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To Niche or NOT to Niche: What Bloggers Are Saying

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If there’s anything I would have done differently as a blogger still starting out, it would have been to rein in the excitement until I knew what exactly I was doing. From an attempt to join the make-money-online bandwagon to a platform to hone my writing skills, the blog finally became an avenue to market the skills I’ve acquired since I first started blogging in August 2011 and freelancing in March 2012.

And the way things have gone, I’m not discounting the possibility of  the blog turning into something entirely different one day. Much has happened, and much is left to be desired. But life, as we know it, is a continuing journey that ends only when we breathe our last.

Oops.

Before we start dwelling on the morbid, let’s quickly change gears and talk about this survey I did. I tapped a handful of my blogger friends and posed (or is it imposed?) this question: In blogging, is it important to have a niche? Why or why not?

niche blogging

Image courtesy of gameanna / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Here are the answers I got, for which I am very thankful knowing all the respondents are busy with life and more, in no particular order:

I feel the no-niche niche works or me, but if one is looking to earn money, then, one might think otherwise. But then, big blogs like Huff Post don’t have a niche. I feel a no-niche niche works if you can balance it and if one is food with variety.

A niche is easier but I think that really good writers can write on a wide variety of subjects.

It is critical to have a niche. There are millions and millions of blogs out there. People follow blogs because they consistently provide good information on a narrow topic, in my opinion. People can say they like all kinds of blogs, but I bet the most popular, highest ranking blogs are all in a niche.

  • Holly Jahangiri

If you want to make money: It may be tempting to build the next Amazon.com – to be all things to all visitors, to try to sell them whatever it is they may be looking for. But you’re not Amazon or Wal-Mart, and you’ll probably have much better luck focusing on your own areas of interest and expertise, unless you can hire managers for each “department.”

Focus on picking the RIGHT niche for you – just as Darren Rowse, aka Problogger, did – and you’re likely to be much more successful. You can always build on more, later.

Recommended reading: Holly Jahangiri – Mom, Writer and Blogger Extraordinaire: An Interview

See also: Idealist or Pragmatist: Can a Blogger Be Both?

If money is no object, then all that matters is your comfort zone (do you want to be the book, the genre, a specialty book store, or a mega book store, or Amazon.com books?) and your readers’ tolerance for your particular flights of fancy. Consistency may be the key – my readers tolerate a lot of weirdness from me, and never know what to expect next.

But I think of them as FRIENDS, and my favorite part of blogging is the interaction between friends. Friends don’t stick to one subject or another – they digress frequently. That’s the fun of it, sometimes.

On the other hand, if you’re widely known as the author of hard-boiled detective thrillers and always write about them, then suddenly branch off into children’s books or religion-based historical fiction – well, you can probably do that, if you’re as popular as Anne Rice. But you do run the risk of disappointing hard-core fans of mystery and murder.

Yes, it’s important to have a niche, especially if you want to adapt SEO, and earn from your blog. Having a specific niche would increase the probability of your blog being crawled by search engines. You will have to decide on a set of keywords and use them though, so you could attract organic traffic to your blog.

It depends on the purpose. If it’s a personal blog, not having a niche should be okay. But if you intend to monetize the blog, there has to be a niche.

  • Anir Curiano

For me, it’s important to have a niche so you know where your posts point to and what your focus is.

A niche is important so that human visitors, as well as search engines, can easily distinguish the primary topic or main purpose of your blog. Moreover, I feel that, as a reader, a niche blog is perceived to have more valuable content.

  • Eymard Siojo

Important, but not a must. As they say, you can’t please everybody, hence, your blog talking about a specific niche is the better option. Aside from the blog being easier to distinguish, you, the blogger, develops a particular specialty.

  • Metalpig Nad

If you want to earn fast, there has to be a niche. If it’s a personal blog or a blog that focuses on trending topics, create a general site. Better yet, go for a niche blog and a personal blog.

Mixed bag is better, but there should be a limit of about 4 to 6 topics.

Definitely. If I’m interested about nail art, I will look for a nail art blog rather than a nail art, travel, and fashion blog. The more focused a topic, the greater the revenue returns.

  • Jason Cruz

Yes. I wouldn’t write about something I know nothing about. Play on strengths rather than spread my knowledge thinly.

  • Aaron James Banda

I prefer niche blog. It’s easier to find an audience, easier to promote and easier to monetize. The downside though is it can get difficult to come up with articles on a daily basis, especially if you’re not well-versed on your blog’s topic. Whereas in a non-niche blog, you can write about anything under the sun, so to speak.

  • Rianel Phantomhive

Both are great, but a niche blog still is better.

So there, the bloggers have spoken. If you’re new to blogging and still finding your way, it’s best that you know right out of the gate what you intend your blog to be. This way, you won’t have to start and restart until you run out of steam and quit blogging altogether. Quitters don’t win, yes. But those without a driving purpose end up nowhere as well.

