It doesn’t happen everyday but when it does happen, I’m compelled to write about it to address the questions once and for all on the importance of choosing the right niche with the emphasis on the word ‘right‘.
A lot of my readers emailed me with all the nicest words I couldn’t say it better myself and for the sake of this article, I pick two of the questions posed to me,
Tom from Stand Out Blogger
You have created an amazing blog in the blog about blogging niche and I think it would be great if you could write a little bit about why you decided to choose this niche for your blog.
Junnette from Word Play
Why “a blog for beginners” instead of a “make money blog,” just as you said in your About page?
Here’s What I Have To Say
In retrospect, I didn’t start this blog with any niche in mind. I discovered it later upon clear understanding what my audience’s needs were.
thoushallblog.com was initially created with only one single purpose, that was to be my personal journal of all things I learned about the beauty of WordPress. Little did I ever expected that people actually appreciated what I did and have continued to support it till today.
I attribute the continued support to the fact that I’m passionate about what I do. It’s the single most important key to blogging success if you ask me. I write about topics that interests both my readers and myself. Yes, myself. I couldn’t possibly continue to do what I do if it doesn’t excite both myself and my readers.
Why I Choose This ‘Blogging for Beginners’ Niche
Every minute a new blogger is born and they need a one-stop place to find all the elementary blogging resources and I see the need to fill in the gap. The fact that I’m a beginner myself, I know what’s best for beginners and I make every possible effort to speak in the language they could easily understand.
Just in case you aren’t in the know, thoushallblog.com is not a blog that teaches you how to ‘make money online’. I simply can’t bluff my way into that MMO niche.
What I’m blogging sharing here is what I have personally learned, experimented, applied and experienced first hand as a beginner. As such, everything is written by a beginner, for beginners and with beginners in mind and it will stay the same.
I aim to be the best in the ‘blogging for beginners’ niche and I wouldn’t trade it for any other niche – at least for now. Also, this is the kind of niche I could stand tall among the pack and to be a stand out blogger.
That said, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of sharing what I learn about ‘blog monetization’ at a later stage but that will only come in later when I have found greater success with what I’m doing.
Yes, I did make my money through private ads, affiliate sales, sponsored reviews to have a decent living in the third world countries but that’s not the kind of stuffs my readers are interested in – I presume.
Choosing The Right Niche
It’s true that one of the first things you’ll be deciding when you start your own blog is the niche you want to be in. What kind of target audience you’re writing to? A niche gives you a sense of purpose, yet many is good at failing to choose the right one.
Sad but it’s true, a lot of new bloggers are happy to be part of the ‘make money online’ crowd without realizing that one has to go above and beyond the ‘average’ to succeed in such super competitive niche. In most cases, when the money is no where to be seen, they are quick enough to find the next exit door.
The MMO Niche is a victim of its own success. Here’s why Jason from TUK reasoned out that Make Money Online Blogs = Fail which makes an interesting read.
My Thought on ‘Make Money Online’ Niche
Let me hold your hands and show you how to be the next millionaire…
Sounds familiar? Oh yeah, I’ll let you hold my hands once you decide to change your default WordPress theme. I could perhaps give a couple of good recommendation if you need one. If a million of people like you buy premium themes using my affiliate links, I’m on my way to be a millionaire.
My point is ’stop telling others how to make money online’ when you are still a distance away from cashing your first adsense check. Switching out of the MMO niche will probably make you more money and how about getting off the Make Money Online bandwagon & make your fortune from John Cow who is considered the authority in the MMO niche.
If that isn’t enough, please allow me to quote one of my favorite words of wisdom on the MMO niche
“Those who know SHOW while those who don’t TEACH”
You have to be seen as a master in your chosen niche to stand out from the crowd and aim to become “a big fish in a small pond rather than a small fish in a big pond”
Passion is The Key
Choose one that you are passionate about and it’s not time-sensitive, which stop appealing after a few months. Apart from MMO niche, there are still plenty of gold mines yet to be discovered.
Once you have decided your niche and target audience, your blog should be a one-stop solution for them or at the very least, try to be one.
That being said, if the passion and enthusiasm runs dry, it’s time to move elsewhere. You can’t excite your readers without a drop of passion in what you do or write. The key is being aware of who you are and what you are passionate about, and use it to leverage your success
….and be a winner.
I’d like to hear your thoughts on this and why you decided to choose the niche you are in. Are you a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in a big pond?
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I guess i am…a medium fish in a medium pond :)
Really nice post, Yan. And don’t worry about sponsored reviews and such: Blogging is a hard work and you’re totally right to expect some money from it. You own a quality blog so the money youcan earn is deserved.
