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Niche???? What the hell is that???
Some of the readers must be definitely asking this question. So the first thing I am going to do now is explain what is niche and how to choose a niche for your blog.
Niche is pronounced as "neesh" and the dictionary meaning of niche is "a place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing is best fitted".
In terms of blogging niche means a category or a specific topic which is a part of a bigger category. For example when you choose Academics as a category then Adult Education , Education Reform , History , Reference etc which form a part of Academics can be called as niche topics. We can choose only one of the sub topic for your blog or a combintion of topics.
Now that we know the basics about niche we will learn how to choose a niche for our blog.
To choose a niche we should consider the following factors:
1) Intrest:
Choosing a niche just because it is very popular or it is good in terms of advertising/earning money is wrong. As we have read the definition, it states that niche is a topic which is best fitted for a person. It doesnt matter if the niche you have choosen isnt popular. It may not bring lots of traffic to your blog but if you concentrate on the niche and write some good articles which are useful and informative about the niche, you can build authority for that niche which will ensure loads of loyal readers.
2) Your Profession:
Your profession is also an important factor for choosing a blog niche. This has many benefits such as:
• You already have lots of information which will ensure that you will not easily run out of topics for your blog posts.
• You have good resources which will help you in enhancing your posts with vital information.
• You can encourage your collegues to visit your blog so that they can learn some things that would help them in their profession (like polishing the basics or some latest developements).
3) Lack Of Competition:
Yes you are reading it correctly. Sometimes when you are searching for certain thing, you get frustrated when you get vague answers which hardly help you. You should target such niches keeping in mind that you have intrest in it or considerable knowledge about it. The downslide of this method is that you will have a very limited audience. However as very few people write about it, you will get a major share of the pie. Keep on writing about it till you become an authority on that topic. It is easier said than done, but why not give it a try??
4) Part of Forums/Communities:
If you have been an active member of a forum or community about a certain niche, then there is a great chance that you have lots of knowledge about it. You know about the latest news , the usual problems that people face and the methods to solve the problems. Then why not blog about it. Just remember most of the people surfing the net are lazy, if you take efforts and solve their problems then they will come back to you to know more. Just remember this saying which I read somewhere
"Help a person when he is in trouble and he will remember you, when he is in trouble again "
It may sound funny but it is the truth. So start helping people and grow your blog.
Disadvntages Of Choosing A Poplar Niche:
A popular niche may have a large audience and many oppurtinities, but beware there will be thousands of other people who will be eyeing that niche. Many of them will be an authority on that niche and enjoying large traffic and revenue. So dont you think that people will be wary of reading your blog as they must have read the same topics in one of the popular blogs. This is the main disadvantage of choosing a popular niche. The more popular the niche the tougher is the competition. The only way for you to survive this competition is to make your blog different from rest of the people. Use various methods which will keep the visitors glued to your blog. Check the popular blogs in your niche, find the topics that they are not concentrating on and write about it. Only this can save your blog from the tough competition.
Small Is Big:
Yup, sometimes samll things can do great wonders for you. As you must have read the benefits of Lack Of Competition above , you will have realized that it is a great oppurtinity to bring less but loyal readers to your blog. Once you have managed to build a good reader base, you can use it to earn money. For it you must first find advertisers related to your niche. As the niche is not that popular, you may face some problems while finding an advertiser but its not impossible. Once you manage to find an advertiser you have to convince them that how your blog can be best suited for them. Show them your blog stats and tell them that as your blog has visitors who are intrested in their content, it can generate lots of traffic for them. You can even give them an ad spot for free or at a discounted rate to prove that what you are telling is right. This will surely convince them to advertise on your blog.
If you still have problem while choosing a niche for your blog, you can check the so called "World's Largest Blog Niche And Topic Idea List" by www.sparkplugging.com
It is a great resource which will definitely help you to choose a blog niche.
