Does finding the right niche for your blog feel like tuning an old radio?
You are trying to grab that so limited attention on Steemit, but you can't seem to cut through the noise and connect with your readers.
It's frustrating, you have been applying the right principles, you feel some of the signals coming through but it is not really clear.
You probably have gotten some few followers and even an occasional comment on your posts.
But it has taken you weeks to get this far and your left wondering how long you will have to wait before you get a break through.
Now before I continue let me tell you you something, attaching your post payouts to the quality of your post won't help you.
What you should focus on is finding your audience and interacting with them over time your rewards will increase.
So for your Steemit blog to experince growth these are the things you have to do and also keep in mind.
Great Content Does Not Cut It
It is very important to provide your readers with great content, but great content is not enough, if so most Minnows will be Whales now.
The web is filled with great content. There are endless blogs and Website out there filled with tons of valuable information.
You Don't Have To Be An Expert.
When you want to blog on a particular niche, you don't have to be an expert, but it is important to consistently improve your self on the topic.
You can educate people as you go along, waiting till you are an expert on the topic will cripple you, and we may never hear from you
You will never reach a point where you will totally know everything about your niche, innovation is constant.
After reading the points stated above, you may be wondering of what you need to do that will make you different from the thousands of other bloggers out there.
The 3 Important Steps You Have To Take To Grow Your Steemit Blog.
Choose An Audience
This does not mean that if you are a chef that you will blog solely about food, you can always share a random funny cat video or your opinion on a certain issue from time to time.
But you should be primarily known for one thing.
I blog about blogging, but that does not always mean I can't talk about other things.
You just have to be precise about your target audience, the first step is for you to be clear of the people you are writing for.
As long as your readers can easily get similar information elsewhere, they will have little reason to pay attention to your blog.
You have to narrow your target audience.
For example, the purpose of my blog is to teach new and existing Steemians on the right way to build their blog.
This is because I found out that everyone came to Steemit for the rewards, but some don't really know what running a blog entails.
That is why we have issues with Spam and Plagiarism on Steemit.
And you should also check to find out that other people are also blogging on the topic, or you may find out that an audience does not exist for the niche you have chosen.
You don't have to talk about the same thing as others blogs, but when you find existing bloggers in you niche then it serves as a positive sign.
You also make sure to blog on topics you have an affinity to, if I start blogging about web development because I find it there is a large audience for it, I won't go far because it does not come natural to me.
Most importantly you have to study your target audience, find out where they hangout online and the problems they are trying to solve by reading other blogs.
Repurpose Old Content From New Angles
You probably seen a post online with a unique title, like Why Entrepreneurship Is like Surfing, or Why Blogging Is Like Cooking.
The Authors of these posts were merely finding a new angle to their topic that will make them different from their competitors.
You have to start by checking other blogs in your Niche and check the topics that get the most attention, and also check the questions that keep popping up.
And also check you existing readers to know what they constantly need help with.
Focus on what you know better than others within the general topic.
And even if you are relatively new to the topic, you must give people a reason to listen to you. It can be as simple as reading important books on the topic and giving people a summary that contains the key ideas.
As you audience grows, you can over time listen to them and give them the content they need.
However these first two tips are not enough, there is still something you have to do in other to stand out in your Niche.
Find Out What Your Audience Craves
Now you have used the first step to narrow down your niche, and the second step have showed you how to to keep you readers
If you can give your audience what they crave around your topic, they will always pay attention to your posts and share your content.
It could be that your audience craves simpler and easier to implement advice in comparism to complex ideas that are harder to implement.
They may also want to hear the success stories of other people and the steps they took to get where they are.
I bridged this gap for my audience by introducing The Humans Of Steemit Story Series Where older minnows tell their Steemit Story and how they were able to build their Steemit blog
Steemians like @aksinya, @lydon.sipe and @jsantana have all shared their Steemit Stories.If you want to share your Story contact me On Steemit Chat on @Ogochukwu.
Satisfying these cravings is what will make you stand out in your niche.
You have limited ways to separate your blog from the thousands of blogs out there, so you must make your difference loud and clear.
And most importantly, people should get a good grasp of what your blog is about when they visit it, they must have a clear reason to follow you and read your content.
Dominating Your Niche
After going through these three steps, you will already know what compels people to listen to you and also give you feedback.
You consistently post content that your target audience craves and look forward to, few steemit bloggers have been able to get my attention this way.
But there are Steemians I always make their blog my first port of call anytime I come online.
At this stage of domination all your content should be focused on making people understand your Value proposition.
And for this to happen you have to first discover that Value proposition, so before you make any other post, take out a pen and paper and note down what will make your blog memorable.
A New Steemit Tool For Finding Niches
Like I said above, you have to make sure that there are existing bloggers in your niche, one it assures you that you are not venturing into a topic that has no audience.
