There are so many things I could say to bloggers who are struggling or just starting out.
But by far my biggest tip? Get specific.
Compare and Contrast
It’s really tempting to look at other blogs that have great success covering a broad range of topics.
I think of bloggers like The Pioneer Woman who has built an empire blogging about a lot of things – from food to marriage to parenting – and she does an amazing job at it. The temptation is to look at her success and think everyone can follow that model and win.
My advice? Don’t be fooled into thinking you can blog about everything from your family’s prized chili recipe to your weekend happenings and all of the sudden, blog empire!
It’s not impossible, but it’s much more difficult to blog about a broad topic or series of topics and make your blog successful.
More Competition
Bloggers like The Pioneer Woman started when there were but a handful of bloggers and there wasn’t much competition. Yes, their content was and is still amazing today. But now there are millions of blogs out there that have the same goal as you.
The solution? Find your niche, your thing, your specific topic so you can stick out and become noticeable and searchable.
Specific Defined
Take Minimalist Baker for example (if that’s not too vain). We only post recipes that require 10 ingredients, 30 minutes, or 1 bowl or less. That’s what people know us for.
Two other examples include What Should I Eat for Breakfast Today (a strictly breakfast blog), and My New Roots (a blog dedicated to whole foods that heal). People know them for that, which makes them instantly more appealing.
Getting More Specific
Here are some examples of topics I would further refine.
Simple recipes -> 5 ingredients or less
Healthy recipes -> 400 calories or less
Dessert recipes -> Everything chocolate
Paleo recipes -> Affordable Paleo recipes (all under $10 or less)
Do you see the difference? And furthermore, do you see how you’re solving a more specific problem for your audience?
People want simple recipes. Wow them with 5 ingredient meals.
People want healthy recipes. Give them something specific, like 400 calorie meals.
People want dessert recipes. Stick out in that arena with all chocolate recipes.
People want paleo recipes. Solve a common paleo issue by providing paleo recipes for $10 or less.
Reap the Benefits
In addition to becoming more searchable, something else happens when you get specific: You serve your audience better.
Why? Because you get really good at that one thing. If you’re the salad blog, you better believe that in 1 year you’ll be the near expert on crafting salads, and everyone will know to seek out your blog when they’re looking for a great salad recipe.
Specific, Not a Theme
When I say specific, I’m not talking about a theme. For instance, you like the color green so you call your blog Pinch me Green in the Kitchen. It’s cute, but what is that telling me about your food blog?
Should I expect green foods? Will all of the photos have green in them?
What’s drawing me in? And more importantly, what problem are you solving?
If you’re just starting out…
To new bloggers, really consider your topic. This isn’t a perfect equation (and yes, your content and photos still have to be valuable and attractive), but the more specific you can get with your topic, the easier it will be to stick out and find an engaged audience.
So dig deep, consider what you love (Is it wine? All things chocolate? Sunday meals?). Can you make a blog around that? Do it!
Whittle down those interests to your most solid options that could fall into an attractive niche. Then, ask friends and family to get some feedback on what would be most appealing to the broader public and go from there.
If you’ve been blogging for a while…
If you’ve been at it for a while, reconsider your refocus.
Are you a simple meals blogger? Dig deeper and challenge yourself to do nothing but 5 ingredient recipes. It’s OK if that means you have to slightly modify your about page – people will continue following if you continue offering value.
Are you a gluten free blogger? Consider focusing in on one thing, such as gluten free pastas, affordable gluten free, or gluten free desserts.
It will be much easier to stand out when people know what your focus is. You’ll become the expert on that topic, making your blog more noticeable, searchable, and ultimately, more valuable.
A Challenge
Now it’s time for application. Step back and honestly evaluate your blog’s topic. Is it specific enough?
Ask yourself, “What is my blog about?” If you can’t tell me and compel me in one sentence, chances are it’s not specific enough.
