Earlier, I was talking to a friend about my job, and she mentioned that she’s really been enjoying learning about Twitter and Facebook for her job. She’s a great writer, so I asked her if she ever considered running her own blog about the topic.
“Sure,” she replied. “But it seems to me that there are already hundreds, maybe thousands of blogs out there about social media. Do we really need another one?”
Is this niche too crowded?
She’s right. It’s not just social media – it seems like the make money online/online marketing niche is getting more and more crowded every day. When I compile my Brilliant Bloggers posts, there’s never a shortage of bloggers writing about SEO or copywriting or social networking strategies or whatever the new media topic of the week may be. My feed reader is overflowing, and every day, hundreds of links about social media and other online topics pass through my Twitter stream as people work to promote their work.
And I love it – I enjoy reading interesting posts. But at the same time, one of my pet peeves is seeing new blogs pop up that are saying the same thing that could be found everywhere else. Do we really need another blogger giving us Twitter tips? Do we really need another blogger writing about how because to market your blog on Facebook? Do we really need another blogger selling another e-course or ebook or whatever about promoting your posts?
Yes. We do.
Because here’s the thing – although this is a super crowded niche, if you have a real passion for new media, I want to read what you have to say. Maybe I’ll be interested in your point of view. Maybe it won’t be for me. But you’ll find your fans, as long as that passion for the industry shines through. As long as you let yourself come through in your posts, your blog will have something special that no other blog has.
Believe me, I’d like to tell you to stop. I’d like to say that we have enough – but we don’t! Every day, I’m amazed to find intelligent bloggers who have original ideas about the same old topics. The best is when I find a gem that is so smart that I’m mad I didn’t write it myself. You don’t have to be someone who’s been blogging for five years to write such a post – in fact, often the newest bloggers have fresh opinions that throw my mind for a loop.
I hate reading thrown-together blogs that people start without much thought just because they think blogging is an easy way to make money. I hate seeing blogs that have no personality, that are filled with content that is essentially rewritten posts from other sites. But if we’re being honest, that’s not what most bloggers are about. Most bloggers love this industry and really do want to get their opinion out there.
And I want to read it.
It is undeniably harder to stand out if your niche is crowded, but for bloggers that truly are passionate, it isn’t impossible to be successful. There’s always room for one more. In my opinion, no niche will ever be so crowded that someone who is passionate about the topic shouldn’t start a blog if that’s what they really want to do. The water’s fine; come on in.
So yes, we really do need another blog about social media (or whatever your overcrowded niche of choice may be). We need you. There might be a million other blogs covering the same topic, but only your blog has you.
I am really pleased to read your blog because I love blogging about social media in simple easy to understand terms. I have been pleasantly surprised how many people who have been using social media far longer than me, say that they are learning from me. Yay, thank you for your thoughtful article.
Great blog. It is something I have had to think about often. I try to write about my passion for Social Media but I do worry about the over saturation. That is why I love the point you make here about doing it anyways and finding your audience. I believe conversations are valuable and my blog allows me to do that with the people who find it. I learn a lot from the people who stop by. I think the real power of the online environment is that the numbers matter less and the people we connect to matter more. Thanks for sharing!
Next you should check to ensure that your company is equipped before setting about implementing a strategy of this kind. Even though the majority of social media doesn’t need a huge investment in regards to technology, you should still ensure that what you have is good enough. If your current systems of infrastructure cannot support the strategy then you should look to upgrade them.