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Super Niching: The Dirty Little Secret Of Successful Bloggers Everywhere

Posted By Guest Blogger 7th of September 2015 General 0 Comments

Super Niching The Dirty Little Secret Of Successful Bloggers Everywhere - on ProBlogger.net

This is a guest contribution from Michaela Clark.

It’s the one thing most bloggers avoid talking about the most. A shameful, hidden secret we keep from each other.

It’s the old way of defining a ‘successful blog’– your website traffic numbers.

I’m here to combat the stigma of low readership and show you how having the right kind of targeted consumers of your content is the best thing you can do for your blog and how you can still make money blogging no matter what your audience size.

So here goes.

I’m Michaela. I write a blog for trades and building contractors.  I have less than a 1000 visitors a month and I still make money from blogging.

I am proud of every single one of the readers that I get and I’m not ashamed to admit it.   I work hard to inspire and connect with each and every one.  How amazing is it that a few hundred people a month actually want to read and listen to what I have to say? I wished my husband was as keen to hear what I have to say as some of my readers are.

So stop worrying about volume and look at how you are making a difference – even if it’s just one person you have an effect on. Isn’t that worth it?  That you can change one person’s life for the better with your words?

Without massive readership, how do I make money from my blog?

Well it’s actually really easy.  It’s all in the power of super niching.

A blog about cooking is a niche. A blog about cooking with tomatoes is a super niche.

The world will open up once you build authority in a clearly defined super niche.

How it all started:

Just over 12 months ago I went looking for online influencers to connect with to help promote my virtual assistant support business for trade contractors.

Sure there were lots of blogs about small business but I couldn’t find anyone that had built a following online around business advice for small, trade business owners. 

Spotting a ‘first to market’ opportunity, I decided to become the online influencer I had been searching for.

My first concern was that if no one else was doing it then it simply mustn’t work.  Even my mother said, “Surely there are people smarter than you that would have thought of this before now?” Geez mum, thanks for your vote of support there.

However with over 400,000 tradespeople in Australia alone, I knew there was an influencer gap there somewhere, just screaming to come out.

Straight away things began to change once I focused on delivering highly relevant and regular content to this area of the market.   I began to blog more and started to produce a bi-weekly business podcast just for trade contractors called the Tradies Business Show.

In less than 12 months and with only a handful of readers, I now have over 10 different revenue streams that are all a direct result of the content I am producing.

This additional revenue has been gained through sponsored posts, event sponsorships, podcast sponsorship,  affiliate deals, a membership site, product integrations, speaking and consulting. This is all in addition to the core VA services my business offers.

The key point I quickly realised was that potential partners and sponsors weren’t too concerned with my seemingly ‘low’ traffic numbers but rather the opportunity I gave them to speak directly to a highly relevant and engaged section of their target market.

Relevancy to the readers, not quantity of visitors, has become the new measurement of a successful blog.

Being relevant cuts through the noise, makes connecting easier and builds authority quicker.

Once you have authority you can achieve just about anything.

The power in super niching lies in the fact that it makes you relevant to those readers that matter– the ones that need your help the most.

 

It’s not about how many readers, but the right reader, that will make you money.

Recently I had someone ring me after reading my blog and watching some dodgy old videos of me on YouTube I had forgotten about.

I soon discovered this reader was actually the founder of a national company that has one of the biggest databases of trade contractors in the country. He rang to pitch me on how we could possibly partner together.

That one reader alone could potentially be worth millions to my business.

That only happened because of the niche content I was producing online.

Super niching will help you to attract the right reader and that is where the magic (and money) happens.

Do you have a super niche blog that you make money from?

Michaela Clark is the founder of Tradies VA,  co-host of the Tradies Business Show podcast, and Event Director of Podcast Revolution happening on the Gold Coast Nov 2015.

