One of the biggest decisions you can make for your website.
When you first start a blog, there are a million things running through your head at the same time. What platform will I use? What host? What about topics? Should I write about my vacation destinations or about my stamp collection? Am I going to do it for money or more as a hobby?
Given that this is a newish blog, I was facing those exact issues not too long ago. I mean the idea of writing and getting paid for it is exciting, I have to admit. Imagine if I could turn that into a full-time gig? After doing some research, it was clear that if I intended to make money, then I needed to zero in on a niche and write only about that. Slowly build my readership, and readers will faithfully come to the blog every time I posted something new. Give them value and hopefully sell something they need. Simple, right?
Yes, it sounds good in theory, but I wasn’t about to go down that path. First of all, could I find a topic to talk about a few times a week for years? That would dry up pretty fast. Before long, I’d be saying the same thing I said a year ago, just in different words. Not only would the value of the blog deteriorate, but I’d also be bored out of my mind.
The type of blog that is hyper focused on one niche and is set up to make money requires discipline. It also means that you are going to have to meticulously research everything you write because you’re now an expert on the subject; or at least, that’s what people are going to expect.
In my case, I know myself well enough to know that writing for a blog like that is going to be painful. I’d definitely start procrastinating and then I’d start feeling guilty for not writing something new and refreshing every day. That is not something I’d enjoy much. It would be nothing more than a job.
Let’s use the weight loss niche as an example. There is a ton of information to be researched, and that’s a good thing. Always something that you can learn and then write about in your own style. Nice! But you better bring your A-game and be prepared to work. And what about the competition? You’ll be going head to head with some of the behemoths of the industry, and if you do get people reading and liking your stuff, how many will question your information? How many people are you going to have to deal with that think they know more than you? And no matter how much you research, there will be actual experts in the field with their own blogs that are going to make you look like a hack, and you’ll be called out on that.
If you’re an expert in something, I would encourage you to write about the subject as much as possible. You’ll have the upper hand and could very well end up being a leader in the industry. Your blog will be known as an authority on the subject and people will come back for the valuable information you write about.
Having said that, there’s no reason that you couldn’t become an expert in a certain field given enough time and effort.
Larger niche blogs also hire writers who are knowledgable in the subject. Having different authors means providing different viewpoints. More quality research done by different people will make sure the blog doesn’t get repetitive and stale. This model is used by most of the big names. The original owner/author is usually not spending their day researching and writing. But this can be extremely expensive. Good writers aren’t cheap.
Anyway, getting back to this blog, I have decided that it’s going to be about every day, random things. Hopefully, interesting enough to keep you reading for a while. I know that not everyone is going to be interested in every topic I write about, but that’s okay. I am trading a tight niche blog for freedom to be me.
The bottom line is that you have to like what you’re doing. If I’m researching a topic that I’m not familiar with, it’s going to be unpleasant – like a job. And though I might be excited about it in the beginning, it won’t last and my writing will suffer as a result. I’d prefer to do something I enjoy, even though it may not ever turn into a source of income for me.
