Find Your Niche: Your Blog Depends on It!

Even before starting a blog, the first step is to find your niche. Specifically, what are you going to blog about?  People can spend hours, days, even years before deciding on the perfect niche for their blog.  It is an important step – it is so important that your blog’s success and survival depend on it.  

You wouldn’t start building a house without the foundation, right?  The house would fall over for sure! Your niche is the foundation for your website – your URL, logo, your site’s navigation and structure, and everything else is built upon this decision.  

So, don’t start developing anything until you clarify your niche and define your point of view.  It is a crucial step in setting yourself up for success.  Take your time, write out a plan, gather feedback and find something that will sustain your long-term blogging goals. 

Here are six things to help you either find your niche or reevaluate your current area of focus.

1. EVALUATE GOALS

What are your goals for the blog, why do you want to start a blog?  Is it for personal reasons, for a creative outlet, for you family to stay informed, for others who want your expertise, because you have something to say or maybe just to learn?  Establishing the “why” behind your blog can help you establish a niche.  

2. CLARIFY INTERESTS

What are you interested in and passionate about? It is so important that YOU are interested in your blog. You aren’t going to invest time or energy into something that doesn’t even interest you!  And if you aren’t invested, your readers will be able to read right through your posts. Choose a niche that will get excited to get up early to finish that post or stay up late to finish editing those photos.

3. BUILD UPON STRENGTHS

What are your unique, individual strengths?  What are you an expert in?  What do you do better than anyone else you know? Choose a topic and write about things that will make people stop and read.  Make them want to come back for more.  Choose a niche that you aren’t only interested in, but also good at!

4. THINK LONG-TERM

Is there something that you wish you could talk about forever?  Your blog’s topic should never get old or boring to you or you will stop blogging!  Don’t choose something that is a fad in your life. Find a topic that you could, without a doubt, talk about with expertise forever!

5. ADD CREATIVITY

So, maybe you think that you’ve found your topic  Take a second look!  Now that you’ve narrowed it down a bit, you need to narrow it down some more!  There are millions of blogs and websites out there these days – so what sets your blog apart from the others in your niche?  Why should someone come to your website instead of another? Can you come up with a different, creative way to market your blog in comparison to others?

6. UNDERSTAND YOUR AUDIENCE

Finally, audience.  Now, your audience might happen naturally, but you might already have an audience in mind which will help dictate your niche even further.  What will your audience want to see?  How will your blog cater to them and help inform them?  If you are creating your blog for your clients or for your family or whomever – don’t forget to ask yourself what they want!

Are you still having trouble finding your niche?

Here are some resources to help you find the perfect niche for you!