When you are brand new to blogging, a common debate is which niche blog will win in a single topic vs multi topic blog battle?
Choosing a niche can be difficult as there are thousands if not millions to choose from. Will you waste all of your time, money and energy writing about a topic that nobody cares about? What if you spend a year blogging and you receive little or no traffic?
With questions like these, it is easy to start asking yourself – why not blog about anything and everything I want?
This is exactly what I wondered and why I started a Multi Topic Blog in March, 2018. This blog is now about 6 months old and I’ve only made 12 posts so far. After six months I can tell you the answer you want to know:
Should YOU start a single or a multi topic blog?
The answer is you should do BOTH!
Continue reading as I dispel the myths about the wonderful world of multi-topic blogs.
Updated opinion as of June 20, 2020:
It has been almost 2 years since I originally wrote this article. My opinion has changed slightly, and overall I still recommend creating a multi niche blog, but mainly for two reasons.
Reason #1 – A Multi Topic Blog helps you discover your true passions
The first reason is for new bloggers that are still searching for the perfect idea. The great thing with a multi topic blog is you can post on anything you feel like which gives you a greater feeling of freedom. This also helps eliminate blogger burnout.
You will quickly discover what topics you like to write about and which ones you do not. Once your site starts receiving traffic, you will be able to tell what articles perform the best and from there you can then decide to start a separate new blog that focuses on that category.
Reason #2 – Learn the Ropes of Blogging
If you are brand new to blogging, a multi niche blog can help you learn all of the ropes of WordPress and increase your writing skills. Once you have mastered your first blog it will be that much easier to start your next “real” blog.
For experienced bloggers I still recommend having a generic blog like this as it’s a great way to release your creative energy without having to worry about messing up your traffic, momentum, etc.
It is possible for someone to succeed with a blog on many different subjects, but the main problem is search engines have a hard time figuring out what your website is about.
Imagine if you made a print magazine using the same formula. A magazine on every topic would be harder to sell advertising on.
When you go to a book store and visit the magazine section, normally they are on more focused topics such as knitting, model railroads, gardening, cars, etc.
Overall the odds are higher that you will have more success on a topic that targets a specific audience vs. one that targets everyone.
That said, keep reading the original article below if you’re still curious…
A Quick Guide to Multi Topic Blogging
The first thing I recommend is to start a multi topic blog and have a goal to pick your first niche blog very soon after you make your first post on your multi-topic blog. You don’t want to procrastinate and put the single topic blog off too long as you could be missing out on a golden opportunity.
With a multi topic blog, try to pick a domain name that you like, not too long, easy to remember, brand like, etc. You never know. The thing could take off like a rocket and you end up with the next site as popular as Reddit.
Once you have a domain name picked out, have set up your blog, then simply start posting about whatever you feel like. It takes quite awhile to start receiving organic search traffic, so don’t panic if nothing happens soon. It may take as long as 3 months before you start seeing the first signs of steady traffic. Of course this all depends on how quickly your blog gains a following, if anyone links to you early, social media posts and a whole host of variables.
If you need ideas on what to write about, take an hour or so and brainstorm where you won’t be interrupted. Make a list of things you are interested in, what you are good at, what you are REALLY good at (as in an expert in the field) as well as things you may not be good at but WANT to be good at. Try to come up with as many ideas as you can – perhaps around 100 or so.
Once you have a big list, sift through these ideas and pick your top 10 ideas to start. Now you’re ready to go. Pick your #1 favorite subject (also known as a niche) and your next step will be to brainstorm specific blog post ideas for that topic.
The best path to take for your first blog post is to choose one that you could write off the top of your head based on your own personal experience. That is how I am writing this blog post right now. I’ve already lived it and experienced it first hand so there is nothing I have to fake.
Now, you may want to make a few posts before you start a targeted single topic niche blog. This is a good idea if you’re not ready after the first post as you will start to get a feel for which topics you like and which ones you don’t after you do a few posts. After awhile you will also be able to see which topics other people like and which ones nobody care about based on search traffic.
