Are you an aspiring writer, hoping to set up a blog to demonstrate your writing prowess to the world? An online sleuth wanting to bring together all of your interesting discoveries in one designated space? Or just wanting to write an online journal of your day-to-day life and the various ups and downs you experience? Whichever category you put yourself in, choosing a niche for your blog can be pretty difficult, as you not only need to have some idea of who you are aiming your blog at and how you can utilise your knowledge and interests to your advantage, but you also need to be aware of which areas have a dearth of content and which topics are oversaturated with online content.

Compile a List and Overall Aim

Your first step should be to list ALL of your marketable interests and areas of expertise, regardless of their general popularity, and probe your internal thought process to identify what you are hoping to gain from your blog – connections with like-minded people, a page to include examples of your skills and understanding for work purposes, a community space for people who have nowhere else?

Such organisation will enable your process to be clear, your content specific and more explicit to readers, and help you stay on track.

Conduct Essential Research

Once you’ve decided on an aim and listed all of your potential areas of interest, it’s time to conduct some research. For each area of interest, it’s highly useful to scope out your competition – how many other, similar blogs are there? Is this area or theme a fleeting trend that will drop off the radar before the end of the year? Who is most likely to read this type of content and what do they expect from it?

In order to build an enjoyable, informative and successful blog, you need to know the answers to the questions above. These probing questions will help you narrow down the specifics of your blog content and dismiss any that lack longevity.

Play to Your Strengths

Yes, it’s important to make sure there is an audience for your content. And yes, it’s useful to set yourself apart from other content. This is all pointless, however, if you don’t possess the relevant skills, knowledge or understanding required to do justice to your blog content. For example, true crime may be your passion, a topic you love reading and talking about. But, if you lack a new perspective on the topic, or have nothing new to add, then it’s unlikely you’ll amass a dedicated readership.

It’s much more beneficial overall to play to your strengths. If you are incredibly knowledgeable about fashion and beauty, you will find it much better to focus on this. To make it more ‘you’, you can base your information more on particular types of looks and styles – if you’re a grungy gal, all your fashion and beauty content can be geared towards this, and include relevant, topical information such as up-and-coming bands.

Each blog is individual to the creator and a way to put your own, personal stamp on internet content. Whatever niche you choose, the most important thing is ensuring that you are confident and happy with your choice. It’s also important to remember that you aren’t tied to your decision – you can change your blog content at any time you wish.

Happy blogging!