How To Start a Blog – Beginner’s Guide for 2022

How To Start a Blog – Beginner’s Guide for 2022

المسوق الالكتروني    March 10, 2022   

So, you want to start a blog huh? Great idea!

But…how the heck do you get started? There’s so much info out there on the web, and everyone’s telling you to do different things. Who do you listen to? Where’s the starting point?

Damnit, maybe you should just forget it – it’s too confusing!

Well, hold up. I used to be a blogging newbie too. I had the same problems. I started my blog (BloggingBasics101.com) all the way back in 2006, and I knew less than nothing about blogging. In fact, it was only the week before I’d learned what a blog was.

Now I know a ton about them, and my blog’s doing pretty well – I receive more than 300,000 unique visitors per month which makes me consider myself someone you could listen to and learn from when it comes to building your own blog. I’m not some sort of Guru, but I certainly do know the basics.

I promise it’ll be simple, relatively easy, and definitely easy to understand (no stupid jargon). Sound good?

Awesome, let’s move on.

Why you should create a blog and join the blogging community

So below, I’m going to outline exactly what you need to do to get started and set up your own personal blog. Before we dive in though, I really want to talk about WHY you should build a blog.

Note: If you already have a solid idea of the whys, then skip this and go right ahead with the guide.

1. Blogging has quickly become one of the most popular ways of communicating and spreading information and news. There are literally millions of blogs online (don’t worry, you can make yours stand out and get noticed!).
2. It’s a great way to express yourself and also a fantastic way to share information with others.
3. You become a better person and a better writer.
4. The best reason? You can make money doing it!

I bet you already knew all of that, but it’s nice to be reminded.

One very last thing before we get started:

Creating your own blog can take a little while, probably up to 30 minutes. So grab yourself a coffee or juice (whatever you fancy) and let’s get stuck in. If you need any help during the set-up process, get in touch with me here and I’ll help as best I can and answer any questions you might have).

Disclosure: This guide to starting your own blog contains some affiliate links. If you purchase any service through one of these links I may earn a small commission, this is at no extra cost to you.

The Steps Covered In This Blogging Guide

It’s nowhere near as difficult as setting up a website from scratch (there’s very little technical ability needed here). In fact, there’s no coding required by you. Good news, huh?

How to Start a Blog in 5 Steps:

There are five main steps you need to do in order to start a blog. If you follow this guide exactly, you’ll have your own blog set up in 30 minutes or less.

1. Choose a great blog platform
2. Choose a web host for your blog
3. How to Set up a blog on your own domain
4. Design your new blog
5. Useful resources for blogging

So, we made it. Phew. Better late than never! So, without further ado, let’s jump into step 1.

Step 1 – Choose your preferred blogging platform

Choosing where you want to build blog is pretty much the first thing you have to do. I’m going to take a leap and assume you’ve heard of WordPress, and this is the platform I advocate. It’s massive.

It’s by far one of the biggest blogging platforms in the world, with countless plugins and add-ons and almost infinite ways to design and layout your blog.

There are more than 82 million active users of WordPress = a lot, basically.

There are other alternatives, however, and they are listed below:

• Blogger – Definitely the next best thing to WordPress.
• Tumblr – Half social network, half blog. Interesting, and very simple to use.

Even though WordPress is bigger (and probably better) than those two, here are my reasons why you should still go with WordPress:

1. Super easy set-up and is free to use
2. Tons of free themes and layouts (I’m not kidding, there are gazillions).
3. There’s a massive support forum in case you get stuck (you won’t, but it’s nice to have it there if you need it).
4. Your blog will be insanely fast and it’ll also look Functionality and form – perfect!
5. People can interact with you easily. Your content can be shared, commented on, and so on.

Here’s an article about different blogging platforms (including WordPress), give it a read:

How to Choose a Blogging Platform – (updated for 2022)

Now, Step 2 (see, we’re moving fast now!)

Step 2 – Self-hosting or a free alternative?

Whoa, slow down there! This is the biggest decision you’ll have to make before we go any further. You need to decide whether to pay for your blog or grab a free one.

