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Originally Posted by bluskygirl  When I first decided to start blogging, I asked myself one HUGE question:
What could I write about everyday in my life and stay passionate about?
There are a lot of different theories on how to make money with a blog. I'm an internet researcher at my day job, so I did a ton of research for blogging before I got started.
The first theory is to do internet research to find a non-competitive niche and post away to make money. I read one guy retelling a story about a riding lawnmower blog that made a bunch of money because it was a good specific niche with not a lot of competition. |
What does the research in question entail? That's what I'm confused about.
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Originally Posted by bluskygirl The second idea is to write about what you're passionate about, and not get too specific (ultimately the more specific your niche, the more you restrict yourself on what you can write). While you might find yourself in a rather large group of bloggers, you are writing about something that inspires you, which in my mind = good content. Granted a blog about everything under the sun will struggle to get going and probably will have too much competition, but you can still select a niche that has has more than one topic. Stevepavlina.com is a great example. |
Well, basically I was hoping to run a website wherein I didn't necessarily write absolutely everything, but rather created a community of reasonably active individuals. Starting up discussion forums and the like.
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Originally Posted by bluskygirl I chose the latter of the two options and just resigned to know that I will have to be patient and consistent and work hard to create a blog that has good meaningful content and can compliment the rest of the niche. I used to be an avid journal writer; My blog is essentially taking what I would have normally journaled about (i.e. typical girl issues of finance, relationships, fitness, family/children, etc.) and provided in a format that hopefully will benefit other women besides just myself. SO, I'm writing about the things that matter to me and at the same time I have several different areas/topics that I can choose from. |
Oh, ok. I guess I have a different motivation then. I almost never really journaled at all even in private. I was hoping mainly to set up a website with discussion forums, and possibly outsource some writing to start as a draw, but finding a way to even make that feasible with all the competition for attention out there is what I was having a hard time finding out.
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Originally Posted by bluskygirl My advice to you would be to think less about what will make money and more about what will make you happy, because in the end if you're happy and fulfilled writing about your topic and you work had to market your blog chances are good that you can build yourself a good readership. You have to accept a reasonable amount of build time before you'll see the kind of traffic you want... Some sites took a year to get there or more. The super-small niche theory is (in my opinion) a way to earn money faster. This might be what you're looking for. I'm looking for something sustainable and meaningful, and I think the best way to do that is to follow my heart. |
True, happiness is a good thing. For me writing online wasn't ever so much a passion of mine, but rather the possible changes in the world made by the sum total of people at a site was something I thought could be a good thing; being cashflow-positive is what would make it feasible.
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Originally Posted by bluskygirl Good luck finding a topic! Blogging is a great connecting tool and outlet and whether or not my site ever turns a dime, I will keep it going because of the enjoyment I get out of it.  |
Thanks! Glad you're enjoying it.