I’ve been blogging for almost two years now (WHAT?!) and at first I was convinced I didn’t need a blogging niche. With a name like And Possibly Dinosaurs, I figured I could get away with the “kitchen sink” idea and blog about a ton of different stuff: DIY, movies, books, hockey, travel, animals, and just life in general.
And my blog was fine. It wasn’t great, but I was enjoying it. For a while.
When I wanted to take my blog to the next level, though, I really had to re-evaluate this idea. I couldn’t get away with a niche-less blog forever if I wanted to keep growing.
After all, this isn’t Xanga.
I obviously hadn’t put it on my list when I first started, because I didn’t really know much about it. I was just getting started and was the one taking in the advice, not the one giving it out.
So I slowly started adding blogging tips into my editorial calendar.
But there are so many blogs out there with blogging advice. I knew I didn’t want to write exclusively about it, and I wanted to make And Possibly Dinosaurs unique. But how?
One of my favorite recurring features is Feminist Friday. Feminism is a big part of who I am, so I wanted to continue to write about it. And I wanted to keep my personality in it, so I kept Lifestyle.
Once I knew what I wanted to write about, I had to figure out my target market. When combining blogging and feminism, I realized the perfect audience: women who want to take control of their own lives and support themselves through blogging.
It’s completely different from my original blogging niche (or lack thereof), not because the topics are different, but because it’s incredibly specific. I’m writing to a specific set of people, rather than just writing about whatever strikes my fancy.
It made me nervous at first, because I wasn’t sure I would be able to come up with enough post ideas in two or three categories.
But here’s the thing: I actually had more ideas. Narrowing my topics down really got the creative juices flowing, and it’s never been easier to come up with blog post ideas.
Sure, I still get writer’s block from time to time, but not nearly as often as before.
So, why is it so important to have a blogging niche?
There are two main reasons.
1. You know who your audience is, so you can really write to them.
It gives you a big focus so you know who they are, what they need, and why they need it.
2. You’re more likely to keep your audience sticking around because you’ve got so much helpful information for them.
If I go to a blog and read a post I love about graphic design, but then I click around and find out that the rest of the posts are about the author’s pet cat, am I likely to stick around? No. But if I find other posts about graphic design and other topics that interest me, hell yeah I’m going to stick around.
It’s a tough transition to make at first. Trust me. Taking hockey out of my blogging focus was one of the most painful experiences I’ve had with my blog. #truth #isitoctoberyet?
But I promise you it’s worth it. Not only does it make blogging easier, it also makes it more fun, because you’re only blogging about things you love!
What’s your blogging niche? Let me know in the comments!
I’ve been blogging since… 2008? Maybe? Somewhere in there. I’m all over the place but that’s kind of who I am as a person so it fits. I also wanted to move my blog reviews to it’s very own blog but ugh.. it’s SO MANY. And now I can’t just switch blogs because all of my review profiles are tied to this and if I switched, it’s like starting from zero with publishers. It took me this long to get to this point, I’m not going back, dammit. LOL. 😉
Haha that’s totally fair! If it’s working for you, great! 🙂
My blogging niche is mostly parenting, with special emphasis on high risk pregnancies, like twins and premature birth. I also throw in reviews and healthy lifestyle stuff because that’s what I’m going through and it relates to families too….I hope.
I feel like you have a really well-defined niche, Shann! 🙂
Really helpful perspective. I like the idea that narrowing your focus actually inspires more ideas and helps zero in on who you are writing to. Thanks!
Glad I could help, Brooke! 🙂
if you are all over the place, which I see a lot of people are, how can you be true to what you saw as your blog vision? It’s not always easy, huh?
So true!
that’s actually a great advice. I don’t really have a focus beside blogging about life. But you’re right, I can see how narrowing it down to what people like reading will make them stick around for the next ones.
Thanks, Andrea! 🙂
I feel like I know who my audience is supposed to be just need a resonating voice
That’s a tough part, too!
I love this. I’ve really been struggling with finding my niche since I moved to a new city and went from being one voice in Mount Pleasant to one of a thousand voices in Chicago. It’s definitely a tough trick to master, that’s for sure! I’ve loved seeing your blog’s voice evolve throughout the years though. It’s so interesting!
Randi with an i
Thanks, Frandi! 🙂
Yes! Great post. I started out as a kitchen sink variety blog too. But after blogging for a year, I feel like I’ve found my voice. I like to write about self-improvement and books. It might be an odd combo, but it’s my niche and I love it. You are totally right, writing is so much easier because I know who my target audience is now!
I love that! If the combo makes sense to you, I don’t think it’s odd. 🙂
That’s so awesome, Isabel! I was the same way. I go from one thing to the next very quickly, and my blog did the same. I’m really happy now that I’ve found my niche! 🙂
How do you go about figuring out your niche? I passionate about all things “people,” (i.e., psychology-esque things). Like how we relate to each other, what motivates people, how we can be more productive or increase our motivation, etc. I have a foundation (i.e., I have a masters in psychology), but I am by no means an expert in these things. Do we need to be?
It’s a little tricky when you get into the science / mental health / medical side of things, but overall I’d say you don’t need to be an expert in those things. But if you’re talking about anything that could be taken as medical advice, make sure you add a disclaimer that you’re not a medical professional, and if the reader feels like the issue might be serious, they should talk to a medical professional about it. That wouldn’t be as big of a deal with your productivity / motivation posts, but I could see it getting a bit sticky. 🙂
I’d say test out the posts you’re interested in and see what your audience gravitates toward! The more you put out there, the clearer it will become what your niche should be. You want it to be a solid combination of what you love writing about and what your audience connects to.
Good luck! Sounds like an awesome niche! 🙂
My blog niche is mainly about Books, Book Reviews, and Book-ish Product Reviews. I’m trying to make it more monetary but am having some issues on pushing that out, as well as creating more Freebie pieces geared towards the niche and having there be interest. Any Ideas?
Ooh I love that idea! I’d recommend signing up for affiliate programs so any time you link to a book, you get a kickback if they buy it. Starting with Amazon Affiliates would probably be your best bet. And for freebies, I’d do things like a fun Fall Reading List printable. 🙂 Good luck!