WordPress, Tumblr, and Blogger all offer free blogs for anyone. Awesome, right? It’s perfect for those of us who aren’t super serious about blogging. But it does have downsides:

1) You won’t be able to get your OWN domain name

On a free blog, your blog’s web address (your URL) will be butt-ugly. Like, really ugly. In short, create a free blog with any other the above free blog services and it’ll look like this:

• yourblog.wordpress.com
• yourblog.blogspot.com
• yourblog.tumblr.com

I know, ugly right?

2) Limits and more limits

There are some limits to free blogs. You can’t fully monetize it, and you don’t have the possibility to upload all those videos and images you want to show everyone – it’s all limited. Worse still, you won’t even have access to the free themes offered by WordPress.

3) You DON’T OWN your blog

It might sound silly at first, but you don’t actually own your blog. It’s hosted on someone else’s web property and they can delete it if they want to. They have done so in the past, and keep doing it in the future. Which means all your hard work on your blog, all those countless hours of writing blog posts might have vanished within seconds. Sad…

On the other hand, with a self-hosted blog on your own domain name – you are the REAL owner of your blog. You’ll be able to name your blog whatever you want, for example, “YourName.com” or “YourAwesomeBlog.com. You can end it with .com, .co.uk, .net, .org, or virtually any other web suffix. Add to that unlimited bandwidth for videos, images, and content plus the free themes and you have a winning combo.

So how much is hosting and a domain name? Not as much as you’re thinking, fortunately. It usually works out to about $5 to $10 per month, depending on your hosting provider which is less than a couple of coffees.

If you still have questions, here’s some further information for you to look at:

• Should I Choose a Hosted or Non-hosted Blogging Platform?

Step 3 – Start a blog on your own domain (if you chose self-hosting and a custom domain)

I’m going to push ahead based on the premise you’ve chosen WordPress, and if you haven’t, you should. Seriously, it’s the best.

If you’re still a little confused by what a self-hosted blog is, allow me to explain and how you can go about setting one up for yourself.

You’ll need to come up with a domain name you like and also choose a hosting company that can host your blog.

• Domain: The domain is basically the URL of your website. Examples: google.com (Google.com is the domain), Facebook.com (Facebook.com is the domain). See? Simple!
• Hosting: Hosting is basically the company that puts your website up on the internet so everyone else can see it. Everything will be saved on there. Think of it as a computer hard-drive on the internet where your blog will be saved.

Disclosure: I recommend using Hostgator for web hosting. If you click through one of my links and make a purchase, I will receive a commission, which helps me keep bloggingbasics101.com up and running.

Personally, I use Hostgator (for my blog domain and hosting), and I’ve got nothing but good things to say about it.

It’s probably one of the cheapest (less than $3 per month) hosting providers out there. A domain name will cost around $10-15 a year, but with Hostgator, you can get that for FREE first year.

If you do sign up with Hostgator be sure to use the coupon code BB101 as this will unlock the maximum discount they offer on all their hosting packages.

:). Big smiles for that!

They’re the providers I use for all of my blogs, including the one you’re reading right now.

If for any reason you don’t want to go with Hostgator, feel free to choose your own hosting company. Most, if not all of them, should have a “one-click” WordPress install solution on their admin panel.

That button will automatically install WordPress on your blog. Did I say it was simple or what?

All you need to do is sign up with Hostgator (or your chosen provider), choose your hosting plan and a domain name and look for the one-click WordPress install button on the admin panel.

If you are getting stuck at any point this guide may help as it has screenshots.

WordPress essentials aren’t often needed, but I’d recommend whois privacy (that will keep all your personal details private) and definitely automated backups (that’ll save your website just in case anything fails or disappears so you won’t lose any or very little of your blog).

Start a Blog with Hostgator today and get an exclusive 60% discount with coupon BB101

Once WordPress is installed on your website, all you have to do to start blogging is go to your WP-Admin page usually www.yourblognamehere.com/wp-admin and start writing by adding a new post.

