So, you want to start a blog but you’re not sure what to blog about. It’s a common problem amongst aspiring bloggers.
Let’s face it… Picking the “perfect blog niche” can seem pretty overwhelming, especially if you’re hoping to make money from your blog. After all, how can you know for sure that your blog will succeed without magically looking into the future?
There may not be a crystal ball we can look into to find out what the future of your blog holds, but there ARE tons of established and successful blogs out there that we can look to for help and inspiration.
I’m going to tell you the blog niches that make money and give you some tips to make the niche picking process easier for you.
What is a niche?
Before we get into the niches, let’s talk about what a blog niche is and why it’s important.
A blog niche is the main topic (or topics) that a blog is about. Simple as that.
So, why do bloggers pick a niche instead of blogging about anything and everything?
- Having a niche allows you to become an “expert”: When you blog all about one specific topic, it shows that you have a lot of expertise in it. This makes you more trustworthy to your readers.
- It’s easier to find your target audience when you have a niche: When you have a niche, your target audience will likely find the majority of your content to be useful.
- SEO is easier for niche blogs: Having a blog with a specific niche makes it easier for your content to rank well on search engines.
All of this is not to say that you can’t have a successful blog without a niche. In fact, there are many great blogs that cover a variety of topics (which I’ll talk about later on in this post). But it’s generally recommended to pick a niche for your blog.
Alright, Let’s get to the niches!
*NOTE: This list is in no particular order.
Top blog niches that make money:
1. Travel
Even the most experienced traveler could use some advice on their own travels! Travel blogs are a very useful tool for people who are interested in traveling or planning trips.
Travel bloggers provide useful information to their readers by writing about topics such as traveling cheap and on a budget, top sight-seeing destinations, safety tips, packing tips and more.
Example: Check out PracticalWanderlust for an example of a good travel blog. You can also check out ItsALovelyLife, a family travel blog that makes a jaw dropping $150,000+ per month!
2. Personal Finance/Money
Money has a huge impact on our lives, so it should be no surprise that personal finance/money is one of the best blog niches to get into.
Managing finances, saving money, making money, side incomes and paying off debt are among some of money-related topics that people love to learn about.
Example: MakingSenseOfCents is a great example of a successful personal finance blog. Michelle Schroeder-Gardner (the owner of the blog) has reported making over $100,000 per month!
3. Health/Fitness & Weight Loss
Health, fitness and weight loss are popular topics that are in demand year-round!
Some say that the health/fitness/weight loss niche is “oversaturated”. Does that mean you shouldn’t start your own health blog?
Nope!
Health is something that people really value. There’s tons of room for success in this niche despite how many diets, workout programs and weight loss companies are out there.
Example: Avocadu is a health blog that makes over $20,000 per month!
4. Parenting/Mommy Blogs
Expecting, new and experienced parents alike are often searching for advice and different perspectives when it comes to raising children.
The information shared on parenting/mommy blogs is valued among their readers since it’s usually meant to give answers and make life easier for the parents.
Example: MommyOnPurpose has an excellent mommy blog where she shares parenting tips, advice, ideas and more.
5. Beauty
The beauty industry is thriving online! Thanks to social media, new beauty trends are constantly surfacing and being spread around.
Beauty is one of those niches that does very well on social media sites such as YouTube and Instagram. A beauty blog can do fine on its own, but I would definitely recommend utilizing social media as well.
Example: CrueltyFreeKitty is a beauty blog all about cruelty-free products. ThankYourSkin is a general skincare and product review blog.
6. Fashion
Fashion is a $281 billion online industry, so it’s no wonder that it’s one of the top niches to get into!
Like beauty, fashion does very well on YouTube, Instagram and other social media sites. I would recommend making social media a big aspect of your overall blogging business.
Example: FashionMumblr is a successful fashion blog owned by Josie, who works on her blog full-time.
7. Personal Development
We all want to live our best, most enjoyable lives, right? Personal development blogs help us do just that.
Personal development is a great niche to blog in if you’re wanting to get into life coaching, public speaking and/or writing books.
If you’re interested in starting a blog in the personal development niche, I would highly recommend that you read this article from BlogMarketingAcademy on how to make money as a personal development blogger.
Example: Check out MarcAndAngel if you want to see an example of a successful personal development blog.
8. Food & Recipes
Raise your hand if you’ve ever searched for a recipe online! Everyone’s hand is raised, right?
Food blogs are HUGE online, especially around the holiday season.
It should be noted that having a food blog is a lot of work. Developing recipes, documenting the process while handling everything that goes into owning a blog is not as easy as it may seem! But if having a food blog sounds right for you, then go for it!
Example: Check out ShowMeTheYummy or PinchOfYum for good examples of successful food blogs.
9. Hobbies
Hobbies make great niches because their target audiences are usually made up of passionate people. However, you do have to be a bit careful when choosing to blog about a hobby.
Take antique shopping for example. I’m not going to say that you can’t have a successful blog in that niche… But most people who enjoy antique shopping probably prefer to work on their hobby in person rather than online.
