How to Start Your Blog and Publish in 2023

I’ve transitioned from a 9 to 5 corporate job to a full-time writing and blogging career. Developing my own online empire while working from home and traveling.

But no one starts out successful.

It takes proper planning and research to reach your goals. I don’t wait for New Year's resolutions or Q1 meetings to set my plans for next year. If you’re looking to start a blog in 2023, then now is the time.

I know you probably have a lot more questions. I hope to be able to answer them today. If you’re ready, let's do this!

What is a niche blog?

A niche blog is the main topic you are writing about, like a personal finance blog. You could write about money-saving tips, avoiding student debt, or finding discounts online. This means your blog appeals to a specific group of people: your ideal audience.

A niche is defined as a particular group of people who share a common interest. You cannot find a successful niche by trying to speak to everyone.

There are also blogs that cover a more general topic. For example, lifestyle blogs can cover a person’s entire life, what they eat, where they live, and where they go on vacation.

The niche for a lifestyle blog is basically “you”.

Why create a niche blog?

I want you to consider your life goals first.

If you are starting a blog for fun, then choosing a niche is not really relevant. It may even take the fun out of the process.

But if you are planning on making money from your blog, then I encourage you to think about the area you want to focus on before you start.

Here are three things you should know how to do before you start:

1.) Use Google to attract readers

When you start your blog, you have to think about how people will find it once you publish it live. One huge traffic source is Google.

Billions of people use Google every day to find answers to the most specific questions. It is simpler for Google to interpret content and determine its relevance if it lives on niche websites.

That is, websites catering to a specific topic and audience.

Imagine being Google for a moment:

If someone is shopping for a new pair of shoes, would you rather show them a site with tons of shoe options or a site about apple pie recipes?

Sure, people love apple pie, but they are looking for shoes. Give people what they want.

Google wants to keep its users happy. If you make Google’s job easier by producing niche content, Google will reward you with a higher ranking.

Free Google tools to increase blog performance:

• Page Speed Insights: Increase site speed
• Google Search Console: Improve how Google sees your site
• Google Analytics: View site performance metrics
• Google My Business: Highlight your blog locally

2.) Find the right audience for you

When you are focused on your blog topic, it is simpler to draw in the right visitors and turn away those who are not a proper fit.

What do I mean by that?

Think about it this way. Maybe in one blog post, you’re writing about workout routines for college athletes. This will attract men, perhaps aged 18 to 25 looking for tips and guidance on beginning their athletic career.

In your next blog post, you are speaking about apartment décor tips that help you spruce up your living space. Apartment décor blogs tend to have more female readers, so now you’re attracting women aged 25 to 50 looking for decorating inspiration.

You’re attracting two completely different audiences.

It’s challenging to serve two different audiences on one blog, so niching down helps you talk to one group of people at a time.

3.) Maximize your influence

You can't be an expert in aquatic mammals, martial arts, and automotive repair all at once.

I’m not saying you can’t be helpful in all of these areas, but becoming a niche blogger really allows you to dig deep into one specific problem.

You become the go-to person for that topic.

People remember, "Oh yeah, that was this great blog about how-to fix a car engine. This blogger knows so much about cars and I know I can find the solution to my problem here.”

I want you to be honest with yourself.

What are you really skilled at?

To be a successful blogger, you don’t need a degree in that subject, but you do need to be knowledgeable about it.

Can all niche blogs make money?

Right now you’re asking yourself, “but Divad, I’ve heard that some blogs make more money than others. Is that true?”

The answer is yes.

There are some topics that are a bit easier to monetize. However, I have seen some of the most incredible blog niches succeed in ways that you would not imagine.

Here’s a cool story about Aurelia, a South African baker who grew her blog from 0 to 5,000 subscribers in 2 years. Not to mention, she had a $20,000-course launch in a tiny niche.

Her story shows it can be done! Aurelia did, and still does, a few things right that helped her reach success on her blog:

1. Enthusiastic about the topic
2. Create solutions to her readers' problems
3. Understands who her audience is
4. Creatively market her blog through social media and partnerships

Consider this. Others may be interested in it if you are. With that in mind, all that is next is to get your blog in front of the right people.

Most Popular Niche Blog Ideas

These are 4 blog niches that have a high potential to become monetized. You don’t have to start in one of these niches. You can use this as motivation to create your own ideas.

