Creating your own blog can be very exciting, but also very daunting when you are doing it for the first time. If you are new to niche blogging, you will probably find yourself stuck with too many (or too few) ideas and do not know how to move forward from there.
In this article, I am going to share with you some tips based on my experience and hopefully, they will help you become a more successful blogger too.
Tips for People Who Are New To Niche Blogging
Tip #1 – Who Are Your Targeted Audience?
This is the single most important factor to think about when it comes to doing your market research. By knowing the demographic of your target audience, you can identify their search intent and purchasing behavior. You can then learn to speak in their language while talking about your niche.
This creates a strong sense of empathy when they read through your blog and it is the first thing that you really want to establish when it comes to niche blogging – building trust and good relationship with your readers. When you constantly work on that, your information stands out from the crowd and you will be able to interact with them in a more personal manner.
Tip #2 – What Can You Offer Besides Selling?
No doubt, getting people to buy your own or affiliate products is the ultimate conversion goal, but how do you rephrase that without sounding like a salesperson? People are smarter at using the internet these days; they know better than to buy on impulse, they know how to make comparison and most importantly, they want to know what they are actually paying for.
Every niche has a certain knowledge base to offer, something to educate the customers so that they understand why they need a certain product. Work on creating this pool of knowledge. Offer more of this information rather than just promoting your products and you’ll be surprised how much more you can actually sell.
Again, cultivate on that positive relationship which I mentioned earlier. Knowledge will empower people (more than products do) and it reinforces the trust that they have on you too.
Tip #3 – Develop Your Brand From The Beginning
Even if you just started blogging yesterday, it’s never too early to develop your own online brand. I think there’s a big misconception that branding is only reserved for professionals – it shouldn’t. I believe if you already have an audience in mind and a concept to support your niche, you should start working on the logo and the colors immediately.
There are two impacts to this.
Firstly, people remember you easily even without reading your blog (remember, you want to build that connection first) and secondly, it gives you an opportunity to explore your creativity in terms of visual and not just textual. It doesn’t matter if you are not a designer. It’s your blog so you can do whatever you like to make it look good.
Through branding, you’ll become more aware of what it means by making a good impression online; why less is sometimes more, what colors attract and most importantly, how to make blog reading comfortable to the eyes of your audience. If you asked me, I think these visual factors are highly relevant when it comes to your blogging success.
Tip #4 – Do Your Keyword Research Before Writing
If you are just starting out, it’s okay to write the first few posts without thinking about keywords. However, by the time you reach the 5th post or so, you should be writing based on the targeted keywords.
You see, what the keyword does here is that it gives you an idea based on the search trend so that you spend more time writing articles that matter. Besides that, the search engines also use keywords to index and rank your webpages.
So, if you hear someone telling you that keyword research is not important, they are dead wrong. If they are still using the search engines to look for something online, then they are actually using keywords themselves too.
Check out how you can use Jaaxy to simplify your keyword research here.
Tip #5 – Checking On The Stats Too Soon
When you are blogging and marketing at the same time, the next thing you’ll find yourself doing is checking on the stats. This is not entirely a bad thing, but if you only have a few posts and your blog is only like 2 months old, the stats are not going to be impressive.
And if you are going to judge your performance based on that, then you are totally misleading yourself. Traffic takes time to mature, especially with search traffic so be patient even if you don’t earn any money in the first few months.
Instead, spend more time improving on the quality of the blog, learn to brainstorm for good long-tail keywords and network with other bloggers in the same niche. When the traffic starts to get more traction, you can check the stats 2-3 times per week and evaluate your performance from there.
Tip #6 – Writer’s Block Is Not a Big Deal
Writer’s block, analysis paralysis and information overload are some of the common ‘symptoms’ shared by all niche bloggers, including the experienced ones. They make you feel unproductive and the more you try to think your way out of it, the more you would feel stuck.
My advice – don’t dwell on them when you encounter any of these situations. Get away from the PC, walk your dog or meet up a friend for coffee. Fuel the exhausting mind with something fun so that it gets a chance to refresh itself.
Experiencing these ‘symptoms’ doesn’t mean that you are not a good blogger. It is just nature’s way of saying that you have been working very hard and you deserve a rest. So, take a break buddy.
Tip #7 – Keep Learning about Your Online Traffic
You’ll find a lot of resources out there that teaches you how to get traffic; which channel to use, what strategy is the best and etc. If you plan to do everything at once, you’ll be overwhelmed because in order to get traffic, you must first understand how they behave and where they come from.
Unfortunately, this sort of information isn’t always straight forward. What seems to work for your friend’s blog might not necessarily work for you so you’ll need to do some experiment. One of the best ways to learn and monitor your traffic is to use Google Webmaster Tools and Google Analytics.
Whatever you do, make sure that you earned the traffic instead of buying them from some hyped marketing tool. If the traffic is not natural, it’s going to make your blog look suspicious and it’s just a matter of time before Google penalize your site.
If you want to learn more about getting online traffic – the right way, sign up to watch this training webinar by Jay from Wealthy Affiliate.
