So if you can’t just pick the biggest niche, what do you do?
Well, a popular piece of advice among writers is to ‘write what you know’. Granted, this advice is generally aimed at fiction writers and creative writers but it definitely still applies here.
What does this mean? It means write something that you have experience in and write something that you enjoy and find interesting. In an ideal situation, you shouldn’t view writing your blog as ‘work’ at all. Rather it should be something that you actually enjoy and actively look forward to.
What this means is that you should pick a topic or niche that is already a hobby or interest of yours. Right away this will give you a head start as you’ll be bringing lots of knowledge to the table. You’ll know the subject and you’ll know what kind of content you like to see in it. This means your blog will stand a much better chance of standing out and of being something interesting and unique in your field.
More importantly though, writing a blog on a subject you find interesting means that it won’t be a chore for you to keep it updated. This means you’ll be likely to fill it with a higher quantity of content and that content will be likely to be of a better quality at the same time! Your passion and love for the subject will keep you writing about it on a regular basis and it will come across in the way you sound enthused within the content.
Examples of Blogs on Personal Interests
So what might a blog on a personal interest look like?
This is the part of the equation that a lot of advice and a lot of eBooks forget. It seems obvious to write on a niche that you enjoy right? Just pick a hobby and make that into your blog!
But here’s the thing: a lot of us don’t have traditional hobbies or interests. A lot of us are so busy working that we don’t get much time to pursue a new language, travel or computer programming. Many of us don’t know much about finance, aren’t in particularly great shape and don’t know how to cook especially. Maybe you spend your evenings mostly just watching TV and playing with the kids… So if you don’t have a clear hobby or interest, how are you supposed to turn that into something you can write about?
The trick is to realize that anything can make a good niche for a website and it doesn’t have to be something that you would consider a ‘hobby’ or pastime in a traditional sense.
For instance, let’s say that you enjoy the computer game Sonic the Hedgehog. That’s not something you’d proudly announce at a party as being your ‘hobby’ but that’s not to say it can’t make a great niche for a website. The same goes if you love the show Doctor Who, or Come Dine With Me, or The Office. Fan websites do brilliantly because they are something that a lot of people know about and that some people are very passionate about. What’s more, fan websites provide obvious routes to market, they don’t face too much competition and they have a steady supply of new stories and options for news.
In other words, a fan website is actually perfect. Once you choose your topic, you’d just have to find an existing SubReddit or group on Facebook/Google+, announce it and then watch other fans flock there. You might even be able to get some support from the official makers!
The same goes for a sports team. Sports teams are fantastic niches because again, there are a lot of very passionate people interested in the subject and there are plenty of opportunities to promote yourself. How about the next game’s program for instance?
If you don’t have something like that, then you can also look to your daily life. You could write a personal blog about being a Mum, about looking after an elderly relative… about your dog even!
You can also look at personal experiences. Where have you travelled? What have you studied?
Combining a Niche With a Personal Brand
There’s also a lot to be said for inventing whole new niches which you can do by looking at who you are as someone a little more complex than a person who enjoys just one topic.
You are a unique individual and you probably have a unique perspective and take on the subject that you’re covering. If you want to make a personal brand for your blog or website, then why not tap into that and create a whole new niche that only you could write?
This might sound confusing but think of some examples. The website Nerd Fitness for instance is highly popular despite not neatly fitting into one category. Instead it works by combining two separate niches – ‘nerd culture’ and ‘fitness’. This creates something entirely new and focusses on the things that the blogger is interested in. He’s then put himself at the heart of that topic.
Another example is the ‘Art of Manliness’. This is an entirely new niche that you won’t see listed on any guide to ‘top website topics’ and it revolves entirely around what the author finds interesting. This makes the Art of Manliness much more than just a standard website with a standard niche – it is elevated to the point where it can be thought of as a movement or a way of life.
So if you don’t have one hobby – even a less obvious one – take a long look at who you are, what you’re really interested in and what you can offer that no one else can. Otherwise, think about your personality and how you can cover an old topic in a new and interesting manner.
