In today’s video post I want to respond to a reader’s email by talking a little about how to choose a niche topic for your blog.
One mistake that many bloggers fall into when they discover the idea of making money from blogging is to start a blog on that very topic.
It is understandable in some ways – many people first read about the idea on a blog on that topic and automatically assume that to make the kind of money that that blogger is making they just need to copy what they are doing.
The problem is that the ‘make money online’ niche is crowded, there are already many established blogs, to be successful in it you need credibility and runs on the board (or a unique approach to it) and it really has a limited audience when compared to many other niches.
I make considerably more money from other blogs than I do this one – despite being one of the first writing the topic.
So what topic should a blogger choose and how do they make that decision?
In this video I share a few questions for PreBloggers to ask themselves.
I expand on each question in this post – How to Choose a Niche Topic for Your Blog.
the one that you are familiar with so that you can talk more about it.
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it is free. Good luck on your blogging.
Great video. I learned very quickly that I couldn’t blog about “make money online” only. I started with my ” A Cowboy’s Wife” and went from there. I would love to have a photography blog but that’s a little far off for me right now.
Again, great video. I’m loving those by the way. It’s nice to SEE tips instead of reading ALL day;)
Darren, is your best video post yet. I think this video would make an excellent starting point for new readers.
Perhaps, you could build off this vid post to create a ‘getting started blogging’ series. Or ‘how to and how not to make money online’
Great article, Darren. Gotta’ love those video posts! ;) Personally, I’m gonna’ start staying well away from the make money online subject from my blogs; you’re right – they’re just too over crowded.
Steve
everyone is looking for a get rich quick scheme, and blogging isn’t one of them. blogging should be about what you are knowledgeable and passionate about.
I agree with doug. If you talk about what you’re interested and knowledgeable in, chances are you will attract an audience and make them want to stay and return. The returns become evident with time but it’s definitely not a get-rich-quick thing.
I think the other problem is that bloggers tend to want to imitate successful bloggers without considering the path that the successful bloggers have taken to get to where they are.
Every blogger that starts the new blog SHOULD know at least 50% of the topic they have chosen to write about.
I have seen many bloggers that started just like you said, and failed because :
A) They didn’t have knowledge about the topic
B) They didn’t have enough resources and support
C) They didn’t know how to make their blog successful.
I wrote similar post about it
How To Begin Blogging Or Start Making Money With Blog
I wonder how you manage to stay so polite, Darren.
“What blogging tips should I write about on my blogging tips blog”??? He might as well ask you to come and blog for him, because that would be even more profitable.
*despairs at humanity*
It really makes a person think twice before he starts to blog.
I’ve personally watched several friends start up blogs and then lose interest. I always feel bad because I encourage them as much as possible. People tend to lose interest unless the topic really inspires them. The worst approach is to start off thinking you are going to make a living, as that can be so very disappointing so quickly. Writing good blog articles is like writing a term paper, you have to do your research and list your sources. The public is grading you so it helps if you already know something about the topic!
I think we as new bloggers have the hope to monitize our blog as soon as we throw our first post, but pretty soon we stumble unto the truth when everyday checking the adsense stats and basically is nothing there, pretty soon some mediocry bloggers give up with those results. I think blogging is like in programming, if you are not passionate about your job enough that you are willing to do it for free, certainly you got on the wrong career. I always say that I don’t hope to become rich blogging, I just love the challage to see if I’m good enough on what I do to actually make money with it.
I actually asked about this directly in a comment that bloggers get the false impression they should just start a blog about blogging…
oh well nice to have an answer :)
I don’t know how you said some of that with a straight face. I guess they don’t call you ProBlogger for nothing. People with zero expertise writing about something as if they were experts is big peeve of mine.
Kudos for your patience and easy-to-understand presentation. You covered the basics succinctly. I’m really enjoying your weekly videos.
I also agree with doug… people are attracted to genuine blogs. Most can see and feel your passion about your chosen subject or subjects and will return if they find common ground. It is not wrong to want to make money with blogging, yet if that is your main objective and you are borrowing your knowledge from those already proven in their fields, people will catch on rather quickly.
I have so much fun with my blog, I cannot imagine being more worried about a quick buck, rather than attracting like minded people passionate about the same things I am. This is quite rewarding.
Now, if you really need the money and are passionate AND knowledgeable about your chosen niche, people will see this and bookmark you as a valuable resource as well as referring you to others.
Now, if I wish to truly make good money…. I love your blog Darren! I know where to look for some killer tips! ;)
That was a well-timed video for me! I started my blog about earning money from blogging ( http://aboutblogging.info ) two days ago. At least I’m already doing as you recommended: I’m not protraying myself as an expert in the field; just someone trying to get started.
I agree it’s a crowded field but it is a subject I have an interest in. My other two blogs are about gardening, (also a beginners journal) and a personal blog.
