How To Find Your Perfect Blog Niche? (Step-by-Step Guide for Purpose-Driven Bloggers)
How to find your perfect blog niche? You may be wondering.
Let me ask you: Do you know it’s possible to run a blog that’s both deeply satisfying, meaningful and profitable? Of course you do.
That’s why you’re here.
You want the freedom and satisfaction that comes from sharing your passion and making a difference in the World. If you could only get over that one, tiny problem.
YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT BLOG TO START!
Nothing is more gut wrenching than knowing you’re meant to do something great in this world, but you’re not able to move ahead because you’re unclear.
Add to that the anxiety that comes from watching time continue to pass you by while that constant refrain plays in your head, “I should be so much further ahead by now.”
I get you.
And that’s why I created this post. How To Find Your Perfect Blog Niche: Step-by-Step Guide for Purpose-Driven Bloggers.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, meaning, at no extra cost to you, I may earn a commission when you purchase through my links. This is how I’m able to keep most of my content free and support my social missions. Thank you for supporting my blog! Please read my disclosure for more info.
What Does Niche Mean in Blogging?
OK, first thing first. We hear the word “niche” a lot in blogging. So, what does niche even mean?
In the blogging world, a niche often refers to your blog topic and the main theme of your blog.
Why Should I Choose A Niche?
My Story
When I first started my blog a few years ago, it was more of a hobby. I didn’t blog very often and I certainly didn’t have a clear niche for my blog.
Sometimes, I blogged about travel, then I blogged a bit about personal finance, then I blogged a little about starting a business.
To be honest, it didn’t feel right because when my friends asked me, “What is your blog about?” I simply couldn’t give them a straight answer in one sentence.
Then, a few months ago, I started sharing more and more about how to start a blog that fulfils a purpose. I am talking about the kind of blog that not only fills your wallet, but also fuels your passion, fills your heart and make a difference in the World.
And guess what, the more I wrote about the topic, the more excited and passionate I got.
Many days I would spend hours in front of my laptop, just pouring out my heart and working hard to make my blog better and more helpful for my readers.
Then, It dawned on me…
I have found my perfect blog niche. A niche that fulfils my purpose!
I want to use my blog to inspire and empower more people to share their passion and make a difference in the World, through purposeful blogging.
The Advantages of Choosing A Blog Niche
You know what, I also discovered this: By narrowing my niche, I now know who my exact audience is, what contents would relate and help them the most and what tone of voice I should use in my writing.
Moreover, choosing my niche also helped me to come up with blog posts and content ideas so much more easily and effortlessly!
But, I’m a Lifestyle Blogger
Now, may be you would say, “But… I’m a lifestyle blogger. Am I not supposed to just blog about anything that happens in my life?”
Whether that is fashion, travel, healthy eating, exercise, saving money, your dog etc. Yes, of course you can do that (the blog police will not come get you!), BUT chances are that you will have a harder time building up a loyal following for your blog unless you are a celebrity where people wants to know your every move.
The truth is, even if you want to blog about your life in general, I know for sure that there are some particular areas that you feel more passionate and more knowledgeable in.
And finding that special topic that you are most passionate about or most knowledgable about can do wonders for your blog. More on that below…
Why Narrowing Your Blog Niche Is So Important
Just listen to Seth Godin, marketing guru.
If you try to serve everyone with your blog, you will serve no one well.
Let that sink in for a moment.
No business owner wants to admit that there are people who don’t want to buy their products or services. But yet, this is the truth. There is no product or service in the World that can serve everyone 100%.
The Problems WITH A Broad BLOG Niche
Similarly, if you try to write about everything under the sun in your blog, you will relate to no one. AND serve no one well.
Too often, when we ask new bloggers who their ideal audience is, they will tell us with great enthusiasm, “Our audience is everyone!”
But, is that really true? How is it possible that you are relating to a teenager, a fresh graduate looking for her first job, a full-time working man, a stay-at-home mom and an elderly person all the same way?
