As someone who writes on so many different topics, it can sometimes be difficult to zero in on what I should write about the most. Writing about writing is only one of dozens of what might be considered as my “expert topics.” Over the years, I’ve written about gaming, home improvement, literature, social media, sports, and much more! I also dabble in poetry and have several novels at various stages of development.
In a world where there’s considerable pressure to fit yourself into a single niche, it’s very hard for writers like myself with such diverse interests to do just that. Whenever I try to focus on just a single topic, it’s never worked out, even when I’d be passionate about those specific things. I find it better for me to express all sides of myself, rather than force myself to be dedicated to a single theme.
My life philosophy is that diversification of knowledge is very important. But in the end, you still need a unifying theme for people to consistently follow what you have to say. You need a central purpose to your writing. Well, sometimes you just have to put it all out there, and see what people react to most. This is why niches are both seductive and cruel; once you run out of content for a niche, when you’re fully invested, you then can’t easily pivot.
Niches Are Good, But They Aren’t For Everyone
Finding a niche and sticking to it is not in itself a bad thing, however. In fact, it can be extremely good to do just that. Targeting a certain niche certainly helps in finding a target audience for your content. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. The trouble is, how do you find a niche that’s evergreen and profitable that hasn’t already become extremely cutthroat and competitive?
What happens when you find you want to write about something that isn’t in your niche? Should you start a new blog? Or, do you just file it away for a rainy day? This is a dilemma I see so many writers struggle with on a daily basis.
My advice is to just put it all out there from day one. If you want to write about it, go ahead! Once in a while, it’s OK to go off board and try something new. If you’re like me, you already write about everything, so there’s really no risk other than maybe your post not gaining traction.
It’s long been my thinking that you should have one site with various sections. That way, those people who are interested in certain topics only have to look at the sections they want. Of course, there is a flip side to this, spreading yourself too thin.
Don’t Spread Yourself and Your Content Too Thin!
The way many people teach online content creation today, you find many creators starting several blogs, sometimes even dozens, just to be able to write about all the different things they want to cover. Not only is that time-consuming and exhausting, but it spreads you too thin. But, this can even happen if you have a single domain; you find yourself writing on topics that might bring you joy, but no traffic.
I say focus on the topics that perform the best for you, but only as long as those are the ones you are most passionate about. Build your content primarily around those topics. Just writing to what’s popular isn’t always a great plan, either, because if you’re not passionate about them, you’ll end up burning out.
Likewise, once you have established your own site, you can create content that showcase your other topics you like to write about. For example, if you’re a beauty blogger who also loves to travel, find which topic drives you the most. Say that your beauty content performs better, but you prefer writing the travel stuff. Do both, but put the majority of your time into whichever is more passionate for you. The best strategy is to combine the two: beauty and travel can go together after all.
In fact, having several different topics on your site actually helps because it draws in other audiences. Your personal brand may be better known for beauty content, but you can still have travel content alongside it, like a different department of a general store. People do this all the time, and it does just fine! Over time, you’ll find people that like both topics, and what you have to say about them. That audience is made up of the keepers, what are often referred to as super-fans.
Focus On What You Love, and the Super-Fans Will Emerge
Obviously, whatever you love the most will bring out your best effort. But, over time, you may find that one of your other pet topics does better in bringing in traffic and/or converting into revenue.
Let’s go back to the beauty & travel example. You may have your heart set on travel, which is a pretty popular niche, but your beauty content tends to perform better. Fortunately, I’ve seen several bloggers successfully blend those two topics. You could come up with a theme like “Beauty on the Go!” For example, beauty topics that have to do with going on holiday actually do quite well.
Here’s another example. Say you’re a hardcore gamer, but you make your living selling real estate. These are two things that don’t seem to go together at all. So, you start two separate blogs, one for real estate and one for gaming. You put more time into the gaming blog, as that’s sort of your way to unwind after grinding out commissions week after week. But, despite posting on the real estate blog far less often, you’re getting tons of traffic and even have had some potential advertising opportunities!
This situation would lead you to feel torn. Should you abandon one and focus on the other? My advice is to definitely keep both. It may be even better to combine them into one self-hosted site. You brand around the more successful of the two, the real estate blog, but have the gaming blog easily accessible from there.
Having a separate site and domain for the gaming blog may be OK. But, in my experience, you’re better off having a site that can accommodate both. If the gaming content gets to the point where it can become a money-maker, THEN it’s OK to give it its own site.
Basically, brand around what nets you the most revenue and traffic. But, always allow yourself to write about what you really love. You never know if may just surpass what worked for you before! The world is forever changing, as well as what people are most interested in. So, it’s very important to be adaptable!
Put It All Out There, With Writing and Everything Else You Do!
Sometimes, you just have to put it all out there. If you really can just go all out on a single topic, go for it! Just remember these few things:
- Build your brand around what works
- Focus on what YOU love!
- Don’t spread yourself too thin!
This isn’t just the case with writing, either. It’s the same with artwork, vlogging, photography, or anything else you put your heart into. Don’t hold anything back that others may enjoy! Sure, you may not get a whole ton of views. But, if only a handful of people see it and love it, then it was worth putting out there.
You never know what may work in the long run, unless you try!
~ Amelia Desertsong