So dig in and make your blog’s topic as specific as possible, and start to reap the benefits.
We’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback on this topic as well. So feel free to share in the comments!
I love the blogging part of this website – I’m a food blogger, but I find it super helpful. Lately I have really been wanting to find the niche to my blog. I have tried fashion and beauty, and lifestyle, but all of those topics stress me out. Plus, all of my readers are getting annoyed and I am getting stressed. I know what I am currently writing about isn’t making me happy, but I’m scared to change my niche yet AGAIN. Any tips for settling on something that is truely me and not making my readers mad? Thanks :)
Oh gosh. I guess I am having trouble focusing on just one area. I have a food blog and share all my recipes, but there is not a single focus. I also write about food experiences, like places I’ve eaten, the best places to get certain foods, etc. So I’m thinking it may be too broad, but I just don’t know how to narrow it down and still have enough content to produce. Looks like I need to sit down and try to come up with a niche. Thanks for this great post!
Thanks Dana for sharing this insightful article! I also had the same issues before starting my blog. I knew I wanted it to be about food but I wasn’t sure how that fit in so much with what people where looking for. I was already vegan so I thought it should definitely be a vegan blog but I knew I had to narrow it down a bit more. I thought about how every time I spoke to friends or colleagues they often told me that they had no time to cook because cooking took too long. It was then that I had that “aha” moment and decided to create a blog about vegan 20 minute meals.
I think that finding something you’re passionate about while at the same time being able to help people with what you do is extremely fulfilling.
Thanks again!
Bernardette
I’ve heard a lot about finding a niche lately and your post has really added some helpful insight. Just what I needed to read.
This was incredibly helpful. Thank you so much for this advice- this is definitely what I needed to hear!!
Wow I never thought about blogging in terms of creating a product (value, specific attributes etc). Thank you guys!!
PS I had a chance to visit Portland this summer and I loved it!
Wow, that’s the simplest and most helpful post on blog focus I’ve ever read! I’ve been blogging for a little more than 6 months and I started to wonder whether my blog is specific enough. I love your suggestions and simple solutions to this problem. I’ve read a lot about the topic, but now I finaly feel confident that I’ll find the right focus :) Thanks so much for this great article!
Anja
I agree with this post. I once heard that your business should be three words. You pick those three words and every post needs to have all three of those qualities. I’m going to try and stick to that! :)
I’m obviously not as successful as you guys, so my opinion should be taken with a 1/4 cup of salt. I think that broad is fine as long as you have passion. I didn’t start my blog with a niche in mind, but let it grow organically and I think it’s starting to develop a niche as time goes on. I think burning out/loss of interest is a risk if you pick too focused of an area; at least it would be for me. Have read your posts about “hustle” and I completely agree that hustle is behind so much of what makes a blog successful. You can’t hustle if you get bored, burned out, or feel too constricted. Blogging is a work of art! :) :)
Wow. I’m so late to the party on this post, but well on point guys. Like- are you in my head right now?! Have had a really tough time getting traction, cause like you say, define what you do. Have started to shift. It all starts with a shift in mindset, but once that happens… wow. And already seeing more traction. Love what you guys do. Thanks.
Great tips! I’ve had a blog for a while now but I’m looking to update it and this has been helpful.
This is such simple yet effective advice. Thank you.
I would love to, and sometimes try to, cover a broad range of topics though it would be much more effective to hone in on one topic and really refine it and make it my specialty. I’ll try to work on that from now on.
Hi Dana,
I’ve been a chef for over 20 years, and when I started my blog last year, I looked to you guys at Minimalist Baker for so many practical lessons. I pretty much did everything by the book that you recommended.
The tutorials are awesome, and John has actually emailed me back with specific answers to my questions.
I’m so grateful for all of your help- I never would have gotten this far without you!
