I recently shared 6 tips when starting a blog – and one of them was about your blog niche. In my experience, only topical blogs are truly successful – here’s why.
Your blog niche helps you build your authority
You cannot know everything about everything, right? So when you have a blog niche, you make sure you blog only about the things you are knowledgeable about. When you share your expertise with the world through blogging, I promise you Google (and everyone else, for that matter) will notice you know your stuff and if interested, will check you up, regularly. Which brings me to my next point!
You readers are more likely to become loyal if you have a blog niche.
I might like traveling, and marketing, and blogging, and wine, and photography… But think about it – I am more likely to visit 5 different blogs tackling the above separately, and not a single blog which talks about all 5 things and more. I am not a fan of blogs where all kind of info is being posted just for the purpose of blogging and sharing. Yes, I find interesting content from time to time, but more likely – I will never return to that blog; at least not for the authority of its content.
Your readers will always be targeted, at least the regular ones
Once you have proven to your readers that you really have something useful and interesting to say in a certain niche, those who take interest in that niche will return, and regularly. Whether they have some time to kill, or like drinking their coffee in your blog’s company – it doesn’t matter. The important thing is why they come. And the short answer is: because they know they will learn something new or they will read something interesting, useful, and worth sharing.
Topical blog will help you build your community of commenters
I recently wrote about dos and don’ts in blog commenting. Let’s pretend we have only valuable commenters. I think it’s safe to assume that at some point, these valuable commenters have turned into loyal readers. The readers’ interest and your writing (whether provocative, or practical, or both) combined will spark a conversation. You are no longer a logger who preaches – you are a member of the community which is formed around the topics you discuss regularly on your blog. How cool is that?! π
Last but not least – define your blog purpose along with its niche
What’s your blog a tool for? You show your knowledge and expertise in your blog niche; or promote your services; or you write a company blog and want to promote their product indirectly; or inspire readers; or help them be better at something; or develop affiliate marketing; or just monetize the traffic through adsβ¦ Whatever the case, have a clear idea about your purpose when blogging. Only then you can put your heart into it and make loyal readers, commenters, and eventually – conversions (sales or something else).
These are great tips for the novice blogger. I too have seen many blogs that seem to lack a focus. I believe that you can really develop relationships with your readers when they are in your niche. You are able to learn from them and also teach what you know. Great post.
Thanks for your comment. Can i ask you to use your name though? It’s not nice to see companies and/or keywords instead of your reader names – i’ve blogged about that, too a couple of weeks back π Setting up your gravatar account with your name is good for SEO, too! Thanks for stopping by π
Hi Diana, Thank you for the tip. I will be going back and reading your articles as I am new the to blogging community. π
You’re welcome, Elizabeth! Thanks for following up on the tip and sharing your name with us – i am glad i could help and hope to see you soon around π
I agree with you, Diana. Having a niche helps! I have two blogs, and am still finding my way. I would appreciate a quick look at my blog, and any feedback you have! Thanks bunches!
Thanks for stopping by, Lorraine! Let’s connect on LI or send me a message through the site – i would love to check out your blogs and send you my thoughts privately as doing that via comment seems inappropriate or the very least – very limiting π
I looked for you on LinkedIn, but many have your name. I am the only one with my name, so I will leave contact up to you! I won’t leave links here, just the names of my two blogs, Lorraine Reguly’s Life, and Poetry Perfected. Two different platforms for two very different types of blogs! I agree about the commenting issue, but cannot find a solution for it at this point… sorry, and thanks for your interest. π
Thanks for your comment, Lorraine! Well, not sure why you are looking for me on LI by name as there is a direct link to my LI profile (as well as other social profiles, and even email listed on some of them!) both on top and in the footer of my blog. If i wanted feedback for my blog, i think i would be persistent and actively reach out rather than waiting for the reviewer to reach out… after all, it is you who wants something, right? π Find me and i will reply as time permits.
I did not see the buttons on your blog, as they blended right in with the background. Sorry.
