Narrowing Down Ideas To Find Your Niche
Okay, so if you are like me you have tons of interests and issues that you are passionate about and feel that given the opportunity (and time) you could have a blog on any of these one interests.
So the question becomes how you whittle these down to find the “one” for you.
1. List your topics. If possible, in order of preference. If you don’t have a preference, then just write them down however you would like. It might be better to write each down on separate pages it depends on how much you write. If there is a definite leader, maybe you should focus on that particular issue, if there are two or more that stand out, well that’s when we’ll do a little bit of researching. GET USED TO IT, you’ll be researching quite a bit. ?
2. For each topic that you have pick your favorite search engine and check how many hits your topic receives, take note. Next, type in your topic again but put the word “blogs” at the end and see what comes up. Click on as many blogs that you feel necessary in order to get a better understanding of that particular niche. Bookmark pages if needed because you should be coming back to these sources – the reputable ones, anyway.
3. Jot down any blog post ideas that you have already started to formulate in your head. After you look at blogs in your similar niche; if anything strikes your fancy…WRITE IT DOWN because you can always use that post as a trackback, which not only will make you a new blogging friend (eventually) but will also direct more traffic to your site.
4. Next think how much you really love this topic because if you choose to blog about it and you don’t love it, you will quickly come to find that out. Write down your goals, maybe even a blog “mission statement” about each proposed topic (the goals or mission statement that comes easy to you is probably the topic you are most passionate about).
5. Think about your long term goals for this blog (this feeds into the mission statement somewhat). If you want to make money, how are you going to do that? Will it be easy to market this blog in order to generate any type of viable revenue? What are you offering this reader that isn’t being offered at any other sites? If your site is very specific, do you know of areas or groups of people to market to in order to get your blog out there?
This exercise may prove easier or it might take a couple of days, the point is to take your time and really think it out. The more concrete of game plan you have for your blog, the more options you’ll be able to provide when it comes to content and accessibility in your blog posts; which if having a lucrative, money making blog is your goal the more thought out the process, the better it will be for you in the long run.
Good Luck. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them below.












Comment by Gennifer on 25 July 2008:
That is very helpful. Thanks. I want to start a more personal blog but still try to make money from it. I was thinking glof clothes because I love both so much. When I did a search on google it looked like on the first page there was only big companies selling golf clothes, not any blogs. Would this be a no no topic to start a blog on????? How many searches per month is too many or to little???
Thanks Genny
Comment by Trisha on 26 July 2008:
Very good advice! I wish I had read something like this a long time ago. But knowing me, I probably wouldn’t have taken it seriously anyway!
Trishas last blog post..Friday Favorites
Comment by Cynthia on 30 July 2008:
Gennifer: First off, LOVE THE NAME! Very unique. On to the blog topic. The fact that there isn’t any blogs that you can find on golf clothes suggests that there is a market for it. What I would try to find out, you could do this by making a personal poll and posting on sites (i.e. Craigslist, your current blog, etc.) or just looking at the dealers who sell female golf clothes (if that is your niche). What else do these people who buy female golf clothes, what else do they like? Could it be the golf clubs? Would they like to know about different golf courses? Maybe a “swing of the week?”
There could be countless avenues you could take that and use your clothing submissions as both the meat of your blog as well as a source of advertising. If there isn’t much competition, I’m sure companies (I would start with a smaller one) would be willing to advertise or let you advertise (at first) on their site.
Trisha: Some people learn by doing things on their own time. I know that’s how I operate.
Thanks for the comment.
Comment by Gennifer on 1 August 2008:
Thank you for the reply it was exactly what info I was looking for. I appreciate. Genny
Gennifers last blog post..Selling On Ebay Motors