One reason I suggest choosing a niche that somehow applies to your life is that coming up with topics and actually writing good articles is child’s play.
Take my site Cyclebaron.com for example.
Granted I outsource content, but any day of the week I can whip out a decent article because I actually go mountain biking.
For instance, one of our short vacations this summer was in Whistler, BC to ride in the famed bike park for a few days.
Not only did I have a blast riding in the bike park, but it made for a good article. I didn’t go there so I could write an article. It just turned out I could publish an article.
I could also write an article on the Whistler free pump tracks.
I already do write about Whistler on my travel site. Because we live only 1.5 hours away, we go to Whistler quite a bit… especially since travel outside of Canada isn’t happening.
I can write personal stories and experiences for most of my niche sites.
That’s why I chose the niches I did.
Some I like better than others, but if push comes to shove, I can crank out good, fun articles on most of them.
Maybe one day I’ll get sick and tired of paying for content and decide to write everything myself.
I could do that.
I could write 2 to 4 articles per day.
My biggest site would get one article per day (gotta treat the big earner well).
The rest of the sites would get a few articles per month.
That would be slow growth, but sometimes it’s tempting given the thousands I pour into content each month. All those thousands would go into my pocket.
The big downside is I would have to start working hard.
These emails would go up in smoke. I suppose some of you would rejoice, but I like writing these emails.
Some people think I’m insane
I know many niche site publishers, especially the big affiliate marketers think my approach is insane.
They don’t care about being in niches that apply to their life.
They choose niches that pay out big bucks – pills, credit cards, insurance, etc.
The FAMOUS FAT STACKS COURSE BUNDLE...
- Keyword research (my methods for uncovering low competition KWs),
- On-site SEO,
- Systematizing content publishing,
- How I attract thousands of links naturally, and
- My dead-simple Pinterest strategy for Pinterest traffic.
I can’t fault that logic.
Many of them print money.
But it’s not fun, at least for me.
I really liked writing my bike park article
I enjoyed writing about my new suitcase on another site.
I had fun writing about my Banana Republic shirts on yet another site.
I love writing about hotels I stay in here and there.
I had a blast writing articles about the two vehicles we own. I could write dozens for each car.
It also explains why I don’t have a niche site about pets. I don’t have a pet. I don’t want a pet. I know nothing about pets and would struggle coming up with anything to say.
It’s not that I think the pets niche is bad. I think it’s great if you have a pet or pets.
Same with photography. I think it’s an amazing niche but I’m not into it at all.
I am into clothes, travel, cars, nature, biking, spas, sports (playing), smartwatches, blogging and beards/shaved heads to list out some of my niches.
Your life is a blog… probably a couple blogs
What, in your life is relevant to your blog or niche site?
Write about that.
Usually, these articles write themselves.
That’s why the big niches are big…
They’re big, as in have a huge audience, because they have broad appeal, which likely includes you.
Not every niche applies to us all, but many do apply to each of us.
Most of us buy things, eat food, do activities, visit places, drive a car and/or bike, use tech, have pets, play video games, listen to/play music, have a hobby, etc.
Or, figure out how your life applies to your niche
If you have a site, close up your keyword research software for a few hours, and think up ways your life applies to your niche.
If you’re into the credit cards niche, what card(s) do you have? Perhaps apply for a few more cards to see what they’re like.
If you’re in personal finance, plan out some 30-day personal finance challenge for yourself such as saving $X amount, setting up a budgeting app or something.
If you’re in the food niche and haven’t already, come up with your own dishes, make them and blog it.
Where does the keyword research software come into play?
Once you have your topics, run them through KW research software to discover the best wording for search.
I do this a lot.
Instead of using KW research software for content ideas, I use it to help pinpoint the best wording for SEO… once I have the topics already.
Returning to my Whistler bike park article – why did I take the kids angle?
I did that because it was a question I had before the trip. I didn’t want to buy tickets, rent a bike and everything else so that the trip revolved around the bike park if it’s not suitable for kids.
Usually, if I have a question, other folks do as well.
Jon runs the place around here. He pontificates about launching and growing online publishing businesses, aka blogs that make a few bucks. His pride and joy is the email newsletter he publishes that’s “the best blogging email newsletter around.”
Hyperbole? Maybe, but go check it out to see what some readers say.
In all seriousness, Jon is the founder and owner of a digital media company that publishes a variety of web properties visited and beloved by millions of readers monthly. Fatstacks is where he shares a glimpse into his digital publishing business.