Bonus Tips – Don’t Give Up
If you are new to niche blogging, everything on the web is going to look very unfamiliar and challenging. But that doesn’t mean you are not smart or incapable; you just need time to build a strong foundation and learn the skills.
When things get tough, focus on your goals and stick to your convictions. Only good things will come to those who don’t give up.
Do you have any thoughts or questions about blogging? Please leave them in the comment area below and I’ll get back to you.
Starting out by ourselves in niche marketing can be tough, we are prone to make mistakes that are hard to recover from without help. Great step-by-step guide you’ve made there.
Also, Wealthy Affiliate seems awesome, a training platform you need to skip those mistakes and help us achieve our goals faster and easier.
Great tips for bloggers.
It is very tempting to keep checking on your stats, but it can also motivate you to work harder. Sometimes it’s better to spend the time creating more content for your site. I agree that two or three times a week is good enough.
Hi there Michel,
Content creation is crucial during the early phase of blogging. You need to get index and ranking. All that comes from keywords and keywords come from content. So the more you write, the more you would get ranked for. Once you start getting some traffic, then the stats is a good reference to see which page works better and where you can start improving for conversion.
Hi Cathy
I cannot remember the day when I have not checked my Google Analytics account. LOL. All these points are very important before starting out your niche website.
Do you know of a way to do some niche research before starting a new niche? This is something that I struggle with, because I am always afraid that the niche might be too saturated.
Hi there Viljoen,
Almost any niche that pops into your mind right now is bound to be saturated (competitive) but it doesn’t mean that you can’t build an online business around it. Here are the general steps that I would do when researching for a niche.
1) Start with a broad term and find out the trend using Google Trend to give you a visual perspective of the niche.
2) Write a list of products/services/concerns/questions that are related to that term.
3) Merge (1) and (2) to form longer keywords so that they become a sensible phrase that you think people will search for online. Alphabet Soup is a good technique for this.
4) Plug those long-tail keywords into Jaaxy Keyword Tool to find out the demand and competition. Compare/brainstorm similar terms until you find one with high demand and low competition.
5) Now you have one potential keyphrases that can profit for a saturated niche. Repeat (1) to (4) and you are likely to find a lot more keywords that haven’t been tackled by popular niches yet.
Of course, you can always diversify by checking out the product marketplace, refer to social influencers or follow some trending news to get more keyword ideas.
For more information, here’s a quick video tutorial by Kyle from Wealthy Affiliate that will show you how to dig for niche ideas using good keyword research techniques. Do check it out.
Hi Cathy.
Some really good pointers here.
Although I’ve built up a few websites, I am new to niche blogging, so you’re post was very timely. I just deleted one website from not seeing the results I wanted but that was a mistake of mine I can only but learn from.
I spend over 18 months on it but I realized it wasn’t in any sort of niche to see any profit. Now I shall take up your tips, build up a brand and study who is my target audience really is and press on. I shall take a look into Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools and work out what I need to do with my new site.
Thanks for the tips. I feel a lot better knowing where the fault lies by not getting into a niche, growing an audience and building a brand with a recognizable logo.
Hi there Pete,
I think by understanding your shortcoming at identifying with your past niche will provide you with better guidance on how to build a new one. Certainly a worthy lesson to learn there. But what’s inspiring is that you didn’t give up and now that you are surrounded by the training in Wealthy Affiliate, I think you’ll get back on the right track soon.
As for building a business brand, I’ve just published a post about making a business logo here. Hopefully, you’ll find it useful.
Hello,
I’d like to start off by saying what a great and helpful article this was. I am actually starting to dabble a bit with blogging and your point on building a brand really resonated with me. I understand that being recognizable and having an audience that is comfortable with you is important.
Here’s my question: Do you think it is important to develop a logo for my brand/website or should I worry about something else? Thank you.
Hi there Anthony,
In the initial stage, I think the branding concept impacts me, as a business owner, more than my readers. It took me 6 months before I realized that I needed a logo and that was when it hit me that I should be more serious when it comes to promoting my blog to my readers.
Although the beef of the content is far more important, I truly believe that it’s worth the time (even if it takes all day) to give some thoughts about your website logo. Besides, it’s not difficult to create one. There are so many resources online that can generate a great-looking logo within minutes OR if you want a more professional touch, simply hire a gig on Fiverr. They usually get back to you within days.
Hi there!
I am really pleased to have found your article. You gave invaluable tips here that I will take always with me in my journey.
I have to admit I face some big challenges with myself when blogging. I feel the analysis paralysis, I procrastinate a lot, I keep focusing too much on visual and also looking my traffic although I get maximum 4 organic visits a day. Do you have any advice on how I should overcome these distractions?
Hi there Stefan,
I was once like you too. Here are some tips that have worked for me.
1) Organize all your tasks into a schedule and make sure you accomplish them not weekly or monthly, but on a daily basis. The more often you get things done, the more you can move forward.
2) Understand that traffic comes from publishing content frequently, therefore shift your focus and energy to doing proper keyword research and writing good blog posts. Believe in that.
3) Paying attention to visual is good. It’s part of your content, but understand that other SEO factors matter too.
