PureBlogging

The following guest post was submitted by Sally from Drop Out Diaries.

Most articles on the topic of how to identify a niche assume that you haven’t actually started your blog yet. But what if you started a blog about something you cared for passionately and then found that it didn’t seem to fit well into any existing niches or topics?

In this article, when I say “niche” I mean all possible blog topics, large or small. Some people use “niche” to refer only to small, specific subjects but I consider humour, politics and tech to be niches as well – albeit very large ones!

Identifying a recognizable niche is important in finding the right audience for your blog and cultivating loyal readers and subscribers. So how do you go about finding a niche for an existing blog?

Use the catch-all niche

There is a catch-all niche that you can fall back on: the personal blog niche. The trouble is that you get saddled with all the “what I did today” and “here’s a picture of my cat” blogs that will never have more than 5 readers. For a blog with any ambition, this niche doesn’t do the job.

Dive into blog communities

Visit blog communities such as Technorati, Blog Catalog and My Blog Log and do a search using your keywords. See what the resulting blogs are about, how they are grouped, what other communities their owners join, what tags people are using.

Notice if there are any affiliations that you want to avoid as well. For example, for one of my blogs I noticed that a particular keyword was returning quite a few Christian religious sites. As this is not the way I want to go, I had to reconsider whether I wanted to use that concept.

Also check whether people are holding blog carnivals on topics that your blog deals with. If not, considering hosting your own to try and bring them out of the woodwork.

Brainstorm using online tools

Brainstorm some niche words and write them all down together so that you can compare them. Which best encapsulate what your blog is about? I use visual search engines such as Quintura or Kartoo to help me brainstorm; it helps me to see words set out in diagram form. Quintura, for instance, presents keywords related to your search term in the form of a tag cloud with relevance represented spatially (how far apart they are) and visually (size of word, bold face etc).

You can also use a keyword tool to get more ideas. Keyword tools are designed to help you optimise your keywords but they are also useful for identifying or deciding on a niche, because they help you to analyze what words and associations your potential readers use. Aaron Wall has a whole host of useful tools at http://tools.seobook.com/keyword-tools.

Examine your blog offering

What are you offering in this blog? Many blogs are defined by the type of content they offer. “Lifehack” blogs, for example, tend to offer short, snappy tips. “Problogger” blogs tend towards longer posts offering advice or how-tos. “Travel” blogs often include a lot of personal content and general musings.

It’s important to look at other blogs that you like and work out what it is about them that you find so appealing. Perhaps even gain inspiration from what they don’t offer. For example, maybe you have a favourite blog that is excellent at giving snappy tips but sometimes you wish they’d go into a bit more detail.

Migrating to a popular niche

Consider modifying your content to migrate into a popular niche. Can you be sure though, that you can consistently create great content in the chosen area and compete with the already popular blogs in that niche?

You could also look at trends sites such as trendwatching.com. Can you shoehorn your current topics into an up and coming trend, e.g. eco-living or the importance of online social status? It can also be useful for marketing your blog to advertisers, to show that you are plugged into a lucrative trend.

Develop your own niche

A long-range solution would be to focus on developing a new or recent niche. If you think you have tapped into something that could become big, work at developing it yourself. Build your own communities, hold your own blog carnivals, work to create a buzz around your topic. Try to attract a new type of audience.

This is a challenging prospect and you may have to resign yourself to not earning much from your blog in the short term. But the potential rewards if your niche takes off could be big.

Whatever direction you decide to go in, make sure you still enjoy it and feel passionate about it. Although it can be a difficult and frustrating process finding your true niche, you learn a lot about yourself and your blog – and what you really want it to be.

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Sally writes at www.dropoutdiaries.com on how to leave the rat race behind, and live a simpler, happier life. Check out her recent interviews with people who have managed to quit the rat race. When not blogging, Sally can often be found surfing near her home on the beautiful coast of Cornwall.

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