One of the hardest parts about starting a blog is selecting the niche. A niche can be broadly defined as the subject that your blog is centered around. Typically, blogs focus in on one niche versus many niches, but we’ll get into that in just a second.
A niche can be anything from art to personal finance to video games. You can even get more specific in each category and target a very small sub-niche. This all depends on what you consider yourself an expert in and what you perceive yourself to be able to write about.
Step 1: Identify Your Interests
When you look into blogging, you should take a look at your interests first. Think about all the things you know about and the things that make you interested. What gets you excited in the morning? What topic can you read about for hours on end?
Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter to stay in the loop.
If we use video games as an example, then this would be a good niche to start with. You know that video games are something you consider yourself an expert in and it’s a subject matter that you find fascinating. So, you can use that as a stepping stone.
Once you’ve identified your major interests, split that interest into any potential sub-interests. So, if your interest is video games, you can use adventure games or RPG games as your main interest.
Step 2: One Niche or Multi-Niche?
This is a pretty contested debate in the world of blogging. The common piece of advice usually given to new bloggers would be to just select one niche. You’ve probably found yourself wondering why that is, so we’ll break it down for you.
One Niche is Easier for One Person
If you’re running your blog alone, it’s probably not the best idea to overwhelm yourself from the get-go and select several niches to work with. You’ll be burnt out and your blog posts will definitely be lacking in some categories over others.
If you really want to write about multiple niches, you certainly can. But be aware that your growth rate may be stunted if you’re not working with a team of writers.
The DZSH Group has several writers working on this website, so we would be perfectly fine running a multi-niche blog. But if there was no group in The DZSH Group, then it would have been difficult to run this website.
SEO for One Niche is Better?
Yes and no.
You see, SEO is a pretty complicated issue in the blogging world. Nobody can really say what the best SEO technique is because algorithms can change easily and often.
However, it is very true that targeting a specific niche by yourself will be easier to grow and easier to market.
Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter to stay in the loop.
Should You Stick to One Niche Forever?
The one-word answer to this is: No.
The long answer to this is: Sticking to one niche, especially something as specific as say pottery, is just grounds for burnout later on in your blog’s lifecycle. Imagine not writing about anything but pottery all the time! You’ll run out of ideas and will start to become redundant very soon.
Obviously, don’t drop your original niche, but start slowly adding things that relate to pottery. For example, painting and oil pastels. You can start talking about those too, as it’ll help your page feel more full and less boring to your readers.
If your niche is broad like lifestyle, you can target specific topics in lifestyle like travel or personal finance or gaming.
But you should keep it within something that you can write about. Don’t add categories to your page if you don’t know what to say about them. If you’ve got a writer for that category, great. If not, you’ll swamp yourself.
Step 3: Evaluate How Competitive Your Niche Is
There are a lot of niche ideas out there, but some of them are quite saturated. If your niche is just too broad or too wide in scope and there are already massive competitors in your sector, you might want to think about another niche instead.
You can do this by looking up what your niche is on Google and simply scrolling through to see who your competitors would be. If they’re already very established, you might want to narrow down your niche a bit.
Step 4: Make Sure You Can Monetize Your Blog
While picking your niche, it’s important to consider how you plan on monetizing it. Can you promote products and services through affiliate marketing? Could you create an online store to sell merchandise related to your niche? Do you have connections in the industry that could interest sponsorships? Are there potential affiliate links you can promote?
All of these options can be viable income sources, but they need to be feasible with the type of content you plan on producing. Plus, some of these can take more time than others. Research is key, so make sure to find out as much as you can before committing.
If your blog is a bit difficult to monetize, you might want to narrow down or find another niche that’s easier to monetize. Remember, making money from your business is important so you can reinvest!
Step 3: Come Up With Blog Post Ideas
Alright, now that you’ve got your niche, start to come up with at least 5-10 blog post ideas. This way, you can see if you really have a vested interest in this idea.
If you find that you just cannot think up any ideas for your blog posts, then your niche is definitely not the one you want to work with.
Step 4: Select a Website Name
Once you have your niche and your ideas, it’s time to really think about what name you want to use for your website.
Obviously, your website name needs to indicate what your niche is supposed to be somehow. If you look at popular websites from around the internet in the field of gaming, you’ll find names like:
- PC Gamer
- Kotaku
- GameRant
And so on… However, some of the gaming websites out there may not seem like they are related to gaming. IGN and Polygon definitely don’t seem to be related to gaming, but that’s fine. The DZSH Group is a lifestyle online newspaper/magazine, and it may not seem like it’s related to that from the face-value.
That’s where your site tagline comes in. The DZSH Group advertises itself as a lifestyle page, with a specific focus on things like gaming, entertainment, and business/money. IGN advertises itself as a gaming page, but they talk about tech, science, and so much more.
Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter to stay in the loop.
At the end of the day, if you know what your website is about, you can make the name anything you want. But if that doesn’t appeal to you, pick a name that relates to your niche to help you get started.
Step 5: Set Up Your Blog
Here’s a quick run-down of everything you need to know about starting a blog and how to do it. Do remember, this is a condensed guide.
Step 1: Buy Your Domain Name
When you’ve gotten a good name for your website, you need to get your domain secured. This way, you can ensure that your website is professional and that nobody will try to steal your domain idea from you.
A free domain is something you can use, but we recommend against it. Having a proper domain will entice readers to look at your page more than a free one.
We personally recommend using a service like Namecheap. They offer great deals for first-time domain buyers and they have great, reliable prices and services.
Step 2: Get a Hosting Service
Now that you have a domain, you need to use a hosting service. This is where you can use something like Bluehost. Bluehost is a relatively great hosting service to get started with, and it’s usually the go-to for most new bloggers.
A hosting service is where your blog essentially lives. It’s necessary to have one once you’ve secured your domain.
Step 3: Design Your Blog
Using WordPress, you can get free themes. If you want more professional themes, you can use something like Envato to get premium themes.
You can try out Envato for a 7-day free trial to see why Envato is great for bloggers. You have access to unlimited downloads and a massive library of great tools to use in your blog graphics as well.
Step 4: Write Your First Blog Post
Now that you’ve gotten your blog set and ready to go, you can start with writing your first blog post. You can check out the following posts for more help on this:
- The 5 Best Tips to Write a Stellar Blog Post
- How to Write Stellar Blog Titles that Actually Get Clicks
Conclusions
When you want to start a blog, choosing a niche can be one of the hardest parts. Still, it’s not impossible. There are many ways to find your niche and your passion.
Do remember that your passion and your niche can change over time, and you can expand to include more than one niche.
To start though, identify your best niche idea and roll with it.
Happy blogging!
Plus, here’s a FREE bonus guide on several niche ideas you can use to get started. Feel free to use this guide in your own blog posts, but please credit and link The DZSH Group if you do so.
Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter to stay in the loop.
