Let me stress, it’s not choosing the niche that’s going to make you the most money but the one you’re going to be able to sustain. Day in and day out.

So, where to you start? Ideally, a blog should cover a subject that you know well and have a passion for. It’s easy to get discouraged when you look around the Internet and see other people have that same passion and seemed to have even more knowledge than you. So what then? I know, I know more questions. So, why don’t we get down to the nitty-gritty and answer the questions that you should be asking yourself.

What Are Your Interests?

The first thing to consider when starting a blog is your personal interest. Being passionate and knowledgeable about a topic will make it easier coming up with ideas for blog posts. And if that passion comes through your sure to get readers who will want to know more.

Of course, you have to be careful not to be too narrow with your focus. The more ideas you can cover within your niche, the bigger your audience. Let’s say you want to start a blog about muffins. Great idea and there are lots of muffins to be made … for a while. Until you get tired of them and then your audience gets tired. But if you start with a baking niche and cover muffins and then cookies and then takes and then… well, you get the idea. Your best bet is selecting a topic which appeals to a larger audience.

So get pen and paper out and start making a list of all your favorite things. And what you’re good at. And what you would be good at sharing with others.

My what. I decide to pursue the “work at home for moms” niche primarily because that’s what I’ve been doing for a lot of years. It wasn’t until I was at a neighborhood party a few months ago that I realized how often I was helping women find work at home solutions. Been there, done that, and could talk about it for hours. So for me, it was a no-brainer.

Who is Your Competition?

Once you’ve narrowed down your niche list to one or two subjects, it is time to start checking out the competition. First, search out the top blogs in that niche is. That’s generally just a Google search because the top blogs are going to show up on the first page or two.

You’re also going to do searches on some of the top social network sites, such as interest or twitter to see who comes up for topics. Once you put together a list of about 10 sites for each niche you’re going to go through them with a fine-tooth comb.

Take a look at the navigation bars for the categories of topics that are covered on each blog. Then read as many of the post as you can to get a feel for how each blogger covers the subject matter. Then look at the comments for each blog to discover how readers respond. And most importantly what answers are they looking for.

Again, take out that pen and pencil and start making notes. Then start your evaluation process to figure out what your competition is doing right and what they may be missing (and that you can cover).

My Who. I initially evaluated the top 10 blogs in my niche doing exactly the above. Honestly, it’s an ongoing process for me. What it help me with, however, is narrowing my focus and coming up with the goals for this blog. If you look at the top of the homepage you’ll see my work from home goals. This process is how I got to them.

Why are You Blogging?

there are probably as many reasons for blogging as there are bloggers but a lot of it comes down to personal enjoyment and /or generating income. Not that they are mutually exclusive. Hopefully, you can do both but answering the why will help you determine your approach. And your monetization of the blog, if any.

Go back up to your notes from the who and figure out how those bloggers are making money. It could be with ads, affiliate sales or their own info products.

My Why. For me, my why was easy. Sharing information is what I do and have been doing for over 25 years. I’ve also been lucky enough to find some wonderful information to other bloggers. Just as they helped me succeed I’d like to pay that forward. (Oh sure, I’d like to make an income with this, too 🙂 Maybe not Michelle at Making Sense Out of Cents levels, but maybe a little, modest, something kinda income).

No matter how you answer the 3 W’s, I hope you create the best blog you can, by first choosing a niche you love, that you keep populated with regular posts that are original, informative and interesting.