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Comments
  1. What an inspiring post! thanks for sharing Michaela.. Well I have 2 blogs. I think one is super niche (fitness & health in your 40’s) and the other is just niche – food and travel. Will definitely try to work on getting that one blog into the super niche category… thank you again for the eye opening post .. and for not being selfish and not sharing!

  2. I must have missed the link to the cooking blog with tomatoes? Where is it?

  3. Great post, Michaela. I agree that few loyal fans are much better & valuable than many thousands of passive readers; like Kevin Kelly says in his 1000 True Fans. It made me think about super specializing my logo design & branding services to early startups & business only. Thanks :)

  4. Hi Michaela, what a great post. Your story of niching down to trade contractors isn’t something that I seen someone doing prior to this and is really wonderful.

    Thanks for the write-up/

  5. Love this post!! Very inspiring. Thank you

  6. If you are working on super niche I dont think that it would take around 12 months to rank.

  7. I am all for the super niche idea. I think it has the power to amplify your reach and makes you an instant authority figure. Now to find that niche!

  8. I agree but I don’t think 1 year is too much !

  9. What an inspiring post!

    Good on you for seeing such a potentially lucrative hole in the market and going for it. And also for not letting your mother’s (or anyone else’s doubts) stop you.

    Very well played!

  10. Awesome post to back up your inspiring presentation at the Small Business Bootcamp session at PBEVENT this year Michaela.

    What you said at PBEVENT made me realise that I don’t need to hustle to build a huge following so I can make a million dollars from selling something to a million followers. Rather I can make a million dollars (dream big right) from making a lot of money from a few sponsors / partners who want to get in front of the million followers.

    This post has opened my eyes even more! Perhaps I don’t even need the million followers. I just need a super niche of dedicated readers. Now, I agree with Louis… to work out that super niche!!

  11. Great post, Michaela, loyal fans always better than more.

  12. Very useful post. Now I start thinking of how to find super niche. Something that is really unique, now body ever thinks about it.

    • Michaela Clark says: 09/08/2015 at 8:16 pm

      Just make sure it is something you are interested in writing about as well!!

  13. This is a wonderful and very thoughtful post. I have been doing this same super niche blogging on my website. Though the amount of traffic is very less but there is a lot of ad clicks which shows that the readers who actually come to my website are very interested in the products I speak about.

  14. This article really got me to thinking. I’ve become quite hesitant and discouraged to add more to my blog, because I’m just not satisfied with my topic. It’s too broad and I’m struggling to find my target. As I read through this post, I began to visualize how I can narrow my focus more specifically. Thanks. It seems so simple, but I needed your example to help give me new direction.

  15. This is absolutely helpful! Lately, I’ve been always concerned with my blog’s very low traffic and it kind of tempted me to write more about random topics just so I have something to blog about. But now, I think I just found my super niche. Hmm.. thanks for this! 😊

    • Michaela Clark says: 09/08/2015 at 8:15 pm

      Your welcome. The benefit of niching also makes it heaps easier to think of content!

  16. Niche blogging is a great way to stay intimately connected with blog readers.

  17. This is absolutely helpful! Lately, I’ve been always concerned with my blog’s very low traffic and it kind of tempted me to write more about random topics just so I have something to blog about.

  18. Daisy says: 09/08/2015 at 1:35 pm

    Great article – now to find my super niche!

  19. Hey Michaela,

    Awesome article, of course! I’ve been telling my clients for years to focus on a niche with their marketing and products. I think something people assume is that you can only have one niche but the reality is you can have multiple niches! For those trying to work out what their niche is…start by imagining the best 5 or 10 clients you’ve ever had. Why were they so great to work with? What did they look like? Define them as well as possible and then develop content they would love to hear! Anyway, well done again…thanks for helping me define MY niche!!
    Warrick

  20. You hooked me in with “Relevancy to the readers, not quantity of visitors”. It’s forcing me to think different about how we blog.