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Hi Jean
Thanks for the compliment. I think you are in a good niche yourself and frankly, I pick up a thing or two from your site. I’m now in the process of getting a thumbnail working on my homepage following your code.
Anyway, good to see you again..
Cheers
Wow, that was a straight to the point in your face good post. I don’t think I could agree more and might take the MMO right out of my niche. If anything my niche would be entrepreneurial journey / blogging.
I really enjoyed this article keep up the good work.
Adam – Creadiv.com´s lastest post..The Truth About Cats And Blogs
Hey Adam
I’m impressed by how fast you respond to my comment. This is the kind of practice that will never go wrong in the long run and that’s how I built the readership here – purely on reciprocal commenting alone and nothing else.
Appreciate your coming here and leaving a comment. Look forward to seeing you again, Adam.
Till then
That is a good question. I think that I am a small fish in a medium pond, but I know where I am going and am looking to further define my niche’s needs and desires.
The skinny of my niche is motivating bloggers to build their businesses. This is a niche that I am creating and working on right now. I am defining my business plan as we speak, but I have a pretty clear vision of who I am aiming for.
These are bloggers that want to take their business to the next level. They are interested in personal development, knowledge, and doing things the right way.
I really like the fact that you know your market and have built a reputation serving that market.
Freddie
The fact that you do know which direction you are going clearly tells what kind of person you are. Yet, many are still clueless looking for the right direction at all the wrong places.
Though I know little about your blog, I believe you are very clear about your own motivation and vision. Here’s my best wishes in whatever you are trying to aim for.
Cheers
Yan
Yan,
Thank you for the support as well. My blog is coming along, but I have a lot more to add and tweak…it is happening. Over the next few weeks, I will be really getting down to business and moving forward with my plans.
I will be in touch with you because I have some ideas and want to bounce something off of you. You know, network and form like Voltron to talk over!
It’s my pleasure, buddy. Building relationship with fellow bloggers has always been my priority. That’s the kind of pleasure I derive from blogging.
Anyway, you are doing great with ‘Thought is Possibility’ and I’m excited to see what you have in store in the coming weeks. If you need anything, I’m sure you know where to find me.
Yan
Thanks, Yan! I will be in touch soon….got some things to get into place first.
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Choosing a niche is very important, and not just because everyone do it you should too.
Very nice article keep up the good work
@Salwa
Thanks and welcome back.
the hardest part of choosing the right niche is to find an available domain name based on the keywords for that niche… it’s very difficult since most of best names are already taken :(
Apart from SEO purpose, I don’t think a domain will have any great effect in choosing a niche but still, you do have a valid point and I can see that you do have a great domain name that is very much related to your niche.
Yan
I always appreciated your outlook in the blogging shpere. I think you provide a great service to up and coming blogger. I think even so experienced blogger get some great info from you blog too.
I love to focus on my content because great content will always bring people to read your blog. Although I never really promoted my blog much I do have plans on making it better and maybe even a new look soon.
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Bruno
Thanks for your great compliment. I’ve been seeing your comments lately and I’m sorry that I haven’t had the opportunity to reciprocate your visit but I think I’ll make an effort today.
Now back to your comment. Please allow me to add…..I don’t deny that great content attracts readers and engages them to stick around but without knowing your niche, you might just spreading yourself too thin and attract the wrong kind of audience.
Once again, thank you for sharing it with us and glad you decide to stick around with us here.
Yan
I picked my niche because I am good at it. Truth is I don’t care about pond much. :) If you are interested and motivated enough improving and moving closer to top is not a goal but natural result.
Rarst´s lastest post..Why you should stick to expensive USB flash drives
I’m sure you do. By the way, I’ll get your guest posting up sometime this next. I’m sorry for the delay.
When I started my website, I had no idea that blogging was going to be any part of it. I thought blogging was for serious writers and for people who journal. When I realized that blogging is getting more and more common with ecommerce sites, I realized that was one thing I needed to do. Fortunately, my niche was already set.
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hmmm. that would make me a small fish in a small pond then, i guess. :) and i basically chose this niche because i enjoy writing what i write, so i don’t mind doing it almost every day. :)
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@kouji: I can see your passion in writing haiku day after day. How did you first get into that? I’ve been wanting to ask this also, are you a Japanese or something?
nope. not japanese. :)
i got interested in the idea of setting up a blog. the idea of having my own space online fascinated me. so i was trying to figure out what to focus on. something i could write about easily.
so i thought, haiku. hell, it’s 3 lines, 17 syllables. i could churn out one everyday, i thought! so i did (or tried).
and i found out that i enjoyed it. so i’ve kept it up. :)
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Fantastic!
