Hey blogger bud! I had another topic I wanted to share about today, but I realized that post just wouldn’t be as useful if I didn’t write this one first. Gotta have that foundation, right? I’ve also been getting questions about this on Twitter and thought, gah! My peeps need this! So, my friends, here we are. Today’s post is all about choosing a niche for your blog and why it’s truly the most important thing you’ll do for yourself, your blog, and your audience.
When I started my business, I really didn’t have much of a niche. Like glitter at an elementary school, my content was all over the place. I wrote about anything that interested me and that I thought other people might enjoy, too: self-development, blogging tips, travel, recipes, my life, my dog’s life (seriously, there are entire posts dedicated to my dog). It was fun to have total freedom in my content, but as my blog slowly grew into a business, I began to realize that I could reach a lot more people if I wrote about a lot less things.
Wait, hold up. Let me repeat that because it’s important: I could reach a lot more people if I wrote about a lot less things.
It might sound counterintuitive to growing an audience, but the more you focus your blog, the more of a chance you have to increase your readership and reach. Ready to rock and roll? Let me break it down for you.
First, let’s check out a couple scenarios to explain this whole niche business and why it’s important:
- Blog A writes about anything they want — travel, their life, their kids, books, and occasionally a paleo recipe since they eat strictly paleo.
- Blog B is all about that paleo lifestyle. They’ve got recipes, factual information, even an e-book about getting started with a paleo diet.
So, let’s say a new blog reader saw a graphic for a paleo recipe on Pinterest. This blog reader, let’s call her Samantha for funsies, recently started eating paleo and is pretty stoked about it. She sees this drool-worthy paleo recipe pin and decides to click it.
If that recipe takes Samantha to Blog A, then she might read the recipe, love it, and decide to click around. There’s a chance she’ll fall in love with your site if she is, coincidentally, your soulmate, but more likely than that, she’ll click around, see posts about things that don’t interest her, and leave.
**I want to point out that in this scenario, it doesn’t mean that your other content is bad. No way, José. I bet it’s awesome, but it’s just not the right fit for our girl, Samantha.
Now, on the other hand, if that paleo pin takes Samantha to Blog B, then she might read the recipe, love it, and click around, just like in our first example. The difference? When Samantha clicks around Blog B, which is full of useful paleo recipes and info, it’s going to rock.her.freakin’.face.off. If Samantha is really into this paleo stuff (which she probably is if she took the time to click over from Pinterest), then she will probably follow your site, devour your content, and share it with her paleo pals who will then do the exact.same.thing. This is how exponential, organic growth occurs.
This also begs the question that I know many of you might have right now: if niche sites are so important, then what does that mean for lifestyle blogs?
Taking our two blogs from the previous example, Blog A sounds like a typical “lifestyle” blog, right? Blog B, on the other hand, has much more specificity in its content, but still has room for “lifestyle content” if it fits Blog B’s ideal reader, Samantha. For example, if every now and then, Blog B shared a post about the environmental volunteer work they do in South America or about their personal struggles with whether or not to put their kids on a paleo diet, it would still likely resonate with Samantha, since it falls under a similar umbrella of interests.
The big takeaway here?
If you focus your blog on a specific niche and audience, you’ll grow your site (and likely, your income), much faster and more easily than if you choose to write a blog about many unrelated topics. This all boils down to your ideal reader and how you fit into their life. It will benefit you to think very deeply about this person.
Who exactly are they and how does that identity connect with what you have to offer? While Samantha may be interested in a whole foods, paleo diet, what other types of things might Samantha then be into? How can you incorporate Samantha’s interests and lifestyle into your content in a way that makes her feel like your site was made for her?
**By the way, I often hear people say that they don’t know who their ideal reader is. If you are that person, then you probably need to narrow your blog’s focus more. It can be difficult to pinpoint an ideal reader for a scattered blog, simply because there isn’t one ideal person that your content appeals to. Once you narrow your focus, the “right person” should become a lot more obvious. The Heavens of Blogland will part, promise.
Will you feel limited/stuck/bored by narrowing your content?
Before I narrowed this blog to be mainly blogging and business tips, I was worried that the switch to a more defined niche would end up being boring for me. I liked doing the occasional recipe, sharing photos from my vacations, and writing posts from the perspective of my dog (ha!) — would blog and entrepreneurial tips get old? In my experience, the answer is no.
In fact, ever since I narrowed my own content, I actually find that it’s way easier to generate new ideas, since I have a specific type of person that I’m writing for. I just think about what they need, rather than thinking about what I want to write about. Make sense? This brings me to my second point…
If you narrow your blog’s focus, make sure you are passionate about it.
Perhaps blogging came more easily to me when I narrowed my focus simply because I LOVED sharing advice with other bloggers and business owners. It was my calling and what I enjoyed writing about more than any other topic. Had I narrowed my focus and turned my business into a DIY blog? I would have gotten bored because I don’t feel the same passion about DIY projects as I do about biz tips. It doesn’t mean one topic is better than the other, just that one topic is better for me.
In your case, you’re the only person qualified to decide what you’re passionate about sharing. If you have two equal passions, see if they can work together harmoniously, or consider dropping one of them if they are absolutely out of sync.
The bottom line?
In the end, the two most important things I hope you glean from this post are:
- Narrowing the focus of your blog will help you grow it faster and reach the right people. By the way, those “right people” need to read your content, my friend! Think about how much you can help them by simply choosing a niche.
- Once you narrow your focus, you’ll be able to figure out who your ideal reader is and can then cater your blog or business specifically to that person. #heckyes
Narrowing your focus might sound a little daunting (or dull) at first, but I promise you that if you want to grow your website, it’s one of the best things you can do for yourself and your tribe.
SUCH good timing! I’ve been wrestling with further narrowing my blog content, but I’m not quite sure how. Currently I’m trying to write about my topic(s) in creative ways to figure out what really resonates with my readers. What you’ve said here makes so much sense.
Still, I look around at successful blogs and I see them covering a variety of topics: DIY & travel; DIY & food; faith & travel; fashion & travel; or like yours, blog/business/lifestyle. And I, as a reader, love that about those blogs! Would you say that as long as there’s a clear *central* theme– or posture, if you will– it’s okay to branch out and write other awesome pieces, even if they don’t fit perfectly?
Hi Daisy! That is a really excellent question. In those cases, I think it’s important to consider that the audience is the same, even though they blog about different things. Here are a couple examples:
http://sugarandcloth.com/
http://designlovefest.com/
Both of those blogs blog about different things (Sugar and Cloth shares recipes and DIY projects and Design Love Fest shares all kinds of things, really). But what brings them together is how they are marketed and created. Sugar and Cloth has a very definable aesthetic and I can usually tell when a project is hers if I see it on Pinterest/Instagram, whether it’s a DIY project or a drink recipe. Design Love Fest is the same — even though she blogs about lots of different things, her audience is very design-minded, so it works.
