When you’re starting out writing online, the conventional wisdom is you must choose a niche right away. This niche isn’t only the general topic that you want to focus your writing on, but should also be the specific subjects at which you can write the best. Then, you pick a name for your blog or website that will attract the attention of people in that niche.
While this is generally good advice, there seems to be a misconception that once you choose the name and niche, you can’t change it later. You’d have to start all over again from scratch. But, is that really true?
This blogging advice has elements of both truth and myth. It’s true that if you want to change direction, you can always start a new blog. Sometimes, that’s the best way to go. You could just leave the old one behind or even sell it to someone else. But, if your new blog goes in a completely different direction, this often involves starting from scratch.
However, you don’t always have to start from absolute zero. Yes, it’s good to have a niche to focus on when you’re building up your online presence, But, it’s OK to diversify. In fact, it’s necessary.
You don’t want to dedicate yourself to only a single thing. Yes, some niches are very profitable, and there are some which always will be. But, it’s good to have some fallback topics related to your niche. This is not only for when you’re stuck. You want to have content available in case you find you need to change direction, whether for financial or personal reasons.
Believe it or not, you can completely change direction if you’re not feeling the blog anymore. You don’t even always have to rebrand. Yes, rebranding is OK, especially if the shift is needed to be more in line with your new writing direction. The important thing is to not abandon all your hard work in building up your presence. The myth that you have to start all over again is false, even if you need to build a new site to shift gears. This is why I inevitably decided to create a personal brand around which to build my newest website.
Yes, you actually can change your niche and even your blog name and still be OK. Yes, sometimes, you do have to start over, but only if you’re drastically changing what you’re doing. Believe it or not, people switch niches and names all the time, and they pick back up fairly quickly. It all depends on the audience you’ve already built.
So, if what you’re doing with your blog isn’t working or you just want to change direction, don’t feel pressured to start completely over. You can shift things around, just like you can with so many other things in life. The trick is to find some solid core to build around, then work from there. Just like any other creative endeavor, your online writing portfolio will evolve with the times not only in the world, but with yourself, as well.
~ Amelia <3
