What to Blog About: How to Find Your Niche & Captivate Readers
Are you staring at a blank screen, wondering what to blog about? Trust us, we've been there.
Coming up with fresh ideas for your blog can be tough, especially if you're feeling uninspired or blogging burnt out. We have figured out ways over the last 5+ years to break through that writer's block and get to more writing vs. just thinking about blogging.
First things first: identify your passions and areas of expertise. What do you love talking about? What are you knowledgeable about? These are the topics that will come most naturally to you and will allow you to write with confidence and authority.
Don't worry if your interests seem niche or unconventional, there's an audience out there for everything. By focusing on what you truly care about, you'll be able to create content that is authentic and engaging.
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Contents
Identify Your Passion and Expertise
Think about what makes your heart race and where you excel, so you can narrow down your passions and areas of expertise. Finding your niche is crucial in blogging as it helps establish a unique voice that sets you apart from the rest.
Your blog should reflect who you are and what you enjoy doing, so it's essential to choose topics that excite and motivate you. Exploring new interests is also an excellent way to expand your horizons and find new things to write about.
Don't limit yourself to just one area of expertise; try branching out into other fields that interest you. By exploring different topics, you might discover something unexpected that sparks your passion.
It's important to remember that blogging is a long-term commitment, so choosing a topic solely based on its popularity may not sustain your interest in the long run. Remeber that it's better to focus on something that genuinely fascinates you, even if it doesn't initially have a massive audience.
Over time, as people recognize the value of your content, they'll start flocking to your blog. Identifying your passion and expertise is crucial when deciding what to blog about.
Look at What's Trending
Check out what's hot and happening in the online world by keeping an eye on trending topics. Social media platforms often have a section dedicated to what's trending, making it easy for you to stay informed about what people are talking about right now.
By following these trends, you can create content that's relevant and timely, which will help attract more readers to your blog. There are a lot of ways to capitalize on what's trending and make it work for your next post.
- Pop Culture: From the latest celebrity news to TV show spoilers, pop culture trends always have a big impact online. By staying up-to-date with what's happening in the entertainment world, you can find ways to incorporate those topics into your blog posts.
- Current Events: Whether it's political news or breaking stories from around the world, current events often dominate social media feeds. Consider sharing your take on these issues or finding unique angles that tie them back to your niche.
- Viral Videos: We've all seen them...videos that seem to explode overnight and suddenly everyone is talking about them. Keep an eye on viral videos related to your niche and use them as inspiration for creating fresh content.
- Hashtags: Hashtags are a great way to discover new trends and connect with others who share similar interests. Use relevant hashtags in your own posts and search for popular ones related to your niche.
You can also use SEO searches to see what's being searched for the most. This is a great way to know what people are interested in at the moment.
You want to make sure that even if you write about what's popular right now, you don't limit yourself. Sometimes blogging is about finding what you are interested in, whether it is popular right now or not.
Ask Your Audience
One way to really figure out what people who visit your blog want to read about is by simply asking them. Polling opinions and gathering audience feedback is a great way to get insights into what topics, themes, or content types will resonate most with your target audience.
This approach can help you create content that resonates with your audience and keeps them coming back for more. One effective way to poll reader opinions is by using social media platforms.
You can use Twitter polls or Instagram stories to ask your followers about their preferences regarding different blog post topics. You can also use email surveys or create a survey form on your website where readers can share their thoughts anonymously.
It's worth noting that while polling opinions and gathering feedback are useful tools for creating compelling content, it's important not to rely solely on this data when deciding what content to publish. Use this information as a starting point but also be sure you're publishing content that aligns with your brand values and goals.
We also asked our family and friends for ideas on what they wanted to read. The whole reason why we have a post on what minimalist hiking gear we wear was because of Kelsey's sister-in-law.
Draw Inspiration from Your Personal Life
You can easily draw inspiration for your content from your personal experiences and daily life. Personal anecdotes can add authenticity and relatability to your blog posts.
By sharing stories from our own lives, we give our readers a glimpse into who we are as individuals. This helps build trust with our audience and creates a connection that goes beyond the words on a screen.
One way to incorporate personal anecdotes is by using them to illustrate life lessons. For example, if you're writing about time management, you could share a story about how you once struggled with balancing work and family obligations.
By sharing this experience, you're not only giving practical advice but also showing empathy towards your readers' struggles. Another way to draw inspiration from your personal life is by observing the world around you.
Pay attention to the people, places, and events that impact you on a daily basis. This is especially interesting and informative when it comes to travel as there are experiences you can't have in your normal day-to-day life.