Thanks for pointing them out. I will find you, surely, now! π
OK, that’s depressing. I’m an artist who talks about art, family, travel, stories to engadge. So am I just bound for failure? I found you through BHB.
Well, i wouldn’t say “bound for failure” but I’ve noticed that topical blogs just perform better if you are after large audience and loyal readers. “Here’s what i am excited about” type of blogs mostly attract friends, family and colleagues, in my opinion. But hey – what do i know?! After all – if your blog is to fulfill your needs of blogging only (regardless who reads it and how often) – why not blog about everything or anything in the same place, right? Thanks for stopping by, Sandra!
Diana, true, a niche helps develop loyal readers. I have two blogs: one with a set niche and the other less so. Interestingly, my older blog, the one with less have a set niche, generates more traffic to my website in general. I can see benefits to both approaches. Having a niche is ideal, especially if you have a business in that niche, but someone who likes to blog in more general fashion shouldn’t just throw in the towel. So, Sandra, for example, is hardly bound for failure. I only just discovered her blog last night, and I loved it.
My thoughts exactly! Maybe it was not clear in my previous comment but no blog is bound for failure if there’s no niche as long as the blogger blogs with passion π The difference in my experience is how large audience is being reached π Thanks for your comment, Leora!
It funny, I have a life style blog that shares tories, wine, and food. Each in and of itself could a niche but somehow It works. I have followers who love my stories, I have followers who love my wine reviews and I have followers you love my recipes. Sometimes they over lap and some times they don’t. π
It’s great that you have found a way to make things work, Susan! Thanks for stopping by π
Great blog piece. I have been in some ways struggling with finding my niche, but it was always in front of me, I just couldn’t see it. I have my own personal style of talking about food and sport culture, in particular Italian food and sport – which are intrinsically linked.
I came across your post on linkedIn. I’ll add you to my blog reader, what a find. Thanks.
Thanks for your feedback and encouragement, Gino! I am glad you liked the post and that you’d add me to your reader π Although i’m not a fan of sports, i’ll check out your Italian cuisine pieces right away π
A specialized blog is a great way to reach a certain audience. But you can also build a following with an approach that covers more ground. Consistancy and professionalism (based on who you wish to reach) tend to win out more often.
totally agree about consistency-and-professionalism approach, Jon – thanks for your comment and addition! π
I’ve settled on a niche that offers variety within the scope of being a book blog that belongs to not only an author, but myself as an editor and teacher. I hesitated to focus on just editing tips or writing tips or book reviews because I didn’t feel I had much to offer in each niche. However, once I broadened my niche to take into account my varied literary background, I’m happier with the direction my blog is taking. Now I just need to focus on gaining more traffic. The best blogs are driven by passion, so at times an varied topic approach an also work.
Thanks for your comment, Jeri, and for sharing your “story” with me and with all the readers here π If i may, i would use your blog to “showcase” why exactly i say having a blog niche is important. And by the way, you do have a blog niche, a bit broad but still – it is all about writing and literature so i think it counts π
Anyways, i am a semi-loyal reader to you blog. Why? Well, i find VERY useful your tips and exercises about writing, sentence structure, etc. And i do like your posts about blogging (there’s one post with exercise how to come up with new topics, i liked it so much that I linked to it in a post of mine ;-)). However, you have a lot of book reviews, too. I am not a book reader (sorry, i know it’s bad but what can i say?!) so whenever i see you publish a book review – i do not even go to the blog…
So, if you look at me as your target reader, i am NOT a loyal one – because i visit your blog only when you post writing tips or blog tips. So, if you had a blog only about writing tips, or only about blogging tips – i would be a loyal reader of both! π
Hope this helps and thanks for stopping by π
I completely agree. Blogs that jump around can be a little annoying because it leaves you wondering how they can know about all of these things and how well do they know these things. Focused blogs come across clearer and are easier to trust. I write for a few different blogs but always on the same sort of subject.
Thanks for stopping by and for your feedback! Hope you’ll find more useful tips around here as time goes by and my blog posts pile up π