Want to know a secret?
It took me 10 years to figure out what to blog about.
That’s right. 10 years! 10 years spent launching numerous different blogs, and all of them failed until Wondernote — the blog you’re reading right now. So what changed?
Why all my old blogs failed
Prior to Wondernote, I wanted to blog about sooo many different things. Every time I tried to pick just one topic, I would immediately think of an idea for something in a different topic to write about. Having only one topic felt limiting! After all, I had so many interests and ideas I wanted to share. Maybe you have a lot of interests or passions also. Some of mine include:
- Fitness
- Healthy eating
- Weight loss
- Shopping
- Beauty
- Design
- Home decor
- Travel
- Photography
And I still love all those things, but I don’t blog about all of them on Wondernote. This blog is dedicated to the Graphic Design category, and all my articles fit as closely into my niche as possible.
In fact, once I identified a niche to write about, I didn’t feel limited. I actually felt the opposite: BLOG FREEDOM. Sounds crazy, right?
What is a niche, anyway?
A niche relates to products, services, or interests that appeal to a small, specialized section of the population, which actually means my blog is targeted at less people rather than more.
Maybe that sounds like the opposite of what you think you should do when it comes to blogging. But let me explain why identifying your niche can actually lead to more blogging success (read: a money-making blog).
Why You Need A Niche
Trends come and go in blogging, and one you may have noticed is the “Lifestyle Blog.” Although, it seems to be going by a different name now.. self-identified “Content Creators,” as seen in Instagram bio’s everywhere. First of all, there’s nothing wrong with have a lifestyle blog, and being a content creator is a great thing.
But lifestyle blog doesn’t mean a lot to search engines. And it doesn’t mean a lot to searchers themselves. Think about it. Imagine a 23 year old girl searching Google for “how to french braid your own hair.”
Imagine you have written a great tutorial on your blog about how to do this, but you also write about personal style, family-friendly recipes, and your vacation to Mexico. Imagine your competition with a nearly identical article.. a blog entirely dedicated to hair care. Who do you think will rank first in Google’s search results? Your lifestyle blog with one article about hair, or the blog with two hundred optimized articles about hair?
See what I mean? A niche of hair care blog vs lifestyle blog gives you the competitive edge when it comes to SEO, and search engine optimization is vital to increasing traffic, which in turn increases the chance of earning money from your blog.
Ok, ok.. I get it. I need a niche. But how do I figure out my blog niche?
How to Find Your Blog Niche
I knew my need of a niche long before I actually figured out what it was. All those interests, remember? It was really hard to narrow it down to just one thing to blog about. But I finally did it.
I had an Aha! Moment when an Instagram influencer I follow shared her blog post titled “Top 10 Tips for Beginner Bloggers.” The very last tip was this: LOVE TO BLOG OR GET OUT.
My first thought after reading that statement was, “Ouch!” I mean, it was a bit harsh, especially coming from someone making hundreds of thousands of dollars per year and basically living my dream life in NYC. Talk about blunt force trauma to my blogging ego.
But as I dwelt on that phrase for the next few days, something clicked for me.
I realized that if I didn’t choose a topic to blog about that I genuinely LOVED, then I wasn’t going to enjoy it..ever. And if I didn’t enjoy, I would never do it. I already do plenty of things I don’t enjoy, like my day job, so why would I add another thing I dread to the mix?
For me that meant I didn’t want to blog about fashion or share my makeup looks. I wear the same makeup everyday. It works great for me, but that’s not very interesting to others! And blogging successfully, afterall, is about OTHERS. Not about us. It’s about the value we can add to the lives of others by sharing what we do best.
For me, it was graphic design.
But it took days for me to arrive at that conclusion. I had to really sit in silence with some questions and my journal.
If you’re ready to identify what you should blog about, ask yourself these questions:
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What do I truly enjoy doing?
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What don’t I get tired of learning about?
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What do I want to learn more about?
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What skills do I have that I could teach others?
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What do my friends say I’m good at?
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What do my friends ask me for advice about?
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What topic do I want to shout about from the rooftops?
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What would I be happy doing for the rest of my life?
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If I could have any career EVER– regardless of my current credentials– what would it be?
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Is my passion something I can make money with?
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How can I make money from my passion?
As you reflect on these questions & more, make lists. Lists of Pros & Cons.
Think. Think Harder.
For hours! Take your time. Don’t rush.
Resist the temptation to copy someone else’s formula for success. By all means, take good advice. But make your own path to success.
If you want to dig deeper, you can download my FREE Worksheet Find Your Niche here. And if you’re stuck in Lifestyle Blog limbo, you may be interested in reading my article Why Lifestyle Blogs Don’t Make Money.
& Tell Me. Have you identified your blogging niche? If so, how did you pick your niche?
If you don’t know what to blog about, read my Best Tips for Choosing a Blog Topic and Download my FREE Worksheet: Find Your Niche.
Want to learn Graphic Design using Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop? Check out my Tutorials:
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