Amen.
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So interesting to know you grew into this niche rather than specifically launching the site dedicated with topics for that target market. When I started my blog I knew the general idea would be search engine optimization and marketing but I’ll tell you one thing coming up with stuff to write about has been really difficult seeing I have a niche market! I mean lets face it how many times can I write about Organic Traffic haha!
Nice article :) Engaged!
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Hey Brian
You know what, if I were to start another blog it will be solely on SEO as this is one single topic that interest me the most. I don’t think SEO is too niche where you’ll be running out of ideas to write. It keeps changing its rules and that’s what makes it all the more interesting.
Nice to see you again, Brian and thanks for the ‘engaged’.
Yan
If you ever start a blog on SEO, I would definitely be one of your readers Yan. If the interest you put into writing about blogging for beginners is anything to go by, it would be excellent!
Thank you for your support. It’s still in the planning mode, gathering all the useful resources. Anyway, it’s still going to be SEO for Beginners so probably it’s something that may be way below your level….:-)
Hmmm, I’ll take that as a compliment… :)
I wanted to see if you could email me real quickly about buying advertisement space on your blog.
Thanks!
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Nice post Yan and I agree with most of it except for that quote:
“Those who know SHOW while those who don’t TEACH”
For 2 reasons:
(a)I’m a qualified teacher and that quote always got to me. A good teacher teaches by showing, it’s the best way to get the message across.
(b) Those who make good money online very rarely show all they know or all that they have.
Hey Zania
You have valid reasons of which I’m not going to disagree with them. Last night, I was watching this video on Blog World Expo and I realized that all the pros gave pretty much basic strategies on how to make money online. I reckon they didn’t really show it all.
I’m only quoting it in the light of those who teach others “how to make money online” without showing any income proof or whatsoever. The next best thing they can do is to show inflated income stats.
Anyway, thanks Zania. It’s always good to see you around. By the way, is teaching your full-time profession?
Yan
‘I’m only quoting it in the light of those who teach others “how to make money online”’
Agree there…. well almost…. I would say Grizzly is pretty helpful (the best I reckon), but there again even he openly admits that he keeps some things to himself, so yes! :)
And teaching (well lecturing really) is my profession, but I gave it up when we moved to Spain (and only actually spent 2 years full time because of not being able to find decent child care in the UK). I only teach now as a ‘fill in’ when I go over to the UK for a while.
But yes, if I am really
goodexcellent at anything, it’s teaching, even though I say it myself :)Oh yes, he certainly has his following. I have been one of his silent followers for quite a while now and I’m learning a thing or two from him as well. He has an excellent library of good resources.
But yes, if I am really good excellent at anything, it’s teaching, even though I say it myself :)
That’s what I like about you – your style and that’s what Zania is all about. I always enjoy reading your comments (the best I reckon)..
i liked that line about bloggers who shout endlessly about teaching others how to make money online and yet, they could not even cash out their adsense check. sad but true — a lot of victims have fallen.
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Well, as I have said, MMO niche is a victim of its own success. Due to its popularity, many jump into the MMO bandwagon not realizing that it’s not for every startup.
In my work with clients over the past 10 years, the biggest FEAR most of my clients face is choosing a niche.
The ‘right” niche market is one where you have enough passion to carry you “over” the many bumps you’ll encounter in the road along the way. That passion will also provide the fuel you need to create blog posts on a regular basis.
You’ve done a great job here and it’s nice to see that you “discovered” this passion AFTER you launched the blog!
Hey Kathy
You are absolutely right. Without the passion, everything will fall apart in the end and without the right niche, we are just like a blind leading another blind.
Thanks for the visit and leaving a comment. Here’s a warm welcome to thoushallblog.com. Look forward to hear your thoughts with us again.
Cheers
Yan
This an excellent article. In fact one of the best I have read for quite some time. I too am attempting to share what I have learned in the realm of SEO. I certainly do not call myself an expert. I have learned certain techniques that work but for the most part it comes down to a website built on a solid foundation with good structure. I will share all that I have learned as others have shared with me over the last 18 months. Do I expect to make money from this particular blog? No. If it happens thats ok but it is not the goal of x7SEO.com to be a money maker blog. I have other websites and blogs for that.
My door is always open to anyone that asks a question. If I cannot give an honest answer based on my experience I will tell you that. No smoke blowing here.
With that said………… great job Yan… I look forward to more quality postings.
Eric
What a compliment! I have just returned from your site and I’m loving what I see. The truth is SEO has been the subject of my interest. I wouldn’t have otherwise find a great SEO resources, if you have not came here and left your comment.
