So you’ve decided to create a website and start a blog, maybe for fun, but more likely as an income stream but how do you decide what to write about? If you want to know how to choose a niche for a blog, there are a few things that you need to consider.
I mean, let’s be honest, there are literally millions of subjects that you could potentially write about.
That, however, is often the problem. The ability to be able to choose absolutely anything can be completely overwhelming and leave us unable to make a simple decision.
It’s a funny thing really, give us a few options and we can usually make a preferred choice but throw in infinite possibilities and we have a meltdown. We end up in a head spin unable to focus and usually unable to come up with even one single idea or find ourselves with far too many.
How Do You Choose a Niche For a Blog
Believe it or not, this is actually a really common problem for a lot of people starting out. I remember when I first learned how to build a website several years back and had the task of coming up with my own niche.
I literally panicked and couldn’t come up with a single idea, so much so that I couldn’t even remember what my own interests were. I mean, how on earth does that happen?
The good thing though is that it’s easy enough to figure out a potential niche idea if you think about a few simple things beforehand. Chances are that there is something you are already doing in your day-to-day life that is the perfect niche choice for you.
Why Is A Niche Important
A niche is important because you want to figure out what your website is actually going to be about and you’ll want to centre all your content around that.
If you have a variety of different things that you’re interested in, it’s far better to create separate websites for each interest rather than trying to combine them all together on one site.
It doesn’t make sense to write a blog one day about baking the perfect cake then the next day write about how to change the alternator on a car. It’s not cohesive and it’s messy and you’ll end with a site full of random unrelated mish-mash.
Choosing a niche and keeping all your content related to that niche makes a much more effective website. You’re also more likely to become a trusted authority within that area if that’s the sole topic of your site.
If someone is researching a particular topic, they’re far more likely to trust the information on a site that is solely dedicated to just that topic. This is far less likely on a site that has a whole bunch of different random stuff on a whole bunch of different random topics.
You Don’t Have to Stay in Your First Niche
It’s also worth noting that your first niche isn’t always your last niche. Many people start out with one idea but later switch to something entirely different because they lose interest in their initial topic of choice or discover another topic that they find way more interesting.
If you find that your first niche choice isn’t panning out the way you thought it would, don’t be afraid to change your mind. There are plenty of other ideas out there so don’t get stuck in a rut because you think you can’t change direction and start again.
You can and probably will and possibly even numerous times so don’t be too hard on yourself trying to get it right the first time right out of the gate.
Think About Your Own Hobbies As Your Niche
One of the best ways to come up with a niche idea is to think about your own hobbies and the things you like to do in your own spare time.
These are things that you obviously enjoy doing so therefore, it would make sense that you’d probably enjoy writing about them as well. We’ll talk a bit more about that in a moment and come up with some simple ideas.
A lot of people though make the mistake of picking a niche because they think it’s popular or lucrative but there’s a problem with that.
If you have little to no interest in the subject you’re writing about, you’re going to get very bored very quickly. You’ll end up losing the want to continue writing about it, not to mention, you’ll struggle to come up with new content ideas.
It’s also much harder to write about something you don’t particularly care about and you know absolutely nothing about.
If you at least have an interest in the topic and want to learn more about it then sure, you can research the heck out of it and wing it until you eventually know everything there is to know on the subject.
Many a website have started out this way and eventually become authorities within their chosen niche so that is absolutely an option. Nevertheless, you should at the very least want to know more about that topic to keep yourself interested in it.
Your Niche Might Be Right In Front Of You
If you really sit down and think about the activities or interests that you actively engage in on a regular basis, there’s probably something there that you could use as your niche. It could be something as simple as gardening or reading books.
Maybe you’re a music, movie or TV show fanatic or maybe you’re a natural at photography or painting. Even something like knitting could be a niche.
If you think about YouTubers and the content they create, it’s usually something hobby-related and those same ideas usually work just as well in a blog. These include things such as:
- Gaming
- Makeup Tutorials
- Hair Tutorials
- Home DIY
- Cooking
- Arts and Craft
- Gym Workouts
Do you play any kind of sports or are you a keen traveller? What about pets? You might be a pet owner who’s obsessed with accessorising your fur baby with all sorts of things from costumes to sparkly bling and that’s a niche all of its own right there.
The ideas are literally endless because even the smallest little pass time or interest could be the start of a very successful niche website.
What Do You Regularly Search For On Google
Another thing that’s worth considering is what do you regularly search for on Google.
Is there one thing in particular that you search for more than anything else or something that you’re constantly looking for more information about? This could be something like diets, workouts, fashion, skincare, haircare, DIY how-to’s, etc.
