The is the second part of series I’m writing on how you can start blogging. If you want to catch up, here’s the first post in the series.
We all want to think our blog is special. We want to think that what we’re writing is a cut above the rest and deserves everyone’s attention. Of course, getting that audience can be bit difficult, especially if you just relying on Google for people to find you.
Think about it, if you typed the term “blog” in Google you might be overwhelmed by the results. If you tried to narrow your results to specific blog category and typed in “vegetarian food blog”, you still might be surprised by the large amount of results. In other words, there are a lot of blogs out there. So how do you stand out?
The surprising answer to that question is that you stand out by going narrow. More specifically, you have to find your “niche”. A “niche” is a topic that your blog will revolve around. It’s what makes your blog different. The more narrow and unique the niche, the better chance you have of success.
Finding Your Niche
Finding a niche doesn’t have to be that difficult. For some of you, you’ve probably already spent most of your time practicing your niche without even realizing it. Here are five questions to ask yourself when you’re trying to discover your niche:
- What do you get excited about? What could you talk about for hours on end and never tire of it?
- What would your friends say your passion is? What do they think you’re good at?
- If you had a chance to go back to college tomorrow, what would your major be?
- What’s the one thing you do, that no matter how many times you do it, it doesn’t seem like work?
- What do other people consider you an expert in?
Be Different
Once you’ve discovered your niche, you need to make it your own. There may be a hundred other blogs out there dealing with your niche, so how will you make yours stand out? Specifically, what will you be able to bring to the table that is new and fresh?
In order to help you determine how to stand out, find a few other blogs in your niche. As you look at these blogs, answer the following questions:
- What do they do well? Is there anything they do that stands out and grabs your attention?
- Are they lacking in some way? Is there a topic that they are not touching on that you can identify?
- What makes your viewpoint different from theirs? Do you have any significant knowledge on the subject that can add to the conversation?
When you have a good understanding of what makes your blog different, then you know you’re creating something that is all your own. This uniqueness is what will grow your audience and not only capture their attention but keep it as well. Since you’re not copying everyone else in your niche, you will be adding actual value.
Solve A Problem For Your Niche
Once you determine how to make yourself stand out from others in your niche, you should then try to think of ways that you can solve your niche’s problems. Why try to solve problems? Well, if you’re unique AND you also solve problems for your readers, you go from being just a blogger to an authority. Not because of your knowledge, but your willingness to help your audience out.
In order to find out which problems your audience is dealing with in your niche, let’s take a look at the following:
- Forums or discussion boards that discuss your niche. What questions or issues do they bring up?
- Look at hashtags on social media and follow the ones that people in your niche use. What are a few of the recurring complaints?
Is there a running theme to these problems and can you help solve them? If you can’t solve them, can you do some research and solve it for them?
Finding your niche is crucial to your success. We’ve seen many people start blogging with great energy only to take a nosedive after three or four months of writing? Their problem? They didn’t have a niche. They didn’t a clear understanding of who they were and what they were offering their audience. After a while, they weren’t able to connect with an audience and eventually quit.
However, that doesn’t have to be you. Take time to determine a niche and what you’re going to bring your audience that they’re not getting somewhere else. Do that and you’re headed in the right direction.