Keep reading to find a step-by-step formula you can use to create your own niche idea.

1.) Food and Cooking Blogs

Let’s talk about food blogs. Food blogs are some of the most popular blog niches online. We all have to eat, right?

Not that anyone has forced me, but I love to eat. You can check out this blog, for example, Thyme & Joy. This is one of my favorite food blogs.

They combine everything that makes blogging so enjoyable. Amazing photography combined with mouth-watering meals. Blogs in food-related niches also have huge income potential. This is their August income report for 2022 where they made over $6,000 that month.

2.) Money Making and Finance Blogs

Among the top-paying blogs are those about making money, finances, and investments. These are popular because people understand the benefit of spending money on a service or course. This is because they know they will recoup it by earning more money down the road.

The topics covered by money-making blogs include advice on how to earn, save, invest, and stock market guidance.

This is Bobby Hoyt’s blog called Millennial Money Man. Bobby is a former band director who paid off $40,000 of student loan debt in 18 months on his teaching salary and then left his job to run his blog full-time.

He now earns well over $100,000 a month. How mind-blowing is that? You can check out his income report here.

3.) Travel Blogs

After a long day, I often spend time scrolling through travel blogs and watching travel TikToks to get ideas for new explorations.

It just feels right to take a mental break from your daily routine and picture yourself in a remote winter cabin right now, even in these strange times.

If you want to start a travel blog in 2023, don’t be discouraged. Travel blogging suffered in 2020 and 2021, but we can see it recovering now.

In the meantime, take a look at Two Wandering Souls if you need some additional ideas and motivation.

These two are Katie and Ben, Minnesota natives who fell in love in high school and now travel the world full-time while blogging about their experiences.

As you can see, they claim that their travel blog contributed to a full-time income for them in Q4 of over $74,000.

4.) Health and Fitness Blogs

By 2025, it is predicted that the global wellness industry will be worth $7 trillion, which is absolutely amazing to me!

People of all ages around the world are concerned about dietary lifestyles, wellness, daily nutrition, and consistent exercise.

Your favorite health and fitness blogger is the most effective person to encourage you to complete that gym session or finally kick that bad eating habit.

For instance, take a look at Green Thickies. Their health and wellness blog generates more than $15,000 per month for them.

Formula to Develop Your Blog Niche

I want to share my four-part process for locating a lucrative blog niche to wrap up this article, so here it is:

What You’re An Expert At + Common Problem + People Hurt by The Problem + Profit Opportunities = Blog Niche

Let me walk you through each step with you.

What You’re An Expert At

Begin with your area of expertise.

First and foremost, it’s crucial to launch a blog in a subject area where you feel knowledgeable and enjoy writing about. Ask yourself these questions:

• What special skills do I have?
• What topic do I have knowledge of?
• What do I spend hours reading on my own?
• What topic do I want to learn more about?
• What is the most common topic I am asked for advice about?

I recommend you begin with a brainstorming session. Everything that comes to mind should be put in writing.

Common Problem

Your niche blog must solve a problem. Save the flowery language and poetic metaphors for your journal.

The (not-so) secret to starting a successful blog is to learn to provide readers with valuable information.

Why else are people online?

We are all looking for answers.

I frequently use Google to look for solutions to issues in my personal or professional life. Your blog should produce insightful content for your readers.

People Hurt by The Problem

It’s time to locate your audience now.

Consider whether or not there are other blogs about your proposed topic.

If so, fantastic!

It suggests that people are interested in what you have to say. Find out where these people mingle. Learn about them and their issues.

Look at Reddit forums, Discord channels, Quora chats and Facebook groups to see if anyone has questions that your articles can answer.

Profit Opportunities

Last but not least, if you want to monetize your niche blog, I would start by taking a look at the goods and services you already use in your niche.

Will you be able to sell your own niche-related products on your blog or will you only be able to promote products that already exist on the market?

Affiliate marketing is how I make most of my money with my blog and can be a viable way to start earning from a small amount of website traffic.

Final words

I sincerely hope that this article has helped to clear up some of your concerns and reluctance regarding how to start a niche blog.

Do not feel obligated to blog about the same topics as everyone else.

You can create a successful and lucrative blog out of your interests and passions. I have a lot of faith in you and am excited to see your blog idea come to life.