At the start, the layout looks confusing, but it gets very understandable quickly. Don’t worry!

Step 4 – Designing your WordPress blog

Now, the fun bit.

Let’s make your blog look exactly how you want it to. To choose a new theme, you can either head to Appearance > Themes and install a free WordPress theme or you can head to a premium theme website like ThemeForest.net and buy a theme for around $40.

I usually choose something that looks professional and pretty easy to customize. WordPress also has this awesome feature that allows you to change themes with just a few clicks. So if you start getting tired of your current blog template, you can just switch to another one without losing any precious content or images.

Remember, your blog’s design should reflect both you and your personality, but also what the blog is about. There’s no point having a football-orientated theme if your blog is about tennis, understand?

On top of that, it should be easy to navigate if you want people to stick around. If it’s tricky and difficult to move around it, people won’t stay. After all design is a subjective art; meaning everyone likes different things.

But no one likes ugly websites, and they especially hate websites that need a university degree to navigate. Make it easy for them.

For more reading, I’ve put together 3 blog posts about designing your blog. Feel free to check them through.

• Blog Design: Keep It Clutter Free and User-Friendly
• Advice for Blog Design and Blog Goals
• Is there any software I can use to make my own graphics, button, and banner?

Last step! Woo!

Step 5 – Useful Resources For Beginner Bloggers

Bloggers come to blogging arena with varying degrees of online and social media experience, but we’ve all made more than a few newbie mistakes – there’s always room for more learning and improvement, whether you’re a beginner or you’ve been blogging for years.

These articles may help you avoid some of the growing pains when it comes to your first blog – enjoy!:

• 5 Beginning Blogging Mistakes You Can Fix
• Choosing a Blogging Niche
• 7 Ways to Boost your success as a Blogger

And that’s it! I’m more than confident that your initial blog set up should now be finished and ready to go, and all that should have been really damn easy (unlike my first time, lucky you!). If you are having any problems installing WordPress on Hostgator then this guide may help.

If by some unfortunate circumstance you get stuck or have any questions for me about how to create a blog, just get in touch with me or leave a comment below. I’ll help you out with any problems.

How to Make Money with Your Blog in 2022

How to Make Money with Your Blog in 2022

المسوق الالكتروني    February 21, 2022   

 You want to make money, right? Of course you do. Everyone wants – and needs -to make money. So you started a blog since you’ve heard it’s an easy way to make cash, but you’re not quite sure how to actually make money doing it. Or maybe you already have a blog and you’re exploring ways to monetize it.

No matter which group you’re in, making money with a blog – whether it’s a hobby blog or a business blog –is possible. It’s not a get rich quick ordeal, but if you do it right, you could make enough to support your family and more. Let’s dive in and see how you can make a profit with your blog.

Monetize with CPC or CPM Ads

One of the most common ways bloggers make money is through placing ads on their site. There are two popular types of ads:

• CPC/PPC Ads: Cost per click (also called pay per click) ads are usually banners that you place in your content or sidebar. Each time a reader clicks on the ad, you are paid for that click.
• CPM Ads: CPM Ads, or “cost per 1,000 impressions,” are ads that pay you a fixed amount of money based on how many people view your ad.

Perhaps the most popular network for placing these types of ads is Google AdSense. With this program, you do not need to be in direct contact with advertisers; you simply place the banner on your site, Google chooses ads relevant to your content, and your viewers click on the ads. There are countless similar programs available if you find that AdSense doesn’t work for you, such as Chitika, Infolinks, and Media.net.

Sell Private Ads

Working with advertising networks isn’t your only option when it comes to selling ads. If you end up with enough traffic, advertisers may come directly to you and ask you to place their ad on your site. You can also contact advertisers yourself. The biggest difference from the above mentioned option is that there is no middle man, which means you can set your own ad rates.

Selling private ads can come in the form of banners, buttons, or links. You can even make money writing sponsored posts where you write about or give a review of an advertiser’s product or service. Another option is to write an underwritten post or series, which is where you can write about any topic, but the advertiser pays for a “Brought to you by” mention in the content.

