In an era where everyone and their mother has something to say, creating an appealing blog can be difficult.
The white noise that is the blogosphere can be incredibly difficult to cut through. It leaves anyone trying to add in their two cents at a natural disadvantage.
If you want to be heard, focusing on a niche audience is one of the best strategies these days.
By honing your message to speak to a specific group of people, you increase the chances of your message cutting through the noise and reaching the eyes of those who might care about it the most.
Of course, the question that remains to be asked is: how do you do that?
Here are a few tips and suggestions to help your blog appeal to a niche audience.
1. Find Your Niche Audience
Whether you already have an established blog or you’re just getting started, developing a niche focus for your online endeavors is still in the cards.
Keep Your Own Interests in Mind When Creating Content
As you go about nailing down what specific group of people you want to market to, one thing you want to keep in mind from the getgo is the fact that your blog is still just that: your blog.
It’s easy to abandon all interests and passions in the name of finding that group of people who will read what you write.
But, of course, if you do that, you’ll likely find yourself burning out in no time.
It all comes down to a bit of a balancing act. One side involves remaining within your interests while the other consists of finding a topic that will attract an audience. Y
ou technically can begin by looking for niches that tend to perform well. However, it’s typically best to start with your passions and work from there. Find things that genuinely interest you.
This can’t just be a passing fancy, either. It has to be a topic you care about and are willing to invest time in researching and writing about.
Once you have a topic of interest chosen, hop online and start to search for various aspects within the subject that lack attention or proper coverage on existing blogs.
For example, if you’re interest is music, start to look for music-related things like home studio equipment, fixing guitars, oboe 101, the science behind music, music therapy, and so on.
Narrow your search as you go until you find an area that is both meaty enough for a blog and simultaneously lacking proper coverage online.
Remember, everything under the sun has been talked about online in some form or another these days.
The fact that a topic has search engine results doesn’t necessarily mean it’s being properly covered, or that its market has been saturated.
2. Understand Your Niche
Once you’ve narrowed things down to a niche topic you enjoy, it’s time to dominate your part of the market.
The podcaster Mike Duncan created his “History of Rome” podcast at a time when history podcasting was largely an unsaturated market.
Once he discovered a niche with listeners, he picked his particular topic — e.g. Rome — and focused on it with intensity for years. He created a unique approach and style (more on that below) and became a master of the subject.
A niche blog should take the same approach. Just because you choose paleo cooking doesn’t mean a little experience on a paleo diet is going to get you very far.
It’s critical that you also take the time to do some market research as well. In other words, flesh out and develop your knowledge on the particular subject at hand. One of the best ways to do this is by researching questions people are asking about the niche and then looking for the nitty-gritty, detailed answers. Try to find little-known facts and tidbits that can be used as information bombs that will blow your future readers’ minds.
Most importantly, learn enough to sound confident and authoritative when you talk about the subject. If you’re just having a casual, uninformed conversation with readers about a common interest, retaining anyone will be hard.
If, on the other hand, you communicate a common interest and back it up with juicy facts that help expand their knowledge, that will build an audience worth its weight in gold.
3. Get Creative With Your Marketing
Once you’ve got your niche knowledge, it’s time to present the information to your audience. This is one of the most important steps of them all: making a name for your brand.
At this point, it can be helpful to look at blogs in your niche to see what is already working.
Of course, simply copying others’ success isn’t going to get you very far. Instead, try to find similar paths that combine proven success with your own creative flavor.
Consider a blog focused on the home improvement world. Most successful home improvement blogs will quickly expose the fact that visuals are key to that particular niche.
If you’re going to explain how to fix a leaky pipe, you’re going to want to create some sort of image or video, stamped with your particular presentation and style, in order to draw readers.
The same goes for all niches. If you’re in the cooking niche, recipes and staged photos are key.
If you’re in the art niche, compelling visuals can be more valuable than descriptions. After all, a picture’s worth a thousand words.
4. Market With a Purpose
Finally, if you aim to monetize your blog, make sure you go about the process with a specific strategy in place.
For example, tighten up your content and make sure that everything works towards a common message and goal.
Link interconnected topics within your articles. Create content that answers common questions and explains how things work.
Make sure that everything you create for your blog is part of a larger strategy. Don’t just throw things up and hope they stick. If you bank on that one viral post, it’s likely to disappoint.
Even the most successful viral posts aren’t as potent as the long-term effectiveness of a well-crafted, SEO-happy blog that provides valuable content.
Here are a few extra tips to help with marketing to niche markets, in particular.
Once again, getting creative with your marketing can be an excellent way to stand out. For example, consider attending a local trade show.
This can be a great way to help bring a different element to the overall online focus of a blog. It can also prove to be a great way to get a lot of videos and pictures as well.
Bringing It All Together
There are many different factors that go into creating a successful niche blog. To review:
- Pick a topic you’re passionate about and can stand behind for the long term.
- Find a niche market with your topic.
- Create your own style, voice, and brand within your niche market.
- Market and monetize your blog with purposeful forethought. Don’t just go for viral marketing success. Create every aspect of your blog with an eye towards your end message and marketing goals.
It’s easy to dive into the blogosphere feet first simply because you’re passionate about a subject. But the work involved combined with a lack of readership can quickly take the fun out of the whole venture.
Instead, take the time to purposefully and thoughtfully create a blog that appeals to a specific niche market. Chances are you’ll find success before you know it.
Conclusion
Have you found success marketing to a niche audience? Do you have any advice for readers that wasn’t shared here?
Please share your experience in the comments section below.
