Before you embark on your journey to blogging, you need to think about what you will blog about. This is what is referred to as a niche. You can get profitable niche ideas by doing research on the market and exploring relevant keywords.

However, this way of selecting a niche may not appeal in the long run because blogging should be enjoyable and fun. You will end up building an unappealing and impersonal blog if you consider the profitability of the blogging niche alone. In fact, without the passion about a niche, you will find it hard to keep writing years down the line.

Kindly note this post may contain affiliate links and I may earn a commission if you click any of them and proceed to make a purchase.  This will be at no cost to you.

Apart from that, having a niche will help you in SEO. If you have unrelated topics on your blog, it may be difficult for Google and Bing to establish your niche for the sake of ranking your blog.  Additionally, it’s difficult to maintain your site’s visitors because of the unrelated blog posts.

When I started my business, I enrolled at Freelance University where I learned all about niche selection and why it’s important. The best thing about them is that they give you a variety of profitable niche ideas and help you gain the required skills in whichever niche you select. Read a detailed review of Freelance University here.

Here are a variety of profitable niche ideas you can consider.

• Parenting
• Personal finances
• Beauty and fashion
• Homesteading
• Digital marketing
• Health and fitness
• Blogging
• Nutrition and weight loss
• Self-development
• Women’s lifestyle
• Working from home
• Making money online

Now, when you are done selecting a niche, go ahead and pick a specific narrow topic that you feel you understand well and you can write about.

Suppose you choose digital marketing niche, you can now go ahead and narrow it down to social media marketing or Pinterest.

When you narrow down to a more specific topic, you will get a more engaged audience who are looking for that particular topic.

 Nonetheless, don’t go too narrow. If you do, then two things are bound to happen: you may run out of points to discuss or you won’t have many readers. In addition to that, narrowing down too much will also limit you if you want to relate your content to other topics.

Make sure you give value to your readers in your posts. Readers are captivated by blogs that will teach them something new or give them updated information

With this in mind, think about what your audience may want to know or research on a common problem that faces them. Do your best to write content that addresses their concerns and provides a solution.

Assignment 1

Define your niche

• Think about what you like, your passion, hobby or even your experiences. It’s not a must that you should be an expert. What you need most is the knowledge and passion to keeps you a step ahead of your readers.
• Think of your target audience. Think of specifics like the level of education, economic status, gender, age etc. Figure out their interests in your niche. Understanding your target audience well will ensure you write specific posts that address their needs.
• Figure out what challenges they may be facing. This will help you write content that will keep them coming back to your blog. Find the most precise information about your niche and its challenges and use that to attract more readers. When readers share your content, it continues to pull in more audience.
• Think about how you can help them solve their problems. Offering ideas on how they can overcome some of their challenges will connect you with the readers. They’ll feel like you are a part of them and will be compelled to revisit your blog and even share the information with others
• Ask yourself if your idea is viable. Will it be able to drive enough traffic and monetize? Search the internet for other people who are writing about the same topic. Even if you find plenty of competitors, you should just focus of on how to create unique content on the same topic. Make sure you are ahead of the pack. Make content that stays relevant for a long period of time.

When you finish choosing your niche, you can now move to the next step.

Assignment 2

Create a name for your blog

​It time for adventure!

What name will you give to your blog?

You are required to think of a name for your blog. This is what is also referred to as the domain. You should come up with several alternative names because you might find yourself in a scenario where your proposed name is not available.

For example, the name of my blog is LucyAnne Lawrence Virtual Assistant and my domain name is www.lucyannelawrence.com

After you create your name,  check if your chosen domain is available.​ This is a very important step. Most of the web hosting service providers allow for domain search.

NOTE: If you choose to host your blog with Bluehost (starting at $3.95/month), you will get marketing credit worth $200 and a free domain. With Cloudways (starting at $10/month), you will get superior features of cloud hosting. Read my detailed review on Cloudways here. Interserver gives you a 90% webhosting discount. Read the review of the 5 best web hosting sites for small business and choose one.

Was your name available? If it was, then shortlist it. If not, continue brainstorming for another one.

Tip: Thesaurus can provide you with inspiring synonyms.

Now, check social media platforms, such as Facebook, twitter, Instagram or Pinterest to see if your shortlisted name may have been taken by someone else. It is important to do this before you make up your mind to use the name. 

When picking your domain/name, consider the following:

• Try to feature your niche in your domain/name, if you are not using your name in your domain
• Create a simple name that it easy to spell and pronounce. Adding some creativity to it will be a plus.
• Avoid using acronyms, symbols or numbers.
• Prioritize getting a .com suffix
• Search for the meaning of your name/domain on Google.

Choosing the best out of the various profitable niche ideas for your blog is not easy, but if you consider the above factors, it turns out to be an enjoyable process.  You now know the importance of choosing the right niche and name for your blog. Make sure the name meets the above criteria and you will be good to go!

Related article: 3 Surefire Ways To Grow Your Email List Overnight (with Examples)