How to Pick a Blog Niche You Won’t Regret Later (5 Principles)
Although choosing the right blogging niche seems simple in theory — after all, what can be tricky about picking something you’re good at or simply picking a niche whose profit potential is high? — this requires caution. Choosing the wrong blog niche will mean wasting time and money, and it can give you a false perspective that you’re not good enough to be a blogger or that there’s no real money in blogging.
In this article, I will cover the crucial principles to consider when picking a perfect blog niche. You shouldn’t skip this process under any circumstances, no matter how rushed you are to start your blog as soon as possible.
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What’s a Blog Niche?
A blog niche is nothing more than a specialized segment that a blogger will stick to when creating and promoting their content, products, and/or services.
Every blog niche concentrates on a specific, often small, share of the population that has specific needs and interests.
As a blogger looking for what to blog about, you have two options if you want to have a successful blog (meaning a blog that makes money):
Option #1: Identify what you have to offer, what issues your knowledge could solve, and who has those needs.
Option #2: Identify the needs of people within any niche and find a way to address those needs even if you don’t have any expertise in the chosen field. Note that, in this case, of course, you will either have to acquire new knowledge or hire writers who have such knowledge to create content for your blog.
If you want to start a blog that makes money in 2024, but you have no previous experience blogging and no coding skills, check out this step-by-step guide to easily get started today!
How Do I Choose A Niche For My Blog? (5 Principles)
To choose a perfect blog niche that you won’t regret later, you have to consider your goals and whether or not you are willing to commit to the demands of your chosen audience. A perfect niche has needs that you as a blogger can solve, realistic possibilities to make money, and is evergreen.
So here are the 5 essential principles to consider when picking a perfect blog niche:
1. What Value Do You Have To Offer To Your Blog Audience?
Every day millions of people turn to search engines like Google or Pinterest to look for solutions to their problems.
To grow blog traffic and make money blogging, you need to solve people’s problems.
If you create content that helps people do something they don’t know how, then you are providing value to those people. You are generating significant changes in their lives.
As stated above, as a blogger, you either find people who need what you have to offer, or you learn how to do the things people don’t know how to help them solve their problems.
If you don’t want to learn or feel that you are not capable of learning such things, then you have to hire writers and professionals who have the needed knowledge to create content for your blog niche (which, of course, costs money you might not have when just starting).
Whatever your choice, the fact is that to be a successful blogger you need to have a blog that adds value to people’s lives.
A blog post about the Sunday lunch you had at your sister’s sister-in-law’s house doesn’t add any value to people’s lives. That’s the truth. As Velma Kelly sings in the song “I Can’t Do It Alone” from the musical Chicago:
“I know it’s sad, of course, but a fact is still a fact.”
Reflect on what you have to offer and, from there, look for people who could make good use of your knowledge. Or look for alternative ways to find the right answers for those who have the questions.
But how do you know if people are looking for what you have to offer, or even know whatever else they’re looking for?
To answer your question, you need to use a keyword research tool such as KWFinder by Mangools to identify how many searches the topics you consider writing about have.
Doing keyword research is certainly the easiest way to know what your blog niche wants – and, consequently, what topics to talk about in your blog. This way you’ll be one step ahead and won’t discover later that no one is searching for your content.
KWFinder lets you know exactly what people are looking for on Google and other search engines, how many searches are done per month, and what level of difficulty that topic has.
Searches are selected by location and language, so you can always be sure that the majority of people looking for such information are in your target country.
Furthermore, if the topic of interest has a very high level of competition, KWFinder recommends similar keywords that have a much lower degree of competition, thus giving you more chances to reach the top of Google.
If you are interested in finding out more about the KWFinder keyword research tool, you can check it out here.
Just never trust luck as it is treacherous. Following your gut feelings is important, but you need to protect yourself with actual data, or you will regret it later.
A keyword research tool is the best way to make sure that whatever blog niche you choose, real people are looking on their own for the information you can provide them.
2. Is The Blog Niche Profitable?
As much as you are a person full of knowledge and talents, and you create the best content in the world, if you cannot profit from it, then your blog will be just a hobby.
A profitable blogging niche is made up of two component factors:
1. A large enough audience
2. The audience must buy something you sell (products and/or services) or recommend (from an affiliate program), OR be from countries that allow you to be accepted into a good Ad Network (the best ones tend to require your audience to be mostly US residents) and have a high RPM (revenue per mile)
“But how do you manage to accomplish to find the perfect, profitable blog niche?” You might be thinking.