I’d say, it’s important to find YOUR aesthetic/style/value and decide who that attracts and how you can combine several topics in a way that feels very uniform. Hopefully that helps a little. 🙂
AHH Melyssa! Seriously love everything about this post. 😀 You presented all of this in a way that’s super duper clear and understandable. I’ve seen a lot of posts that say you SHOULD have a focus, but then never really get into the Whys or Hows. You totally nailed down both of those!
You’re so right, having a focus makes it soooo much easier to create content because you know exactly who you’re creating for. When I was first playing with the idea of starting a blog, I thought I had to have a gazillion different topics in order to appeal to errybody. Blog + Biz, Positivity, Music, Creativity, Books/Movies, Design, Travel, DIY (and this is coming from someone who’s barely done any DIY projects EVER haha). Ughhh it was just so overwhelming to try to think of content for all of that.
But as soon as I started really working out what I was especially passionate and excited about, that’s when everything started to fall into place! Couldn’t agree more with all of this. Thanks for the epic post! <3 (and btw, the Musings by Monja post was so freakin adorable, just sayin')
Thank you Allison! I am SOO glad that you liked this and found it useful. I can totally relate to having tons of topics on your blog. When I started this blog, I think I had every single topic you named, haha! It helps so much to narrow it down, doesn’t it? Glad you found your focus — you’re rockin’ it!
Thanks so much for this useful post!!
I’m still trying to find an umbrella topic for my blog, but it isn’t an easy task. However, I did my first step creating a Twitter account with the name of my blog where I tweet about social media, blogging, geeky stuff, and so on. It was a super hard decision, because my main Twitter already had 700+ followers, but it had been created to share Tolkien-related stuff and mixing it up with blogging contents didn’t work, nobody interacted with me anymore.
You are so right: finding your niche is the best way to increase the number of followers/readers. My biggest fear, concerning a niche blog, is to run out of ideas pretty quickly, that’s why I’m still trying to figure out what my own niche could be.
That’s awesome that you’ve been taking steps to find your niche and nail down new accounts for it. Woo!! I agree, it’s not easy to discover and takes some time to find what you REALLY love and want to share about. But it sounds like you’re headed in the right direction, Alice. 🙂
This post is so, so needed!! Thank you Melyssa! It’s something I struggle with now and again, since I hear different opinions from my readers and other bloggers about adding different content to my blog (that may fit into the “lifestyle” section of my blog) but it still feels a little random. This is definitely something I’m working on and I can’t wait to see what happens!
Very timely post for me, thank you! I’m currently working on my exit plan from 9-5 and considering reentering the blogosphere (I was very active 5+ years ago when I had a business – kicking myself for not transitioning that over at the time!). So much has changed in terms of marketing and social media and there is a ton to catch up on. It’s so reassuring to find so many successful bloggers sharing ideas and processes. Thank you again!
Wow this hit all the right spots. I have a very typical “lifestyle” blog that doesn’t really have a focus. I’d like to ask about if I do decide on a certain path I want to go with my blog how should the transition process go? Should I try to make it smooth or make a post to tell my followers that my blog is going to be different from now on? Would a new brand and design help with the process? Thank you loads for this post!
http://www.evelinkivi.com
Hi Evelin! That’s a wonderful question. I actually went through a similar transition. Initially, TNC was about SO many topics, but within the past 6 months I really started focusing on tips for bloggers and creative entrepreneurs. I honestly didn’t do anything fancy or specific during this transition. The name and design remained the same, I just gradually started posting more and more content on my new focus. I never heard from anyone that this transition felt abrupt or that they didn’t like it and, in fact, many people told me that they really enjoyed it.
I say, just go for it! The people who like your new focus will stick around and the people who aren’t interested can unsubscribe. 🙂
Great post and it totally makes sense! After blogging on and off for years I am currently easing back in slowly whilst defining my niche, my blogging had fizzled out because I’d gotten bored but now that I’m working out where I want to go with it I’m back on the keyboard!
The first new niche post hasn’t gone up yet but it will do soon…
Very valid points. I’ve been saying this for years. I have a healthy living blog and I try really hard to stick to that.
That’s awesome! I’m sure it helps. 🙂
For the very first blog I had I decided to focus my blog on Fashion and Travel (and originally my first blog was called fashion&travels). At some point I got involved with beauty brands and also started sharing random things and became disoriented. So I started a new blog focusing on these 2 things I like the most: fashion and travels. they are somewhat separate though: one one hand I share outfit posts (and occasionally styling advice) and on the other hand I share travel guides and things to do in various cities. I don’t know how to make it more niche and honestly I don’t know if I want to!!
Oh, so interesting. I’m not quite sure that my blog has a definite focus, but I do think the things I share appeal to a certain type of reader… feminine, chic, gals who heart pretty things and have a taste and aesthetic similar to mine. Hopefully this is enough to keep my ‘lifestyle’ blog relevant! xo
I think that is a great point, Abby! Sometimes, a lifestyle blog can succeed so long as your aesthetic and audience is the same, even when your content differs. Sounds like you are living proof! 🙂
Very interesting post! With so much helpful information. And funny too! I loved your examples! Thanks again, Mel! Blessings!
I love it when people point this out because I’ve seen the benefits of it myself.
i’ve gone from writing for everyone in a long-term relationship to focussing on entrepreneur women – knowing that running our own business is often the biggest challenge in maintaining the relationship they dream of.
Its completely changed my blog and my business, and I feel like I’m helping more people than ever before.
SO glad you’re seeing those positive changes, Jess. I couldn’t agree more and I saw the same shift in my business, too! 🙂
I definitely agree about being passionate about a niche. I just recently narrowed down my niche to everything to just 4 main categories. Although it’s hard to let go of a lot of the stuff I used to blog about, it’s actually quite beneficial. Here’s one thing I learned, if you really really really can’t let go of a topic that’s not in your niche, you can still blog about it (but not all the time) but you have to make sure it’s going to run around your blog goal.
Stay awesome,
http://www.heidepadilla.com/
Thanks so much for this timely post. I’ve been jotting down notes and reading up on finding my niche, and this helped. I’ve heard about finding your ideal audience, even giving them a name and a picture for you to keep in mind when you write…but I hadn’t put two and two together and thought about doing that for my blog. I’m still trying to narrow down my niche. I feel like it’s kinda already there naturally, but I can’t pin-point it enough to put it to words, so that I can continue with that same focus.
It’s a tough idea to swallow but a narrow focus is important! I know just from a reading perspective, I easily get turned off when a blog/website is all over the place. I might love one post but I’ll probably never come back for more if I’m not interested in the other topics.
At first I thought I’d have to choose between my two loves of photography and design but luckily I’ve found a way to combine the two. They are related and I feel that together they can be stronger. For example, helping designers with their photography and on the flip side, helping photographers with design. When both are joined together in harmony, it’s a beautiful thing 🙂
Monica | monica-galvan.com
That’s great, Monica. I definitely think those two can be related, especially because they appeal to a certain type of person — the “hands on” digital-minded creative. 🙂
Great post and you’re so right! It’s so easy to think that you have to cover all topics, but much better to stay focused! Keep up the good work, I really enjoy reading your posts!
