Niche blogging

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Niche blogging is the act of creating a blog with the intent of using it to market to a particular niche market. Niche blogs (also commonly referred to as "niche websites") may appeal to "geographic areas, a speciality industry, ethnic or age groups, or any other particular group of people." [1] While there is also debate that every blog is, in some form, a niche blog, the term as it applies to marketing refers to a particular kind of blog.

Contents

Neither blogging nor niche marketing is a new concept. However, only in recent years[ when? ] has the concept of a niche blog come into being.

Niche blogs typically contain affiliate links or advertisements (e.g., pay-per-click or products or both). In some cases, the purpose of the niche blog is to invite the reader into visiting another website that might attempt to sell the reader a product or service.

Niche blogging and spam blogging (i.e., a splog) are often hard to distinguish. However, the reliance of niche blogging on pay-per-click advertising and other revenue streams usually requires blogs to have valuable content related to their chosen niche, unlike a splog.

Popularity

The popularity of niche blogging among new marketers can be attributed to several factors, including cost, adaptability, and generating traffic.

Cost

Blogging can be a low-cost operation using free hosting platforms, including WordPress, Blogger, and Tumblr. Bloggers who choose to invest may purchase domain names or self-host their blogs for a cost. Self-hosted blogs are popular, as Google also takes a website's speed as a ranking factor; therefore, SEOs recommend web admins to host their blogs on high-quality servers.[ citation needed ]

Effectiveness

As far as company-run websites go, niche blogs are an effective marketing tool due to their less sale-oriented nature. By providing useful content for users, rather than just pitching sales, niche blogs encourage product and brand awareness, and are therefore popular in a range of industries as an addition to company websites. [2]

Audience targeting

Niche bloggers generate revenue by targeting readers in their niche, whether that be a group of fellow professionals in a business or potential clients. The choice of target audience influences which topics bloggers choose to cover and how they present and promote their writings. [3]

Profitability

If built correctly, niche blogs can provide their bloggers with a pleasant revenue. From just some extra income to help pay monthly bills to generous amounts that can replace their full-time job salary or overtake it entirely. The reason is that this kind of blog targets a specific type of audience that is closer to the final stage of the purchase funnel.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blog</span> Discussion or informational site published on the internet

A blog is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order so that the most recent post appears first, at the top of the web page. In the 2000s, blogs were often the work of a single individual, occasionally of a small group, and often covered a single subject or topic. In the 2010s, "multi-author blogs" (MABs) emerged, featuring the writing of multiple authors and sometimes professionally edited. MABs from newspapers, other media outlets, universities, think tanks, advocacy groups, and similar institutions account for an increasing quantity of blog traffic. The rise of Twitter and other "microblogging" systems helps integrate MABs and single-author blogs into the news media. Blog can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

The blogosphere is made up of all blogs and their interconnections. The term implies that blogs exist together as a connected community or as a social networking service in which everyday authors can publish their opinions and views.

Spam in blogs is a form of spamdexing which utilizes internet sites that allow content to be publicly posted, in order to artificially inflate their website ranking by linking back to their web pages. Backlinking helps search algorithms determine the popularity of a web page, which plays a major role for search engines like Google and Microsoft Bing to decide a web page ranking on a certain search query. This helps the spammer's website to list ahead of other sites for certain searches, which helps them to increase the number of visitors to their website.

Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. Copywriting is aimed at selling products or services. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or group to take a particular action.

This is a list of blogging terms. Blogging, like any hobby, has developed something of a specialized vocabulary. The following is an attempt to explain a few of the more common phrases and words, including etymologies when not obvious.

The target audience is the intended audience or readership of a publication, advertisement, or other message catered specifically to the previously intended audience. In marketing and advertising, the target audience is a particular group of consumer within the predetermined target market, identified as the targets or recipients for a particular advertisement or message.

Corporate blog is a blog that is published and used by an organization, corporation, etc. to reach its organizational goals. The advantage of blogs is that posts and comments are easy to reach and follow due to centralized hosting and generally structured conversation threads. Although there are many different types of corporate blogs, most can be categorized as either external or internal.

Social media optimization (SMO) is the use of a number of outlets and communities to generate publicity to increase the awareness of a product, service brand or event. Types of social media involved include RSS feeds, social news, bookmarking sites, and social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, video sharing websites, and blogging sites. SMO is similar to search engine optimization (SEO) in that the goal is to generate web traffic and increase awareness for a website. SMO's focal point is on gaining organic links to social media content. In contrast, SEO's core is about reaching the top of the search engine hierarchy. In general, social media optimization refers to optimizing a website and its content to encourage more users to use and share links to the website across social media and networking sites.