The ways you make money with this can vary. For instance, you might charge a one-time fee for a link within a post. If you are hosting banner ads, you might charge your partner monthly.

Bonus tip: To maximize your income, you can also choose to sell sponsorship space in your email newsletters (here are 5 best email marketing software), podcasts, and videos.

Include Affiliate Links in Your Content

Affiliate marketing is also another great tool for monetizing your blog. Here is how affiliate marketing works:

1. An advertiser has a product she wants to sell. She agrees to give you a commission from each sale if the buyer is coming from your site.
2. She gives you a unique link that tracks your affiliate code. That way, she knows when a buyer used your link to make a purchase.
3. You include your affiliate link on your site. You can do this directly in the content or through banner ads. If a reader clicks on your unique link and buys the product you have recommended, you earn a percentage of what she purchased.

You can utilize affiliate marketing through ad networks like Amazon Associates, or you can create private partnerships with advertisers and businesses with an affiliate program.

Sell Digital Products

If you would rather not advertise other people’s products on your site, or if you are looking for another stream of income, consider selling digital products. This can include items like:

• eBooks
• Online courses/workshops
• Images, video, or music people can use in their own content
• Apps, plugins, or themes

Just remember that if you are going to choose one of these avenues that you make it relevant and useful to your readers. A lot of bloggers make the mistake of assuming they are developing a product their readers need; listen to your readers first, and then create a digital product that will meet their needs.

Use it as a Content Marketing Tool for Your Business

It is also possible to sell physical products on your blog and to make money that way. Instead of thinking of it as making money from your blog, however, think of your blog as a content marketing tool that will drive visitors to your business website.

The possibilities are practically endless when it comes to developing a business blog. You could sell hand-made products, books, manufactured products, and so much more. Or you might already have a business and decide to start a blog to convert loyal customers.

Lets say, for example, that you refurbish and resell used smartphones out of your home. You could use a blog to attract visitors to your website where you list your current phones for sale. Your blog might cover topics about DIY refurbishing. On one level, it seems counterintuitive because you want people to buy your phones, but it also helps you build a brand and gain recognition. Social media guru Jay Baer explains the concept on Copyblogger:

I was at a conference a few years ago, and this is where I first sort of started thinking about this concept, and their founder, Robert Johnson, was speaking…

He said, “Well our best customers are the people that think they can fix it themselves.”

But eventually you are going to get out of your depth either on that project on a project down the road, at which point who are you going to call? Are you going to call somebody randomly that you discovered on Google or are you going to call the guys who you just watched their logo in the corner of a 14-minute instructional video?

This concept can also be applied to services in all types of industries. For instance, if you offered electronic repair services as opposed to physical products, you could still use the same blogging concept to increase brand awareness and convert more clients.

Sell Memberships

Another option to make money is to sell memberships to exclusive corners of your website. For instance, a career blog might charge $10 per month for users to gain access to their job board. A startup business blog might sell memberships to their forums where people can get personalized advice about their business.

The key here is that your exclusive membership has to be more valuable than something your visitors can find for free somewhere else, so be sure you’re developing something of value and worth the price.

Use it to Build Your Credibility

Blogging to build credibility can lead to many money-making opportunities. For instance, let us say you start a blog in the finance industry. People start reading your content, and your blog becomes very popular. You are now a recognized figure in the finance industry.

Once you have that authority, people might approach you to co-author a book on debt management, or you could charge to speak at conferences or to run employee financial training days.

This certainly isn’t a direct form of making money blogging, but it has worked for many well-known bloggers, and it can work for you, too. If you’re looking for a direct revenue stream, popular blogs have sold for 4-7 figures (sometimes more) by selling their branding and content.

The biggest thing to keep in mind is that making money blogging is not possible by putting your site up and letting it sit there. The “if you build it, they will come” mentality doesn’t work here, so be sure you’re willing to put in the time. Most bloggers don’t see a spike of income for several months (sometimes years) after starting their blog. Before you dive too deep into blogging, remember these little bits of advice:

Create Quality Content

You are not going to make any money from your blog if people don’t read it. After all, your readers are the ones who are going to make you money, whether they’re clicking on your ads or buying your products. Always put your readers first.