  21. You bloggers are really crazy! :D I really enjoying reading this! Thanks!

  22. I’d love to reach my full potential! Thanks for the blog, would love more…..

  23. Great post Michaela,
    I really agree with all you said here. Choosing a generic niche to build your blog upon will certainly get you nowhere but Niching down will ensure you’re targeting the right audience and it will also make the competition less easier to beat if you know what you’re doing.

    This is a very wonderful post dear, thanks for sharing.

  24. Thanks Atul – glad you found it userful.

  25. Paula says: 09/16/2015 at 1:51 am

    I love this article. The only point I’d add to this excellent post is that the number of Facebook followers also doesn’t guarantee success.

    By the way, I clicked on the Tradies VA link but the website doesn’t appear to be working – perhaps it’s me?

  26. Thank you Micheala,
    I’m in the process at the moment of starting my new blog. I was going to be blogging about home interiors & general stuff I like. Just this week I made the bold decision to make it more of a learning base about Eco sustainable home design (that everyone can understand). It’s an issue I’m super passionate about and love researching about. Your post was a nice ‘sign’ of clarity for me, thanks.

  27. Danie Botha says: 09/16/2015 at 1:16 pm

    It is refreshing to read such a succinct post on why one doesn’t need 100,000 readers, but rather 1,000 loyal followers. You’ve got your tribe together Michaela!
    I’m getting my ducks in a row for my blog – this post will send me back to the drawing board to delve a bit deeper, and super-specialize in my niche. Become an “expert” in a small field and render value.
    Great post.
    Thanks, Michaela!

  28. I have also been worrying about readership since I just started regularly blogging this year. I am now trying to launch my blog with a new domain and deciding to develop a super niche for volunteer travels in the Philippines.

    Thank you for this post!

  29. Super tips here

    After 3 month of work my niche is not reach yet.

    I try to put cross country skiing and health together ,is this possible to mix to different
    ideas in the same niche.

    Thanks again Micheala Éric EJ

  30. Great article, thanks Michaela. This bit really resonated with me: “The key point I quickly realised was that potential partners and sponsors weren’t too concerned with my seemingly ‘low’ traffic numbers but rather the opportunity I gave them to speak directly to a highly relevant and engaged section of their target market.” I am noticing that engagement is very important and should be held in higher esteem than fb or twitter numbers. This post is so timely for me as I was considering drilling down my niche instead of expanding. I am in the early childhood sector which is vast in what you can blog about if you want to cover it all. You have helped me make a big decision. Thanks again.

  31. Thanks for this timely article. As I begin to grow my “super niche” business I’ve found it difficult to get advice that wasn’t aimed at large niches with well established influencers to follow, study and emulate. They are difficult to find in my focused niche. “I decided to become the online influencer I had been searching for.” … Love that quote! We need more articles aimed at the super niche.

  32. What an inspiring post! thanks for sharing Michaela.. Well I have 2 blogs. I think one is super niche (fitness & health in your 40’s) and the other is just niche – food and travel. Will definitely try to work on getting that one blog into the super niche category… thank you again for the eye opening post .. and for not being selfish and not sharing!

  33. I have to agree. Super Niching allows you to become an expert in a super specified niche which makes you the go-to person in that specialized topic.

    • Hi Michaela

      I am so glad that I came across your article and ensuing comments. I was seriously thinking about abandoning my super niche topic and branching out into something wider. This has stopped me in my tracks and made me re-evaluate what is important. Relevancy rather than traffic numbers. Reading the comments has made me feel lucky to have discovered a niche I am passionate about, I love writing poetry and I love ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) and on my blog actmadelyrical.com I have found a way to combine the two. I was beginning to wonder whether it was too narrow but now I will celebrate its uniqueness. Great post. Thanks for sharing.

      Corinne

  34. I really enjoyed this post. I know that super niching is key to being successful but I’m not sure how to “branch” from my fairly new blog.

    I love my topic but I realize that my niche is too broad but not sure how to proceed…should I start an entirely new site with a similar theme or can I super niche my existing site? Any advice you can offer will be greatly appreciated!

    CherylK

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