Finding Your Place In a Crowded Blog Niche

by Jeff 2/22/2008 11:57:00 AM

I have seen a lot of criticism lately about newbies jumping on the "Make Money Online" blog bandwagon. Its seems that everyone out there is saying "you can't be the next John Chow, so don't even try". Well I have one thing to say to those nay-sayers....."BACK OFF!"

Don't listen to them. Give it your best shot and try it anyway. Blog away. It is a fun and exciting experience that will teach you a lot about this exciting form of media. Yes...it is becoming a crowded niche. But that doesn't mean that you still can't have a successful blog. You just need to be realistic about your definition of success. You will not topple Shoemoney or earn more money that the ProBlogger. That is just not realistic. But if watching your subscriber count rise because people are taking an interest in something you enjoyed writing counts as a success, then by all means you should be doing it. If you blog because you find joy in blogging, then there is no way you can't be successful. At the very least your reward will be something you enjoyed doing. At the very most, people will like what you have to say and become ardent followers. Stay passionate and stick with it long enough, and you just might become a well-known name (and probably make some decent coin).

Now, there is one point that I must chalk up to the evil nay-sayers. One of their common complaints is that everything written by the MMO newb is just regurgitated information that has been discussed a million times on countless other blogs. Unfortunately, I think they do have a point here. If your blog just says the same repetitive thing as every other blog, what value does it offer a new reader? None! In order to find your place in a crowded niche, like Making Money Online, you must have a clear understanding of the true PURPOSE of your blog.

Take a second and think about this. What is the purpose of your blog? Do you even know? Maybe its to entertain. If so, your posts should be funny or thought provoking. Is it to inform? If so, you had better be a real expert on something and discuss things that few others know. If the sole purpose of your blog is to get people to click on affiliate links in hopes of getting rich quick, then good luck - you're gonna need it. The blogs that stand out in a crowded niche are the ones that have a clear and focused purpose.

I admit...it took me a little while to discover my purpose. When I decided to start this blog, I knew people were making money online but I didn't really know how. I thought to myself "what better way to learn than to blog about what I'm learning". It didn't take very long before I realized a gazillion other people had the same idea! So I needed to find a new direction. I realized that even though my blog was about making money, it was not my top priority. Instead, I was more concerned with helping other people make their blogs more successful. Eureka! My blog found its purpose!

I still write about some interesting things that I've learned in hopes of helping out a fellow newb. And yeah...I am sure they've been discussed before. But hopefully I can add a unique perspective or make the similar topic a little more entertaining. But I also like to help my readers. Just ask Raymond over at CommuterChronicles.com or Tom over at TechnoGumption.com. I'll do whatever I can to help. Want me to Digg or Stumble an article? Drop me an email. Need a guest post? I'll help out if I have the time. Leave me a comment, I'll write back. My Weekly Buzz feature will be announced any day now. I will spotlight a blog and give away free EntreCard credits each week. No strings! I want to help because I am one of you. Because that is the purpose of my blog.

What is the purpose of your blog? Figure it out and I am sure it will stand out in any crowded niche.

Jeff

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Tags: niche, blogging, blog tips

General

What Do You Expect From Your Blog?This post takes a look at the different types of blogs and what you can expect from them.Monetizing Your Blog - Step 2: Growing Your ReadershipPart two of my blog's monetization strategy.Q&A Tuesday: WordPress vs Blogger & Hosting Your Own BlogQ&A Tuesday focusing on using Blogger or WordPress and why you should host your own blog.

Comments

2/26/2008 2:23:41 AM

Thanks for the help Jeff. It's all about bloggers helping bloggers. With more people like Jeff around, willing to take some time and comment or guest post the blogging world gets a leg up.

raymondm

2/26/2008 5:18:07 AM

Hey Jeff - thanks for the mention. I think I know where I am going with my blog now. It is taking a bit to find my voice as such, but I have fairly detailed plans on where my content is going. I just need to continue to raise my profile and grow my readership. I outlined my goals for the year very early on in my blogs life so I have those as my long term aims. You have been a great help Jeff - if your not here to network and make friends then I am not sure blogging is for you.

Tom Beaton

2/26/2008 5:21:54 AM

Well said guys! You'll have a hard time going at it alone. We all want the same thing. Why not work together?

Jeff

2/26/2008 6:22:06 AM

This is so true. I think that anybody can make it in any niche if they have that persistence and motivation to get past all of the lower tier blogs and rise up into one of the big contenders.

Charles

2/26/2008 6:38:17 AM

As I'm new to this blogging stuff, I haven't really found my purpose yet. I know nothing about ''making money online/blogging'' so I wont blog about that. What I will blog about is ''trying to make money online/blogging''. Is that the same thing? I guess many people people think it is. Hmmmmm, your question has really got me thinking.