It is very motivating when you see incoming searches to certain posts… but equally demotivating when you see zero searches for other posts. Trust me, you won’t want to write about topics that don’t bring in traffic. lol
After around 10 or 20 posts or a few months go by, you will have a much better idea of what could work as if you made a focused niche blog. You will have saved yourself a ton of time, money and frustration.
Overall, one way to look at multi-topic blogging is to think of it as a fantastic niche research tool.
Benefits of Multi Topic Blogging
- You can write about anything you want, giving you the freedom to explore potential more focused niche topics
- Stress reliever if you want to get something off your chest
- Increase overall blogging experience on the technical and writing side
- Get ideas for targeted niche topics that best suit you and your expertise
- As long as you write high quality articles, you will get traffic – don’t believe the naysayers
- Less restrictions, more freedom
- Burn out less likely
- Great way to test drive targeted niche topics – a category or single blog post can give you an idea if a niche is worth pursuing or not
- They are fun!
A Quick Guide to Single Topic (Targeted Niche) Blogging
All of the steps are the same to start a single topic blog as a multi topic blog. The only difference is you will be writing about about a focused subject as opposed to anything in the universe.
Here are a few tips and recommendations to help make your journey smoother…
Write what you are passionate about – When starting a niche blog it is important that you choose a subject you love and are passionate about. Blogging is tough enough as it is, why write about something that bores you? There are many crazy examples out there that have proven that people can make money on just about anything imaginable. Yes, some topics are better than others, but you want to try to at least have a little bit of passion for your topic. The main reason is eventually it is likely you will have other bloggers competing with you. If they are more passionate, excited and focused than you are – guess who will write higher quality content? Guess who will rank better in the search engines. The other blogger. Leverage your existing passion, experience and skills to make this entire process easier and more enjoyable. Success will come quicker as a natural result.
Make sure the niche can be monetized – Almost any niche can be monetized, but some are easier than others. Before making the final commitment do some searching around. Are there products on Amazon or other online that you could sell on your niche site? Are there companies advertising products/services on Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.? Don’t get too worried though. If you can build a site that brings in traffic, there’s always a way to monetize it.
Pick a broader, but focused niche so you have some wiggle room – Some people try to choose a topic that is extremely narrow with the hopes that it will help them rank higher in the search engines. For some niches this can be true, but it’s important to not get too spammy about it. The problem with this route is the chances for burn out are higher as you will run out of things to write about sooner. You also box yourself in. With a broader targeted niche you can experiment with various micro niches and keep the blog more exciting for you and your readers.
Brainstorm, then start blogging! Don’t overanalyze things too much. Brainstorm some article ideas and pick your first post that feels right. Some blog post ideas will feel duller than others. For your first articles, you’ll want to build some momentum to keep you motivated. To do that choose topics that you could write with little or no research at all.
Conclusion
To conclude, a multi-topic blog is perfect for anyone that has never blogged before and would like to gain some experience and help you discover targeted niches as you build it. They are also great for anyone that simply would like to have more blogging freedom and be able to write about anything they wish. Multi-topic blogs are also a perfect laboratory to test niche ideas.
A single topic blog is perfect if you are already an experienced blogger and would like to build a blog that is easier to target to potential advertisers or anyone that may be buying products or services that would be of interest to that audience.
Most of the experts will tell you that you should choose a targeted niche blog over a multi-topic blog as they are simply easier to monetize. Overall, this is true.
Successful Multi-Topic Blogs
It should also be pointed out to the experts that there are countless examples of multi-topic blogs that have made fortunes for their owners. You could say that Reddit is an example. Buzzfeed could be another. Other examples include Quora, Digg and Wikipedia. Sure, they are not all in a blog format, but if you simplified them they are just websites with a thousands of different topics.
So, if you have the time and a few extra bucks for a domain name and hosting, then go for it. Maybe your multi-topic blog will become a gold mine – or at least lead you to one. Good luck!