I am a strong believer in finding your blog niche.
If you have been around here for any length of time you know how much I encourage my readers, even brand new bloggers, to narrow their focus. A niche can speed up your success and save you time. Who wouldn’t want that?
I believe limiting your writing to a few specific topics does two things. First, it helps you to grow your blog faster because you quickly become known for certain subject matter. Second, it helps you to stay on track because it gives you a purpose. You don’t flit around on social media looking at this and that. You are focused on a few areas of interest and can be much more intentional about your work.
Finding your niche will always be my first piece of advice to any blogger.
However, I am also a realist. I know how hard it is to narrow your attention especially at the beginning of your blogging journey. I totally get the attraction to want to talk about anything and everything when starting a blog.
It took me over 5 years of blogging to figure out my niche. I spent years writing about everything under the sun. So, you’re talking to the choir here.
If you find yourself in this spot, not knowing what to write about, this is my second piece of advice to bloggers: Don’t let not having a niche keep you from starting your blog.
The truth is you don’t need a niche to be a blogger. One of the most important parts of becoming a successful blogger is practice. If you never start because you don’t have a niche you will never achieve your goals. You are finished before you’ve even begun.
That’s lame.
If you have a desire to start a blog or get serious about a blog you already have but you can’t decide on what to write about, just start writing. I’m sure you have a virtual cornucopia of ideas up in your brain of things you want to say to the world.
Well, get on it!
Listen, not everyone can open a tidy little niche blog from day one and make it a huge success overnight. You and I both know not many people have ever done it like that. Sure, there are a few people out there who seem to burst on the scene and do well from the beginning. But the number is very small.
In reality, blogging takes lots of hard work. It requires constant attention and the stamina to keep going even when no one is reading your content, commenting, or signing up for your email list.
At the same time, it’s also an amazing conduit for sharing ideas, knowledge, questions, and life with other people around the globe. There is nothing like it.
That’s why I would never encourage anyone not to start a blog. Especially because you don’t have your niche all worked out. Don’t overthink it. Just jump in and do it.
If you are hesitant because you’ve read what all the “experts” say and they say figure out your niche, but you still don’t know what you should write about, I say, “Bah! Just do it.” Your voice matters and there are people out there who need to hear what you have to say, about a lot of things.
The more you write the more certain subjects will come to the forefront as reader favorites and personal passions. It might take a long time, as in my case, for your true niche to bubble up to the surface. Then again, it may not take long at all. You’ll never know until you start writing and sharing your posts.
If you have a slew of topics you want to cover, make a category for each one and start writing. Now, don’t go make 25 categories. Limit yourself to 5-8 and see where that takes you. Then get to writing. Finish a post or two then write some more.
You have to post a lot to figure out what your audience likes to hear from you. Never underestimate the power of multiple blog posts. They will give you great insight into what you are doing right and where you need to improve.
All you need to know right now is (this is the free advice), “You can blog without a niche.” Don’t let what you don’t know hold you back from sharing what you do know. Trust me, if you are a new blogger there is so much you don’t know right now, if I told you it would make your head explode. Nobody wants to see that.
If you don’t want your head to explode, you can learn HOW to blog by starting here. Jump in. The water is fine. Begin writing and see what happens. You might be wonderfully surprised.
Now, it’s your turn. Start your blog, write a bunch of posts, share them around on social media, and voila! You are a blogger.
What are you waiting for?
Photo by Victoriano Izquierdo on Unsplash
Photo by Héctor J. Rivas on Unsplash
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