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Maricel Rivera

Maricel is a regular mom juggling her time between being a mom and her full-time profession as a researcher for a top-notch financial firm. Add blogging and freelancing to the mix, and it's one crazy ride. But somehow she manages to stay sane. Maricel loves to write about various stuff - from technology to personal finance, from social issues to life in general.

Related posts:

  1. Holly Jahangiri – Mom, Writer and Blogger Extraordinaire: An Interview
  2. Jupiter Jim – Website Design Expert, WordPress Mentor: An Interview
  3. Jupiter Jim – Website Design Expert, WordPress Mentor: An Interview

Comments

  1. Thanks Maricel for including my opinion.
    Just want to add, I think niche blogging is like being a music artist. You define your “niche” with the “genre” of music you choose. Let the music of every content you publish resonate to your readers’ hearts, minds and actions. In time, you might be surprised, you have your own fan base, all because you sing (write) in the tune of your “niche”. =)
    Jerome Ibuyan recently posted…The Zen of Exquisite Web Design: 10 Japanese Aesthetic PrinciplesMy Profile

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  2. Maricel,

    This article was so easy to read because it was so interesting and the reason for that was the format. I think it is so cool to just scroll down and read what other bloggers think about this particular subject! If someone is writing about food, that’s still a niche. It could be narrower like Filipino food, or Asian Food or Italian food or Healthy food. But even just talking about food or different types of restaurant food is still a niche. Also, if someone is a good writer and has an interesting life, then their life can be the niche they are writing about. Or the niche can be about life from a Mother’s perspective. So in other words, what I am trying to say is that other than a “personal blog” many blogs are actually some kind of niche, it’s just a matter of how narrowly or broadly the niche is define. And in the example of a Mom’s actual real-life stories, that personal blog could be interpreted as some kind of niche as well.

    And as some of the other bloggers have said, whether to have a niche or not, or a narrowly defined niche or not will depend on how important it is to the blooger to monetize their site. If you want to make money, the most common and perhaps the most secure route is to have a niche.

    My niche just happens to be WordPress Video Tutorials for WordPress bloggers.

    Thanks for sharing my opinion in your post. It makes me feel famous!

    Take Care,

    Jupiter Jim
    Jupiter Jim recently posted…No More Mass Shootings on TV for MEMy Profile

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  4. Wow.. I learned something again. And the best part was that this question – to niche or not to niche – has been lingering in my mind for the longest time in my life (actually for about 5 minutes :), after I started reading this article), and now I know the answer.

    ‘It’s ‘balance’… and seeing what works well… and writing about things that will make you excited waking up in the morning (or in the evening, if you work night shift 🙂 ) .’

    Maybe our passion will become our niche.
    I’m glad I found this blog… and this article.
    Thanks for sharing Maricel.
    Ron R. Lacson recently posted…The Best Gift… from a CaterpillarMy Profile

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  6. Thanks for featuring my comment. I’m happy to share any information based on my experience.

    If it’s a personal blog, then it would be best not to have a niche. I started with one personal blog, and then I eventually created various blogs in different niches, such as children, working abroad, creative blog, etc.

    Happy New year.
    Jena Isle recently posted…Bryant Tadeo on American Idol Top 40, Another Talented Fil-Am Contestant to Follow Footsteps of Jessica Sanchez?My Profile

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    • No problem, Jena. And thanks for sharing your thoughts, too. 🙂

      I’ve been to some of your blogs, and I’d say you’re doing a great job at each. I’ve been to the Kalinga blog and your news blog. I still would have to explore the others though. 😀

      Happy New Year to you and your family, too.
      Maricel recently posted…Where Will You Be on December 21, 2012?My Profile

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  7. i think it depends on the writer’s writing style, and if the writer is entertaining, no matter what they subject is about, whether one topic or a variety of topics. niche is good because your blog is targeted to certain group of people who enjoy what you are writing about, and you end up creating a fan club of “like” people. no niche can be good, as well, and you are alluring all kinds of people to your blog because they are interesting in your material. so, you might also create more traffic and more money with no niche, as well. so, i think, it really depends on the particular individual writer.

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  8. Niches tend to be over saturated these days. Creating new categories or introducing a new approach to presenting a new category will be key to success in heavily populated niches. Happy new year!

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  9. Based on my experience, I started having a trend blog which I convert into a personal blog. I categorize it as a “no niche blog” but as time goes by i discovered that there are some topics which are alike. That’s the time I noticed that I have already a “niche”, so I decided to buy a new domain for it. For me it does not matter if you have a niche or not, because eventually you’ll find your interest, it’s a struggle actually in my part when I was just starting.
    Semidoppel recently posted…Why One Should Have a New Year’s Resolution?My Profile

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