This post may contain affiliate links which may give us a commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
I’ve been blogging for over 10 years, but it wasn’t until I defined my blogging niche 3 years ago that I finally started to get my footing in the blogosphere. Out of all the best blogging tips and tutorials, defining a niche for your blog is one of the most important. Let me explain.
For a long time, I called myself a lifestyle blogger. I know some of you call yourselves that, too. But what exactly does that mean? I can’t speak for what it means for your blog, but for mine, it meant that I could write about any topic that piqued my interest. Whether it was faith, fashion, music, movies, travel, sports, you name it, from one day to the next it was anyone’s guess what subject I’d be tackling on my blog.
While blogging in this manner certainly gives you the freedom to write about whatever your heart desires, looking back I can see that, at least for me, it wasn’t conducive to building a loyal following for my blog. My topics were too diverse. While I might draw in a few readers when I wrote about fashion, they were lost when I wrote about the MLB All-Star game. People who wanted to read my posts about faith had no interest in the ones about boy bands and country music. What I was writing was all over the board, and it lacked focus. The result was a blog that wasn’t really all that appealing to anyone.
In January 2012, I founded The Lazy Pit Bull, a pet-centric lifestyle blog with a mission to bring my readers the best in pet-friendly living. Nowadays when people stop by my blog, they know exactly what it’s about, and what they’ll find there. My most faithful readers are people whose furry companions aren’t just pets; they’re family. Now that’s a specific niche, and my blog has grown tremendously as a result of defining my niche and my mission.
Why Choosing A Blogging Niche Will Help You Grow Your Blog
So why should you choose a blogging niche? Here are just a few reasons:
- It’s not until you define what you’re writing about that you can start to know who your ideal reader is. And once you know who your ideal reader is, it becomes a lot simpler to write things that will entertain them and keep them returning to your site every day.
- When you have a specific topic (or series of topics) that you write about, you become an expert. By researching and writing about a particular topic on a regular basis, not only do you become more knowledgable about it, but your readers are more likely to trust the information you’re providing them. You’ll never be a trusted expert on a topic you write about only a couple of times a year.
- Once you’ve found your niche, it’s so easy to write with unbridled passion. And it’s that passion that will set your blog apart from the hundreds of thousands of other blogs on the internet, and that’s what keeps readers coming back to your site.
- When you find your niche, you’ll find your tribe. There is truly nothing better for growing your blog than a supportive group of like-minded, similarly-niched bloggers. It is so great to have others to turn to when you have questions, need opinions, and support. This really is, in my opinion, the nicest benefit of having a specific blogging niche.
Have you chosen a niche for your blog? If not, what’s holding you back?
- Essential Camera Gear For Beginning Photographers - Aug 12, 2022
- Finding Your Friends on Instagram - May 3, 2022
- Magic Mosaic Easter Egg Coloring - Mar 5, 2022
- 11 Recipes For National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day - Feb 24, 2022
- Our Favorite Things – 2021 Edition (Holiday Gift Guide and Giveaways!) - Nov 15, 2021
- Easy Pumpkin Bread Recipe - Sep 2, 2021
- Low Light Photography Tips for the Holidays - Nov 11, 2020
- DIY 30-Minute Thanksgiving Tree - Nov 8, 2020
- The Spanish Princess Part 2 Is Coming - Oct 8, 2020
- Fabric Pumpkins – DIY in 15 Minutes - Sep 9, 2020
- Jack-O-Lantern Marshmallow Pops - Sep 7, 2020
- DIY Mini Herb Garden - Aug 30, 2020
- Step by Step Plan to Drive Traffic to A New Blog - Aug 30, 2020
- Six Tips to Reduce Stress In Your Life - Aug 30, 2020
- How To Take A Food Photo From Good To Great - Aug 30, 2020
So true. I started in a niche, and then sort of got broader toward lifestyle… but I really need to re-focus!! Thanks for the reminder and reasons!
Great article! Struggling with this concept lately and your article helped confirm my decision to separate my new travel and adventure blog from my current website and blog.
Glad I could be of help, Lisa! Good luck with your blogging endeavors!
Thanks. Finding my blogging niche is a struggle for me – ever since the beginning.
Me too, for a very long time, Janice. Good luck with it!
You are very right about this! When I started online, I started with a website, not a blog, and it was a disaster because I was shooting in many directions, like a blindfolded kid hitting a pinata. But once I decided to blog to specific audiences on specific topics, I found my voice and plenty of followers. Those are great points for newbies or for those who still have not found their voice.
“… like a blindfolded kid hitting a pinata.”
I love this analogy! I think this is how a lot of bloggers feel, and it really is simply a matter of finding your focus. I’m glad you found yours and it’s had positive results for you!
Thank you! It took a while, but it’s working. Hitting it on the head takes lots of work, lots of dedication!
What about having multiple blogs with similar branding? I’ve noticed some people split off their savings/couponing into a separate blog and that helped. Also, your following increased but did your income as well? Although I know that following helps to increase your income, it isn’t always the case that it moves at the same speed.
I do think that having separate blogs for different topics can be helpful, but it can be a lot to manage.
As far as income, I will say that with my previous “un-niched” blog, I wasn’t making any money to speak of. But once I started The Lazy Pit Bull and defined my niche, that has made a huge difference in the number of companies and brands who contact me about working together. I honestly believe that once it becomes clear what you’re blogging about, all your opportunities come easier.
I would have to say that my niche is natural hair care and parenting. However, its a tad difficult to showcase them evenly. Its bee easier to talk about hair than to talk about my parenting. I find that the most difficult thing is to talk about my parenting struggles because I’m afraid of judgements, but if I’m going to have a real following, I have to stay true. I’m confident that I will find a balance and have more followers!
It truly is about balance, isn’t it! I hope you find yours! 🙂
I narrowed my blog’s focus in 2013 and doubled my traffic in 2014. I’m currently on track to hit 150k monthly visitors by the end of this year.
It does work!
And I rest my case! You are the perfect example of what I’m talking about. When you can make your blog a reader’s “one stop shop” for a particular topic, which is what you’ve done, that’s when your growth can really take off!
“…have a specific topic (or series of topics)…” I feel encouraged by this phrase! I tend to write in sorts of directions even within one story, then I have to go back and slash most of what I’ve written before posting. By identifying different series of topics I can focus on just one (micro-niche?) at a time then circle back to another related topic later. I’m not sure if that’s what you meant, but that’s my take-away :-> Micro-Niche! Thanks
You got it, Leah! I love the term micro-niche! Perfect!
What a great post, and so very true. My book started out as a book review blog, of where there are elebenty billion. Then slowly I started writing about my previous cat Tara and realized how much I love writing about cats. Cats and books have been my two passions practically since birth. Now Truffles has completely taken over and I’m loving my blog more than ever. I’m writing about cats and books, the two things I could never live without, and I could not be happier.
And I definitely think it shows, Melissa! You are a good example of how writing with passion draws your reader in!
So true! It’s taken me a couple of years also to realize my niche is “Goldendoodles!” I want people to truly associate me with Goldendoodles and everything they are about. I’m moving in that direction now and you’re right – it’s addictive as caffeine (for me that’s serious!). Nice article, I enjoyed it AND I’m a huge fan.
Aw, thank you! 🙂 I definitely feel like you’ve found your niche and you do it well!
Its so hard to establish in the growd of blogs right now.
Beauty Blogs everywhere..fashion blogs everywhere.
I think you can just improve your blog, if you present yourself and people like you as person.
Quite hard!
xoxo Colli tobeyoutiful