My So-Called Chaos

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Better Your Blog | Finding Your Niche

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Blogging Niches: Understanding Them & Finding Yours

What is a Niche?

Niche: noun ˈnich also ˈnēsh or ˈnish
A place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing is best fitted

As a new blogger, finding your niche can be intimidating.  I’ve thought long and hard on this many times and never really been able to determine where I classify in the tree of the blogging world.  Sometimes I worry that it leaves me too far out in the gray area, or that I need to start trying to pin it down into something specific.
So when I sat down to write this post I reached out to other amazing bloggers on Facebook and Twitter.  It’s amazing how fast you get a good bunch of comments and responses from other amazing bloggers out there who have often thought the same thing as I’d been thinking.  (We’ll talk more about the community of bloggers and social media in a later New Blogger Series post.)
Sometimes, having a niche and sticking to it can be a good thing.  Such as if you are a beauty blogger and most of what you write about is beauty products, hair and makeup tips, etc. Then you’ll want to stick with your niche so you attract people who come to expect that type of post from you.  If you choose a niche, you’ll want to stay within those perimeters as much as possible.  If you’re a book blogger, write about books and reading related events, food/recipe bloggers can post about restaurants, recipes, or food related events and so on…

This doesn’t mean you have to always post within that niche, as most readers will want a sneak peak at who you are as a person every now and then, but it does mean you should try to write in that niche as much as possible.  If you classify yourself with one thing, then most of your readers are going to come to you for that thing-keep it consistent.

Examples of Blogging Niches

All of these bloggers do a great job of sticking with their topics, even though they do let you see a little bit of themselves too. If you’re looking for tips or tricks in the following categories of expertise, check these guys out!

Beauty Bloggers: Hairspray & High Heels | Confessions of a Makeup Addict | Classy Sassy and a Bit Smartassy

Book Bloggers: Book Soulmates | Page à Vu | Such a Novel Idea | A Girl Who Reads | Guiltless Reading

Recipe/Food Bloggers: Lemoine Family Kitchen | Fantastical Sharing of Recipes | Petit Gourmet

Health & Fitness Bloggers: Health NOT to Health NUT |  Fierce Fabulous & Fit | Delicously Organic

Craft/DIY Blogs: Imagine Gnats | Make It & Love It | UCreate | Crafted | A Beautiful Mess

Fashion Blogs: Moda Mama | Little Tree Vintage | Faded Spring

 Travel Blogs: Local Adventurer | Wherever I May Roam

I think those should be a good group of examples on bloggers who have chosen a niche and stick to it really well.  They have a strong readership base that comes back time and again for the specific thing they write about, but who also don’t mind when they post something else.  However most often, they’re going to that blogger for what that blogger writes about most.

What About Those Without a Niche?

But what about those of us that don’t stick with a topic?  Does that leave us out in the cold when it comes to gathering a good blogger following?  I personally blog about a little of everything, my life, dating & relationships… I write book reviews, share recipes, and even write DIY/Craft posts among other things.  What niche do I fit into?

“I refuse to have a ‘niche’ [because] I get bogged down in trying to conform. I like to talk about it all, although I tend to stay within a few categories. I consider myself in the IRL niche lol!” -Felicia from My Personal Legend

“Screw a niche.  Be yourself and your niche will naturally shine through.” -Heather from Spunky Real Deals

“I did not want to have a single ‘niche’ because then I would feel like I would ONLY be allowed to write about things in that ‘niche’… It allows me to blog about anything that I would like and not feel like my readers expect something different.  Maybe a little crazy and hard to follow-but such is life!” -Thaleia from Something 2 Offer

“Niches aren’t for everyone and I feel you appeal to more people when you don’t have a niche.” -Amanda from Somewhere Over the Camo

“I had a hard time when I started out.  I just wrote whatever, I was thinking *that* was my niche. Life!” -Amy from Sweet Home Amy

“I feel like I’ve finally found my niche.  It’s the realities of my life!” -Diana from Nanny to Mommy

All of these ladies have a point-why isn’t life considered a niche?  I think it is.  I always choose Lifestyle when asked what type of blog I have, and I’m going to stop stressing about finding a niche-my niche is life.  Life is a beautiful thing.

 Is it bad to have a niche?  Nope.  Is it bad to not have a specific niche?  Not at all.  There are upsides to both, and it takes all kinds to make the world go around.  If everyone fit in specific categories, the blog world would be a very boring place.

 I mean just look at some of these big time bloggers (who are some of my personal favorites that I look up to): Wonder Forest, , Living in Yellow, The Freckled Fox, and This Charming Life. While they definitely have a lot of consistency and cleanness in their posts and blogs-they talk about anything they want to talk about and are extremely successful.

 So new blogger, if you want to write about books-write about books! If you want to write about food and recipes, fashion, beauty, etc. Write about it!  If you just want to write about anything that comes into your pretty little head-do it!  Your blog should be about you, and what you’re passionate about.

 “I write about recipes, my blog is all about the food I cook for my husband, kids, friends & family. This [niche] was an easy decision for me because it is a passion. It’s a wonderful feeling to make people happy with a home-cooked meal.”

-Angela from LeMoine Family Kitchen

 *A big thanks also to Amanda from 3lilapples, Jacquie, Joanna Marie, Leann, Tara, and everyone else for your input on the matter as well!*

So do you have a niche?

Leave me a comment and let me know what it is! Or what your thoughts are!