Funked

2/26/2008 9:01:50 AM

I guess there will be a slight difference since you won't be known as a self-professed professional. It could help you to be able to connect more to users that are new at blogging since you will share the same interest and goals. Sort of a, I'm on the same mission as you are, rather than, I already have all the skills and I want to show you how to be like me.

Charles

2/26/2008 4:09:31 PM

Jeff, Your post cut right to the point of what a blogger needs to do to carve out his own unique niche. I am brand new to blogging and don't have any technical exertise but I have always gone by the adage that there is nobody smarter than all of us together. I would appreciate any feedback you can give me on my blog. I just gave your site a thumbs-up to stumble. Maybe you could throw me a bone a somekind. My best post in my opinion is ;
http://havetoothpick.com/the-sounds-of-silence It is generic article on listening skills so maybe it wouldn't be good for your blog but might help in your journey through life. Best, Rick

Rick

2/26/2008 4:52:33 PM

I totally agree with you Jeff. Actually what you've said is exactly the purpose of two of my blogs. No man is an island, whether in the real world or in the virtual world. That's just how it is.

Mark

2/27/2008 6:53:11 AM

Hi Jeff,

Michael here from Germany.

Seems we sharesome thoughts and attitudes ...

Compliments for this well written post.

Keep up the good work.

Regards,

Michael

Michael

2/27/2008 12:08:03 PM

Michael, thanks for the kind words.

To everyone else, thanks for positive feedback and for sharing this post with others. I am happy to say that this post brought more traffic than a guest post on JohnCow.com! It feels good when something you believe in has postive results.

I hope see all of you again at BuzzMyBlog.com. I have a lot of exciting things planned for the future. So please stick around!

Jeff

Jeff

2/27/2008 2:06:45 PM

I'm very glad I came across your blog.

The articles are always inspiring.

I want to make money with my blog but sadly I sit in the random article niche right now I am trying to solidify a schedule though so maybe it will help me a little.

Oh yeah.... I will be doing weekly wednesday blog reviews and was wondering if I could publish an honest review of your site in the coming weeks?

Thanks again.

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3/8/2008 4:08:44 PM

I think one key point is, authenticity pays. If you aren't authentic, you're not going to really stand out as a decent writer. This doesn't just go for blogging, but any form of writing or business. People want to build a relationship, which they can't do if your blog is not composed of your authentic opinions and experiences.

Luke

4/8/2008 12:34:10 PM

I totally agree, I always say that there may be tons of other people in a niche, but there is only one YOU. There also lots of subniches within a niche like making money. THere are zillions of ways to make money online. It depends on what you sell and who you are selling to. Purpose is all you need.

Tim Welch

4/20/2008 11:35:26 AM

I am exactly where you were, I don't know exactly where I fit yet but I might as well document the journey.

Mark Wilson

4/20/2008 9:58:51 PM

Good luck Mark! If there is one piece of advice I could give, its to make sure you enjoy the journey. Don't let it become a chore.

Jeff

5/13/2008 1:44:17 PM

I love the way you are so candid. I am trying so hard to find a niche. I hate my current blogs name but cannot afford giving up the traffic to move it and give it another name so i end up leaving it alone.

It seems like there are no niches really that are not saturated. Any ideas?

shelby wallace

5/13/2008 5:15:54 PM

Hi Shelby! What if you started the second domain and automatically redirected traffic from the first domain? That is very easy to do with normal HTML tags.

I am not sure if all niches are as saturated as the one we are both in. Since you usually can't find that out until you are well in it, the best thing you can do is make yourself unique. Find something that is special to your blog that no one else has.

Best of luck to you!

Jeff

5/14/2008 7:27:47 PM

I think it all depends on what you want the new blog to have. If the content from the rebate site doesn't apply to the new blog, then just make a clean break. Keep the two separate and maintain them both. If you get a lot of visitors on the rebate blog, use that to your advantage! Start publicizing your new blog there. Give your readers links like "check out my new blog at ...". Eventually, you can have a final post that says "We can now be followed at theulgyvirgin.com" (or where ever). If the users wish to continue reading your posts, they'll click through.

I am a few days away from announcing a second blog myself. I have quietly been working on it in "stealth" mode so when I officially announce it, there will be a good amount of content. BuzzMyBlog will still stay as my "primary" blog, but you can bet that I'll provide links to my new blog as well. Maybe you can do the same thing.

Good luck with everything!

Jeff

5/14/2008 10:09:28 PM

Hi,

I use wordpress and installed the redirection plugin and tried redirecting all of the posts and pages to the new site. It seemed to work but I am not sure that is the problem.

