Selecting a niche for a new blog seems like an easy task, but there is much that should be considered when making this decision. The number of topics available is limitless, leaving you unbounded in your hunt to find the one that is right for you and your goals. With some thought though, you can recognize the important aspects of a blog, steering you towards the right niche.
Personal Interest:
By default, most bloggers-to-be will consider a topic of personal interest as their niche without thinking any further. Utilizing a topic that interests you as a blogger is an excellent idea, as you’ll fairly consistently have a desire to write. Additionally, you will have plenty of knowledge at your disposal or know what resources to use in finding some inspiration. However, don’t let personal interest be the only consideration when selecting a niche.
Moreover, let’s say your main personal interest is travel, rather than creating a general travel blog, specialize in one aspect of travel. Do you like to ski? Then focus on ski travel mainly! Are you over 60 years old? Focus on senior travel! Are you a budget traveller? Show your readers how to get great deals on hostels/hotels and airlines. You get the gist!
High Search Volume:
Selecting a niche that has high search volume is important, as it will help to ensure a flow of visitors on both old and new blog posts alike. Even if selecting a topic that does not offer significantly high search volume — which is better suited to specialized niches with little competition, mind you — it is very important to perform research to find out what keywords and key phrases are used the most in search engines. Free tools such as Google’s Keyword Planner can help you find the most searched terms for your niche. Be sure to think both broad and narrow when searching with these tools to ensure you cover all possibilities. Ensure that these search terms should find their way into your blog post titles and within the content itself will help to maximize your organic search visitors.
Monetization Opportunities:
Many bloggers today are striving to make money online. Some are very successful, and others are struggling desperately. The reasons for struggling are many, including: unoptimized blog setup from the early stages; poor niche selection; and lack of research in monetizing. The most important thing to note in monetizing a blog is that your niche includes a sufficient amount of either contextual or direct advertising. The same is true for affiliate marketing products that are relevant to your visitors and will pique their interest.Before jumping into blogging head first, take the time to do the research. The extra time you put in will save you more time and frustration in the end while offering a considerable fiscal benefit as well.
Consider selling a product:
While monetization through ads is how most bloggers start, you should consider selling a product, that way there is no middleman between you and your profit. It doesn’t even have to be a physical product, digital products like ebooks, online courses, memberships or exclusive mailing lists work just as well.
If you consider the path of selling products directly, take advantage of offering occasional sales and coupons. According to coupon statistics, 65% of people plan to buy based on available coupons. Also emails with coupons increase sales revenue by 48%, thus leveraging sales and coupons must be central to your strategy.