Stuck at step one

[BetsyLeaves]

Hi,

So I'm starting to get my head around how a blog can make money.

But the hurdle I'm stuck on is, the bit that comes before that - the bit where you decide what you're blog is about. I understand niche is the way to go, and I'd like to write about something I'm interested in. But that feels like a hurdle in itself.

When I've come to list the things I'd like to write about, they seem to broad, and there are too many. What constitutes a niche? How small or how big do you go with it? For example, I'm interesting in crafts, fitness, outdoor activities, the environment, books, animals, travel, food etc so I'm considering these as possible options, but how do you determine what will have a big enough audience, (and can help make some money,too)? Should you refine it further, for example, if I wanted to write about books, would I be best writing about a singular genre? How do you determine if an subject matter is saturated?

I've been thinking about blogging for some time, just for fun in the past, but I've never started as I thought, who wants to read a blog about everything.

Sorry if this is a repetition of another thread!

Thanks,

Beth

 

[Flitterbug]

I feel the wider you go the harder it is to target an audience for example crafts - I love a wide range of crafts but if you made lots of posts about knitting/card making/jewellery making I'd possibly find it hard to follow the blog as I don't personally dabble in these crafts.

Out of all those topics you list which is your favorite one that you could churn out multiple posts a week on? Then we can help you narrow it down from there

We also know a few keyword tools between us, they have limited free use but maybe they'd help find you the niche that's going to get your traffic with relatively low competition

 

[Jon]

Hi Beth

First, don't worry if people have asked similar questions before or not. You are free to post and ask whatever you want on here, people will just naturally help such is the culture of the community on here..

Looking at all the topics you listed you need to obviously drill down a bit before selecting one

Which topic would you want to write about for say 2 years straight? making 2 new posts a week on?
Which of those topics has enough substance for you to do that?
Which one do you have enough knowledge on that people would want to learn and read your content (as that is obviously going to be the carrot on a stick for your site in terms of driving income later on)

It's VERY good that you are thinking about all these things, so many people rush in head first which isn't always great in the long run..

 

[BetsyLeaves]

Okay!

I think I've got it, I think I've found my niche, and I feel pretty excited about it!

I know I've got some serious reading to now :'(

I do still wonder about the review aspect though, do people only review products they have or have used ect? I can't see that they do, but then what do I know!

 

[FreeSwagSites]

Okay!

I think I've got it, I think I've found my niche, and I feel pretty excited about it!

I know I've got some serious reading to now :'(

I do still wonder about the review aspect though, do people only review products they have or have used ect? I can't see that they do, but then what do I know!

I wrote a blog post a about writing product reviews here >> http://iblogforprofit.com/how-to-earn-money-writing-reviews

Let me know if you need any more help.

Just take a deep breath and tackle one thing at a time

 

[slashingthedebt]

Great blog post Kristian.

 

[FreeSwagSites]

Great blog post Kristian.

Thank you - that's very kind.
Just spotted a typo though that I need to correct later. My OCD won't stand for typos!!
I wrote the post because the "how can you review stuff you don't own" is such a common question and stops a lot of people from getting involved.

 

[BetsyLeaves]

Thanks for that! That's a great read!

 

[FreeSwagSites]

Thanks for that! That's a great read!

You're welcome.
I like the sound of your fitness/weight lifting niche best if you can refine it a little. I would do a little keyword research first.

The outdoor / survival one sounds interesting too.

The key thing is that both have lots of products to promote.

 

[Flitterbug]

Great blog post Kristian.

Thank you - that's very kind.
Just spotted a typo though that I need to correct later. My OCD won't stand for typos!!
I wrote the post because the "how can you review stuff you don't own" is such a common question and stops a lot of people from getting involved.

http://www.ocduk.org/whats-not-OCD

Sorry to post this here but any chance to tell people about OCD I take really... it is an interesting read though!

Now onto reading your blog post - as I need to start some content writing too!!

 

[FreeSwagSites]

Great blog post Kristian.

Thank you - that's very kind.
Just spotted a typo though that I need to correct later. My OCD won't stand for typos!!
I wrote the post because the "how can you review stuff you don't own" is such a common question and stops a lot of people from getting involved.

http://www.ocduk.org/whats-not-OCD

Sorry to post this here but any chance to tell people about OCD I take really... it is an interesting read though!

Now onto reading your blog post - as I need to start some content writing too!!

You're quite right to make this point and I accept your very gentle slap on the wrist. I should know better than to use such loose language when referring to a serious psychological disorder.

I think that this is the relevant part of the DCM-IV criteria that most people that claim to have "mild OCD" would fail to satisfy:

"C. The obsessions or compulsions cause marked distress, are time consuming (take more than 1 hour a day), or significantly interfere with the person's normal routine, occupational (or academic) functioning, or usual social activities or relationships."

For example, my insistence that the radio and TV volumes are always on an even number is a little odd and annoying to others, but it's pretty trivial in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Flitterbug]

Great blog post Kristian.

Thank you - that's very kind.
Just spotted a typo though that I need to correct later. My OCD won't stand for typos!!
I wrote the post because the "how can you review stuff you don't own" is such a common question and stops a lot of people from getting involved.

http://www.ocduk.org/whats-not-OCD

Sorry to post this here but any chance to tell people about OCD I take really... it is an interesting read though!

Now onto reading your blog post - as I need to start some content writing too!!

You're quite right to make this point and I accept your very gentle slap on the wrist. I should know better than to use such loose language when referring to a serious psychological disorder.

I think that this is the relevant part of the DCM-IV criteria that most people that claim to have "mild OCD" would fail to satisfy:

"C. The obsessions or compulsions cause marked distress, are time consuming (take more than 1 hour a day), or significantly interfere with the person's normal routine, occupational (or academic) functioning, or usual social activities or relationships."

For example, my insistence that the radio and TV volumes are always on an even number is a little odd and annoying to others, but it's pretty trivial in the grand scheme of things.

Like I said, I'm sorry that I posted it here, but it is a very loosely used term and I like people to know the truth

Back to the topic at hand I read the post - very helpful! Randomly someone else has signed up to a free account on my WA link which is nice ^^