Anyway, thanks for the tips Darren and good advice on finding niches.
that is great! diary for the niche and dont call yourself an expert – y blog is a diary of what I am doing and learning from mistakes – which si good and has gained me some credibility!
nice video
Doug’s comment rules. It’s spot on.
I am passionate about the subject that I’m blogging and I have some knowledge on the topic. While I love getting tips on blogging, I have not been writing with the aim to make pots of money. It’s just for the love of the topic.
But I may develop the possibility of cash into the blog one day. I expect you think I’d be crazy not to. Maybe I should be getting a move on…!
Hey you’re getting good at this video thing! I would certainly agree that a new blogger has to be ready to blog on a topic they have a passion for if they plan to continue for years to come. And of course success does not come fast and easy.
Great Job on the video! It is refreshing that someone can watch a video instead of reading. Blogging should be fun, and a passion not a task. Have fun and readers, (or viewers) will experience it with you. Just like you have accomplished here. Enjoyed very much
Thank you very much for the video. It’s pretty helpful. I have a blog and as there are so many guides for making money from blogs, I have made my blog only for beginners. I think I can answer every queestions in the video. Do you think I have to make any change in my topic?
Hi Darren,
I don’t know if you are aware of this but it doesn’t seem like one can access your videos from China — all of the ones you have put up have been inaccessible from here.
Darren, I was not able to get the video to work, but I loved just the written part of your post. I started blogging with a blog about the iPhone because I was so excited about it and it has still been going much better than the blog that I started later about online business. Your post here has inspired me to steer clear of this topic. I am going to turn that blog in a different direction and focus on the blogs that I am more excited about. Thank you for the post and hopefully I will be able to get the video to work soon.
Darren I love your video posts! I wish you’d do more of them!!!
I am always a little surprised at how many blogs I run across that are about making money by blogging. I think it is a fairly popular topic because more and more people are earning a good living off their blogging.
But I think a lot of people get into blogging with the wrong attitude. They have that “internet as the pot of gold” mentallity, forgetting that those who do make money online have paid their dues and have worked hard for a long time.
Right now my blogs are just a hobby for me. I didn’t start them with the intention of making money. In fact, I hardly make anything from them (not even enough to buy a cup of coffee). But I love doing it and it’s fun to see my daily visitor hit count slowly go up over the last few months.
Again, great video! Keep em’ coming. And you gave some great tips! Thanks!!!
Great video, I hope people really take heed. I’m just now starting out with my first blog ever, and I’m glad it’s on a subject I’m passionate about.
I’m gonna link this to every friend I have who’s considering starting one.
Darren, I like the way you pronounce “niche”. :-)
Some niches are pretty crowded. I’m writing about puppetry right now. It’s not a popular niche. It’s not that crowded, but of course, it’s not crowded because there aren’t as many people that care about it. But oh well, it’s what I care about so I’ll keep doing it anyway. =)
I found this post interesting. I even emailed you a question further on this post. Finding a niche is very important to making it, that is for sure, but what about the broadness of the blog? And when is it no longer a niche?
I’m quite new to your blog and this was the first video post I have watched. It’s a great idea to do video posts, especially it they’re so well done. ;o)
I still find the fact that some people actually do make money (lots of it in some cases) with their blogs mind-boggling. Who would have thought 5 years ago that that would even be possible?
I guess I never will be one of those people. I only have a diary-style personal blog, which I don’t plan to monetize, as that wouldn’t make sense anyway.
But I liked your tips a lot, and certainly hope a lot of people listen to them and actually try to think things through before they start yet another of those “make money online” blogs, because frankly, there are more than enough of them around already. Way more than enough, to be precise.
Thank you for answering those questions. Very good advice. I just started blogging, but have really enjoyed it, and can’t wait to learn more.
There are a couple of things that I wished that I had done before I started blogging:
Check similar blogs out (as similar as possible) and make note of how often people commented. On one particular blog almost no one comments but I often get emails even though I’m not updating it — when less than 12 people have commented total since January. If I had known that many weight loss sites don’t get a lot of comments, I would have been better able to evaluate if I would be able to stay motivated with no one commenting (which is very difficult). So that would be my advice for questions to ask yourself when choosing a niche:
Can you stay motivated without a lot of positive reinforcement?
Can you stay motivated and produce good work knowing that it will take time to build an audience?
Two very big questions that everyone needs to find the answers to. :)
Very good video post as always, Darren. Very useful.
Blogging about how to make money blogging is an area that is MASSIVELY saturated. It’s the same thing that happens to super affiliates that help other affiliates make money being an affiliate, they saturate their market and kill their income (well maybe not kill, but it does get smaller).
Great tips and advice!
I wish I had seen this post before I chose my blog topic. I wanted to start a blog on photography but I knew nothing about blogs and I didn’t want to mess it up. So I fell into the trap and started http://www.builda-blog.com where I talk about what I have learned about blogging.