Oh man, I could not identify with this blog post more! I’ve had my blog for 5 years with very little growth due to a muddied focus. Then, back in March I decided to really hone in on it’s focus and purpose and it has grown like … quite literally 1,000% in the past few months.
Wonderful tips as always!
xoxo
Allison
http://www.wonderlass.com
Allison, that’s incredible! I am really glad to hear that a focus has helped you. I think it’s the single best thing someone can do to grow their blog. You’re living proof! 🙂
I love this post (and love the example with Samantha!). I just took a minute and outlined my ideal reader and my blog focus became so much clearer. Thank you and you’re awesome as always. Now I’m going to go read that post from your dog’s perspective….
xx, Pia
http://gymbagsandjetlags.com
So awesome, Pia! Love that you took the initiative to define your ideal reader and focus. So important — you rock!
And haha! I hope you enjoyed the dog posts. *grin*
I’ve noticed a definite difference in my blog now that I’ve narrowed my content. It was a scary process (and I miss blogging about some other things and am working on a solution for that), but it’s been well worth it for my business!
I’m so glad you’ve noticed a positive, shift Stacia! I miss blogging about certain things now too, but my solution has been to share about those things on Instagram, which has worked out really well for me! 🙂
Thanks for this post! This has been my biggest challenge since starting my blog. I do sometimes feel like it’s all over the place, but I don’t really know how to narrow it down without feeling like I’m limiting myself. My interests and inspiration are constantly changing so it’s been hard to narrow it down and create a specific niche.
Thank you! This is super helpful. Once you narrow it down, should you go back and delete posts that don’t fit with the new focus, or keep them?
xo, Caitlin
And Possibly Dinosaurs
I’d like to hear Melyssa’s thoughts on this, too!
Glad to help, Caitlin! 🙂 I personally didn’t do that since most new readers won’t see those posts anyways, but those posts do still have the chance to drive traffic to my site and possibly convert those people into new readers (via SEO and Pinterest). I’d say it’s up to you. If, in a few months, you notice that those posts have few views anyways and don’t fit your new focus, then it might be worth it to delete them.
Also tagging @Simone:disqus since she was interested in this, too! 🙂
So I totally get this, but don’t want it to be true–ha! I have a million things I want to write about and it’s so hard because I know I shouldn’t! I actually started a second blog for this purpose and want to start a third–but where does it end?? haha
Amanda // http://www.semihealthyblog.com
I so struggle with this on sisterlocked.com
It definitely is a struggle to narrow down…it’s like loosing a little bit of myself but I do understand!
But, what if there are some things I really want to write about, I really what to share it with others, can I still write it? Or, can I just focus on one area most of the time, but occasionally write about something different?
meilijourney.blogspot.com
My problem is that I haven’t started my blog yet, but I want to (at the beginning) try different topics to figure out what I like to create and write about. My very.. vague focus is to make others feel awesome. So either like “oh hey, i made that. and i feel awesome” or something similar to that. which could allow me to write about multiple topics, and allow me to possibly try different business-y ventures in the future, but Im afraid that it’s too vague. My plan is to start like this, write about topics that i want but then eventually evaluate and narrow down the focus but I’m just not sure if it’ll work out alright.
I think that’s a great plan, to be honest, Reva! That’s how many bloggers start and it gives you a good idea of what you enjoy posting about. Then, in the future (like, 6 months from now), you can narrow down your focus and see some incredible growth. 🙂
I have heard this a million times “you need a niche” but you Melissa explained it so well and I completely get it. I am passionate about DIY and I am only doing that sharing and iPhone wallpaper once and in a while. In future, I would like to share my struggles and tips to overcome them as a crafter which again will come under the same umbrella of interests. And I now no longer feel compelled to write on many topics. Also makes me focused and as you said easier to generate ideas.
Thanks for writing this out:)
WOO! I really appreciate that, Marwa and I’m so happy to hear that this post resonated with you. 🙂
This makes it al so much more clear to me. Everyone told me ‘you should probably get a niche’ but now I really get why. It’s still gonna be hard to find a niche that fits me but I’ll get to work on that!
Woohoo! I am so glad that it makes more sense now, Monique. 🙂
Mel! This is really sound advice, and totally applicable to what I’m going through right now….have a myriad of interests and ideas and need some focus! Also, have a new blog coming up that I’m excited about!
That’s wonderful, Fayann! I’m so excited for you. 🙂
this is so true and you put it in such an easy way that i’m nodding along like yup, you need to do this…i’ve been fairly bored with my attempt at a ‘lifestyle’ blog and have started to develop a biz idea that more closely relates to my knowledge/experience… your A/B example is the kick i needed!
That’s so great to hear, Kate. I’m glad this example resonated with you!
One of the most annoying things with the majority of the old “How to start a blog” articles on the web, is that they tell you to find your niche and then don’t really explain whyyyy you should start said niche. Yes, it generates more traffic and leads to a longer blogger life span, but they never explained that this happened because you appealed to a specific audience more likely to stick around past the first couple of posts. That said, when you first start blogging you’re not quite sure of what you’re passionate about.
Finding your niche is therefore:
1) Writing about what you want to write
2) From those, exploring which one topic you’re most passionate about
3) Narrowing it to just that.
Thanks for this article. It really helped clarify what a niche is, which is a surprisingly complex idea to explain 🙂 x
Ornella || euhnella.com
Oh Ornella, you TOTALLY hit the nail on the head and I love the way you broke it down. The only thing I’d add to your break down is that in #2, I would explore one topic that you’re both passionate about and that can serve your audience. If there’s no market for your passion, it will be hard to create a community around it. Most times, that’s not an issue though. 🙂
You’re so right, explaining niches is surprisingly complex! Glad this article was helpful for you. 🙂
Dear Melissa,
Thank you SO SO SO much for the amazing content of your blog and your generosity in sharing worksheets and so many useful information.
I have launched my blog a few months ago and it started as a creative act in the first place although I want it to become a profitable business. Your blog is a great tool to keep handy and save so much time in understanding things my brain doesn’t even want to concentrate on! I will definitely share it and stay tuned with your pages!
It’s great meeting you and having you around!
