Many of us who blog and hope to make at least a little chunk of change are always being beaten up by advice that says we have to have a niche to get enough visitors to our site so that we can make that money. I’m here to say that it might be true if the only source of income you’re hoping to use to make money, but if not, all you need to do is write.
Having said that, I recognize that for some people it’s not easy to write. I don’t understand why, since it’s not all that hard for people to talk. Most of the best blogs are written by people who write just like they speak, because in some fashion all of us are storytellers, people who can wax quixotic about the strangest things in our lives or the romance of living day to day, interacting with others, playing with babies, watching wrestling on late night TV (oh wait; I’m probably the only one doing that) and following it up by listening to a little bit of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour.
Now where was I? Oh yeah, writing without a niche. Actually, there’s nothing wrong with writing within a specific niche, and if that’s your thing then go for it. I have three blogs because one I decided to have as a niche blog, one is for my business, and I needed one for freestyle. Guess which one is the most popular.
I’ve visited many of the blogs listed here, and I’ve seen some amazing things. I hope to continue seeing amazing things, and I hope everyone continues to write and share and visit each others blogs. But don’t fall into the trap of having to stick within a niche. Have fun with your writing; let your personality show. Everyone will have a greater time, including you.
I didn’t have a niche when I started DragonBlogger.com and just blogged about anything, eventually I honed to a niche as I was having readers and fans comment about them being there for specific articles and not others. I think personal blogs, diary blogs and whatnot don’t need a niche, but most blogs should have one if only to have a way to “categorize” themselves. I do think a niche can come later, blog about whatever you want and see what gets the most traffic, use this to help figure out your niche.
Justin you have to go here http://bloggerluv.com/wp-admin
and edit your profile link to your blogs link
then com luv will work right
If you gravitate to something Justin, that’s fine. However, what I see more often is someone starting off trying to write about a niche that, it turns out, they really don’t have much to say about. Then they get discouraged, say “blogging stinks”, and give it up. If you have to niche, such as what I have to do for my business blog, that’s one thing. If you don’t necessarily have to, then every once in awhile shake it up and talk about something else. It’s amazing how well things can turn out sometimes.
I’m so glad you wrote this!! I was just telling people in blogchat on Twitter that I’m trying to find a target audience. I love to express how I feel about things so when it came down to me blogging, it did become a challenge because I wanted I felt pressured to figure what to write about. Although, I recently set it up where I have three categories within my blog to help me write, it’s still hard to blog when I have these three specific categories. Instead of writing about how my day was, I’m trying to think of topics to present so people be interested enough to respond. The more I understand blogging the more I realize that I should have done more research before jumping into it I mainly got it to post my poetry that I write but its more to it than that. I know it only get better with the practice I do and the more I write. As for a new blogger, not knowing your exact audience can be discouraging.
Not to toot my own horn too much, but check out my main blog page and see any 7 articles in a row of mine. I touch upon certain specific subjects, but I also freelance because, after all, it’s my blog and it’s what I do for fun and relaxation as well as hoping to make a buck or two here and there. It also allows you to feel freer to comment on other people’s blogs instead of following the second most recommended thing that’s boring as sin, that being to comment only on blogs that talk about topics that match up what your blog is about.
No one has to restrict themselves if they’re paying for it, or are doing the writing. Go for it!
Nicely put, Mitch. The best blogs are those who write from the heart (are true to themselves) with or without a niche. I have no niche which allows me to write on a variety of topics. And like Justin, once you start writing you may very well find a niche along the way.
Thanks Anne. You have an interesting blog, and you slip those ads in there from time to time as well.
By the way, I still want to see the “real” picture; you’re just so attractive.
I think one of the smartest things you can do is to have more than one blog. If you have a really specific interest that you want to start a niche blog about, but only want to write once in a while, then launch a niche blog for that topic.
I tell people to have one flagship blog or personal blog where they write about whatever floats their boat and then have other smaller niche blogs where they can monetize traffic targeted to that particular niche.
That way you don’t have to talk about coffee makers or plastic surgery on your regular blog. You shouldn’t stress yourself out by tying yourself to only one niche. Domains and hosting are cheap enough that you could have a one website for each particular major area of interest.
That’s a smart way to go, Kathy. I’m actually thinking about starting a 4th blog, one specific to the area where I live. It’s in the back of my mind. I purchased a domain name for a different reason that I could use, but it’s not really specific to what I want to do so I’m probably leaving it alone and buying another one. Yeah, like I need 4 blogs! lol
Good points, Mitch. As a result of my WritingUp adventure, I started blogging without a niche and have continued to this day, almost five years later.
While I like informational blogs, I LOVE recreational blogs.
Cheers,
Mitch
I pretty much like all kinds of blogs, though I have to admit that I have problems interpreting poetry blogs, which is strange since I used to write song lyrics. lol But it’s writing style that keeps me coming back and forth; someone engaging is imminently important to me.