The Better Your Blog Series: Tips, Tricks, and Tools to Help You Blog BetterThe Better Your Blog Series is a series of posts written by myself, Angie of My So-Called Chaos, from my own personal experience as a long-time blogger, small-business owner, and as someone who’s worked with technology and customer service for many many years. They are written with the intent of sharing the knowledge I’ve acquired through years of practice and education (both self-taught and school-taught) with others in the blogging community.

In this collection of posts you’ll not only find tips for maintaining your blog, but also for anything that goes along with being a blogger and/or small business owner-like design tips and tutorials, social media, tools, and more.

The posts in this series are constantly being updated to make sure they stay current, and the series is constantly being added to. Please contact me if there’s something you’d like to learn.

Angie
Angie is a coffee-fueled writer, artist-wanna-be, and over-worker who currently resides in a tiny fixer-upper near Salt Lake City with her boyfriend and 70lb rescue pittie. She works full time in Customer Service/Computers, part-time in retail and fashion, goes to school part-time on and off, maintains this and another couple of blogs, as well as volunteers with rescue dogs. In her free time, what little of it there is, she likes to read, play nerd games, craft and create art, and spend time with all of the awesome people in her life.
http://www.mysocalledchaos.com

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  • You gave me the advice to just write about what I feel like writing about a little while ago. Best blogging advice I've gotten. I totally don't think I have a niche…it took awhile for me to be okay with that, but now I am.

  • Great post and I think you're right about finding a niche and that it can be important and sometimes it takes a few months to see what people are responding to before you decide what you want your niche to be.

    xoDale
    http://www.savvyspice.com

  • I'm a little bit of this a little bit of that. I write about books, movies, parenting, and whatever pops into my head that I want to write about. I have never been able to pin myself down to a niche.

  • Thank you for mentioning me! Great post, very well written & helpful! Thank you, again!
    xx

  • Thanks for mentioning my food blog 🙂
    I have to have 2 blogs because food would takeover my regular blog…but my regular blog is about life and what I find interesting/worth saying something about – which ranges from my kids to nail polish, plus cats, tv, movies, books, and everything in between. I would suck at having one niche. LOL

  • People give me a hard time for ALL of my blogs, but it works for me. I have my *lifestyle* blog that covers everything from my kids to The Bachelor. I have a food blog for recipes and restaurant reviews, my fitness blog for discussing those struggles and my book blog (THANKS for the shout out) for my other passion…reading. I could have put them all under one umbrella but I don't live my life like that.

    In real life, i have friends that I talk about my kids with and those that I go to foodie events with, friends that I am in book club with and friends that I run with.

    Does that make sense?

  • I have been a lifestyle blog from the beginning. I even chose a name that would reflect that. (Collectively Caitlin) The blog is about any and everything that collectively makes up me! But I love to follow both lifestyle and many other more specific niche blogs! It's a great way to learn more about anything and get to know some really cool people! SO I think you're right! Both have their perks! 🙂
    collectivelycaitlin.blogspot.com

  • Great advice for a new blogger like myself. Thank you.

  • Thanks for the mention 🙂 This is a really great article, all new bloggers starting out could really benefit from it.
    Good Job!!

    Kelly
    xoxo

  • I wrote a post awhile back about niches too. I thought needed one but I found that life is my niche. I blog about the ups and downs. Things I'm interested in/hate, etc. It's true, if I was mostly limited to one topic (food, clothes, music, etc.) I'd be SOOO bored.

  • I can't wait to see more in this series!! Such good advice!!

    Thanks so much for mentioning me 🙂 I heart you!!

    xo
    Ange

  • mine is a family blog, I guess I'm a mommy blogger?

  • i don't think I have a niche because I like to talk to much but I have been trying to keep a certain order to how I post so it's not so chaotic on my blog. Like only posting reviews on Tuesday and Thursday. my weight loss on Wednesday and so forth

  • Up until recently I never thought of what my niche might be. Unfortunately, the categories you mentioned, my blog does not fall under.

    If I had to consider the type of blog it is, I guess I would say something similar to what you said about yours. It is about our family life, and our adventures, often times my own personal confessions, and that type of blog may be recognized by some, but not in the entire blogging community.

    Thank you for the mention. Anytime you may need an opinion on any of your topics, I would glad to share mine.

    Hope this helps y'all fellow bloggers out there!

    ❤Amanda @3lilapples

  • This is going to be a great blog series!! and so much help! cant wait for the next one 🙂

  • These are such great posts. I'm definitely a mom blogger. Not that I really want to be but this is essentially their scrapbook so I kind of have to be. I do want to get to a point where I stay caught up enough so that I can post about other randomness that is my life.

  • The biggest criticism of my blog is people say that it's all over the place, so I guess I'm definitely not a niche blogger! ;P
    I think if I'd started earlier I would have been a mom blogger, but since I have one in HS and one in college, I can't really call myself that, either.

  • I just stumbled over this post when I googled "finding my niche"…I am a brand new blogger and I am still not sure exactly where I am going. I was afraid that was I wasn't focused enough to build a strong audience, but I started writing for me and ultimately that is who I need to please. If it strikes a chord with some, great, if not, at least I am being true to myself. Thanks for the words of reinforcement.

  • Thank you for writing this. I've been blogging about both men's and women's products for over a year. I wasn't sure if I can be successful writing about both. As long as those products are ethically made, eco-friendly and/or made in USA then I write about them. I was almost ready to give up and focus on women's products only, but you changed my course.

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