At its core, your blog (and your business) is about helping people solve their problems. And the problems will inevitably be different for different groups in our society.
In order for you to truly serve those you want to serve well, you will HAVE to narrow your niche – a specific topic for a specific audience.
Understand Your Audience At a Deep Level
Understanding your ideal audience from a deep level ~ their needs, their dreams, their desires and their fears, is the key. The more intimately you know your audience, the better you can serve them from a place of love and compassion.
By narrowing your blog niche, you can speak the language of your audience and provide them with exactly what they are looking for. And that, my dear creative bloggers, is the formula of building an ultra successful AND profitable blog.
OK, now that we are clear on why narrowing our blog niche is so important, I would love to share some of my insights in finding the perfect niche for your purpose-driven blog.
I hope this post will help you get focused and inspire you to serve your audience and make a difference. OK, let’s dive right in!
How To Find Your Perfect Blog Niche (& Your Blog Purpose)?
The Blog PURPOSE Formula
In the coming sessions, we will look into how to find your perfect blog niche – one that is purposeful AND profitable (yay!).
First, I want to introduce you to what I called “The Blog Purpose Formula”.
By following this formula, you will find your Blog’s Purpose.
What Is Your Blog’s Purpose?
What is Blog’s Purpose? You may be wondering…
Your Blog’s Purpose is the answer to WHY your blog should exist. It is your unique message and the difference you are striving to make in the World with your blog.
Your Blog’s Purpose is what keeps you going with your blog even when your passion is running low, your profit is fluctuating, and your algorithms are constantly shifting.
So, How Do I Find My Blog’s Purpose?
To find your blog’s purpose, let’s follow the Blog Purpose Formula.
“The Blog Purpose Formula”:
Passion + Profession + People = Purpose
Passion is what makes your heart soars.
Profession is what you can teach others.
People is what your people need.
Purpose is your blog’s purpose.
Notice that your Blog’ Purpose is where your Passion, Profession and People intersect.
In other words, your Blog’s Purpose is exactly where your heart soars, what you can teach others AND what your people needs.
In the following sessions, we will dive into each element in details.
Passion: What Makes Your Heart Soar?
The first element in finding your blog’s purpose is to look into your passions.
But, millie… There Are Profitable Blogs That Don’t Relate to Passions
In the blogging world, some people will argue that a profitable blog doesn’t have to be about your passions. And yes, that is true. You can definitely pick a trending topic to blog about and make money off that.
If you are a businessman who is solely driven by profits, this is likely what you would do: Create a blog about, say, keto diet just because it’s a hot topic these days, even when you don’t practice keto yourself. You research the heck out of the topic, hire ghostwriters to create keyword-rich content about everything keto and fill up half of your blog’s pages with ads. Done.
BUT… if you’re a purpose-driven blogger, you know that there’s more to creating content than just making money. You care about your passion, your message, your craft and the difference you are making.
So, This is What I am Going to Tell you…
Your blog niche has to be something that you’re truly, deeply passionate about.
It’s something that makes your heart soar and something that you could talk about forever without getting bored of.
Think about your creative interests, your hobbies and your guilty pleasures. Travel? Music? Beauty? Fashion? Home decor? Crafting? Pay attention to what books or magazines you like to read, what podcasts you like to listen to, what YouTube videos you like to watch, what you love to do during your spare time and what you love telling others about.
If you find the niche you seriously love, you will never run out of motivation or things to write about in your blogs. Starting a blog on a niche you are genuinely passionate about will make it fun instead of just feeling like a chore. It is the difference between you jumping out of bed everyday eager to work on your blog or you drag your feet every single time.
If you blog about something you don’t believe in – your readers will know, so stop lying to them AND yourself.
Action Step
So now, take out your journal and list 10 topics you are genuinely passionate about. Done? Great! Awesome! Let’s move onto your Profession.
Profession: What Can You Teach Others?
Another key element you want to look into is your profession. This is something you have expertise, knowledge and experience in and are able to teach others on.
