource I can use to tell me who is searching for what? What makes it a good profitable niche?
    Elena Anne recently posted..Acupuncture for Anxiety and DepressionMy Profile

    Reply

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