To niche or not to niche, that is the question.

We have written so many blogs for writers, but what about the actual writing? Should you be writing in a niche or not?

If you want to share ideas and advice, blogging might be your opportunity! Blogging is the act of creating online personal websites or blog posts for publication. People of any age, gender, or background can write them. The key is finding a niche you enjoy and catering your content to that audience accordingly.

Top writers (like Sinem Günel) recommend new writers find a niche they are passionate about and want to share their thoughts with the world. Somewhere to write and help others in their journey toward a happier, more fulfilled life, and try to stick to it and build an audience.

However, finding your niche can take time and effort. Not every blogger is created equally. Some people are natural product experts, while others are more inclined toward art, design, and other creative fields. That’s why other writers (such as Zulie Rane) recommend trying different niches when you start or if you feel the burnout after writing on the same one.

The good news is that there are plenty of ways to find the perfect one, but remember, each one has different requirements, so it’s important to understand what type of blogger you are before diving into niche blogging.

A lifestyle blog is a perfect fit if you’re a brand looking to promote your products online. If you’re more into relationships and parenting advice, health and wellness or personal development will fit you better.

What is niche blogging

Niche blogging is often used interchangeably with ‘crowdsourced’ and ‘word of mouth,’ but it has several significant differences. Daren C. Brabham defined crowdsourcing as an “online, distributed problem-solving and production model.” Hence, we could say that Crowdsourcing is when you use your and your group’s resources to produce content, such as writing or photography. It identifies the target audience and develops content specifically for them instead of the other way around.

Word of mouth is another example where people who are already aware of what you have to offer will promote your products or services to their friends and family accordingly. Instead of contacting strangers on the internet, why reach out directly to those who might be interested?
A niche blog makes this process much easier by catering to a specific audience instead of being general like an average blog.

Reasons you should niche:

As I mentioned, top writers recommend finding a niche for your writing. 

Sinem Günel, in her Medium Writing Academy course, devotes a complete chapter to “How to find your niche.” But what would a new blogger gain by doing so? Among the benefits of using a writing niche are the following:

1. Focus: Having a writing niche allows you to focus your efforts and become an expert in a particular area. This can help you develop your skills and knowledge and make finding clients looking for content on that topic easier.
2. Marketability: A writing niche can make you more marketable as a writer, as it demonstrates to potential clients that you have a specific area of expertise. This can make finding work and commanding higher rates for your services easier.
3. Passion: If you are passionate about a particular topic, writing about it can be more enjoyable and rewarding. This can keep you motivated and inspired and lead to higher-quality work.
4. Networking: Specializing in a particular niche can help you to connect with other writers and professionals in that field, which can lead to new opportunities and collaborations.

Using a writing niche can be a useful way to focus your efforts, build your expertise, and find clients looking for content in a specific area.

Reasons not to niche

There is generally no reason a writer should not use a writing niche if they have a particular area of expertise or interest they want to focus on. Nevertheless, other writing experts like 

Zulie Rane recommend trying different niches you’ve never written before if you feel you’re losing your passion, interest, and excitement while writing. Especially when you have more than one passion or skill where you can provide advice to others.

For example, let’s say you are a professional physiotherapist with a degree in nutrition by day but also a mom to an eight and ten-year-old kid who loves their cat as much as you. You might find it challenging to decide to write for a niche about how to train for a marathon, cook a nutritious and delicious meal for the whole family, educate and raise two pre-teenagers, or take care of your cat.

Since you are qualified to blog about any of your passions, sticking to only one might not fulfill you. Believe me; you are not alone. This is the case for millions of people. Just as you advise your clients, share your food recipes with your friends, discuss education tips at the PTA meeting, and write funny stories about your cats. Likewise, you will find an audience waiting for all your content.

Therefore, in your case, sticking to only one niche will have several potential drawbacks to consider, such as:

1. Limited opportunities: If you specialize in a niche that is not in high demand or has few potential clients, finding work may be more challenging.
2. Stereotyping: If you become known for writing about a particular topic or style, they may stereotype you as only being able to write this way. This could limit your opportunities and make it harder to branch out into other areas.
3. Burnout: If you focus on a single niche for a long time, it can be easy to become burnt out or lose your passion for the topic. This can lead to a decline in the quality of your writing and make it more difficult to stay motivated.

Overall, it is important to consider the potential drawbacks of choosing a writing niche. Still, it can also be useful to focus your efforts and build your expertise as a writer.

Profitable niches

In any case, if you decide on just one or several blog niches, and as a writer, you’re looking to make more money from your blogging, here are some options for profitable writing niches with a higher demand to consider:

1. Business and finance: This can include topics such as investing, entrepreneurship, marketing, and personal finance.
2. Health and wellness: They can include topics such as nutrition, fitness, mental health, and alternative therapies.
3. Technology includes topics such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and the internet of things.
4. Personal development includes productivity, leadership, and self-improvement topics.
5. Marketing and advertising: This can include topics such as content marketing, social media marketing, and search engine optimization.

These are just a few examples, and many other niches may be profitable for you, depending on your interests and expertise. It is also important to conduct market research and assess the demand and competition in a particular niche before committing to writing in that area.

Take away

No matter whether you choose to write for one or multiple niches, the main thing is to realize this is not a sprint, and is more like a marathon. You might not see the results at first, but if you constantly write and work on improving your articles daily, the rewards will come sooner than you think.

This is why well-known authors write in different genres, such as Louisa May Alcott, who went from drugs to wholesome family fun, A. A. Milne went from murder mysteries to Pooh Bear, and Ian Fleming went from James Bond to magic, flying cars in Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang.

While others used secret pseudonyms to do so, such as:
1. Agatha Christie — Mary Westmacott
2. Benjamin Franklin — Mrs. Silence Dogood
3. C.S. Lewis — Clive Hamilton and N.W. Clerk
4. Isaac Asimov — Paul French
5. J.K. Rowling — Robert Galbraith
6. Michael Crichton — John Lange, Jeffery Hudson, and Michael Douglas
7. Stephen King — Richard Bachman
8. Washington Irving — Jonathan Oldstyle, Diedrich Knickerbocker, and Geoffrey Crayon.

Either with your name or under a pseudonym, using a niche, or with different genres, get in front of your screen or a piece of paper and write. Share your ideas and valuable advice with the world. Because many of us are waiting to learn from your experience.

“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master”. —Ernest Hemingway, The Wild Years

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