What are you naturally good at? What are your unique gifts or God-given talents? Think of all the things your friends always come to ask you about. Or what are your educational or professional experiences? Or perhaps there is something that you love and have spent your spare time learning. Is there anything you would love to teach others on?
Action Step
So now, take out your journal again and list 10 topics from the above questions. Done? Great! You are doing great! Let’s move onto your People.
People: What Do Your People Need?
Next, we are going to take a look at the people you want to serve and the problems you want to help them solve. In other words, WHO is your ideal audience? And WHAT do they need?
Perhaps you are passionate about environmental issues and you want to inspire and educate millennials on how to live a more organic, environmentally friendly and minimalist lifestyle.
Or may be you have gone through a painful divorce and you want to support and offer resources to other women who are going through the same trauma.
Perhaps you are a stay-at-home-mom and have figured out certain homemaking and parenting hacks and you want to share that with other moms.
Think about who you want to serve and what problems you want to help solve in this World.
Action Step
So now, take out your journal again and list 10 topics you have in mind – thinking of the people you want to serve and problems you want to help solve in this World. Done? Wonderful!
In the next step, we’re going to put everything together.
Putting It Together: Finding Your Blog’s Purpose
Now, let’s put the above all together.
By now, you should have 30 topics ~ 10 from your Passion, 10 from your Profession and 10 from your People category.
Finding Your Blog’s Purpose
Look at these topics closely again. Do you notice any overlaps or similarities among the topics from each category? If so, that is perfect!
Where your Passion, Profession and People intersect is your Blog’s Purpose.
Congratulations! You have found your Blog’s Purpose.
Now, if you have more than 1 topic that overlaps, then great, you have more choices! Look through the topics and select the one that you feel the most excited and passionate about. That would be your Blog’s Purpose.
What If I LIKE MORE THAN 1 TOPIC?
If you have a hard time selecting just 1 (hello my multi-passionate creative friends!), this is the best advice I can give you: Listen to your heart and just pick 1 that you feel most passionate and excited about right now. There is really no wrong answer.
Start with this one topic and move onto the next step below. As your blog expands and you gain more experience in blogging, you can always start additional blogs/websites on those other topics you are passionate about.
Now, Let’s Talk Money
Before we move onto throwing a celebration party and do your happy dance in your kitchen (I know right?!), there is one more thing we need to do. A rather important thing actually.
We need to make sure that your perfect blog topic can actually earn you money!
After all, if your perfect blog topic cannot earn you any money – you have just got yourself a hobby blog.
If you want a purposeful AND profitable blog, we need to make sure that whatever you are going to spend time blogging about is actually in a market people are willing to pay for.
OK, before we do that, let me address a common question from many big-hearted purposeful creatives: Is it wrong to monetize my blog?
Is It Wrong To Monetize My Blog?
Let’s get real.
Growing a blog is hard. You have to be willing to do the work. And success (however you define it) doesn’t come overnight. It involves commitment, determination and months or even years of pouring your heart out in your blog.
Of course, whether you want to monetize it or not, is completely up to you (because you are an adult). But, I will say this:
Monetizing your blog allows you to break free from your day job or other income-making commitments, so that you can do more of what you believe in – to be a catalyst of change, to share your message with the World, and to be a channel of blessing to others.
And if the above resonates with you, I want you to learn to become unapologetic about making money from your blog.
Yes, you deserve the money!
After all, money is an exchange of value. People only pay you if you can deliver something of value to them. So, the more people you can serve in this World, the more money you will make.
So from this moment onwards, I give you my permission: pour your heart out passionately, serve your people purposefully, and make soulful abundant money off your blog! (yay!)
The Last Step of Finding Your Perfect BLOG Niche: Profit
Great! Now that we are clear on why every big-hearted purposeful creatives SHOULD monetize our blogs (unapologetically!), let’s look into how to find your perfect blog niche – one that is not only purpose-driven but also profitable.
The Perfect Blog Niche Formula
Introducing the Perfect Blog Niche Formula.