GO the Nectar Collective, GO! 🙂
Love from Federica @ http://www.thedreamcorner.net
You’re so, so sweet Federica. Thank you for this really generous comment. Your words mean so much to me! Really glad you’ve found helpful advice here. 🙂
Melyssa, I’ve been looking at your blog all weekend. I’ve always found ‘Find your niche’ to be step one of blog tips posts and it’s difficult when you need further information on how and why. This has been so useful! It’s something I’ve known I’ve got to do but this is written so accessibly that I fully understand and will be able to action what this post talks about. I can look at the things I’ve written and what has gotten good feedback but also what I’ve felt has been my favourite and truly ‘me’. I have had difficulty picturing my ideal reader but this has helped me see that narrowing down my content will help that and it doesn’t have to be the other way around. Thank you so much! Hannah
SO glad you got all of that out of this post, Hannah. I agree, it can be a difficult concept to fully understand. You hit the nail on the head with this, by the way:
“I have had difficulty picturing my ideal reader but this has helped me see that narrowing down my content will help that and it doesn’t have to be the other way around.”
Exactly!!
This is such a great article Melyssa. (But I love all of your stuff!)
Anyway, I’m working on refining and rebranding myself right now, so I can’t get enough of your helpful tips.
Thank you so much!
So awesome, Liza! I’m glad you enjoyed this. Thanks for being here! 🙂
I have found that by having a niche… things were clear, and I agree… I knew who I was serving.
My challenge was that I was serving two niches, in two separate blogs… essentially running two businesses… and nowday’s the lines between the two are starting to blur [and maintaining two blogs is a mission]… so I’m contemplating merging the two! But bringing corporate + entrepreneurial branding messages together… sheesh… this transition feels a little tricky [starting to feel like I may have to pick one down the line]… and yes… the entrepreneurial branding is winning ;D
Oh, that can be SO tough, Emma! I totally feel you. Entrepreneurial branding does always creep its way to the top though 😉 best of luck as you transition, you are going to rock it!
Thanks Mel! After a massive dollop of my own medicine, I have figured out the way forward… YAY!!! But in case there are other entreps who are struggling with this… I just want to encourage you to take the bold step… and start moving [even if it’s tiny steps] towards your passion… each step is one step closer to where you want to be! And Mel is a FAB example of how things can evolve from one space towards another!
Woohoo! I’m so happy to hear you’ve sorted things out. And thank you so much for your positive message to others, so happy to have you here! Have a great day! 🙂
We are slowly trying to find our niche. My sister and I write a wine and style blog that is being pulled more to one direction than the other. I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing, but like you said we need to find who we are catering too. Especially because we are in the new-er stages of blogging and planning, we are finding it difficult to show brands that we have what it takes to work with them as our following isn’t that strong quite yet. However we have found your site to be extremely helpful and entertaining… so THANK YOU! 🙂
Hey Chanel and Emily! I’m so happy you’ve been enjoying the posts on TNC, we are so happy to have you here 🙂 how awesome that you get to work on a project like this together as sisters! Good luck as you get things going, you girls are going to be so awesome!
I definitely need to work on this. Thank you for explaining the how and why to finding your focus. There is so much I am doing wrong right now but I
really want to turn my blog into a business. Right now I am writing
about so many different things and posting about totally randomsubjects. I am not sure what to stick with. I love
DIY but I am afraid I don’t have the time to be crafting 2+ times a
week.
What would you recommend?
Hey Iris! I actually just suggested this to another reader, but maybe you can write separate blogs for your interests. It’s definitely a lot more work, but in the end it can help you narrow down your focus. Also, regarding the crafting, have you thought about batching your work? Maybe you don’t have to craft 2 times a week, but spend a full day or two crafting for the month ahead instead. All in one, instead of little by little. That might make things easier on you. I hope that helps!
Thank you! I think that will help. I have the feeling I can still share my things….even if I only work faithfully on my main blog.
I truly hope that helps, Iris! 🙂
Also, do you think I should remove (at least the last posts) that do not match with the DIY theme?
I’ve been trying to work on my blog’s focus/niche for months now. When I had a blogging class in college before summer break my teacher told me if was like the most important thing, but ever since then I’m just upset and frustrated, cause I can’t figure it out.
I feel like I have a focus, which is lifestyle/life in general. I write about music and books I like and concerts, occasionally I write about fashion and there’s a billion other, very random, things I want to write about. I feel like my blog is more like a personal journal that I share publicly and is more like a hobby/side thing and impossible to ever turn into a business…
My blog hasn’t been online for long. I used to have a pretty great blog before this one (which I had to delete due personal circumstances) and it didn’t have a focus either. I never really cared about my posts being random, I actually loved being able to write about anything. But now I’m trying to give my blog a niche/focus and I enjoy it a whole lot less.. I’m just not sure about what to do anymore, which upsets me cause I love blogging so much.
I completely understand the stress that comes behind turning your business into a blog while writing about personal things, Ayla. Have you thought about splitting your content up into different blogs? You could write an entertainment blog about music, books, and concerts, and a lifestyle blog where you include fashion posts. It is a little extra work, but it may also help you narrow down what your preferred niche is. Hope that helps, hang in there girl-you got this!
I actually never thought about that! For now it’s quite an impossible task because I barely have time to keep up one blog, but I’m starting to realise I naturally focus more on entertainment than lifestyle. I want to write about fashion, beauty and lifestyle, but when it comes to the actual writing I just LOVE music, books, movies, etc.
Thank you so much for this! I’m a little more motivated and less confused about what I want! 🙂
Melyssa, I read this again and I have my aha moment now. I had to question “what am I good at, what is my expertise, what do I KNOW, and how can I help others?”
I am an expert/licensed in a particular area in healthcare – imaging. Perhaps…I’m thinking I can put together an E-book, and write certain content on the blog (have not figured out what that would be, how it would look or work) still figuring it out. I would LOVE your continued advice and help on this. ….next step (blog post after this one)
Awesome, Rose! I’m so glad you were able to narrow it down! 🙂
This is such a good article. I am not going to lie – the thought of cutting my content down to a niche terrifies me. But thinking about it, it would make reaching out to tons of traffic a lot easier, and I’d feel more focused and successful.
Will be working on this!
http://www.roliedema.com
It’s definitely a little scary at first, Roli. But you will see awesome benefits when you narrow things down. Good luck, girl! 🙂
Thanks so much for this post, Melyssa! It was extremely timely for me, as I’ve been struggling with the niche topic quite a bit lately.
The idea behind my blog is to help moms find time for their crafty and creative pursuits, although I find that I tend to gravitate toward writing about a few main topics: scrapbooking, card making, painting, and general creativity – with a few motherhood posts and personal stories sprinkled in. I like the mix of posts because I’m interested in all those things and do them on a regular basis, but growth has been slow, I think exactly because of the reason you stated in your post – Samantha clicks on an article, loves it, clicks around and sees a bunch of other things that don’t interest her, and leaves. I see really nice traffic spikes when I publish and promote a new post, and I get great feedback on my content, but I get very few subscribers and return visitors.
I can’t help but wonder whether I need to focus on just one topic. Does my blog need to become only about scrapbooking? Only about card making? Only about painting and creating art? I had hoped that my audiences would cross over, but they don’t really. Most scrapbookers aren’t artists, and most artists don’t want to make hand-crafted cards. But I really like having an outlet for all those things because I have a variety of interests and would hate to lose the others. I find I don’t create as much myself when I don’t have a public outlet where to share what I make.
