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The Quick-and-Dirty Guide to Niche Blogging: Defining Your Niche
The term “niche blogging”, or a blog with a specific sphere of interest, is buzzing busily around the internet quite a bit these days, as you may have noticed. What, exactly, does the term mean in today’s blogging world, and why should it matter for your business? If you’re a brand or a blogger who mistakenly thinks your topic is TOO niche, stop right there grasshopper. “Too niche” is rarely an issue, it’s how to niche effectively that really matters.
The first step is to uncover your niche topic. And don’t whine that you don’t have a niche topic. Yes, you do. What revs your engine? What topic takes up a lot of space (maybe too much space) in your brainpan? What juicy insider tidbits are you dying to share? Most people have an obscure interest they’ve long squirreled away juicy chunks of information about, but unfortunately for everyone, most people do doodly squat with it. Eventually, it’s bursting out of you in uncontrollable spurts until your friends automatically roll their eyes at each other when you bring it up. Well. You have to turn somewhere to share it, and that glorious somewhere is the internet.
The internet has enabled a treasure trove of niches to be uncovered and lured into the gentle light of everyday life, and fellow devotees are responding with explosive enthusiasm. If you’re curious, doubtful, or even just plain hostile, start your journey here, and we’ll explore the huge benefits that can be reaped from the path of niche blogging.
The Niche Blogging Power Couple of Benefits
1. Small but Mighty Fan Base
One of your most powerful resources to tap into as a niche blogger is your inevitably smaller but also exponentially mightier fan base. There are a lot of benefits to having a following of this nature. For one, you don’t have to persuade or convince anyone to be interested in your topic, because odds are, you already have a built-in passionate and knowledgeable fan base. All you need to do is tap into that already- present interest by sharing your wisdom with your hungry followers.
A second benefit of your small but mighty built-in fan base is that they will inevitably provide you with feedback. Some of it can be positive, some of it can be negative, but don’t get your ego in a twist about it. They’re telling you what they want so you can make their experience more enjoyable, efficient, and fulfilling, so listen to them, and interact with them too. Paying close attention to your readers also means they will feel more valued, potentially even bringing in more readers.
2. Less Competition = Quicker Rise to Authority
The very nature of niche blogging means you are in a smaller pool, but take heart! That’s actually a very good thing. In the constant ongoing noise of the internet, being in a small pool means it’s that much easier for you to stand out and be memorable. The lack of competition means your rise as a well-known and trusted authority will happen much more quickly than it would in a non-niche sphere.
4 Must-Haves to Make Your Niche Blog Unstoppable
Appealing to your audience can be easy breezy…or it can be keyboard-head- banging hard. Stop sweating. To smooth this process for you, we’ve arranged a tidy checklist of how to make your niche blog into an intensely clickable, shareable, and essential hunk of internet meat that your audience will delight in. After all, there are thousands of blogs out there, why should your audience pick yours? To make your niche blog an unstoppable powerhouse, it’s important it possess the 4 must-haves of passion, knowledge, authenticity, and consistency. Don’t get intimidated, grasshopper! A sense of humor goes a long way too.
1. Passion
What are some of the blogs you connect most with? Why do they resonate with you? No matter the topic, the best and brightest blogs are sparkling with true energy and excitement about their topic. To apply this to your niche topic, think about specifically why this topic calls to you and why it keeps calling to you. What does it give you? How did your interest start? Who has influenced your perspective on it? Show your audience why it matters and watch how they respond.
2. Knowledge
To become a trusted authority, you absolutely need to be knowledgeable and to know what in the blazes you’re talking about. But that’s not hard. There are infinite resources available, from other blogs, to books, magazines, friends, and forums, so soak all that information in like a sponge. Get as many sources and points of view as possible so you know as much as possible; in other words, nerd out about your topic. But it doesn’t stop there. You have to stay on top of the game here, which means constantly finding out new information and perspectives on your topic. You can’t ever stop learning, otherwise your status as an authority could start to slip.
3. Authenticity
Do not sound like everybody else, find your own voice. You’re niche blogging, which means you already aren’t like everybody else, so don’t be afraid to show it. Don’t get anxiously bogged down in doing things “the right way”, because the truth is, there is no right way. So do it your way. Your readers will respect and appreciate your refreshing honesty to be yourself.
To be fair, you might not have your voice right away. To get it, jump right in and start splashing around. Play with it, keep what works and abandon or change what doesn’t. Keep writing until you start to relax and feel more comfortable. Don’t get discouraged. Just keep going. Maybe promise yourself some snacks when you finish.Gradually, your own voice will emerge and shine through, and once you have it, you can’t lose it.
4. Consistency
Your readers are devoted (hopefully), so don’t let them down by being flaky. Trust over the internet can be quickly gained but also quickly lost, so don’t fall off the map just when people are starting to like you and think of you as a real person. Your role as a niche blogger is to continuously supply your audience with that unique connection, so commit to it! Be it every day, once a week, or 2 times a month, be reliable and consistent, just like you would in real life. Tell your readers which days you’ll be posting so you have to stick to it.
Now, you’ve learned what this thing called niche blogging is, the so-huge- they’re-almost-ungainly benefits of niche blogging, and how to consistently resonate with your audience and become a top-notch niche blogger. Now throw yourself out there and start doing it! Your readers have been waiting for you.
