Should You Use Niche Blogging?
January 9, 2008 | Comments Off on Should You Use Niche Blogging?
One of the most significant factors when starting a new blog is the subject or topic of the blog. Should you choose a topic that’s very popular but highly competitive or should you opt for a niche topic with just a few existing blogs? It could be quite a difficult decision and one that will impact your business for a long time.
Here are some of the pros and cons of niche blogging to help you decide whether or not it is something you want to get into.
The Competition Factor
By its very name, a niche blog indicates that there are very few existing blogs on the same topic. This means less competition for targeted traffic as well as less competition in all other marketing spheres including product sales and affiliate product sales.
However, the flip side of having so few sites on the same subject is that it dramatically diminishes your linking opportunities. Everyone who is engaged in internet marketing knows that it’s the quality of links that matters most; not quantity. If there is no one else blogging in that same niche, you are not likely to get enough links to catch the eye of that ubiquitous search engine spider and neither are you likely to attract sufficient traffic to your site.
The Advertising Factor
Most blogs generate income by selling advertising space. While there are likely to be much fewer advertisers racing to place ads on niche blogs, those advertisers seeking highly targeted traffic find niche blogs a much better option than broad-spectrum blogs. This is beneficial to you in several ways. For one, there is less competition from other bloggers seeking to sell ad-space for those particular advertisers. Secondly, having a monopoly in that niche means you can easily charge more for ad space on your blog as compared to other general blogs.
The Content Factor
With just a few blogs covering the same topic as yours, you will have an easier time creating unique content and writing blog posts without being repetitive. In a domain where content is king, unique content is the king of kings.
The Monetization Factor
Highly-targeted traffic and less competition make a niche blog an easier monetizing option. This is primarily because there are much fewer blogs attempting to earn an income from the same traffic.
However, though you may find it easier to monetize a niche blog, you may find that you have far fewer monetizing options. As opposed to more popular topics that may have hundreds of options if they wish to monetize their blogs by selling affiliate products, you may be limited to just one or two options.
The Traffic Factor
Luring traffic into your blog and retaining them for a considerable amount of time is much more difficult if you are blogging on the same topic as are hundreds of other bloggers. Your readers have a wide choice of blogs to subscribe to and you can expect the competition to be fierce. With less competition from other blogs, creating and retaining loyal readers is much easier for specific niche blogs. Your readers are more likely to subscribe since they are genuinely interested in the niche and the likelihood of them already being subscribed elsewhere is pretty slim.
Using automated blog posting services such as those provided by BlogOverdrive.com offers you the unprecedented opportunity of being able to diversify your traffic stream while still staying true to your niche.