The good news is I am going to start my photography blog and I have started to lay the plans down for it.
Darren, it is great to see pro bloggers such as yourself telling people about this. One of the themes I try explaining on my blog quite regularly is don’t start a blog about anything and pretend you are an expert if you aren’t an expert and if you aren’t willing to put in the time to do your homework.
Hi Darren.
I see the same trap with freelance writers. Most of them just write about freelance writing. Internet Marketers try to start out creating products for internet marketers.
I also liked the point you made about the make money niche. It’s like, look, you think it’s the most profitably niche so you write about it. Truth is, everyday people are searching for gadgets, camcorders, ipods, iphones, video games, how to knit.
Unless you make six-figures online or something, you’re not going to compete in that niche for one. Two, tons of those people don’t even care to compete in that niche because there’s so much more money to be made in other niches.
It’s not to say I’ve never seen a successful make money blog by a complete beginner, but those blogs are like you said. The ones I know are very original and somehow attractive to people going through the same thing.
Above all things, I think patience is most important. Building loyal readers to your blog.
I agree that there are way too many “make money blogging” websites. I don’t think there are too many (good) blogs about making money online however. Most sites about making money online are affiliate schemes. If there were more blogs in the future about legitimate money making opportunities I’d be happy.
I’m going to have to agree with a lot of people on here and say that blogging should be about sharing a knowledge or passion, not some cheesy get rich quick scheme.
Thanks for all the hard work and time you put into the videos.
Darren, once you are making money with the various affiliates, how do you keep track of commissions you are making from the different affiliate programs? Do you use special software, or have it set up in an Excel file? Any suggestions would be much appreciated!
Thanks for the video. One thing is to dig deep into your niche. Do you like cooking? What about a blog just about Italian cooking (one example). More potential to own the category.
Darren,
It looks like I am going to be the first to disagree with niche blogs. I have one niche blog (that hopefully helps beginner bloggers), but the blog that got me inspired to blog, is more of a “jill of all trades” blog.
It’s about everyday life issues, posts about current events, product reviews, my opinions, burning questions to make my readers think, hints and tips, money saving ideas, etc….
From watching my stats, it’s not too common to have a reader (except my friends) read more than one or two posts. My Google ads are targeted to each post, therefore, I get more of a variety of ads
Most of my visitors are from search engine results, therefore, I am hopefully giving them the answer they are looking for.
What I’m doing may not work for everyone, but for me, it’s working great. But…..I have been on this planet a lot longer than most bloggers, so that helps…more time to become an expert on more than one thing.
Content is great as always Darren (thank you), but this presentation format is boring. What does this very small talking head add to what could be presented in audio format?
Darren, thanks for the video. I was referred to your blog and I got far more than I expected! I can tell I will be coming to your blog page often, better yet, I will subscribe.
Thanks for a wealth of information. I am sure it will help me become a much better blogger.
There are too many “make money online” blogs as it is. the only ones worth reading are this one, ShoeMoney and John Chow. Everything else is just a rehash of what those three have already done!
This might be a bit naive but if you are in business, say you’re a baker, wouldn’t you write about that…instead of, “how to make money online?” I live on the Caribbean island of Culebra (located off the coast of Puerto Rico) so that is what culebra blog http://culebrablog.com/ is about…
Griffen’s post brings up an interesting topic: how do blogs build an audience? I would assume that you have to use a number of different methods: seo, commenting on other blogs, etc. I’d be curious to hear people’s strategies and tactics.
It just seems to me that deciding to start a blog and then thinking about a topic is a bit backwards. Who will build a better house, someone who knows what kind of house they want and seeks out how to build it, or someone who asks “I really like using my hammer, what can I build?” A blog is a way of delivering a message, not the message itself (except for blogs about blogging).
If you don’t have anything to contribute, you really can’t justify the need for a blog. But everyone has unique talents. Think about what you’re good at and what you like to do. Think about how you can provide value in a way few others can. Find your “why” first, then find your “how.”
Hi Darren,
My name is Bernard from Sunny Malaysia. Thanks for the Blogging tips. Can you advise should i use blogger or WordPress to blog? Any advantages of this 2 platform?
Appreciate your reply.
Bernard
http://internetmarketingtipsweb.blogspot.com/
http://www.asiainternetmarketingacademy.com/
Too late! 23 days ago I started http://blogsformoney.com/ :-)
These videos make for a nice break from “reading”; a good change of pace, and just the right length.
Perhaps it’s best to put monetizing a blog to one side until one has built an audience of readers and subscribers. I wonder why people are in such a hurry to monetize their blogs? If one truly has a passion for the subject on which they write, then they’ll write for free. If that passion for the topic is contagious, and one attracts a good audience, then one has the foundation for monetizing that content.
I’m certainly no expert in this field, but it seems logical to put traffic generation before monetization. Perhaps I’m wrong.