Previously we have found your Blog’s Purpose. Again, your Blog’s Purpose is exactly where your heart soars, what you can teach others AND what your people needs.
Now, we are going to see how we can actually get paid from it.
Profit: How Can You Get Paid From It?
We want to determine our profit model to make sure that we can actually get paid from our niche.
Determine Your Profit Model
To do this, think about your blog niche and brainstorm at least 20 products or services you can use to monetize your blog.
Think of affiliate products in the market place that you have used and love (or at least aware of). Also, think of products or services you can create yourself now and down the road.
You don’t need to have all the answers right now, but you should at least have the direction you are going.
Want to dive deeper? Check out my How To Make Money Blogging in 2020: Ultimate Beginners’ Guide. This guide is comprehensive, and will give you everything you need to know about monetizing your purpose-driven blog. Start here.
Action Step
So now, take out your journal again and list the 20 products and services you can monetize from your blog.
FINDING YOUR PERFECT NICHE
Great! Are you able to think of 20 products and services you can monetize from your blog?
If so, awesome! Congrats! You’ve found your perfect blog niche ~ one that is both purpose-driven and profitable.
What If I Can’t Think of Products/Services To Monetize
OK, if you can’t think of at least a few products and services you can used to monetize your blog, then this is a RED FLAG.
The last thing you want is to spend hours and hours building your blog and then finding out that you simply can’t monetize it the way you want to.
Conduct Research
Search on google for affiliate programs of relevant products and services. Also search online and see if there are bloggers who are already blogging similar topics. Pay attention to how they are monetizing their blogs. Write down any ideas or inspirations that come to mind.
Find another Blog Niche
What if I still can’t find any products or services to monetize my blog niche after research?
If that’s the case, I would suggest you to broaden your niche or to drop the idea altogether. Go back to the top of this post. Re-read it. Then, brainstorm for another blog niche idea based on your Passion, Profession and People. Repeat the steps until you are able to find a niche that is both purposeful and profitable.
Why Can’t I Just Start Blogging and Think of Monetization Method Later?
You certainly can. However, in my opinion, that’s just not smart business.
If you can’t monetize your blog, you don’t have a business. You have a hobby. (If you just want a hobby. Go ahead and blog away!)
If you really want to establish a business and earn income from your blog, figuring out your profit model from the get-go will give you the peace of mind and confidence. Knowing that you will have a profitable business if you put in dedication and hard work building your blog.
Putting Ideas Into Actions
Great! Now that you’ve found your purpose-driven and profitable blog niche, it is time to put your ideas into actions – share your passion, make a difference and earn soulful abundant income from your blog!
Just get started!
You can’t build a purposeful and profitable blog just reading about it or completing worksheets. You don’t have to be great to start, but you need to start to become great. Running the race is how you learn and grow. You will get more traction with action.
Follow my How To Start a Blog in 2020: Step-by-Step Guide for Blogging with Purpose to get your blog setup. Start today.
A few quick resources
- SiteGround: To get your blog setup correctly, you will need to have it self-hosted with a web hosting company. SiteGround is the hosting company I highly recommend.
- Creative Market: Creative Market is where I got my beautiful WordPress theme. It also has many graphics, images and fonts. Also, their newsletter is super helpful – with 6 FREE goodies sent to you every week and a 10% off coupon. I recommend you signing up for their FREE newsletter now.
- Ivory Mix: If you want beautiful feminine stock images for your blog, check out this page and grab 550+ beautifully designed stock images completely FREE.
- Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing: If you are interested to learn how to earn from your blog through affiliate marketing, this course could be your best investment. The course creator, Michelle, earns more than US$100,000+ per month from her blog and she shares with you step-by-step on how you can earn affiliate commissions too, even if you are a beginner.
I hope you have enjoyed this How To Find Your Perfect Blog Niche guide.
Now it’s your turn. What is your blog’s purpose? Have you found your purposeful and profitable blog niche? What streams of income do you plan to establish? Have you started on your blog yet? Please comment below! I read all my comments and will get back to you.
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Hugs XX