These observations can be turned into powerful blog posts that resonate with your audience. Incorporating personal stories into your blog content takes practice, but it's worth the effort.
Not only does it make for more engaging content, but it allows us as writers to connect with our readers in a deeper way. We have a whole blogging category just for our adventures where we can share personal stories without worrying about being informative and just let our readers follow along with us.
Provide Value to Your Readers
There are many ways to provide value to people reading your blog. Whenever people search for something on Google and end up finding your site, you want them to get the answer they are looking for.
Not only that, you want to make sure they start looking at you as an expert in the field so that they come back to you for more.
Offer Tips and How-to Guides
Providing tips and how-to guides can significantly increase website traffic. Sites will generally increase their click-through rate on articles that offer practical advice.
When brainstorming techniques for this type of content, it's important to consider the needs and interests of your target audience. What questions do they have? What problems are they trying to solve?
By answering these queries through informative and engaging how-to guides, you establish yourself as an authority in your field. At the same time, you provide value to your readers.
Finding inspiration for these types of blog posts can be challenging at times, but there are several approaches you can take.
One option is to look at popular industry trends or topics that are currently generating a lot of buzz. Another approach is to draw from your own experience and share some insider knowledge with your readers.
Whatever method you choose, make sure that the tips and advice you provide are actionable and easy to follow. This will not only help improve engagement with your content but also encourage repeat visits from loyal readers looking for additional guidance.
Create Lists and Roundups
Crafting lists and roundups can effectively boost website traffic, as they provide concise yet informative content that caters to the interests of your target audience. Lists are easy to read and digest, making them perfect for busy readers who want quick access to valuable information.
Additionally, roundups offer a curated selection of resources or products that have been carefully selected by an expert in the field. There are a lot of ways to get creative with lists.
- Collaborative projects: Reach out to other bloggers or businesses in your niche and create a collaborative project. This not only expands your reach but also adds credibility to your roundup as it includes multiple perspectives.
- Influencer recommendations: Include recommendations from influencers in your industry. This gives readers a chance to see what experts think about certain topics or products.
- Varied content formats: Mix up the format of your list or roundup by including images, videos, infographics, and other visual aids.
- Categorize content: Organize your list into categories based on topic or type of resource/product being recommended. This makes it easier for readers to find what they're looking for quickly and efficiently.
Stay Consistent
As bloggers, we know that consistency is key to building and maintaining a loyal audience. To achieve this, it's crucial to set realistic writing goals. This ensures that we consistently produce quality content.
Additionally, sticking to a content schedule helps us stay on track. When we renamed and remade the blog, we decided to try to blog every single day but with us back to work we decided to back that down to a new post every other day. It might not be exactly what we had originally planned but we are still sticking to an adjusted schedule so we can produce as much content as possible.
Set Realistic Writing Goals
You'll never achieve your writing goals if you don't set them realistically. Developing habits is important, but it's equally crucial to manage your time effectively.
- Break down larger goals into smaller ones. Instead of aiming to write a certain number of posts in a year, start with writing two a week.
- Set specific targets for each writing session. For example, aim to write 500 words every day instead of just planning to "write more".
- Be flexible with your schedule. Life happens, and sometimes you won't be able to write as much as you planned. Adjust your goals accordingly and don't beat yourself up over it.
Remember that setting realistic writing goals doesn't mean settling for less than what you want to achieve. It means being smart about how you approach your work and giving yourself the best chance of success by making manageable commitments.
Stick to a Content Schedule
If you want to establish yourself as a reliable content creator, you need to stick to a consistent schedule. This means setting aside time for writing and publishing your blog posts on a regular basis.
Time management is crucial when it comes to blogging because it helps you stay organized and focused on your goals. One way to manage your time effectively is by creating a content calendar.
This calendar should outline the topics you will write about and when they will be published. By doing this, you can plan ahead, research your topics thoroughly, and ensure that you have enough time to create high-quality content.
No Simple Answer for What to Blog About
Blogging is a great thing because it really can be whatever you make of it. You can choose what you write about, how often you write, and how you write and totally make it your own.
That kind of freedom is what drew us to blogging in the first place and keeps us interested in it after so many years. But with that freedom comes some responsibility, especially dedication if you want to make it work.
Making sure you have some sort of schedule, goals, and ideas for how you want your blog to look is probably the most important thing when it comes to writing on your blog. There is no one simple answer to "What to blog about" but that doesn't mean you can't figure it out with a little bit of planning and hard work.
Spending some time with the tips we discussed above and tailoring it to your own expectations and abilities will help you find so much content to write you won't have to worry about what to write for a long, long time.