Am I making my job a million times more difficult than it needs to be by not focusing in on only one aspect of my creativity? The thought of honing in on just ONE thing makes me sad, and I’m not sure I could do it and still stay motivated to blog.
Hey Elizabeth! I’m glad to hear this post came to you at the right time 🙂 I totally understand the pressure and stress that comes with picking a niche, especially when you have so many interests and passions! Have you considered making different blogs for all your interests? Maybe splitting them up will help you narrow down what it is you truly want to focus your energy on. Good luck girl, you totally got this!
Thank you for the post. I just started blogging a month ago and I am struggling with the areas I am writing about. I am concerned I have not narrowed my niche and that topics I talk about are so broad. Here is the blog info:
The blog is Much Ado About Jax, it is a family and event blog. We have family fashion (men, women, and kids fashion), DIY and crafting done by me, my husband and the kids, and offer a full calendar of events in Jacksonville and some if the near cities surrounding. I also have a love of event planning as well, and thought about connecting that as well on the blog. I am open to narrowing my areas of the blog but would like advice on if what the blog offers is enough of a niche. I am having trouble sometime keeping up with the demand of each area, so any advice will help with this problem as well. Please help
Hey Whitney! I just mentioned this to another reader, but perhaps splitting up your interests into different blogs may help you narrow down your niche. It can be a little difficult, but that might help you figure out and better understand what you would rather put your time and passion into! 🙂
What state is Jacksonville in?
Melyssa helped me narrow down some ideas I had I still have lots of work but I did take a lot of her posts and learned a lot she’s amazing
Truth be told, having a specific niche can get you a long way because that’s what you want to focus on. I used to think having a few niche can get me started with countless blog ideas, but it gets harder as I continue to write because I cannot seem to find a focus. This post is dedicated to those who are looking for focus on one niche, and how it helps to gain readership because most readers are looking for a specific niche.
Sam, that is so true! It makes it easier for you and your reader.
My blog is knid of divided: I have a section for hair health, ordinary bodily health (as in healthy foods), and then I have college tips. I feel that they are all somewhat related, but do not know how to umbrella them altogether.
Help?
Hey Blossom, it is all about positioning. First who is your target. If it is college students, then you can position as healthy habits for college students. Your college tips could fall under mental health, ha!
Thank you for this post! The idea of naming your reader was the kicker for me. I just celebrated my 6 year blog anniversary. It began as a personal blog and a place to share my poetry and my personal journey towards the writer’s life.
I have recently rededicated myself to both the journey and the blog and have been trying to define my niche…this is the most helpful information I have come
across.
One question remains – how much “clean up” of old posts do you do? Is it ok to leave everything up and just move forward?
Thank you again! I look forward to finding more helpful info on your blog!
Hey there! Thank YOU for reading 🙂
I would recommend removing or updating posts that no longer match your blog’s mission. It’s hard to do, but you will find that it is beneficial. With six years, of blogging it can be difficult to do this. I would start with updating your most popular posts. Then analyzing the rest slowly.
I’ve been always had this problem about my blog and my items because I did it to have meaning to my life and that’s why I enjoy it. Yes it would be nice to make money at but I think the fact that I talk with so many people that turn into friends is important because of some very tramatic events that happened I love to be back in the world in a way
That is awesome! Relationship building is one of the best things about blogging 🙂
I had three posts that I was trying to publish when I said to myself I need to take a time out and read your posts and revamp my blog. I saw some huge errors and one post isn’t anywhere .
I will share it after I take time out from the world and find the ideal place in life I’m striving to be.
Woot!
I’ve been revamping almost all my posts and got ahead of the game for at least time to follow the rest of your business planner. I did my about page more about my life going up in Oregon and the coast where I love to create from my treasures also expanded on my talents here’s a post I want you to see what you think but I’m not sure where to post it.
That’s awesome! Is there a link?
I have one important question where I want seem to find a way or reviews that are constantly the best ones or actually how or what to do when I’m writing an e-book on southern Oregon places that are untold about and never seen in the web but I have so many people that love my photography what or how do you start that side of my business?
Hi Michelle, I’m not sure I understand your question…Are you asking how to start a photography business?
I guess I am still learning about my series of beautiful and stunning photos of Southern Oregon where I have shared them on Google + communities for photography and the notifications would not stop all day and night and still. So what I wanted to know should you make a gallery of them to have them available to purchase on a simple free site the is a html code to implement into blogger or should you add a shop that is from another source. This is only amauter work.
Here’s a photo of my next week’s history and photos.
The stories behind These are so fasinating
The bridge is suspended across the Rogue River with the park having 90 different trees.
If you are looking to sell your images, you may have a hard time finding free options. Most services will cost something to sell your items. You can use Squarespace, it has ecommerce built in. You could also use Etsy and brand it as stock photography.
What would you say about blogs that have multiple focus areas, like Cupcakes & Cashmere or The College Prepster? They’re successful but write about much more than just one thing.
These are blogs that have been around sine the beginning of blogging, ha! The reason why that is important is because they took time building an audience. Starting a blog today with an intention of making money, niching down is important because you have to stand out from all the other blogs like these.
As a newer blogger (under 2 years) this is something I find myself trying to figure out and focus on. I’m a “lifestyle blog for the creative appetite” and while I think I stay true to that I really feel the need to hone in on a more specific niche. 2016 is truly a prayer for direction. I love that I stumbled upon your post and I really think your advice if what I needed to hear. Thanks for creating an awesome post, Melyssa!
This is a great reminder. I am wanting to start my own blog, but cannot seem to figure out what my niche is going to be! I am all over the place! It’s good to know that when you decided to narrow it down, you didn’t get bored. Hopefully I can get a ‘narrow’ topic soon so I can start somewhere ha!
Hey Melyssa! I’ve been thinking about this topic a lot since I am enrolled in TBH which I love and learning SO much from! Anyways, my blog is about how to live a natural lifestyle (including essential oils, meditation, recipes and maybe exercise also) while you travel. So its like healthy living on the go, but at times I really just wanna do some inspirational posts. Like, inspire people to live their dreams of for example, traveling or pursuing their passion. Do you think that works? I really want to inspire people to live a happy, healthy life full of adventure (travel)! Any thoughts on this? http://www.lavienaturele.com.
Love,
Angie
Similar to what Alyssa wrote below, blogs like Cup of Jo – that’s the style of blogging I enjoy. Besides calling it a lifestyle blog, I don’t know how to narrow that down when it’s a blog about a variety of fun things. I actually enjoy reading those style of blogs a lot as well because I don’t feel like I’m always getting the same content every time I go read their blog. I’d love to hear more of your thoughts on that!