I have a very specific niche at http://www.fiveminutemeals.net . Restaurant/private chef-quality, organic meals in five minutes. I’m so passionate about sharing this because I know that everyone’s so pressed for time but we all want to eat healthy, beautiful meals. And it’s actually pretty easy, if you keep it simple.
What I’m trying to learn now is putting video on my site, so that readers can see how I’m able to do these recipes in five minutes- because the biggest problem I’ve encountered is disbelief. :)
Are there any tutorials you recommend for video, and how to bring more readers to my site when I’m already very specific?
Thanks so much,
Marni
Dana, love this tip. I am just starting out, haven’t even published yet. My blog is Mom’s Kitchen Apron-A Recipe Box of the Past and Present. I want to focus on family recipes from the past possibly even have a place where other people can celebrate some of their Mom’s recipes but also provide updated, more health conscious recipes for today’s busy family. Do you think my topic is too broad? Would love to know your thoughts. Thanks so much! Was so excited to find your site, recipes look awesome and the blogging help is an added bonus! :-) Thanks so much, Rebecca
Great advice! I have been blogging for 5 years, and though it isn’t as popular as I wish it was, I’m now planning to take it a lot more seriously. I do think my niche is pretty specific, but I’m going to reassess and figure out what I can be doing differently to grow my audience. Thanks so much for sharing all of your valuable resources. I love you guys xoxoxo
I love this post. So insightful and so truly helpful. My blog focuses on gluten free recipes using natural, organic ingredients….real food, really delicious. Being able to describe my blog in one sentence helps me truly define my craft. I love your blogger resources. Thank you so very much!
Great advice niece! It is inspiring! It helps me to think in a more specific direction. Happy New Year!
I think it’s incredible that you’ve built such a successful blog with amazing recipes and photos. Obviously, being very specific (10 ingredients or less, one bowl, or 30 minutes or less) has helped you become successful. Your blog is amazing. But what about those of us who can’t narrowly define our recipes? The reason I love cooking is because I can experiment with different ingredients, different cuisines, different kitchen instruments. I love when a meal comes together in 15 minutes and I love when I bust my ass for an hour and a half to create a delicious dinner. The closest “niche” I can think of to describe my cooking is “comfort food,” but that isn’t very specific. The idea of limiting myself to one topic feels very constrictive to me. If I had a salad blog, I guarantee you I would be sick of salad by the end of the year. I’d love to take your advice to heart and apply it to my own blog—I just worry that restricting my recipes to something so specific would take all the fun out of cooking (and blogging). Thoughts?
Meredith, I totally get that! The misconception about narrowing down your topic is that it feels like you’re also whittling down your personality or interests in the process, but I don’t think that has to be true.
My first blog, my little celebration, included ALL of my interests because I couldn’t pick one! I wanted everyone to know everything I liked. But the trouble was, people had a hard time identifying what my blog was about. And even though I’m a multi-faceted person with many interests, the jumbled-ness of it all left people confused as to what my blog was about.
Just because your blog is about a specific thing doesn’t mean YOU are about one thing. It just means you focus on one thing to get really good at it. And then later when you have an established audience, if you want to share more interests or cooking styles etc., experiment with it! I just don’t think going for it all at the beginning is an effective model.
This is just my opinion though. Each person and their blog/blogging experience is completely unique. I’m just sharing what I have observed and experienced as a blogger thus far. Hope that helps/makes sense!!
I only have one goal is for my blog to be my portfolio for food photography/styling.
Meanwhile, I enrolled in your “Food Photography” school to further my skills; I love your VDOs so far.
Happy New Year & Thank you so much for your tips :)
This is great advice, and something I’ve been questioning as a new blogger! Sometimes I compare and contrast my blog to others too much and try to do a little of everything based on the inspiration I get from others. Healthy, low fat dessert recipes come easily to me, but I’ll find myself thinking “Oh I haven’t posted a savory recipe in a while, I should get on that”. I guess I should stick to the sweet stuff rather than feeling the need to balance it out :)