Want to have a successful blog… but struggling with niching down?
When I first started blogging, I couldn’t decide what I actually wanted to write about.
And I’m the type of person who is easily influenced. So I’d read a great post about a beauty product, and then instantly decide I’d want to be a beauty blogger. Or a post on making money online, and then want to start a finance blog.
But something I read over and over is that you need to niche down, and only write about one topic if you want to become a successful blogger.
In some cases, this is true. Having a specific blog topic can help you to become an expert in that area.
But it’s important to remember there are absolutely no rules to blogging. So if you want to write about multiple topics, you can.
Today, I’ve got a guest post from someone who is a pro when it comes to blogging about multiple topics.
Jessica from jessicalaurenvine.com has been blogging for years, and she’s learnt a thing or two about becoming a successful blogger without writing about just one thing.
So enough from me- here’s Jessica to tell you more about being a successful blogger (without niching down!).
How to be a successful blogger without niching down (with Jessica Lauren Vine)
I’ve always heard that you have to have a niche if you want to be successful in blogging.
Generally, I do agree with this rule – especially when you’re just getting started with blogging. It helps you stay on track and allows your visitors to follow along without getting confused.
In this article, we are going to talk about how to crush blogging without niching down.
When you’re niched down, you’ll start to notice that a certain type of people are following your content. You’ll start to see other questions and interests your raving fans are interested in. I actually fully deleted my blog a few years back and didn’t touch it for almost 2 years because I didn’t want to only blog about one thing.
How to Choose What to Blog About
You still don’t want to confuse your readers, so how do you blog about multiple things and still keep your current readers engaged?
Just remember that the same way that you are a full person with multiple interest – so are your readers! They aren’t JUST interested in health and beauty. They aren’t JUST interested in making money.
You have to look at your audience and see what they are interested in. While my readers are working moms (business owners or mid to c level employees) that want to spend more time with their families while still living the lives of their dreams today, your audience might be something totally different. You might be writing to all the single ladies, all the single ladies. Oops – Beyoncé, anyone?
For me personally, I chose to write content for myself. Not myself today, but myself a few years or even a few days back.
If I learn something new that I think is going to help my audience, I’m going to tell them about it. I do learn a lot of things that I don’t necessarily think are going to help my audience, and I just leave that for myself and don’t blog about it.
Look for what people on your blog engage with the most.
I was a little afraid to write about beauty because I do have 45% of my readership that are men. I was worried they would high tail it out of there. What happened is that they introduced their wives to my blog! How cool is that?
I was able to grow my readership by being myself and sharing some life hacks and I got word of mouth referrals which is an epic compliment in my book.
So, Do You Need a Niche?
I’m one of those people that don’t believe in playing by the rules, but I do pay close attention to best practices. Why recreate the wheel if someone else has already figured out a great way to do something, right? Yes – that’s true BUT let me say that what works for one person isn’t going to work for everyone.
If you feel better and more effective by only writing about one thing – go for it. Don’t feel like you have to branch out and do all the things. I personally get a little bored and don’t blog if I feel forced to only blog about one thing. It’s super annoying.
On the other hand, I have friends that start freaking out if they think they have to write something that is outside their wheelhouse.
What I do want you to know is that it is possible to be successful with a blog that doesn’t have only one niche. I blog about personal finance, digital marketing, personal development, beauty and I also plan on putting marriage and parenting content up on my site.
All of these things go with my overall purpose of my blog which is to help people live their someday dreams today. I am totally against the deferred life plan and waiting until retirement to do “all the things.”
Befriend Experts
You might want to blog about things that you don’t have much of a clue about. You’re interested in learning more about it though, and you want to share it with your readers. That’s totally cool and you can bring them along on your journey.
When you feel like you’re underqualified or underinformed about a topic, bring in an expert and let them take the responsibility of sharing the right information with your audience.
Your audience doesn’t expect you to know everything. They just want to know that the information you’re sharing with them is legit.
When you bring in experts, this also takes a lot of the pressure off of you, so you don’t have to worry about being the focus of the entire blog.
You can be the star, but every star needs an amazing supporting cast and these experts can be that for you and your blog. Find people that you can continue to partner with and help each other grow followings, and you’ll find it’s a pretty powerful way to boost your blog’s traffic.
How to Crush Blogging Without Niching Down – Put Your Plan Together & Run With It
The biggest thing that stops most people is that they get stuck in analysis paralysis.
This is a dangerous disease for content creators, and you have to stay out of it at all costs. Even if you start writing a blog post and you look at it 30 minutes in and decide it is absolutely a terror – get started today. That is the absolute secret to my success and why I will always win at anything I undertake. I do it before I feel like I am ready, one foot in front of the other.
If you’re one of those people that need to write out a plan, get your paper out and write it out.
You can also use mind mapping software online which is pretty cool. I’ve used it a few times to get clear on my website structure so I could make sure people are getting the best user experience when they come to my site.
Now you have even more options, so don’t let that stop you. Let the increase of options inspire you to get moving today.
Final thoughts on niching down
I hope Jessica has shown you that it is possible to become a successful blogger without picking a blog niche.
Because it is your blog, and it is up to you what you write about!
If you enjoyed this post, please share it on Pinterest:
And if you’ve been putting off starting a blog because you couldn’t decide what to write about, this is your go ahead to stop wasting time and start one today!
Related blog niche articles
- You can read my ultimate start a blog guide to get your own blog up and running for less than $4 a month.
- If you’ve already started a blog and are looking for more tips, be sure to read my posts on the best plugins for new bloggers and easy ways to make money as a new blogger.