I’m struggling with this! Lol, but thanks for the reminder and grounding me back into reality. It’s not about what I want, I must keep my clients in mind.
http://thequirklife.com/
I’m glad this was helpful Candace! You can do it! 🙂
I do fall into Blog A description. My main problem is that I am interested in so many things! But of course that doesn’t make it always easy to write about it. So if I was to narrow down the topics I cover, would you suggest getting completely rid of all the previous posts that do not fit within this new blog niche? Or just move forward as if nothing was but narrowing down going forward?
That’s a great question! You definitely want to keep your blog focussed, and narrowing down on your old blog posts may be a great thing to do. Try to decide if one of you old posts is in the complete opposite direction you’re going, or if it can stay and add some good dimension. Hope that helps! 🙂
It does! Thank you!
I am having a lot of trouble narrowing down my focus! My blog is currently about inspiring women to be the best versions of themselves but I feel like my topic is too broad. All I know for sure is that I want to help boost confidence and self esteem while also helping women find their passions and turn them into income. Is there a way for me to narrow that down? Thanks for all of your great blogging advice! I am completely obsessed with your site and your wisdom, it’s so inspiring!
Hey Londyn! Thanks so much for your kind compliments, I think you have a really great start with your niche, and to narrow it down, I would find a handful of concrete avenues / topics to focus on to achieve your goals of helping other women. I hope that helps!
I’m struggling with this as someone who has a website mainly for portfolio purposes, as I’m trying to increase awareness as a fashion illustrator but I feel like to gain traction and traffic nowadays there has to be a blog section. I do enjoy the meditation that comes with writing as well. I’m really struggling with a niche to write about. I’ve started out with just doing illustrations that relate to the blog topic (a little like Garance Dore), but my problem is I don’t only want to write about fashion, as I personally feel it’s oversaturated and there really IS nothing left to write about, there’s only so many times someone can write “10 Ways to wear…” and “5 Accessories you…”. Do you have any advice as far as direction? Not sure who I should be catering to. http://www.bondillustration.com
My best recommendation would be to write out the questions in this post and really think about the answers! Do a big mind dump of everything your thinking about. How can you put your spin the niche you choose? I hope that helps!
Thank you friend,
That was a great thought. I was confused about should I write on single subject or all the things I like. After reading this I decided to write on entrepreneurship and blogging.
That’s wonderful, Bibin! 🙂
Love the information in this post. My blog is aimed at those who want to get into app development but have little time. I really wanted to further niche down and focus on women only but I’m not sure if this is too much of a niche. I did a recent survey and there’s an audience for this knowledge from both men and women. I’m just not sure if focusing my content on only women when I have zero subscribers is a good idea or if I should just target both until my numbers increase.
I think if you want to target women more than men, you can communicate that through you’re branding and copy. Naturally you still might have men go to your blog for more information, but if you feel that your focus should be on women, go for it! It can always be changed. xoxo
Hi Melissa!
Thanks for your post…it really makes sense…specially when you used the Pinterest example – Pinterest is where I’m coming from – after two years of pinning randomly I’ve found myself with 1.7 K followers, and as I don’t quite believe in “random”…I want to take things a little further.
I studied architecture, urban design, archaeology…I’m as creative as they get!!! I´m passionate about needles…embroidery, crochet, knitting….I´m passionate aboutcooking…about tablescapes and parties…and cardmaking and….and…. and…. Fifty years ago I would have been the happiest of women because my daily life would be made of all this and more. Today, in Portugal, everyone has forgotten these skills. There are very few blogs and magazines, all of which display frightful taste and amateur level.
My original idea was to create a “needle” blog, where i could share not only my work, but also introduce my readers to what is being designed out there from France, to Italy, to Germany, to the States…
BUT, all my friends think it would be a waste and that I should have broader contents…much more like a lifestyle blog…sharing taste and skill, showing fantastic Eye candy photos…
I’m divided…and I really want to get things right…
The language is also an issue….I have no competition in Portugal where needles are concerned…but, on the other hand, what growth expectations can I have in a small country where only Facebook is used, and Pinterest is a stranger…?…
I could ramble on and on, but I´ve certainly tried your patience!!!
Thanks again!!!
Rose
I always like to say after all is said and done go with your gut feeling ,especially of you have validated your needle idea.The truth is that you can totally own more than one business.I do ,but i didn’t start all at once.My core business is my teaching/coaching business.But I also have a member ship business for working mums. they are two things I am passionate about and when i realized the benefit of niching ,i went with one first grew it to a point and am using the principles I learnt from one to grow the other.
Thank you so much for the info!! I am still struggling withing narrowing my focus down. I am a teacher, mom, and wife. I definitely feel like I would have more avenues writing about teaching since I already sell things on teacherspayteachers, but I have this big break called summer where I like to think about teaching as little as possible and do fun things with the fam as much as possible.. 🙂 I will keep thinking and see if there is a way for me to incorporate both areas. I thought about doing a “working mom” focus, but moms who are accountants probably wouldn’t be too interested in my Math worksheets
Hi Jennifer! Niching down is definitely a process and requires a lot of reflection but it sounds like you’re heading in the right direction and I hope you figure it out over your big break thing 😉 Best of luck!
Hi Melyssa, and the whole team behind your business. I replied to one of your first newsletter I received in my inbox since signing up. I wanted an advice on how to narrow down what my blog should be about so this post was really helpful but I am still struggling. I am a young graphic designer, who decided to quite her 9to5 comfortable job in the UK and go to look for an adventure in China an English teacher. The reason I quit my job was because I lost my passion about design because we were doing so much commercial stuff which have gradually put me off of being a graphic designer. I want to work on meaningful projects and preferably working for myself. So I decided ages ago I would like to blog about visuals, creativity, my travels around China and experiences there, architecture and just a cool stuff I am going to see and see what happens but I realise that it doesn’t sound like a business but rather my diary and why should anyone be interested in it?… Along my blogging ideas I would like to attract some potential clients who need logos, visuals, art-directing for their ‘meaningful’ projects (this is my portfolio where you can see some of my projects http://www.jhgrafik.com but I will have my blog on a different website http://czechmeintheworld.com/ ) but at the moment I am not convinced that my blogging ideas would attract the right audience and at the same time I am worried that as soon as I will be only targeting people I want to work for I get bored and loose my passion again time. 🙁 Not sure if it makes sense. I’ll be grateful for any ideas, advice… Thank you! loving this places!
Thanks for your comment, Jitka. The only way to find out is to give it a shot right? Narrow down your focus and your audience and see what the affects are. If you find you lose the passion again, then you’ll need to either make mental adjustments, grow your online business in a different direction, or find something else that you are passionate about. Best of luck and please keep me posted on your progress! 🙂
Thank you for sharing these info with us. This help to remind me to stay in line and stay focus.
Awesome! I’m so glad this post was helpful for you, Kevin 🙂
Choosing a focus for my new blog has been such a pain! I know I want my blog to help young men and women overcome some of the less glamorous aspects of post-graduate life, but I want to write about food, money, entertainment, relationships, and on it goes. I feel like the only real angle I have is that most of my ideas involve implementing a budget and getting creative with money based on my own experiences (I put more than 50% of last year’s income toward student loans I shouldn’t have taken out in the first place, and a few other boring details.)
