One of the first things you’re told when setting up and starting a blog is that you need to find a blogging niche, and that in order to really build an audience you need to “niche down” as much as possible. The question is: what do you do if you’re struggling to find your blogging niche?

Struggling to Find Your Blogging Niche?

What is a Niche?

There are literally millions of blogs on the internet, from food to travel, fashion to technology, politics to fitness. Each subject can be broken down into individual topics, known as a blogging niche:

A food blogger could focus on vegan recipes, a travel blogger could focus on a particular part of the world, a fashion blogger could focus on ethically sourced clothing, a tech blogger could focus on reviewing the latest hi-tech gadgets, a political blogger could focus on the politics of a particular country, and a fitness blogger could focus on creating quick and easy morning workouts.

Lots of bloggers like to include the word “lifestyle” when describing their blogs, but this term is so broad that it doesn’t actually give an information. Everyone’s idea of lifestyle is different, so my one piece of advice would be to avoid this word when describing your blog to others.

Disclaimer: I do have a lifestyle category in my blog, but it is more of a miscellaneous section than an actual blogging niche.

Why Do You Need a Niche?

The reason you are normally told to have a specific blogging niche is so you become the ultimate expert in that topic, this is fine if you know exactly what you want to blog about.

If you blog about multiple topics then you are less likely to be thought of as an expert and will find that people are less likely to read every single post your write.

It is important to remember that Google loves a niche, if you post about a specific topic on a regular basis Google will realise this and identify you and give you that coveted spot at the top of page one on the search results.

How Do You Choose a Niche?

Don’t start a blog and pick a niche simply because you want to make money from it. The topic you choose needs to be something you are truly passionate about – and this is where I struggle.

Travel Blogging itself is not a niche – you need to be more specific: luxury travel (reviewing hotels), family travel (things to do with children), travel fashion (what to wear in destinations)

However, your blogging niche should also fit your lifestyle and your personality. Don’t start trying to review five-star hotels if you can’t afford to spend £500 a night – the odd complimentary stay is lovely, but if it isn’t something you would normally pay for your readers will know, and won’t consider you to be an authentic source of information or without bias.

Why I’m Struggling With My Blogging Niche

I had decided that as I wasn’t travelling vast amounts during the year I would focus on my hometown and have this as my lead subject. However, it turns out that I’m just not that passionate about the city I live in (sorry!) – it’s difficult to admit that you just aren’t as passionate about something as you think you should be.

I’ve only really been travelling for a few years and so am still discovering and developing my personal travel style. I realised pretty quickly that the country-hopping with a backpack was definitely not how I wanted to see the world. 

I’ve gradually come to the conclusion that I am my own blogging niche, with my personal interests thrown in to create individual categories. It is these various interests that influence my travel style and are what I want to write about. 

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to narrow my blogging niche down to a single description, so I’ll try to make it as succinct as possible:

Little Miss Gem Travels

A solo city-breaker promoting small, local and independent businesses in a slow manner, with a focus on physical and mental health.

What do you think?

Do you have a blogging niche?

How did you decide on your specific writing topic?

Let me know in the comments.