The first thing is, as mentioned in the first section, to have value to offer to your blog audience and solve people’s problems.
Furthermore, with the aforementioned search method, which uses a keyword research tool, you make sure to write to people who are in countries that will allow you to be accepted by a decent Ad Network — when you have the required number of monthly pageviews, of course.
Then, the next step is to go check your competition.
Google something that is related to the topics you plan to cover on your blog. Then visit the websites that appear and see their extracts.
How do your competitors make money? Do they display ads or sell ebooks? Do they offer their own services/products or do they recommend others’? Did they develop some kind of course?
And don’t forget to search for affiliate programs you could join!
The best way to do this is by searching, again on Google, for a product or service that is related to your future blogging niche. Once you find a related product/service, visit the website and search the footer area for “Affiliates”.
Follow these steps and write down the information collected. You’ll find that after a few days of research, you’ll have several ways to monetize your blog niche.
But if you find it too difficult to find a way to profit from your desired audience, then it is time to seriously consider looking for another blog niche.
3. Is The Blog Niche Evergreen?
An evergreen blog niche is a niche that will always have new topics to explore and whose topics will remain relevant for many years to come.
As an example, in 2020 the world turned upside down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Obviously, everyone was looking for information on how to protect themselves and how to sanitize their groceries and their homes. Everyone was also obviously desperate for news about the vaccine.
Of course, if you had created a blog in 2020-2021 about the pandemic, you’d have had huge potential to grow a very large blog audience (and there would be an insane lot of competition, too).
But after humans have gone back to their normal lives, trying to recover from the trauma caused by the pandemic, how would your blog be doing then?
You would just see traffic dropping more and more each day.
So, be smart and make sure your content will continue to bring you traffic for years after it’s created. In fact, this is how you create sustainable passive income: through quality content that you created once, and that will continue to be there, generating income for months and years to come.
4. You Need To Like Your Blog Niche and Blog Topics (At Least A Little)
It’s not hard to regret — and even resent — the blogging niche you’ve chosen when you blog about something you can hardly tolerate.
Many bloggers who are just starting out want to know which are the most profitable niches.
Okay, searching for a blog topic with profitable potential is crucial. We’ve already covered that. The problem is, to turn your blog into a business you need to commit to your blog for years to come.
If you choose a blog topic you don’t tolerate — or even that is very difficult for you to write about because you have zero familiarity with the subject — just because such a topic can earn you a lot of money, you’ll probably either come to hate blogging, or you won’t measure up to your competitors because you have no idea what you’re blogging about.
In other words, look for a blog topic that is profitable, yes, but this topic needs to be something that you are interested in and, preferably, that you have some familiarity with.
5. Can You Compromise With Your Blog Niche For The Long Haul?
“Do not waste your time on people who are absolutely not worth it” is a good piece of advice. And you don’t blog as a hobby — you’re a business person.
But it turns out that, to have a business — any kind of business —, you need to deal with people. Even if you are in a B2B (business to business) niche and your customers are corporations, you still have to deal with people because your customer’s final customers are, well, ordinary people living their everyday lives.
Before choosing a blog niche, you have to ask if the audience it will attract is appropriate for your blogging goals.
Would your future blog audience like whatever you’ve got to offer? Would you be okay with meeting their demands?
You need to take a good look at the people you’re bringing together to help you get what you want – or you’ll end up wasting your time.
If what you have to offer is not satisfying to your audience, but you also don’t want to give in to their demands, well, then you have a problem. You’ve chosen the wrong niche and regret is about to knock on the door.
It’s just like any relationship where people are not on the same page: an audience that doesn’t get you, won’t convert, period.
You will just be left with two options:
1. Giving in to their requirements and delivering what they want by speaking their language, so that they can become your clients
2. Being totally ignored by followers who don’t care about your content
Both options look pretty bad.
Picking the right blog niche you won’t regret later is about the people you will be able to help and the profit potential said people can offer, yes. But it’s about you as well: Are you willing to commit to your blog audience for the long term? Will you be able to keep dealing with your audience’s demands? Won’t you be bored to death by spending years writing about that very same topic?
I hope it was clear to you why you, as a blogger, need to understand the audience you want to reach before choosing your blog niche, so you can head in the right direction and not regret it later.