I also know that I won’t necessarily be stuck in my niche if it feels wrong, but I don’t want my readers to go through content whiplash if I change my mind in a year.
I totally get you. Choosing a focus for a blog can be SUCH a pain! But hopefully after reading this post you understand how important and beneficial it is to your blog’s success.
Best of luck, Hillarie! Please keep me posted on your progress 🙂
This is one I’ve been struggling with for a while and I’d be unbelievably grateful if you could help me answer this. We’re an online child health and safety community that’s been around for ~7 years with experts & guests contributing content. We have a decent social media following (~18k page views/mo) but a small email list (~250), which – until we decided to monetize the site – we never really focused on. As we started to think about what product(s) we wanted to create, we realized, we didn’t really know our target audience as well as we needed to, in order to make sure we were creating something they really needed. We communicated with them a lot…it was just all one-way (posts published 4x/week; WW child health/safety news updates sent out via tweets & FB updates 7days/wk). The challenge is we have several different audiences that currently read Pediatric Safety… pregnant couples, new parents, experienced parents, grandparents, teachers, and within each of those there are sub-groups that have different interests and needs.
Which is fine…until I start thinking about the question you asked, and realize not fine!! Because I can’t honestly focus in and answer the question – do you know FOR SURE your target audience – who they are and what problems you can solve FOR THEM, because until we know that, we can’t design content upgrades that help them, we can’t develop deeper relationships, and we definitely can’t design products for them.
So here’s what I’ve been struggling with…if we have different folks who already read us – probably for different reasons – how do we figure out where to focus?? How do we determine who we can help the most? It’s the very first step of your info/product/biz course and I know if I don’t get this right, nothing else matters. So, please.. ANY help advice you can give us here is going to make a HUGE difference!!
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!! -Stefanie
Hey there! On the bright side, it sounds like the topic of your blog is quite focused, it’s just that there are different buckets of people who like that topic for different reasons.
Here’s what I would do: Create something on your homepage that makes it very easy for people to tell where they should click. So, have an image or button right up top that says something like, “I’m a pregnant couple” or “I’m a grandparent,” etc. Then, keep all relevant blog posts for those particular people nested under each of those “buckets.” So, the grandparent category would only have content upgrades and blog posts that are relevant to grandparents who are interested in Pediatric Safety.
Then, you can set up your email service provider so that whenever anyone downloads one of those specific content upgrades, it tags them with the appropriate segment of your audience that that person is.
Now, you’ll have your audience tagged with their appropriate “bucket” and can market to them more individually (and also figure out which segment of your audience is most active/biggest). 🙂
Is having a college lifestyle blog enough of a focus? I want to write about personal development, study tips, career advice and business advice for students. Could it work or should I narrow it down?
That sounds like a narrow enough and very helpful niche to me! Good luck, Palesa! 😀
Hi Melyssa
Thanks for the great blog post – this is something I really need to start focusing on. I’m a very new blogger and I have produced one post to date as my niche is very open and i’m not sure which direction if any I need to focus on.
My vision for my blog is to help women/men/business owners/students/apprentices understand the value of social media but there are a number of ways I can go. I can write tips for business owners – I.E – how to grow your business using Facebook or I can write tips for students/ young people on social media (I.E- how being on social media to kick-start your career). I can also write to people who have no clue about being online so as you can see I have a number of directions where this could go.
This isn’t for a business yet but my long term goal is to be a start-up in the near future, I need some experience and knowledge behind me first though. I’m starting a degree next year which will help hopefully but any advice from you would be amazing.
Thanks for your help.
Tasha
Amazing! It sounds like you’re really honing in on your niche. Best of luck with the process and please keep me posted on your progress. 🙂
Hi Melyssa, Very informative, but… I have been struggling for months and still haven’t settled on my niche. It makes me ‘crazy’ and I really don’t need to be any more crazy than I already am. LOL
Thanks for the information and I’m looking forward to the part 2 post.
Yes, focusing in on one’s niche can be a very drawn out process but hopefully you’re getting closer and closer with each new realization and experience. Good luck, Lois! 🙂
Hi Melyssa,
I’m a gal who loves anything creative. I always have a ton of ideas in my head at the same time. Finding a niche for me is a real challenge because I love so many things! I have a DIY blog that I had abandonned for almost 4 years and now I’ve been putting a lot of energy in for the last month. I’m a mom and a full time worker too… No need to say, I’m busy and my time is precious. But, I’m willing to put the effort. But there are so many DIY blogs out there that I have trouble to see how I can stand out. I try to focus on easy DIY that don’t take a lot of time. As the subtitle of my blog says : “Projets for a busy life”. I also try to make very visual posts. Since I don’t like to read long blog posts (cause I don’t have a lot of time) I figured that somewhere, there’s people in the same situation. (and writing in english is not natural for me since my mother tongue is french (but I’ll get there! In the mean time, I have to double the effort!) Can that be considered as a niche?
The other question, is, as a DIY Blog, I don’t really see how I could monetise my blog. Any Idea on that?
Thanks
Natalie
Hi Natalie! Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment. There are a lot of DIY sites but there is only one you and there is a group of people out there who are going to resonate with you more than any other DIY blogger. Your job is to find them and serve them!
In regards to monetizing a DIY blog, here’s a blog post with some ideas that might be able to help you out right away:
https://melyssagriffin.com/monetize-your-blog/
Hi Melyssa! Thanks for answering so quickly. I did read the article you’ve suggested and it is very helpful. With my french accent and short DIY, not sure what kind of e-course I could do!! 😉 But, I’ll work on it! I always dreamt of selling something and being recognize for it. I just need to find exactly what! Thanks for your input! Natalie
Hi Melyssa! I’m struggling with a possible niche. Struggling, because I can’t convince myself it’s even a niche at all. I’m 45 years old, single, and still live with my parents, partially by choice and partially by necessity. I get flack from some people because it’s not “normal” but I’m learning that it’s okay. It’s given me lots of opportunities to travel and be creative and a number of other things. My question is, would this work as some kind of lifestyle niche? Is it too narrow, too weird, too vague? I just want to share my lifestyle with others and let them know it’s okay to be yourself, as long as you’re happy (and I am!). Thanks, and BTW, you rock! Melissa
No matter what the niche is, you’ll need to provide value in some way, shape, or form. How will your blog provide value to someone? And if so, would people pull their wallets out and pay money for that kind of value? (That is, if you plan on monetizing your blog). If you don’t know the answer to these questions, ask people. You can create a survey, start a poll in a FB group, do research in forums. By answering these questions, that should help you decide which direction to go in. Good luck, Melissa. 🙂
Great advice! Yes, I’d like to monetize my blog at some point. It looks like my next step is research. I know it’s out there somewhere. Thanks so much!