With my personal sites, I tend to write without a niche, although they do usually center on what I’m interested in; health, fitness, alternative therapy, cooking, soapmaking, etc., I’ve spoken at various places about those subjects so it’s natural that might come out in my regular writing. I’ve been interested in those subjects since I was a child, so naturally when I do write it comes out in my “written conversation.”
I did have an older site that was similar to my newest personal site, but that was heavily focused on Veganism. But after a year I did stray and wrote about the things I’ve mentioned. Initially, my followers were mainly Vegan and I simply wanted to change that. I was preaching to the choir, and I wanted a broader audience.
Althought not my hottest site monetarily, it did ok. That site made a little over 1k monthly. It wasn’t always direct, For example, I had a few website owners who stopped by, liked what I was writing and contacted me to see whether I would be interested in writing on their sites. I told them my price, and wrote a few articles for their site.
Occasionally I would get approached by advertisers to place ads on that site. I told them my price, and gave them a discount if they signed a yearly contract, for the bigger companies that worked very well.
Affiliate marketing worked well on that site too. I put only products on there that I would by, and when I did list them I’d sell the reasons why the product was great. I usually had pictures of me using the product. My audience trusted me, so quite a few would purchase the affiliate products.
That was the first personal site I monetized. I wrote for almost three years before I did any type of monetization. I was simply writing to be writing. I enjoyed the interaction, I learned a lot, and met numerous people. The money was just an added bonus.
Celebrate Life, does give me ideas on things I can do for the sites I do have monetized. Although it’s still new I do get an idea based on the reaction some articles might have, or the emails I have received from people.
Since I already have niche sites focused on nutrition, natural remedies, technology, and fitness I will add articles based on what has gotten a great response on CL.
With my niche sites I only write about what I’m knowledgeable about. I’d hate to write about something I have no interest in whatsoever just to make money.
Good stuff Moondancer. There is something about the “preaching to the choir” stuff where you sometimes feel like they’ve probably heard it all before. Like you, that’s why I shake things up. Unlike you, I haven’t had anyone come and ask to put ads on my IJS blog; maybe one day.
Hi Mitch,
On that site I had a page that stated I accepted advertising. I went into detail about the type of advertising I would accept. I believe I even linked to that in my About Page.
Re: Preaching to the Choir
I enjoyed the experience, but I got bored of chatting with people like myself. I’m like you I interact with folks on a variety of blogs. I don’t fall lock step into the “I’m only following people who blog about the same thing mentality”.
A few within the Vegan community didn’t view me as “Vegan enough” since I constantly said you didn’t have to be Vegan to be healthy and mentioned I’d met a few unhealthy Vegans. I’m a big girl, so those type of attacks didn’t bother me at all.
Sadly you can find those types in a variety of groups, so its nothing new. I don’t encounter too many like that, and when I do I keep my distance (if possible.)
Niche? what’s that?
It’s what you do on trees when you don’t want to get lost; oh wait, that’s “nick”! lol
What prompted me to blog? I was thinking I’m going to die one day so what memories can I leave behind. That inspired me to think of blogging to write what I wanted to write and share with my friends, family and the world if they like it. I write for fun and maybe someday my children can tell my grandchildren to take a look what their grandpa had done in the past. It’s a way to let my grand children to get to know their grandpa better when I’m not alive anymore. .
That’s a nice sentiment, Jimmy. Just make sure you have your hosting paid for way in advance, because once that ends or your domain life ends it’ll all be gone for good. Something weird to think about, I know.
I’ve always said that my pen (or keyboard) is mightier than my tongue. I write better than I can speak although when I get used to talking then I’ll be fine. It’s difficult for me to express my thoughts verbally so when I have to let somebody know my thoughts, I write a letter then hand it to the person. I let the person read while I wait for him/her to finish. If he/she has something to say, then I listen. My thoughts flow when I write while I sometimes stammer when I talk, especially if the topic is seriously sensitive like hurt feelings and the like.
I blog without a niche because I wanted to write about anything. Opportunities come with different topics so I thought I didn’t want to miss out on them. As long as they’re decent, I can find ways to blog about them.
I have niched blogs too but most are still on Blogspot. Sadly, I haven’t updated as much as I wanted to. I also would like to buy my own domains for those niched sites but I’m still lacking financially. Hopefully, when I do, I have the time to link-build on them. I haven’t really link-built on my active sites yet but I will. Adsense has been skimpy on me this past 12 months. It took me 12 months for a minimum payout this last time! I’m still glad there was something, though.
I make almost no money blogging, yet I’m still having fun. I’ve made money off two of my websites, one pretty big money as it’s just had its first $100 Adsense month. Still, I’d like more, but I’m unwilling to compromise my “just write it” spirit.
I guess that’s because we like spontaneity that well
Interesting post and one which should be more widely known about in my view. Your level of detail is good and the clarity of writing is excellent. I have savedit for you so that others will be able to see what you have to say.
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