This is actually how I came to choose my very first niche. It was something that I did on a daily basis in real life but it never occurred to me just how obsessed I was with it until I realised how often I was constantly searching for information on the topic.
If nothing instantly springs to mind, it might be a good idea to have a look at any tabs you may have open on your computer or phone. This might give you a light bulb moment if there’s a recurring topic showing up again and again.
Even checking through your search history if you’re still at a complete loss, could turn up something that you hadn’t realised you were spending so much time searching for.
And don’t worry if you think that your niche choice is something that nobody else would be interested in.
It’s highly unlikely that you’re the only person in the entire world with that interest. If you’re searching for it then chances are that there are like-minded people out there just like you who are also searching for it too.
What About Your Skills Or Profession
Another option is to consider your past or present profession and any skills or qualifications you’ve achieved. If it’s something that you think other people would be interested in that you could write about then that could also be a potential niche idea too.
There are plenty of hairdressers, plumbers, bakers, etc, that set up their own blog websites to share tips, tricks and how-tos in their given area of expertise.
How many of us have looked up something like a plumbing issue and found a video or blog created by a qualified plumber who tells us step by step, how to fix the issue?
I’ve personally learned how to do a number of different things through some simple googling like how to do my own gel nails and bleach my own hair at home.
I (and by I, I mean my husband) have even learnt how to change over a radiator or realign a uPVC front door and these tutorials were not by novice DIYers.
All these articles and videos were shared by qualified professionals so your niche doesn’t just have to be a hobby or interest, it could well be your very profession.
What About Something You’ve Taught Yourself
It doesn’t necessarily have to be something that you’ve gained a qualification in either. It could be something that you’ve taught yourself and become really good at over the years that you could now share with other people.
Something like arts and crafts would be a good example of that although be careful that it’s not something you really should be qualified in before giving out advice.
Medical or legal are just some examples of that and even if you think you’re an unqualified expert in that field, it’s probably best that you avoid those types of topics unless you have a qualification to back it up.
If it’s something that could potentially cause harm if advised incorrectly, then maybe steer well clear of those niches.
Just because you’re a dab hand at fixing the electrics in your own home and you haven’t blown the house up yet doesn’t mean your unqualified advice isn’t going to blow someone else’s house up. That’s a bit of an extreme example but you get the idea.
Can You Monetise Your Niche
Well, technically, you can monetise any website. Adding ads to it will do that but can you recommend products for that niche? If affiliate marketing is your monetising route, are there affiliate programs relating to that niche?
For most niches, the answer to that is yes but it’s still worth doing some research to discover the full extent of the products that you could promote within that area.
Here are some of the most obvious products that could be promoted from the niche examples we mentioned above :
| Niche Ideas | Products You Could Potentially Promote |
| Gaming | Games, Consoles, Game/Console Merchandise, Controllers, Headsets, Gaming Chairs, Gaming Desks. |
| Photography | Cameras, Lenses, Lighting, Editing Software, Green Screens, Camera Stands, Printers, Drones. |
| Hair Care | Shampoos, Conditioners, Hair dryers, Straightener, Curlers, Hair Treatments, Extensions, Brushes. |
| Home DIY | Workbenches, Drills, Materials, Tool Boxes, Ladders, Saws, Screwdrivers, Hammers, Spanners, |
| Cooking | Recipe Books, Blenders, Food Processors, Utensils, Aprons, Pots, Pans, Scales, Knives, Tupperware. |
| Pets | Pet Clothes, Collars, Pet Food, Grooming, Beds, Toys, Pens, Automatic Feeders, Bowls, Flea Control. |
| Gym | Equipment, Supplements, Gym Wear, Fitbits, Weights, Exercise Mats, Wireless Headphones, Trainers. |
Can You Write Lots Of Informational Content?
On the other side of the coin, Is there a ton of informational content that you can also write about?
This is extremely important because the last thing you want to do is have a website that offers little or no value other than just product links that send your visitors off to a purchase site.
People are usually looking for information first before they want to consider buying something, so the more helpful information you can give them, the better.
They want that information and help and if you can give that to them, they’re far more likely to return and to trust your recommendations when they are looking to purchase.
They don’t want to feel like the site is constantly trying to sell them something or send them off to another site for purchase reasons. It also won’t help your site rankings either because Google doesn’t like it and your readers probably won’t like it either.
In general, it’s recommended that around 80% of your content is informational/helpful and the other 20% of your content is promotional/monetised. It’s a good idea to keep that in mind when selecting your ideal niche.
Narrow It Down
Once you’ve decided on your ideal niche, the next step is to think about narrowing it down. A common mistake made by newbies is going too broad and by broad, I mean something like the pet niche.
That’s way too broad and you’d need to narrow it down to a smaller sub-section of that niche like one specific pet type like cats or dogs.