Hi Melyssa!
Really thought provoking post thank you. I write a blog from a niche standpoint, I’m British, fluent in Italian and live in the unique Veneto region of Italy, where my aim is to open up the beauty of this region to an english speaking audience through witty, educational posts and aspirational images. I’m finding it hard to hone in on an audience, as what with the art, travel, landscape and Italian vibes the audience could potentially be large. How do you suggest honing in?
Hi there! I actually think that your niche is homed in enough if you’re just focusing on sharing about the Veneto region of Italy. You can always start there and see what your audience responds best to. 🙂
Thank you for your insight 🙂
I would love to visit your blog! It sounds amazing. What is your URL??
Hello: I’m a retired Doctor of Chiropractic (43 yrs) who has also written two books on the subject. I also have written many articles for health mags. Additionally, I am a professional singer of songs from the 40s -70s, the Golden Era of Music. Now that I’ve been retired for awhile, Using my extensive experience, I thought that my writings could be helpful to individuals who care about their health and would like some natural solutions. Of course I wouldn’t mind the additional income, either. I’m looking for a mentor who can help me the most with the talents and goals that I have. Your recommendations, please!
Hi Jerry! Thanks so much for your comment. To find guidance and mentors, I would recommend checking out my private Facebook group and posting for help in there. You’re sure to get tons of great answers. 🙂
https://www.facebook.com/groups/blogandbizbffs/
Hi Melyssa, I have’t had my blog all that long. I really enjoyed reading your article and it’s giving me some great tips on how to stay on track with my blog. Im a single parent with a teenage daughter, which is what my blog is based around justustwo.com.au . I have mixed it in with lifestyle because I was worried no one would be interested if I followed my niche of Single Parenting a teenager. I’ve been a single parent for many years, but am struggling on how to grab interest. Looking forward to reading more and more of your articles and learning!!
I’m so glad this post was helpful for you, Clare. Wishing you the best of luck with narrowing your focus and please keep me posted on your progress. 🙂
I’m planning to launch my new blog next week, but keep wavering back and forth about the niche. I am a sixty-something Narcissistic abuse survivor, and want to help other women to identify the abuse in their relationships, and then move on. It would also be an inspirational blog, offering encouragement and comfort to women who are struggling with any type of grief and loss. Not sure how to monetize such a blog, but I would love to publish my own story, eventually. Maybe write some e-books…
My newest passion is the whole idea of starting home-based businesses, online selling, and developing various income streams. I’m just exploring that in my own life, but I believe this would help women, like myself, who are just starting over, or also stay-at-home moms.
Can I effectively blend the two ideas in one blog? I would love to hear your thoughts!
Hi Brenda! Yes, I think you can combine those two worlds into one blog but I’m not sure if your audience would be large enough? Doing your research here and seeing how much of a need there is for this concept would be an important first step. You can try asking in forums or Facebook groups to see what the response is like. Good luck! 🙂
Thank you for your input, Melyssa. I’ll follow through with your suggestions.
Hi ,
Obviously this is a very good blog article,
but its topic says how to choose a focus, it ended up stating why we shall have focus on narrow , niche ,
I am not criticising here, as I learnt a very important reason as to why we shall stick to a topic for monetization in blogs, which otherwise is very difficult to understand,
I almost started a Lifestyle Blog that will cover every topic that was a hit. As for me it was a very witty Idea, not knowing that it will be difficult to monetize that way.
but ever since I am not able to narrow down to a topic to start , Can you help sorting out, may be any other of your blog’s article teaches that as well.
Will be a great help.
Thanks anyways
Hi there! This post about how to pick your niche may be more helpful for you: https://melyssagriffin.com/blog-guide-narrowing-focus/
Good luck! 🙂
Hi,
What is the best solution for someone having a lifestyle blog?
Should he/she start a new blog under new domain for a specific niche or just narrowing down the exisiting blog will do the trick.
How did you began to narrow down your blog niche?
Is it because of that you started a new domain under your name. I just want to know how did you do it exactly and where to began with.
Thanks
Hi there, Varun! Great questions! This post describes why I decided to rebrand from The Nectar Collective to Melyssa Griffin: https://melyssagriffin.com/rebrand/
Love it! Great post, and a GREAT point… though counterintuitive at first glance. Thanks for this nugget of wisdom!! 🙂
Thank you, I am happy to hear you found this post helpful! 🙂
“I just think about what they need, rather than thinking about what I want to write about. Make sense?”
This sentence drilled down the idea of focus on blog. simple things give such big revelations sometimes. So far i was wondering what to write if I START A BLOG. I am not even at that bud stage. depressing!
Melyssa, I do SEO i am passionate about my work so i wanted blog on seo. But there are so many of them. I really don’t want to be lost in them. Other than that i am passionate about women entrepreneurs, start ups etc but i don’t have an expertise in it. I would love to read about women entrepreneurs and would like to know more about them but I don’t really have an authority to write about that niche.
But I don’t want to think that i don’t have any expertise to start a blog.
Any help…
Hi Norma, this is a very common question among so many of my course students and readers. I think it’s important to write about something you’re passionate about. Could your niche be SEO for female entrepreneurs? Create all of your SEO articles with the female entrepreneur in mind. Imagine what she would be searching for, and create articles based off of those long tail keywords. Your voice is definitely needed – don’t be afraid to go into a saturated niche if you feel you can offer something different, or a unique perspective 🙂
Thank you so much Melyssa. Your article really helped me a lot. yes, i think that’s a good idea. will give it a try.
How to keep user engaged and what fruitful content to serve to them is greatly described! Great Post, Keep sharing more!!
Hi Melyssa, I just want to start by saying that you are SPOT ON with every piece of content you share. In literally a matter of minutes, I became one of your ideal audience members – and I want to do the same with my blog! Right now, I have the typical “lifestyle blog” that you mentioned. It’s a hodge-podge blog full of random things that inspire me everyday. That ranges from my experience of my parent’s divorce to landing my dream job. Essentially, my content is great but I have little “focus”. So my question for you is, how do I begin to select a niche with an already established blog? I’m leaning towards making my niche about self-development, self-love, and empowerment. I’m passionate about making myself a better person so I’d be thrilled to make content about it for other young women (and men) that feel the same! How would you recommend I start shifting my focus? Should I create new topics/themes and scratch the (killer) other miscellaneous blog posts that I already have? Thank you so much!
Wow, thank you so much, Paige! 🙂 I am humbled by your kind words. I recommend deciding on your focus based on a mixture of your passion and expertise, plus the knowing of, “yes, I can solve the problems that my ideal audience has.” If your current blog/URL doesn’t revolve around the new direction you want to go in, I recommend starting fresh. If you decide to keep your current blog, you can just slowly start adding new content in your new niche, and refreshing the images, about page, navigation bar, and site categories to resonate with this new direction. My blog even still has some of my old lifestyle posts on it! 🙂 Good luck.