4) Get away from your PC or smartphone for 1 hour and go to a quiet place. Take out a pen, a notebook and scribble down your ideas/tasks/drafts – whatever, within that time period. Express your thoughts to the fullest. No one is going to judge you.
Hope this helps. If you ever need anything else, just drop me a message at Wealthy Affiliate okay.
These are smart tips.
I remember when I was first starting with my website, I would check stats several times a day on all the different platforms. It actually wastes time doing this because you could be writing or working instead. Writer’s block has been an issue for me many times. It’s probably because all I do is work. I need to take a break sometimes!
Once again, really great tips!
Hey Gina,
Organic traffic takes time to grow and from my experience, I have found that publishing your blogs frequently has a strong correlation to online traffic. Here’s an experiment which you can try. Publish a blog every alternate days for 2 weeks and then publish a blog weekly for 2 weeks. You’ll see a huge difference in the traffic surge on your Google Analytics.
So yes, it’s definitely more productive to focus on your writing at the initial stage of blogging.
These tips are quite good, especially for me who is just beginning to dive into internet marketing. What especially made sense with me is that good content gains the audiences’ trust and also makes the audience feels obligated to buy from you since they gain good information.
I have visited some good blogs made by Wealthy Affiliate members. The thought process I had was that because the information was good, I felt compelled to buy their products (and I had to resist because I didn’t need them at the moment). This was already a proof of the power of good content. When I start churning out good content from my blog, I hope to elicit similar feelings from my future audience.
Welcome to my blog, Bobby.
I am glad to know that good content on the web has given you some positive impact as a reader. It’s an element that you really want to instill into your blogging routine and perhaps exchange comments with other bloggers to see if you manage to get the message across.
Hello Cathy,
Great tips that are easy to understand. You have definitely learned how to write effectively by providing such an experienced look into it blogging.
Who did you learn how to do good blog writing from? Are you naturally skilled at writing or did you get an experts insight?
Thanks for your kind comments, Benji.
To be honest, I’ve never blogged before until two years ago. I was a bit unsure at first and if you have the chance to read my first few posts, they were quite choppy. But as I move along, I also start to read a lot more about my niche and most of the insights actually come from readers like you who leave comments on my blog.
I think writing (and making a lot of mistakes) at the initial stage helped me improve on my writing skills going forward.
I agree with and appreciate all of these tips. As a new blogger myself this article was a great read. I made the mistake of trying to read into my traffic too early. I got excited about a returning visitor that turned out to be me. Hehe…boy was my bubble busted. This hasn’t discouraged me though. It has just pushed me to work harder.
I also think that we will all get writer’s block and need to walk away. I have started writing my ideas down in a list. When I feel stuck, I turn to my list or ask other people for ideas. No harm in getting more input 🙂
Very helpful read. Thanks
Thanks for pointing that out, Melody.
I think a lot of beginners are not aware that they are tracking their own behavior on their site unless they exclude their IP address in Google Analytics. Took me a while to realize that too and in my case, I have to exclude two – my home IP and my work place IP.
I have recently discovered a tip for writer’s block. Sign up for Google News and select search terms that you are interested in following. They will send you daily news relating to those terms so consider it as Google generating latest ideas for your niche.
Hello Cathy.
This was a very well-written and informative post. Creating a niche website was one of the best decisions I have ever took because it allows me not only to explore the niche that I enjoy, but it also gives me the opportunity to meet people and create an online income.
These are certainly some good points you are making here and all new bloggers and website owners should read and follow these tips.
It is really important to make sure from the beginning that you understand what your audience is and how you can make your website an interesting source of information. Selling should not be your only goal. Your purpose is to also serve.
Thank you so much for taking the time to share this info with us.
Great to hear from you again Katerina,
If people can get over the technicalities of creating a website, they will discover how exciting it is to own and manage a business website. Like you said, it can be a source of information for all kinds of things that you want to share with people. It’s truly a platform where you get to be your own boss.
Thanks for the helpful guide! I’m new to niche blogging myself and am always looking for tips and tricks to improve my website. Writer’s block is one of my biggest enemies, but I’ll have to try taking breaks more often to clear out my mind.
How would you recommend getting traffic for beginners?
Welcome to my blog, Alec.
For beginners, I would recommend these tips;
1 – Have a good understanding of doing proper keyword research. Write meaningful content based on that.
2 – Get familiar with Google Webmaster and Google Analytics from the very beginning. It can be technical, but it’s important.
3 – Exchange good quality comments with other niche bloggers and socially share each other’s posts whenever you can.
Keep doing 1 to 3, publish your articles frequently and you’ll see traffic (and hopefully conversion) coming in steadily for your blog. If you want to learn more about growing your online traffic, check out the training at Wealthy Affiliate.
Hi Cathy,
I can resonate with this post and I think most of the people who start first can get discouraged with the stats in the early phase. I completely agree with #1, it’s very important to know the demographics that you are targeting and offer them something of value.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article.
Welcome to my blog, Josh.
Demographics of a niche is a very powerful information. The closest tool I can think of to obtain this data is Google Trend. It tells you specifically the popularity of a certain queries within a certain region which is more than enough to help you find a good affiliate product. Best of all, it’s a tool that you can use for free.