A Website content writer or web content writer is a person who specializes in providing content for websites. Every website has a specific target audience and requires the most relevant content to attract business. Content should contain keywords aimed towards improving a website's SEO. A website content writer who also has knowledge of the SEO process is referred to as an SEO Content Writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital marketing</span> Marketing of products or services using digital technologies or digital tools

Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses the Internet and online-based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones, and other digital media and platforms to promote products and services. It has significantly transformed the way brands and businesses utilize technology for marketing since the 1990s and 2000s. As digital platforms became increasingly incorporated into marketing plans and everyday life, and as people increasingly used digital devices instead of visiting physical shops, digital marketing campaigns have become prevalent, employing combinations of search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), content marketing, influencer marketing, content automation, campaign marketing, data-driven marketing, e-commerce marketing, social media marketing, social media optimization, e-mail direct marketing, display advertising, e-books, and optical disks and games have become commonplace. Digital marketing extends to non-Internet channels that provide digital media, such as television, mobile phones, callbacks, and on-hold mobile ringtones. The extension to non-Internet channels differentiates digital marketing from online marketing.

Content creation is the act of producing and sharing information or media content for specific audiences, particularly in digital contexts. According to Dictionary.com, content refers to "something that is to be expressed through some medium, as speech, writing or any of various arts" for self-expression, distribution, marketing and/or publication. Content creation encompasses various activities including maintaining and updating web sites, blogging, article writing, photography, videography, online commentary, social media accounts, and editing and distribution of digital media. In a survey conducted by Pew, content creation was defined as "the material people contribute to the online world".

Website monetization is the process of converting existing traffic being sent to a particular website into revenue. The most popular ways of monetizing a website are by implementing pay per click (PPC) and cost per impression (CPI/CPM) advertising. Various ad networks facilitate a webmaster in placing advertisements on pages of the website to benefit from the traffic the site is experiencing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Content marketing</span> Form of marketing focused on creating content for a targeted audience online

Content marketing is a form of marketing focused on creating, publishing, and distributing content for a targeted audience online. It is often used in order to achieve the following business goals: attract attention and generate leads, expand their customer base, generate or increase online sales, increase brand awareness or credibility, and engage an online community of users. Content marketing attracts new customers by creating and sharing valuable free content as well as by helping companies create sustainable brand loyalty, providing valuable information to consumers, and creating a willingness to purchase products from the company in the future.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet celebrity</span> Person who has become famous through their use of the Internet

An internet celebrity is an individual who has acquired or developed their fame and notability on the Internet. The growing popularity of social media provides a means for people to reach a large, global audience, and internet celebrities are commonly present on large online platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, which primarily rely on user-generated content.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social media marketing</span> Promotion of products or services on social media

Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms and websites to promote a product or service. Although the terms e-marketing and digital marketing are still dominant in academia, social media marketing is becoming more popular for both practitioners and researchers.

Online presence management is the process of creating and promoting traffic to a personal or professional brand online. This process combines web design, development, blogging, search engine optimization, pay-per-click marketing, reputation management, directory listings, social media, link sharing, and other avenues to create a long-term positive presence for a person, organization, or product in search engines and on the web in general.

A feminist blog presents the issues of feminism through a blog. These websites emerged in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and focus on issues such as gender equality, women's rights, and social justice, among other topics related to feminism. These platforms offer unique perspectives and insights, providing a voice for feminist discourse and activism in the digital age.

Health blogs are niche blogs that cover health topics, events and/or related content of the health industry and the general community.

Content writing services is a category of work that first surfaced in the early 1990s, due to an exponential rise in online activities. Content writing services are firms, companies or group of writers that provide services such as blog writing for websites, web content writing, marketing material content, white papers, research articles, proof reading services, infographic content, social media content, press releases, product descriptions, copywriting services, proofreading and editing and many more.

Food blogging is a feature of food journalism that interlinks a gourmet interest in food, blog writing, and food photography. Food blogs are generally written by food enthusiasts, often referred to as "foodies," and can be used commercially by the blogger to earn a profit. The first food blog launched in July 1997 as a running feature on the Chowhound website. Titled "What Jim Had for Dinner," Chowhound founder Jim Leff cataloged his daily eating.

References

  1. "What is Niche Marketing? (Farm and Food Business)". Farm and Food Business (Penn State Extension). Retrieved 2016-02-24.
  2. Singh, Tanuja; Veron-Jackson, Liza; Cullinane, Joe (2008-07-01). "Blogging: A new play in your marketing game plan". Business Horizons. 51 (4): 281–292. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2008.02.002.
  3. Briggs, Wendy (Summer 2012). "BOOSTING BUSINESS THROUGH BLOGGING". Annals of Psychotherapy & Integrative Health.