Don’t Spend Your Time Exclusively on Your Blog

Developing a successful blog has a lot to do with building relationships. That can include relationships with sponsors, affiliate partners, or simply other bloggers who will direct traffic to your blog. Be sure some of your time is spent on forums and other blogs (or whatever works for you) to build these relationships and your blog.

Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment

Not all of these tips and avenues of income are going to work for you. Don’t be afraid to tweak your methods to see what works best for you and your readers.

Making money blogging can take a lot of persistence, but it can pay off in the long-run if you’re starting out from scratch. Just remember that you don’t have to use all of these money-making avenues at once. Consider what other people in your industry are doing, and start from there.

Over time, you will learn what works for you and what doesn’t. If you’re looking to make money from your blog, which option will you start with?

Let me know in the comment section :).

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Choose the Best Blogging Platform – Comparison 2022

Choose the Best Blogging Platform – Comparison 2022

المسوق الالكتروني    February 02, 2022   

 Deciding to start a blog comes with a lot of decisions to make. One such decision: What’s the best blogging platform should I use?

While there are numerous blogging platforms available, below we take a look at some of the most common platforms to help you make the best decision.

So What is the Best Blogging Platform?

WordPress.com

Price: Free

WordPress.com stores your site’s content for free on their servers. However, this means users receive a limited version of the WordPress software. Still, it’s a nice choice for hobby bloggers who don’t want to invest money. It’s also a good option for people who plan to upgrade to a self-hosted WordPress blog in the future.

Pros:

• No set-up costs.
• Simple to use; no coding or design knowledge required.
• Hundreds of themes to choose from.

Cons:

• Functionality is limited unless you pay for upgrades.
• It looks less professional.
• You do not technically own your blog, which means you have little control over advertising revenue. It also means WordPress can suspend your site at any time.
• Your site comes with .wordpress in the domain.

WordPress.org

Price: Free software; Approximately $3 per month for hosting. For a step by step guide, check my how to start blogging guide.

A self-hosted WordPress blog is one that uses the WordPress software on a third-party server. With it, you can install plugins, edit your HTML code, and more, giving you full control over your website while making it look more professional. A self-hosted WordPress blog is usually the best way to go for anyone willing to invest a couple of dollars per month. It’s ideal for business owners, professional brand builders, and any blogger looking to expand their site’s functionality and professional appearance. Discover more WordPress hosting providers at HostingFacts.com.

Pros:

• User-friendly with full control and customization options.
• Access to over 1,500 free themes and 20,000 free plugins.
• Search engine friendly options.

Cons:

• Hosting on a third-party server can require some technical knowledge, but most hosts (like Bluehost or Hostgator) offer quality technical support.
• Due to its popularity, WordPress is vulnerable to security threats.

Start your Blog with Hostgator today and get a 60% discount

Blogger

Price: Free

Since Blogger is owned by Google, you’ll have access to Google tools like AdSense, Analytics, etc. However, Blogger is not nearly as flexible as WordPress.org. This platform is great for hobby bloggers and brand builders who don’t want to invest any money but may want to make some money through ads. Since it is easy to use, it is also a great platform for beginner bloggers just learning the ropes.

Pros:

• Completely free and easy to use.
• Can place AdSense ads.
• Access to HTML code, so there are more customization options.

Cons:

• Fewer themes and storage space than WordPress.com.
• You cannot self-host, so your blog is dependent completely on Blogger’s current offerings.
• Your site will have .blogspot in the title.

Tumblr

Price: Free

Tumblr is easy to use and is a very social platform. This is the perfect place for bloggers who like the idea of “reblogging” posts. Its platform is best for microbloggers, so it’s perhaps not the best place to start if you are looking to develop long-form content.

Pros:

• Unlimited storage.
• Approximately 1,000 themes to choose from.
• HTML and CSS access for customization.

