How to Start a Profitable Niche Blog Business in 8 Steps
Niche blogging has helped thousands of people turn their passions into profitable businesses that generate passive income while they sleep, with almost no startup costs or overhead. With this niche blogging guide, you can do the same thing—and we’ll show you how to start a niche blog business in 8 simple steps.
1) Target your Keyword Phrases
The first thing you need to do is figure out your keyword phrases. Keyword phrases are what people type into search engines when they want to find your business. You should start with 2-3 that describes your niche. It’s okay if you have more than 3 but I recommend starting with 2 for now since it will be easier for beginners just getting started on their niche blogs or online businesses. Once you have figured out your key word phrases, go ahead and plug them into Google Adwords Keyword Planner Tool. This tool will help you find how many searches per month those key words get on average. From there, you can decide which ones make sense for your niche. If all of them make sense then pick one and move onto step 2, otherwise keep searching until you find some good ones! For example, my keyword phrase is how to start a successful niche website because I want my website/blog to rank well for that phrase. Make sure you write down these keywords somewhere so you don’t forget them later!
2) Develop Great Quality Content
Great content is what helps you build your brand and gain followers. Having great quality content shows visitors that you’re knowledgeable, trustworthy, and committed to your niche. Aside from publishing regular high-quality content on your own website or social media channels, it can be smart to collaborate with other bloggers on joint projects, guest post on big industry blogs, or offer pro bono consulting services. Whatever strategy you use, make sure all of your work is consistent with your company’s mission and values. By putting yourself out there, you’ll help others discover your talents and strengths—and position yourself as an expert in your field.
3) Guest Post on Relevant Sites
If you’re interested in your topic, chances are good that someone else is, too. Find high-traffic blogs within your niche, and offer to write a post for them. Some of these sites have contact forms you can fill out (such as ProBlogger), but other times you’ll need to reach out by email. Once you get published on one site, submit guest posts from there onto other relevant blogs. This strategy works best if you don’t approach it with an agenda; if you write a great piece and happen to mention your product or service, so be it. But don’t try to publish just anywhere because they accept guest posts—the quality of your content is more important than where it appears.
4) Participate in Social Media Activities
If you haven’t already done so, it’s time to get involved with social media. Chances are there is one or more sites your target market is actively participating on. Join them. Create an account on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Tumblr (if your audience skews younger). These sites can help you stay relevant as well as build your network. Plus, they are great places for customer service and listening to what others have to say about their likes and dislikes. Keep in mind that some of these sites might not be right for your business – I would avoid Pinterest unless you sell crafts or home décor items. Also, make sure that you set up Google Alerts to monitor any mentions of your business name online. It’s free and will let you know when something new comes up.
5) Use SEO Tools to Get Clicks & Traffic
Search engine optimization (SEO) is how you get found by people looking for your products or services. There are tons of free tools available that can help improve your website’s SEO and traffic, but here are our top three favorites: SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Quicksprout. All three can be used to optimize your site with keywords and phrases related to your niche. They will also show you where your competitors rank on search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. This information will allow you to see what’s working well for them so that you can replicate their success. For example, if your competitor has a lot of social media followers then it might be worth investing in some paid advertising on Facebook or Twitter.
6) Build Relationships with Influencers
It’s important that you build genuine relationships with industry influencers—folks who are well known, respected, and followed by people within your target market. When it comes time for these industry leaders to make purchasing decisions, they’ll likely consider your products first if they know you personally. (For example, many marketing experts name word-of-mouth advertising as one of their primary business growth strategies.) Getting yourself out there in front of these influencers will help you develop mutually beneficial relationships. Here are some tips
7) Establish Yourself as an Authority In Your Niche
Once you’ve set up your site, you need to get busy establishing yourself as an authority within your niche. To do so, create content that helps people within your niche solve their problems—and then promote it on social media and through partnerships with other sites and blogs. At first, you might be able to get away with promoting yourself without much outside help. But as traffic builds on your site, those tactics will become harder and harder to sustain unless they’re supplemented by third-party endorsement.
8) Rank Number 1 For Your Keywords!
Before you start your business, it’s important that you learn SEO (search engine optimization). SEO is basically how search engines rank websites. The higher your website ranks for certain keywords and phrases, such as small business ideas or Nigeria news or even just business tips, means that more people will find your site when they search Google. Optimizing your site for search engines will help it bring in more customers and more profits over time. You can use tools like SEMRush to research what keywords are popular in your niche. You can also use keyword research tools like Ubersuggest to get additional keyword ideas. For example, if I was starting a health-focused niche site, I might do some research on popular health topics like heart disease or diabetes and then run those terms through Ubersuggest to get lots of other related keyword suggestions.