Choosing a niche for your blog is likely one of the most challenging parts of starting a niche affiliate website.
There are so many niches to consider and add in the worry of choosing the wrong niche, it is easy to understand why new affiliates struggle.
When I choose a niche for a new niche website that I want to build, I keep the process fairly simple. I do feel that you can choose a niche that may not work out on your first try.
However, don’t worry if it happens to you. It only helps you choose better the next time around. Now, let’s dive into choosing a niche for your blog.
What is a Niche?
First, let’s briefly define what a niche is. A niche is simply a group of people interested in the same thing.
There are all types of niches and if you get stuck for ideas, you can browse a magazine rack or the categories on Amazon.com.
Magazine racks are full of great niches. Some that you can find can include:
- backpacking
- clean eating
- travel
- bicyclists
- cooking
- bodybuilding
- diy
- cars
- yoga
- film
- writers
- animals
- golf
- fashion
- money
- parents
The niches above are broad and you can definitely dive into each of them further and pick out some sub-niches.
For example, if you chose the bodybuilding niche, you could focus on various sub-niches such as bodybuilding over the age of 40.
The money niche has a lot of sub-niches that you could tackle such as getting out of debt, life after bankruptcy, credit repair and so on.
Start with niches that interest you and break them down into sub-niches to give yourself options.
Once you have your list, you can then narrow down your niche to one in which you feel you could create plenty of content on.
Choosing a Niche Based On a Product
Sometimes you may want to pick a niche based on a product that has an affiliate program.
There isn’t anything wrong going this route but there are some things you’ll want to ask yourself before you do.
Let’s take a product such as a Bluetooth speaker. Maybe you did some research and decided that it is the niche you want to pursue.
Since you are basing your niche on a product, you may find a few challenges along the way.
Let’s say we pursue this niche and we buy a domain name for our future niche blog that is bluetoothspeakerpros.com or whatever you want.
Now, what kind of content will you create? You can create product reviews but are you going to buy new Bluetooth speakers to review each time?
Sure, you can create product reviews without buying each product. It will require more research on your part.
Is this the type of content you want to create most? It is quite possible that you would experience burn out if you do.
Here are some questions to consider when choosing a niche based on a product:
1. Who is the Overall Audience You Will Be Serving?
Rather than only focusing on the speakers by doing product reviews, think about the people who would buy and use Bluetooth speakers.
This audience could consist of college students, people with small apartments, people living in RVs, office spaces, and more.
Therefore, rather than focusing purely on product reviews, you can address your audience’s needs.
An article such as “10 Bluetooth Speakers for Small to Mid-Sized RV Owners” or “10 Best Bluetooth Speakers for a Small Apartment”. You get the idea.
2. Can You Create A Lot of Content for This Audience?
It is easy to hyperfocus on a product when you base your niche website on it. That is why it helps to view the niche from the audience’s perspective.
What would people type in when searching for a Bluetooth speaker? Here are some pulled right from Google’s autocomplete search:
- bluetooth speaker for bike
- bluetooth speaker for golf cart
- bluetooth speaker for shower
- bluetooth speaker for iphone
- best bluetooth speaker for boat
- best bluetooth speaker for outdoor movies
Now you have many more blog post ideas to write from various angles. You could still do product reviews and link to these reviews from your other blog posts.
3. How Difficult Will it Be to Create Content?
When choosing a niche based on a product, ask yourself how difficult it will be to create content for your blog.
Will it require a lot of research? Do you have enough interest in the niche that you won’t abandon your blog later down the road?
This is an important question to consider especially if you will be the only person creating content for your website.
Many people start off excited about their niche only to fall off with creating content two or three months into it.
It often occurs due to a lack of interest and difficulty in creating content.
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Choosing a Niche Based On Your Interest or Passion
I find that choosing a niche for your blog is much easier when it is based on an interest or passion.
Content creation is so much easier when you have a genuine interest or passion for the niche that you choose.
For example, let’s say you have a genuine interest in personal development. You could create content on a wide variety of topics such as productivity, mindset, improving health & fitness, and more.
Besides that, you could promote a wider variety of affiliate products such as personal development courses, books, events, etc.
You’ll also have more fun with your niche blog when you truly enjoy the niche. I’ve created niche sites in which I wasn’t genuinely interested in them and I abandoned them every time.
What if You Choose the Wrong Niche?
Yes, it is possible to pick the wrong niche in terms of losing interest in your website. I’ve done it plenty of times and so have most affiliate marketers.
If you’ve chosen a niche that you soon realize is not a niche you want to be in, don’t worry. You can always scrap the niche and choose one better suited to you.
My Closing Thoughts On Choosing a Niche for Your Blog
I hope that some of what is written here can help you with choosing a niche for your blog. The key take-away is to be sure it is a niche that you like and one that you don’t mind creating content for.
Otherwise, you will find it easy to abandon your website. Don’t feel pressure to stick with a niche simply because of high commissions.
Creating and maintaining a niche website is a time-consuming process. The work that you put in today will pay off several months from now.
However, when your website picks up steam, you will be happy to have those commissions coming in on a regular basis.
I recommend following the same step-by-step affiliate training course that I used and am still a part of today.