I think the problem is, people say find something unique. When you build a blog or website about how to make money online (example), how can you make it unique? I mean, it what way specifically, could you make it unique? Can someone give me an example?

When I started this site in particular (I have over 50), I wanted to make it about rebates. Then I could not find out how in the world you could get rebate listings from companies and make money with listing them. I found some rebate sites but they offered no0 affiliate program or the ones that did, didn't pay at all. I tried them. So then I decided to try to find out how they were able to have literally thousands of rebates available from major brands. I couldn't find that out after days of trying. There is no way they could be contacting each and every company to find rebates to offer people. They update constantly so it would seem impossible. The next question was, how would the company offering the rebates to consumers make money from each rebate they offer? I couldn't find that out either.

So I decided rebates would not work. By the time I realized that, the site was already receiving a lot of visitors. I wish I had changed the domain name right away but I didn't so now I am stuck.

I love writing about ways to make money online but the subject seems to be over saturated? I just don't understand how it could be unique?

Thank you for taking the time to have a conversation about this subject. Hopefully, we can all help each other become more successful online.

PS. I have a domain I purchased ( I won't say the domain extension because I am not here to promote my sites) the name is The Ugly Virgin. It is NOT at all adult related. It is a long story, the name. Anyway, I thought that I would build a site called Make Money Online With The Ugly Virgin. I decided to do that because I loved the name, thought it was catchy. So I thought I would move everything to that domain. Then I thought that will not work, everyone will come to the site finding it looking for adult stuff. Am I wrong? Could it be a theme or the unique niche that you mean when you say make your site about making money online "unique"?

Please feel free to delete the domain name if you like. As I said, I am not trying to promote my domains here.

Thank you again!

When I figure out which domain I am going to use, I will link to your site. I think you have a lot of important information that is truly helpful. Shelby

shelby wallace

5/20/2008 10:10:07 AM

Hi Sarah. Thank you for the kind words. I'm glad you find my blog helpful. I hope to see you around! Best of luck with your blog!

Jeff

5/20/2008 12:39:28 PM

Hi Jeff, I found your blog this morning and am glad I did. I have hung in there on this particular blog for 16 months and counting now and have only recently decided to take it by the horns because people were surprising me by continuing to read, comment and subscribe even when I was posting very inconsistently last year. This told me that something I was saying was helping people and at that point it evolved into a calling of some sort.

Thank you for the motivation and the advice! I have found blogs like yours to be SO helpful to me. I am grateful for all the information you and others like you put out there.

Sarah

5/21/2008 3:34:43 AM

Hi Chris. That is a very good question. It certainly is possible to be part of a very small niche which may not get much traffic from other blogs. This may not be a bad problem to have though. You can clearly position yourself as the guru in your niche. I would continue to stay focused on publishing quality content. Let your advice speak for itself. I would also continue to network with the few others in your niche. If you build a rapport with them, they should be happy to link to anything good you have to say.

Because there many not be many bloggers in your niche, it might also be a good idea to focus on Search Engines. Figure out what people are searching Google for related to your niche and be sure you highlight those keywords in your posts. Use them in headings and add them as tags in your post. Eventually, the search traffic should reach your blog and you can capture readers that way.

Best of luck to you!

Jeff

5/21/2008 6:04:45 AM

Hi Jeff

Interesting post, but I have the opposite problem ... rather than being a small minnow in an already crowded niche, I seem to be the only one in a very specific niche!! I'm reflecting the experience of people in choirs - both singers and choir leaders. Now there are an AWFUL LOT of choirs in the world and I know much of what I say will be interesting to a lot of people, but how to reach them??!!

Often advice is given to seek out similar blogs and leave comments on them. Well, I've found the half a dozen or so choir blogs out there and have left comments even though my approach to singing, etc. is very different to theirs.

So ... do you have any advice for those lucky people who have started their own niche? How to make it more crowded??!!

My blog: http://singing-thoughts.blogspot.com

singingman

7/16/2008 9:05:09 AM

About ezdiyelectricity.com, the most recent 'Weekly Buzz winner'. Is this your idea of a blog? I don't get it.

Jim Green

7/16/2008 9:20:16 AM

Hi Jim. I do think its a great example of a blog used to promote one's self and one's business. He has a fancy cover page, that's all. Darren Rowse of ProBlogger fame has the same format. When you look into his site a little deeper, he has how-to articles, product reviews, and answers to readers' questions. Yes, I would say this is a very informative blog - just not in the sense of the "personal diary" type of blog.

I will cover business blogging in more detail in a separate post.

Jeff