I can smell the passion in your writing and oh, your article on “From 600 to 14 on Google in 100 Days” is worth of a mention and inspirational.
Dang! I need to know how to do a video myself. Anyway, thanks for commenting and look forward to seeing you again, Eric.
Cheers
Yan
Hey Yan, as a relatively new subscriber and somewhat of a beginners coach myself (not just blogging :) ) I can honestly say you have a really good thing going here…
Keep going!
Dennis Edell´s lastest post..Knowledge Link Love #1: What Are Your Favorite Social Networks and Why?
Dennis
Thanks, coach. Let me know if there is anything I could do better and I promise I’ll keep going on and on.
Yan
Just keep on keepin on buddy!
Dennis Edell´s lastest post..Knowledge Link Love #1: What Are Your Favorite Social Networks and Why?
“Every minute a new blogger is born…”
Man, the power of writing is unbelieveable.. That line got my head spinning!
Dude, your awesome – period.
Everything you said inspired me to keep going.
Elijah´s lastest post..Finding A Profitable Niche For Local Success
Hey E
You have always had the nicest things to say and they are a couple of people out there whom I’ve always enjoyed reading their comments and YOU are obviously one of THEM.
Shall we say, “Every minute a new blog is flipped…”?
Good to see back, E.
Yan
It is SO VERY important to write about something that you have geniune interest in. As lots of time will be spent on one’s blog. It can and will get tired FAST, if you are writing on a niche you really don’t like.
It helps if its a non-competitive niche. But most important is a love for your blog topic. Can’t be stressed enough.
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Hey Missy
What a pleasant surprise! You have said it all. That reminds me of this saying, “if you love your work, you’ll never work for the rest of your life again…”.
Well, it took me 30 years to really understand this simple rules of work. Anyway, good to see again.
Yan
To be honest, I still don’t know what niche my blog is :)
That’s why I just went with the whole entrepreneurs journey to wealth, so that I can share all my adventures – good and bad – with my readers.
A few days ago, I was thinking of transforming my blog into a MMO one. After a bit of thinking, I decided that it wasn’t a very good idea… mainly because I wasn’t making any money!
By the way, you’ve got an awesome theme here, Yan. Kudos to the designer :)
-Rajaie
Do-Follow Blogs´s lastest post..Fame, Fortune, or Fun – Why Do You Blog?
Hey Rajaie
It’s true sometimes we only realize what we want to write about much later in our blogging journey. I still believe that if you have a passion for writing, finding your niche is a natural result.
Anyway, I do enjoy reading your blog and your writing style is above the average kid your age. Keep on doing what you are good at and I’m sure in no time, you’ll be progressing into MMO niche.
Hope you stick around..
Cheers
Yan
Of course, it’s very important. Good niche can more 5 times money with the same investment.
well nice post and encouraging for the newbies they will definitely look forward to it…………….
I like the way you differentiated between showing and teaching. James at Men with pens blogged about having focus and planning. Your post reinforced what he was saying.
There’ s a lot of good information here to digest. Thanks for the post.
Jamie Simmerman´s lastest post..Do You Write Pork Rinds or Meatloaf?
Jamie
Thanks and welcome.
You are absolutely right, it all comes down to being focus and having the right planning. I hope you have enjoyed your stay here and look forward to seeing you again.
Once again, thanks for your compliment.
Yan
Rajaie – for what it’s worth, the “personal experience” blogs are becoming more and more popular, not to mention profitable on their own ;)
Dennis Edell´s lastest post..Knowledge Link Love #1: What Are Your Favorite Social Networks and Why?
@Dennis: Couldn’t agree more with you. I reckon there is more passion writing about yourself than that of others. Here in Asia, I have seen lots of successful kidbloggers making a 5-figure income just by blogging about what they eat, which movies they watch and stuffs like that. Pretty impressive, huh?
I guess in a way having a “blog for beginners” allows you to also learn while you teach, and the niche is also in need of these “back to basics” blogs for those that had got left behind… that’s where u came in :)
Yan,
Great tips and I always stress importance of right niche choice as well. I think this single failure – choose right topic to write about is most common cause of the blog failure.
Alex
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@Alex:
You are right about it. The majority of the beginners are spreading themselves too thin and eventually losing the focus needed to sustain it.
Thanks for your input, Alex. We always need professional advices from bloggers like you.
Yan
That was a real eye opener of a post, i guess i fall into the MMO niche and you are right, getting out of that specific niche might be a good idea.
I’m definitely thinking about it now, its figuring out where i land in the repositioning that is going to be tricky.
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I would say im a small fish in a big pond and to be honest I am completely content with that.