Cons:

• Backing up your blog and importing your content from other platforms is difficult.
• There are very limited plugin options.
• It is tough to monetize.

TypePad

Price: $8.95+/month

TypePad is a good platform for business professionals or brand builders who don’t mind investing some money every month into their blog. That price can pay in delivering more features and a more professional-looking site. However, most people will still tell business bloggers to choose a self-hosted WordPress platform due to its large community, but TypePad does have its advantages.

Pros:

• They host on their servers, but you own your blog.
• Unlimited storage space.
• Easy to use.

Cons:

• It costs a few dollars more per month than a self-hosted WordPress site.
• Customization options can be limited.

WIX

Price: $4.08+/month

WIX is a good website option with blogging capabilities that is ideal for businesses. With its ecommerce functions, WIX makes building your entire ecommerce business website simple, although full control over your online shop is somewhat limited.

Pros:

• Unlimited bandwidth.
• Ad integration.
• Easy to use.
• Domain registration options.
• Up to 20 GB storage.
• Hundreds of professional-looking templates.

Cons:

• More expensive than a self-hosted WordPress blog.
• Ecommerce tools aren’t very advanced.
• Limited customization options.

Any of the free options are ideal for novice or hobby bloggers who don’t want to invest any money while the paid options are better for business blogs. Choosing the right one comes down to how you want your site to function. Which platform do you think you’ll choose?

Quick reference

Mike Wallagher of Start Blogging Online put together a nice comparison of blogging platforms you can reference as you choose a blogging platform.

Be sure to click on the image to see a larger version.

Choosing a Blogging Niche

Choosing a Blogging Niche

المسوق الالكتروني    January 25, 2022   

 Are you considering starting a blog? Great! You have the first step down.

Now you have to decide what your blog will be about. Of course, you can always start a blog talking about anything and everything. However, these types of blogs aren’t often as successful.

That’s because people search the Internet for one reason only: to solve a problem. That problem may be to find entertainment, or it may be to answer a question. It could be any number of imaginable problems. But when readers are looking to solve a problem and your blog is nothing but ramblings on random topics, how is your blog going to solve their problem?

That’s why niche blogs are popular. For instance, if you want to stay up-to-date on fashion trends, you’ll follow fashion blogs because you trust that they’ll continuously solve your problem. If you want to alleviate boredom, you might hit up Buzzfeed or any number of entertainment blogs that continuously deliver a solution to your boredom.

A niche blog narrows your target audience, but it also keeps them coming back.

How exactly do you “find your niche?” Check out these tips below.

Choose Something You Know and Love

Experts will constantly tell you to blog about what you’re passionate about. It may sound cliche and a little unrealistic on the surface, but there’s a reason for it.

Stacey Roberts on ProBlogger says, “Something that seems present and that shines through in the blogs that I read and love is passion.”

When you blog about what you’re passionate about, several things happen:

1. You’re more likely to put the time and effort into your blog to make it shine.
2. You’re less likely to abandon your blog in the future.
3. You’re less likely to run out of ideas.
4. It shows through in your writing, and your readers can feel that. This, in turn, will lead to a larger following.

If you go the other route and choose a niche solely because you think it’s profitable, you’re bound to run into burnout and dissatisfaction. Another disadvantage of going the profitability route is that you probably don’t have as much knowledge in those subjects as you do in what you are passionate about. If you don’t know what you’re talking about, why would anyone read your blog?

How to Find Your Passion

Okay, so following your passion would be fine and dandy if you had any idea what your passion was. Just a few questions to get you started include:

• What are your hobbies?
• How do you spend your free time?
• What is the one topic you could go on about for hours if your friends or family let you?
• What types of classes did you enjoy in high school or college?
• What do you enjoy reading and learning about?
• If you could do one thing the rest of your life regardless of salary, what would you do?

Still not sure? Try this exercise: Start with your first instinct. Create a list of 10 separate blog post headlines/ideas. If you can’t come up with 10, then this probably isn’t the niche for you. If you do have 10 but aren’t thrilled about actually drafting the blog posts, then it’s worth considering a different industry.