Do the people who participate in the hobby you want to blog about shop for stuff online? Do they search for guides, information and help on their hobby online? Be sure to think of these things before creating a hobby niche blog.
Example: SewSomeStuff, a blog about sewing, is a good example of a blog in a hobby niche.
10. Mixed Niches
Remember when I said that you don’t necessarily have to have a single niche in order to have a successful blog? Well, it’s true!
People put a lot of emphasis on finding a niche, niching down and getting specific on your blog. But I promise that it doesn’t HAVE to be that way. If there are several topics that you want to write about on your blog, then go for it.
Here are a few examples of successful, mixed niche blogs:
- Chasing Foxes (Topics include travel, lifestyle, fashion, blogging and more)
- A Beautiful Mess (Topics include crafts, decor, recipes, beauty and more)
- JustAGirlAndHerBlog (Topics include organization, home decor, blogging and more)
Here’s my advice for those of you who want to start a mixed niche blog: try to pick topics that are somewhat related to each other.
Say you want to start a crafting blog, but you don’t want to “niche down” and pick one specific crafting style such as sewing or crochet. Well, here are some topics that can blend into a crafting blog: all kinds of crafting methods, “upcycling” clothes, DIY, home decor, organization, food & drinks, party planning, etc…
Try to make connections between the topics that you enjoy and think you’ll want to write about. Chances are that they can be related to each other in some way.
My niche isn’t on the list! Does that mean it’s not profitable?
Definitely not! The niches I listed are popular topics, and there are many successful, established blogs in those niches.
Meaning… We know that blogs in those niches can succeed (That doesn’t mean that you’re guaranteed success just because you choose one of these niches… You still have to work smart!).
But that DOES NOT mean that other niches aren’t worthwhile.
Not sure if the niche you’re interested in is profitable or not? Consider these questions:
- Can you HELP people in your niche?
- Are people in your niche LOOKING for information?
- Do people SHOP ONLINE for things related to your niche?
When it all boils down to it… The most important aspect of having a successful blog is providing value and quality information to your readers. If you can do that, you can likely be successful in your niche.
Here are a couple of successful blogs that don’t fall under any of the niches I listed: SucculentsAndSunshine is a blog all about succulents that makes $16,000+ per month. LeaderConnectingLeaders is a blog about girl scouts that makes $7,000 per month.
How to make money in your blog niche:
There are multiple ways to make money from a blog. How you monetize your blog may vary depending on your niche, but the majority of blogs and be monetized with one or more of these methods:
- Affiliate Marketing
- Sponsored Posts
- Display Advertisements
- Selling A Product
- Selling A Service
Check out my blog post on how bloggers make money for detailed information on the different monetization methods.
Tips on choosing your niche:
There are SO many blog niches that make money. That being said, here’s my top tip when it comes to picking a niche:
Don’t get so caught up in choosing the “perfect” niche!
This is where so many aspiring bloggers get stuck. Or worse: they use “perfecting their niche” as an excuse to procrastinate starting their blogs.
Don’t be the person who spends weeks trying to settle on a niche!
People often advise others pick a niche that they’re passionate about. This is a great idea for people who have a passion that they could talk about all day, but that’s just not the case for all of us. Picking a niche that you’re simply interested in and want to learn more about is perfectly fine.
If you’re really unsure of what your niche should be and you’re avoiding starting your blog because of it, I would recommend purchasing a general domain name that doesn’t have anything to do with a specific topic (like the “mixed niche” blogs I shared). That way, you can blog about whatever you want and decide on your niche as you go along. And of course, you also have the option of having a mixed niche blog!
Try not worry too much about your niche. Overthinking won’t get you anywhere. Just pick something and get going!
Ready to start a blog?
So you’ve picked your niche and you’re excited to create your new blog and get to writing… but where do you even start?
Well, first thing’s first: you need to have a blog to write on!
I would highly recommend starting your blog with Bluehost. Bluehost is an inexpensive, beginner-friendly hosting service that allows you to create a blog that YOU own! This is very important if you want to make money from your blog.
While it’s possible to start a free blog, I would NOT recommend doing so. Here’s a few reasons why:
- You don’t own a free blog. The website that you used to create your blog (wordpress, blogspot, etc.) is the true owner.
- Free blogs do not look as professional as blogs created with a hosting service.
- The ways that you can monetize your blog will be limited.
And so much more.
Thankfully, creating a blog with Bluehost only costs $2.95/month if you get the basic plan (and the basic plan is all you need when you’re first starting out!).
You also get a free domain name when you sign up with Bluehost. This is great because it would otherwise be an additional expense!
If you want a detailed guide on how to start a blog with bluehost, please feel free to click here and check out my step-by-step tutorial.
Remember…
The most important thing to ask yourself when deciding what you want your blog to be about is: “can I help people in this niche?”
If the answer is yes, then you can be sure that you’ve picked a niche that can make money.