The most important choice you must make when beginning a new blog is selecting a topic for your posts.
There are countless options, and it's difficult to predict at this early stage which one will work out. Even if you have a great idea for a topic, are you certain that it fits within a niche that will be both specialised and resilient over time?
People use the Internet to find information, learn new things, accomplish goals, and/or for entertainment (sometimes all of the above at the same time). Finding a topic that suits you well and is specialised enough to draw in a committed readership while appealing to those reader interests is essential to having a successful blog that stands out among the competition.
How to pick a topic for your blog
Everything you write, podcast, or create videos about on your new blog will be based on your blog topic. When you're just starting out, that can seem like a lot of pressure, but that's completely natural. Making the best decision you can now and getting started are the only ways to get past the discomfort and fear, and then making adjustments as you gain more knowledge over time.
Making a list of all the subjects you believe you would love blogging about is the first step in coming up with a great concept for a blog topic. Now is not the time to focus; just jot down everything that comes to mind. Listed below are some questions to ask yourself if you need a little assistance with brainstorming:
- When no one was advising me what to do as a child, what did I occupy my time with?
- What interests me?
- What do I do with my spare time?
- What is the one subject that, if my friends or family would let me, I could talk about for hours?
- What kinds of classes in high school or college did I like?
- What do I like to read and research?
- What would I do if I could only do one thing for the rest of my life, regardless of pay?
- Which subject have you been interested in learning more about?
- What would I do with extra free time if I had it?
Next, ask yourself, "Is one of the goals of my blog to assist me support myself financially?" When selecting a blog topic, it may seem strange to ask yourself this question, but knowing the answer will help you qualify or eliminate ideas from your list. Perhaps the goal isn't to "earn a living," but rather to "generate more income" or "assist me in increasing my savings." However, as long as there is a financial objective, your topic should contain these three key characteristics:
You should be enthusiastic about the subject.
You ought to be knowledgeable about the subject (or at least a desire to build more expertise with time).
The topic should be valued by others to the point where they will pay for related goods or services.
Like this, you've undoubtedly seen a venn diagram before.
I wouldn't worry too much about that right now because there will always be an audience that loves information on any subject. Let's start by concentrating on your areas of interest and competence.
- Of course, it helps to be engaged in what you are writing about. Don't pick a subject just because it's popular or everyone is talking about it. No matter how well-liked the topic, if you don't appreciate it, the blog won't succeed. The fact that your content is fake will be obvious to your intelligent readers. So, regardless of what is now trending, stick to what you are interested in. (The implication being that if you're genuinely interested in a trending issue that's gaining popularity, it would be a fantastic fit.)
- One of the most advantageous qualities you may have as a blogger is expertise. You can educate about a subject more effectively the more you know about it. But just because you lack knowledge doesn't mean you can't start a blog about a subject, you're interested in. The converse would be true: the better you understand a subject, the more you can teach about it. A "leading learner" is a term that has been used to describe this.
Never give up on picking a blog topic just because you lack prior knowledge. It will be harder than if you already have the knowledge, but if you're willing to study, it is still achievable.
If you need more ideas, check out this list of blog themes we've put together, ranked by how popular they are according to our State of the Blogging Industry Report:
Of course, there are countless additional potential blog subjects, but we've discovered that since it includes the bulk of existing blogs, this list gives you a solid place to start.
How to choose your blog topic with greater emphasis
Once you've decided on a blog topic, check to see if you've narrowed your focus sufficiently to begin. The current trend is toward niche blogs. It could seem like a bad idea to focus your knowledge and expertise into a very specific subject, yet this is how you gain devoted fans. More trust is developed with an audience as a result of your blog's dedication and specific focus. Here are some suggestions for narrowing your niche.
Be genuine.
The beautiful thing about the blogging industry is that your distinctive personality combined with your distinctive audience offers you an even more distinctive angle on your subject. This means that even when five blogs on the same topic cover essentially the same material, they may appear to be very different blogs.
Make it specific
Asking "More specifically, what do I want to address about this topic?" is an excellent approach. Making your blog topic a little more specialised will enable you to set your blog apart from all of the other blogs out there. For instance, it would be difficult to assume that a certain person is an expert in all forms of baking.It is considerably more credible to claim that you are an expert in bread baking.
Establish categories
Your topic will be more organised if you use categories. Therefore, the more clearly you can focus on your topic, the better defined your blog categories are. Create blog categories to help you communicate to your audience what part of craft beer you are discussing in each post, for instance, if you were launching a website about it. Posts on brewing methods, where to find craft beer in Nashville, Tennessee, and tasting notes are all quite different categories.
Your blog categories may include IPAs, Wheat beer, Stouts, Lagers, and Belgian beers if you wanted to concentrate on the many types of craft beers. However, your blog categories could be Microbreweries, Regional Craft Breweries, and New Breweries if you wanted to concentrate on breweries. By establishing these blog categories, you'll make your blog about craft beer stand out from the competition and focus your content creation efforts.
Setting up your content schedule, coming up with new ideas for blog posts, and assisting your viewers in finding what they need on your blog will all benefit from being clear on the precise blog categories of interest your readers may have relating to your issue.
Pro tip: If you're having trouble choosing between a few themes, try to think of five areas of information you could write about on your blog. With the use of this brainstorming, you may determine whether 1) you are knowledgeable enough to begin and 2) there is sufficient prospective content to support a blog post on the subject.
Are you prepared to select your blog's subject?
The first step in starting a blog is selecting the appropriate blog topic. You'll be more likely to stay loyal to your journey later on by deciding what you will enjoy writing about and considering whether it will be beneficial to your audience.
Start compiling a list of all your potential blog topic ideas, if you haven't already, and start whittling them down. Do you have any ideas for categories or ways to put a special spin on the subject?
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