I dont blog to become a milionare.. I blog for the passion of blogging. Knowing that what I write is being viewed all over the world and either appreciated or hated. Either way.. its a success to me.
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Brian
I think belong to the same breed of new bloggers who enjoy writing for the benefit of others. That’s the kind of passion that will drive the energy we put into blogging.
Anyway, I’m yet to receive any hate comments..did you?
Yan
i have selected a niche to make it top at the same time i will try get top in the relative synonyms and multi word keywords .
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Good luck and welcome! Hope you stick around with us…
Hi Yan! As usual, thanks for the mention! (Man, I’m wasting the traffic you’re throwing my way by not getting my act together. My current blog doesn’t even have a niche, lol. I’m also new to these things and Yan’s blog has been really helpful.) Yan, I owe you a story or two! :)
Junnette´s lastest post..I am a filler…
Hey Junnette
What a pleasant surprise to see you here! Where have you been? I can see that you did a makeover on your blog and so I presumed you were ready for the traffic but anyway, don’t ever mention it. Should you need any help, please feel free to contact me.
Good luck, gal.
Actually, I can always get some useful ideas from from your blog and I am so thankful for your generosity.
So I think that’s the reason your blog is destined to be a big success.
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Thanks for such a great compliment and see you at the top of the success ladder.
I don’t agree with Jason when he says Make Money Online niche = FAIL
It all depends on how you go about promoting your blog, your SEO skills, the connections you make and your writing style.
I agree that it is waaay too saturated, but it doesn’t guarantee a fail
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Oh yes, you certainly have your point, Simon. It’s an interesting niche to be in but you need a certain degree of credibility for others to believe in what you say.
My point is unless you have made money online yourself, don’t go around telling others how to make it online. I mean ‘don’t be a blind leading another blind..’
Mate, the MMO niche is completely saturated. Maybe not saturated, but in great need of creative ideas. You see guys like Normal Joe bringing a unique touch to the niche and I think it’s great, but when you take a look at the big picture, it’s more or less the same content all over the place.
When I chose my niche, I knew I wanted to talk about Internet Marketing, but I also wanted to talk about the web in general or blogging or whatever I felt was worth talking about in the web industry. I can talk about monetization, but it’s not the core of the blog. I really want to reach the most people I can out there and I think it’s possible by not being strictly MMO ;) You know, I want that 34 years old mom to read the blog…!
Ben – frogstr.com´s lastest post..How to fake Feedburner subscriber count
Oh yes, Joe brings a lot of character into his blog and that’s what makes him special and stand out from the rest. I have seen him grow from the beginning to what he is today.
Well, I’m pretty new to your blog and I’m yet getting a feel of what yours is all about but I’d not hesitate to recommend yours to my mum if that’s OK with you.
Good to see you here, Ben and hope you stick around..
Choosing a right niche is very important. If you want to be successful in your online business venture, the first thing you need to do is find a niche market that suits both your personality and your business model.Statistics have shown that the number one mistake made by newbie-entrepreneurs is that they blindly start an online business based on hype rather than careful research.
They have this idealistic thought that if they get hold of product they reckon will be a “Sell-Out” hit, put up a website promoting it and wha-la, tons of customers will be eager to buy it.This is kind of like shooting an arrow without aiming at the target and hoping that the arrow will somehow hit the bulls’ eye.
In reality, there is nothing further away from the truth, always remember that research and planning are key elements for success in any form of business.
When I first stumbled upon the MMO blogs I actually thought that to make money online I had to have a MMO blog. Little did I realise you can have a blog just about anything and make money with it. Of course, it helps if there isn’t a lot of competition and there is a market for it, but if you find a popular niche with little competition you could potentially own a gold mine.
I have still to find a niche I can dominate, but give me time ;)
Make money online niche is hot, but it’s really difficult to break into the first search result (Top 10). It’s a wrong to start a make money online blog and compete for keyword “make money online”, I don’t think you can success unless you’re Google’s relative.
Choosing the right niche is very important (If you want to make money online and create more traffic), be sure you choose those keywords that have a lot of searches and less competitors, do a research on Google Adword Keyword Tools, It’s very important and a must before we start a blog. :)
Between, another great post from you Yan!
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I must say a great article and make me think again on what niche should I blog next
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Yan, thanks for posting this. I’m struggling with the niche problem right now. Not for my personal site (that’s about geek stuff) but to decide what market is right for me second blog. I appreciate the great advice you posted here.
I own 4 blogs on various niches .. by far my favorite is my blog about blogging .. the most active and profitable is actually a charity blog with little content, a forum and very little monetization
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