How To Pick A Blog Niche — Recap
To recap the biggest takeaways of this conversation, your perfect blog niche, the one you won’t regret later, is:
1. A niche in which you can provide value and helpful content to your audience (and don’t forget to use a keyword research tool such as KWFinder by Mangools, so you’ll be assured by data that enough people are actually searching for the topics you’re going to write about – and that said topics have low competition so that your articles can reach page #1 on Google).
2. Profitable, with real and diversified possibilities to make money.
3. Evergreen/has a wide range of subtopics that you can address within the years to come.
4. It has topics that you don’t feel deathly bored writing about.
5. It has an audience you don’t hate and you can assuredly commit to spending time with.
FAQ
Is Blogging Still Relevant in 2024?
Yes, blogs remain relevant in 2024 and everything implies that they will continue to do so well into the future. Industry data has proven for years that blog reviews have a positive and relevant impact on buyers’ purchasing decisions.
Statistics show that 84% of online shoppers have already purchased products thanks to blog recommendations. Also, because of blogs, 1 in 4 (!) people buy something every month.
Another advantage of blogs is that they help online businesses increase their sales through Content Marketing.
In other words, blogging is an essential driving force when it comes to influencing online shoppers, generating awareness, and moving various industries financially. As a result, blogging will remain relevant for a long time to come.
Which Blogging Topic Is Best For Making Money?
The best blogging topics to earn money are those with high profit potential and low competition. It’s also important to consider whether you can afford to create genuinely helpful and converting content within your chosen topic. That is, you need to master the subject or be able to hire writers and professionals to do it.
Among the most profitable blogging topics are Personal Finance, Parenting, Education, and Travel.
What Are Over-Saturated Blog Niches?
Over-saturated blog niches are the niches for which there are too many bloggers creating content, and no one innovates or stands out. That is, all content is more or less the same. In addition to being easily replaceable.
New bloggers must avoid over-saturated blog niches because it will make it virtually impossible for their blogs to gain attention and become successful within those environments.
Is Blogging Better Than YouTube?
Blogging and YouTube can be equally suitable for making money online. However, it usually takes longer to grow a YouTube Channel and build trust with an audience as a YouTuber.
If you are looking for a way to build a stable and profitable online business without having to wait too many years for it, blogging is the best option for you.
I’ve already covered in detail here at Be Productive Every Day the differences, profitability, and pros and cons of becoming a blogger vs. a YouTuber. You can check out the in-depth article here.
How Do I Start a Blog With No Money?
It is possible to create a blog with no money through free blogging platforms such as Blogger or WordPress.com. However, such platforms have limitations that will become a huge hindrance for you if you intend to monetize your content. Such limitations will become more and more apparent as your audience grows.
The best option for those who want to start a blog to turn it into a profitable business is to start a self-hosted blog. That is, a blog that you own 100%.
You can read in more detail the differences between free blogging platforms and self-hosted blogs in this article here.
It’s not expensive to start a self-hosted blog, though. With DreamHost’s Shared Unlimited Plan, you get quality WordPress hosting for a year + unlimited emails @ your domain for just $35.40 (no hidden fees). And you still get a domain address for free! (Promotion valid only for the annual subscription that costs $35.40.)
How To Choose A Blog Niche You Won’t Regret Later — Conclusion
Picking a blog niche you won’t regret later is a science of its own. You can’t just pay attention right away, you have to think ahead and try to visualize not only the advantages of the niche you are considering but also the downsides.
Look for a niche whose topics and audience are likable enough for you to be able to compromise.
But don’t be emotional to the point of choosing a topic you’re passionate about but has zero, or very low, profit potential.
The middle ground is always the smartest option for you to make money while generating quality content for your audience without compromising your sanity — or selling your soul.
If you want to start a blog that makes money in 2024, but you have no previous experience blogging and no coding skills, check out this step-by-step guide to easily get started today!
Related Topics:
- How To Identify And Define Your Blog Target Audience (5 Tips)
- Why Do Most Bloggers Fail? 6 Reasons + How To Make It Right
- Blogging Without Social Media: 23 Steps to Grow A Blog Successfully
- Side Hustle Ideas: How to Balance Blogging with a 9-to-5 Job
- How to Blog As a Non-Writer and Make Good Money (5 Tips)
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Originally posted on November 16, 2021. Last updated on December 7, 2023.
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