At some point, that article about the best ways to stay fit or best ways to get blogging traffic will all sound the same to you.
You’ve read articles like it no fewer than a hundred times. And of course, that means your readers are going to feel the same way about your over-talked-about blog post.
At some point, even if you add new insights and new angles and new perspectives, the overall content is still the same, boring thing. Your niche is just too crowded with writers, and the interesting material’s all taken up, right?
Quite the contrary, in fact. Crowded niches stand out to people in some form or another. The topic interests a wide range of readers. Audience members flock to this niche for whatever reason. Just because it’s crowded doesn’t mean it has no more room for brilliant minds such as yourselves.
You just need to be a step above the game, do a little more research and work into your content, and you’ll have a good following anyway.
Here’s how to get started:
Finding the deeper reason…
Let’s do this Inception style. Go deeper into the layers of reasons or motivations of your readers. Why, truly why, are interested in this niche? Keep going until you reach the “bingo.” When you get there, you will find exactly what it is you need to do to make your articles much more appealing.
At first glance, we all know why your audience is reading your stuff: it pertains to their interests, it pertains to their lifestyle, it relates to their desires, it provides them ideas for their own work, etc. etc. etc.
This is all rather obvious. Finding the deepest, maybe even subconscious reason, takes work and probing. Reading through your comments, attending conferences, emailing users will provide you valuable insight to what your readers are truly thinking.
In the process of your work, you may just discover some surprising things:
- That your readers want to connect to the younger generation
- That your readers want advice on book deals for their blogs
- That your readers want jobs
- That your readers want to make global impact
When you find out about these surprising motivations, you can cater your blog to their goals. Make headlines and posts based on what they truly want to see from your work.
Your readers want to change the world? Write a blog post about how so-and-so blogger made an impact. Your readers want to be published authors? Headline a post about how the best bloggers got a book deal. This is how you can stand out in such a crowded niche of bloggers.
Facing the threat of crowds…
You wouldn’t advise a home-buyer to avoid the big cities just because there are a lot of people there. In fact, it’s the big cities that have the most opportunities. In the same way, you beginner bloggers shouldn’t shudder away from the crowded niches just because they’re crowded. Like the cities, they got big for a reasons. There’s something there that’s valuable to both you and the reader.
Of course, just being a copycat blogger won’t help you either. Remember your readers’ motivations. Remember that you have your own distinct style and voice. You want to be personable, identifiable, trustworthy on the screen. And doing that requires some face time with your readers and with a mirror. Know your audience. Know yourself.
Don’t be afraid to write about the very topics that everyone else in your niche already did. The opportunities for creativity and insight are still out there, waiting to be used. Someone as savvy and hardworking as you can probably find it all.
Viral marketing would be one way to standout in a crowded niche.