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Choosing Your Blogging Niche

Choosing Your Blogging Niche

Julianne Wish, Member Contributions

You can, of course, blog about anything.  However, when you choose a niche, your chances of becoming successful – and reaching your blogging goals – increase.  Choosing a niche topic helps you find a loyal audience.  It also helps you compete against other comparable blogs and profit.  Here are some tips to help you choose your niche.
#1  What do you enjoy?
A blog is a long term investment of your time, money and energy.  Therefore, you will want to choose a topic you very much enjoy.  Make a list of the topics you enjoy discussing.  Rank them in order of your most to least favorite.  You might have a few items on your list or a great many.  You can start with generalities like exotic pets, gardening, baking, etc. 
The next and very important step is to narrow down your topic.  For example, sugar gliders instead of exotic pets, organic gardening instead of gardening and gluten free baking instead of baking. 
#2  What are you interested in?
Add to your list a list of topics you are interested in.  For example, maybe you’d like to learn more about politics or investing.  Wonderful!  Again, list general ideas then narrow them down into specific ones.  For example, a guide for beginners on how to invest in precious metals or the stock market. 
#3 Explore trends.
Trends are a good way to tap into a growing market.  When you are analyzing trends, make sure you capture something that is on the upswing, not on a downswing.   You want the topic of your blog to have longevity.
Use social networking sites, media, and on trend websites to get started.  You may also research industries you are interested in and look for their trends.  For example, if you are interested in gardening, an up and coming trend is hydroponic gardening.  You can even further narrow this topic down to indoor systems for small spaces.
#4 Keyword tools.
Use keyword research tools like Google Adwords External tool to help you expand on your growing list of niche ideas.  The keyword tool can help you brainstorm ideas.  They can also help you take a broad topic and narrow it down into niche ideas.  Look for keywords and keyword phrases that have high demand numbers and low competition numbers.
#5 Research the competition.
Again, using the keywords tools or simply by searching online, you can find blogs that are currently covering the topics you are interested in.  You might use these blogs to generate niche ideas for your own blog.  Other blogs can be a great source of inspiration.
Once you have a healthy list of ideas, start narrowing them down.  Consider who your audience will be for that topic.  Research demand.  Brainstorm ways you might differentiate your blog from others.  Finally, consider the type of content you will offer.  As you mull over these ideas, a few will stand out.  That is when the serious research or soul searching can begin.  Finding a niche is the best way to blogging success.
Julianne Alvarez-Wish is a military wife, mother, business owner, professional writer, blogger and legislative advocate. She is the Director of Communications for Our Milk Money, the Colorado State Leader for the National Association for Moms in Business and the owner of Buy By Mom and Buy By Mom Blog. She is the Colorado Springs Stay-at-Home Mom Examiner for Examiner.com. She also blogs at A Wishful Thought. Her passion, purpose and goal is to help parents work from home so they can be home with their children.

The Benefits of Blogging

The Benefits of Blogging

Julianne Wish, Member Contributions

Have you ever wondered WHY so many people blog?  It seems like there is a blog per person!  What’s the big deal?  Here are six benefits of blogging:

  • Blogging is easy.  One of the reasons so many people blog is because it’s really easy to get online.  With all of the tools available, you can have a really professional looking blog in just a few hours.  There are thousands of blog templates that are well designed and many can be modified with just a few clicks.  You can also add plug-ins to help create a blog that will do just about anything you’d like it to.
  • Blogging is inexpensive.  You can easily spend several hundred dollars on a website that is very basic.  A really professional looking blog can cost you less than twenty-five dollars and that includes the domain name and the hosting.
  • Blogging is profitalbe.  You can make good money with a blog.  Many people who began blogging about their passions for personal reasons soon found themselves in the limelight.  They also found themselves making some good money from their blogs.  For example, the movie Julie & Julia was about a real blogger who cooked her way through Julia Child’s cookbook.  The blog ‘*&^@ my Dad Says turned into a television program starring William Shatner.   Your blog may not get you in a movie, but you can still make good money from it.  You can promote products you love and earn affiliate income…you can promote your own products or services…you can earn money from advertising revenue.  Blogs with a lot of subscribers can demand high rates for ad space. 
  • Blogging connects.  Blogging is a way to connect to other like minded people.  You can get online and share your passions and by doing so attract and connect with people who are interested in the same topic.  Blogging is a great way to ‘meet’ people all over the world.  You can share, learn and grow.
  • Blogging can build your career.  You can use your blog to promote yourself.  For example, if you are a sales person you might create a blog about sales strategies.  You can then use your blog to establish yourself as a subject matter expert.  It can help you move up in the company, land your dream job or gain further exposure for your own business.
  • Blogging builds business.  Many businesses use blogging as a means to market, grow and profit.  If y
  • ou have thought about starting a business online, you could launch it with a blog.

Blogging is popular for many reasons.  It’s easy.  It’s inexpensive.  It can be profitable and it’s quite fun!  Start your own blog today!
Julianne Alvarez-Wish is a military wife, mother, business owner, professional writer, blogger and legislative advocate. She is the Director of Communications for Our Milk Money, the Colorado State Leader for the National Association for Moms in Business and the owner of Buy By Mom and Buy By Mom Blog. She is the Colorado Springs Stay-at-Home Mom Examiner for Examiner.com. She also blogs at A Wishful Thought. Her passion, purpose and goal is to help parents work from home so they can be home with their children.