If those 10 ideas sound good to you, consider writing up those blog posts on your computer before you get into developing your site. If you find it difficult to finish those first 10 posts and are already cringing at the topic, then it’s probably not right for you. The good news is that you didn’t waste time and money setting up a blog that you would only abandon later.

Do you find yourself excitingly coming up with more ideas after writing those first 10 posts? Then you could be on the right track! The good news? Now you have content to put up on your site once you’ve set up your blog.

Find a Hole in the Market

The truth is that no matter what topic you choose to write about, there is already a blog or million out there in that niche. However, not everyone has explored every nick and cranny of every niche. That’s where the profitability can come in.

For instance, Blogging Basics 101 started because there were plenty of blogs about blogging, but there was nowhere for beginners to get their answers.

You can narrow your niche in the same way by adjusting your target audience to those who rarely get attention, such as novice versus advanced individuals in your industry. Another option is to focus on a certain geographical area.

Remember, however, that there must be a need in that end of the market.

Keep in mind that you don’t have to stick with your first blog and its niche if you’re feeling burnt out. However, taking the time to explore which niche you want to start in can save you a lot of time and money in the future instead of jumping from niche to niche.

The biggest thing that will help you choose the right niche is to really think about it instead of jumping in head-first with no idea.

Still not sure? Tell us where you’re getting stuck in your decision-making.

Finding Your Niche

What if you have many passions and no focus? What if you’re not sure how to find your niche? In Finding Your Niche Online and Succeeding In It Amandalyn advises making a list:

If you have a hard time finding your niche, then ask yourself a few questions and write down all of your answers to make a list.

• What are your hobbies?
• What things do you like and enjoy doing?
• How do you spend your free time?
• What are your favorite topics to talk about?
• When you were young, what was fun for you?
• What topics do you know more than most about?
• Are there certain classes that you have taken extensively?

Finding your niche can be daunting at first because, truly, there are blogs in every niche. You are not going to be the first. However, if you look, you will see that there are holes to be filled. Find a need and fill that need. I started Blogging Basics 101 because there are many intermediate and advanced tech sites for bloggers, but there wasn’t a place for beginners. Blogging about blogging wasn’t my first niche, either; it evolved from my first blog (a personal blog where I certainly didn’t even consider a niche as part of my blogging plan) where I was receiving a lot of questions about how to do specific things with a blog (like crossing out words or adding things to a sidebar).

Let that last part be a lesson too: You may start out with one thing and move to another. Sometimes the best-laid plans are just a stepping stone.

Dominating Your Niche

Now you have your niche, but you want to do even more. What’s the next step? In How to Dominate Your Niche, Brian Clark suggests

What you’re looking to do is intensify the niche by doing something more, or differently (or maybe even better) than the existing players. You do this by first evaluating and understanding where the niche is currently, and position your content in a way that pushes the envelope.

You can evaluate your niche simply by being part of the community of that niche. (Is it me, or do I always come back to community in my articles?) As you read and comment at other blogs in your niche you’ll have a sense of what is being covered and what is not. You can start to fill the holes in the niche or take a new approach to an old issue.

This, I believe, is where you’ll start to position yourself to make some money from your passion. As I wrote in my article Advice for Making Money with Your Blog, if you have a product (via your blog) or are representing a business niche, it is easier to sell that product or specific niche to advertisers. Advertisers know who they want to reach and if your product or business is complementary, then they see the value of advertising with you more readily than they would if you were just a blogger without focus.

You Niche & Your Network

How does being in a particular niche translate to being part of a network (something many bloggers are doing these days)? Deb Ng cautions you to be careful. In Earning Money as a Blogger: Are You Too Nichey for Your Network? Deb writes

[S]ometimes being nichey in a network isn’t always the best career move. . .If you do want to touch upon a niche, my recommendation is that it will probably be just as profitable, if not more, to start your own niche blog. This way you can post on your own schedule and keep all the profits for yourself. Yes, it’s slower getting started, but if you rock the promotion and know what you’re doing, you’ll do well.