You can go even smaller still and maybe stick to a particular breed. You could also pick a very specific product range as your niche like dog clothes or dog grooming.
Just make sure that you don’t narrow it down so much that you end up leaving yourself with very limited ideas for informational content.
The more you can narrow it down whilst still leaving plenty of room for informational ideas (and the option to expand as the site grows), the more likely you’ll be able to compete and be successful in that chosen niche.
You can’t jump into the big deep blue ocean as a small fish and expect to be able to compete against the bigger more established sharks. Unless you’ve already chosen a relatively narrow niche, narrowing it down is a very important part of your niche selection.
Get A Helping Hand From ChatGPT
Another great way to help figure out a good niche choice is to see what kinds of topics you could potentially write about. This alone could be the make-or-break factor in your entire niche-deciding process.
This is where the likes of AI tools such as ChatGPT come in really handy because in case you didn’t know already, ChatGPT is a wizard at coming up with content ideas.
So, let’s say you’re thinking about your interests or hobbies but you don’t see how you could write about them.
Believe it or not, that’s actually a big one when it comes to choosing a niche because a lot of people will think, well, I love wine or I love going for long walks but how could I possibly make that a niche for a website and what would I write about?
Well, you’ll be surprised at how many ideas ChatGPT can come up with. Simply ask ChatGPT something like “Can you suggest some content ideas for a website about [your niche idea]”.
This will give you a general idea of the types of topics you could cover. You can then take each one of these individual ideas (in the example above for long walks, it gave me 20 ideas) and ask ChatGPT to suggest a number of blog post ideas for each one.
This should give you enough insight as to whether or not this is a niche you’d enjoy writing about. You can also use this same technique if you’re torn between different niche ideas as one might bring back content that interests and suits you more than another.
Get Your Niche Thinking Cap On
Picking a niche isn’t always as easy as you might first think but with some simple brainstorming about your own activities, you should be able to come up with numerous ideas to centre your content around.
You might even find yourself with too many ideas but you could always use those on a future website down the road, right?
And if too many ideas were your issue in the first place, then pick the one that you have the most interest in, knowledge about or spend the most time doing.
It may even help to write them all down and number them in order of interest, knowledge, time spent doing, etc to see which one comes up as the best option, but don’t get rid of that list though.
As I just mentioned above, these could all be potential websites in the future if you ever feel like expanding your online business.
I hope this has given you some inspiration and got those creative juices flowing but if you’re still at a loss, then take a break and do something else around the house.
The best ideas often come to us when we’re not trying to force them and you never know, whatever it is you go off to do to take a break, could end up being the very niche idea you were looking for in the first place.
If you’d like to share your own stories or if you need a hand or have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments below and I will be more than happy to help you out.
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A great article that breaks down how to find a niche. This can be the hardest thing if you have no clue what to write about and as you say it’s important to write about things that are relevant to each other rather than random topics.
Many of us look at our hobbies and you’re right about saying that we should aim for hobbies that we have a passion for rather than choosing a niche because we think it’s popular. Nothing worse than choosing one that we run out of content to write about half way through.
Some great tips here that readers will find very useful.
Thanks Louise
It’s bad enough getting writer’s block when you’re writing about something you enjoy doing or learning but if it’s a topic you have no interest or knowledge in, it’s so much harder to get over that block.
I wonder how many websites have been abandoned over the years just for that one reason alone.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
This is a great article on how to choose a good niche for a blog Jessie. You have written this in such a thorough and informative manner that I don’t recall having this topic explained to me in easy to read terms.
I think a niche is important because you want to make sure it is something you are passionate about because you are going to end up doing a lot of work in this particular field whether you realize it or not.
I am curious in terms of changing your mind what niche you want to work in, if you decide to do another niche can you do that on your existing website or do you have to start all the way over again?
Hi Joseph
You’re so right. It sounds so easy in theory but once you start doing it, it becomes apparent very quickly just how much effort is required to run a website and keep it running.
There’s a lot of hard work involved and so much content writing, that it has to be something you really enjoy writing about otherwise you’ll burn out very quickly.
Many people burn out anyway when they’re writing about things they really enjoy let alone when they’re trying to write about topics that are of no interest to them.
In response to your question, It’s better to start a brand new website because your original site will have content relating to one niche and Google will already be familiar with that and your current rankings will also be a reflection of that.
If you start writing unrelated content on that same site, that will look inconsistent to Google (and your followers) and it could hurt your rankings, traffic and domain authority.
I would start a brand new site and either keep the old one as a part-time side hustle or if you’re completely done with that niche, sell it on and get some money back for all your hard work. Websites can be quite lucrative little assets.