Another thing is that it gives you an opportunity to connect with like minded bloggers like you.
I introduce the new Steemit Looking for a Niche Tool. This is a very resourceful tool and it is the brain child of @rawbinhutt.
Finding bloggers and Steemians in your Niche is now very easy.To use the bot simply type ' whalebot LFN' and the niche you want to look for and Whalebot will show you users in that particular Niche.
It was through the bot I was able to find @paulag who also has an interest in blogging.
To join the community follow this Link To Discord
If there are any strategies you are using to grow your blog, or if there is something I missed let us know in the comments below.
Thanks For Reading
Image Source: Google Images and Pexels.com
Cool stuff @ogochukwu. In steemit we need more people adding value and good marketers and fewer people taking value and spamming all over the place. Doing all these things you mentioned take time, but it's the only way and the way it has to be, otherwise, all the users just would be whales without adding anything to the community and that's unfair. Thanks for sharing ;)
Hello @arturomdg
Thanks for reading.
Building an Authority in a topic takes time and patience, so you have to put in the work.
Even when running a wordpress blog, you have a lot of work to do before the rewards start coming in.
I believe that blogging on Steemit is easier than on wordpress.
@ogochukwu
Yeah that for sure, in steemit you have a little and your posts are read from time to time in wp nobody sees you at first and you make zero!
Yes, but when they do eventually come, and they will, you earn on posts much longer than 7 days. I have earnings on a wordpress blog from things I wrote 6 years ago.
I know, I do both things. For me these two are a nice complement to each other ;)
Nice post followed @ogochukwu :)
upvoted and resteemed @ogochukwu
thanks for sharing this wonderful guide... very educative and informative.... you truly an asset here... keep steeming hot ... always worthy of my upvote
Thanks for reading, I am glad you found the post resourceful.
@ogochukwu
yes there...very resourceful...
thanks and find time to check my new post of today
regards
@ogochukwu you are on point . I agree with you about finding your niche, thanks a lot for sharing .
Thanks for telling everyone about Looking For Niche. I am happy you like the project!
And a good blog on actual finding that niche too!
I agree that it is important to find like-minded, and focus on things you are good at, while at the same time, being willing to learn more - being able to grow as a blogger and as a human in sense. It's harder than it sounds, but luckily it is not at all impossible to find your niche.
Hello @rawbinhutt
I find the tool very resourceful for an avid researcher like me.
Thanks once again for taking the initiative to build it.
@ogochukwu
Hey @ogochukwu
I think this is really great article but I think most of these things do not work on Steemit because I see crypto currency topics are always trending, they are earning more money, women are getting more exposure compared to men and this place is not for everyone.
Steemit is new platform that could be reason but I think we should not lose hope and try to build our authority and audience.
Thanks
Hello @asolopreneur
I believe that the playing field is not level due to the fact that most of those people on the trending page could actually afford to buy steem and power up, so they will definately have a sort of headstart but that should not keep you from growing your audience.
@ogochukwu
Good post ogochukwu, I'll follow the tips. The really hard thing for writers, is to find an appreciative audience. There are few who read, and fewer who appreciate good fiction. As a matter of fact, I'm caught between writing for the rewards instead of writing for myself. Sure I can come up with hundreds of posts on niche subjects but my heart is set on great fiction. And it's too easy to get lost in the noise.
Any advice for budding authors?
Hugs.
J.
Hello @jhagi.bhai
Getting an appreciative audience is sometime hard, but I believe that consistency will help you.
Have you heard of @spotlight they are a new company here on Steemit that has the aim of giving Steemians who practise their art views .
If you are interested, you can be the first guest of the upcoming interview series.
@ogochukwu
If you can figure out what my niche is... Let me know!!! Good post Brother!
Hello @richq11
Just like @meesterboom You are an entertainer. :)
Keep the interesting stories coming.
@ogochukwu
Thank you my friend... I'll try!
Thank you @ogochukwu for this piece
There is something that has been on my mind for a while now and it expressed by this question:
Is steemit a bloggers media platform or a social media platform?
Hello @tojukaka
I personally believe that Steemit is a divergent platform. I has the qualities of both a social media platform and also that of a blogging platform. The blockchain blogger series is very dear to me, because I an doing something that has not been done before. Teaching people how to blog on the blockchain.
There are a lot of information out there on blogging but none teaches you blogging on the blockchain.
Thanks for reading.
@ogochukwu
Thanks bro
I've learnt a lot from your teachings
@ogochukwu, fantastic stuff. You covered everything a successful modern-day marketer would do. Latin root 'advert' means 'turning people toward' whatever you're promoting.
Gone are the days of create good content and they will come. Of course, creating good content is a must, but they will not come. We go to them, interact and understand them. Thanks for a great post!
Hello @knowledge1
Thanks for reading and absorbing the essence of the post.
I am glad you found it resourceful.
@ogochukwu