Sometimes, bloggers simply want to blog to make money. To them, blogging isn’t a hobby. It’s not a pastime. It’s not something to do to show family what they’ve been up to. To them, it’s a job and it’s something they put effort into to earn as much money as possible.
I’ve been blogging for decades and I’ve earned a healthy income doing it. I’ve never actually blogged for the money, but if someone asked me which topics were the most profitable, I could certainly help them by giving them an entire list of niches they should focus on. That is, if they were interested in striking it rich through blogging.
In this post, I’ll focus on which blog niches (or topics) will make you the most money if you do everything else correctly – that’s to say that you actually enjoy your niche and if you put some high quality effort into your work. After all, no one wants to read a mediocre article posted by someone who hates their job. That mediocracy and hatred will show right through.
I’ll answer a few questions in this post:
- What is a blog niche?
- How can I decide on a niche blog topic?
- What does it mean to run a profitable blog?
- What are the most profitable blog niches today?
After I’m finished answering the above questions, I’ll offer some additional advice – advice I’ve followed through the years that’s helped me a lot with my own blogging.
What is a Blog Niche?
Simply put, blog niches are slices of a broader topic. For example, you might want to write about the healthcare industry. That’s pretty big and after a while, you’ll realized there’s already a massive amount of competition in that field. So you decide to narrow your scope down to physical therapy or dermatology, whichever you enjoy more. That’s a niche. Another example might be that you’d like to write about the automotive industry. Again, by this point in time, that sector is quite saturated. Instead, you decide to narrow your blogging to Chevy automobiles and then decide to narrow even more to focus primarily on Corvettes. That’s a niche. The competition among Corvette blogs is much less than that of Chevrolet or automotive blogs in general. If you’d like to learn more, please take a look at my section on blog niches.
How to Decide On a Blog Niche
There are a few key aspects that will need consideration while attempting to find and settle on the perfect blogging niche. While asking yourself, “What should I blog about?”, think about what your future readers might enjoy reading. Then ask yourself what your interests and areas of expertise are. What do you have experience with? What do you enjoy discussing with family and friends? In what industries have you worked? What are you hobbies? On what topic do you think you’d be able to write thorough, complete, and compelling posts? What types of things make you smile and what do you think you could write about for the rest of your life? These questions are quite valid and should be answered before you begin blogging.
I’ll give you a quick example of a person who should already know what niche to immerse himself.
I grew up with a friend who loves cars. We used to travel together on a bus to grade school and every morning, as cars would pass by, he’d point each one out and tell me its make, model, and year. Mind you, we were in first grade. I knew no one else like him and believe me when I tell you, my friend was and still is a prodigy as the word relates to the automobile.
If my friend were inclined to launch a blog and if he asked me on which topic he should write, I’d reply, “Muscle Cars.” Why? Because that’s what he knows the most about. Muscle cars in America offer a rich history and more and more are being produced each year. Needless to say, my friend would be a very busy writer. He’d also enjoy his craft.
Still need help? Consider reading my post that covers how to find the perfect blogging niche in its entirety. It’s pretty good.
It’s important to remember that blogging is a long-term endeavor that’s not for the faint of heart. If you ultimately don’t enjoy what you’re writing about, you’ll end up abandoning the blog. Trust me, you will. No one can regularly write about a topic they don’t enjoy writing about. That can become painful, no matter how much the blog is paying you.
I’d also like to impress upon you that it’s going to take some time for your blog to begin garnering traffic. For a while, your blog will be a quiet place. It won’t be earning you any money and you’ll essentially be writing for the joy of it. You’ll need to pretend it’s your favorite hobby. With time and commitment though, the website will begin attracting visitors and with them will come the earnings.
What Exactly is a Profitable Blog?
For the sake of clarity, I think it’s important to define exactly what a profitable blog is. This way, you’ll know to what I’m referring and exactly what your expectations should be once you begin in earnest.
Technically, a profitable blog is one that earns enough money to pay for its expenses. Really though, that’s a boring way to look at it. With that definition, if your costs are $100 per month and you earn $101 through your blog, it would be profitable.
What does profitable really mean? A profitable blog is one that can generate and sustain a substantial income – one that can support your way of living and one that can ultimately become your primary source of income. Remember, when you become a blogger by profession, your costs aren’t only those that stem from operating the blog itself. Your costs are those as well as those that stem from the rest of your life. So with that way of looking at it, everything needs to be paid for, not only some hosting, a pretty theme, and a laptop.
Ways That Blogs Make Money
As you consider making money through your blog, you’ll need to consider how exactly that money will come to you. Or, put more succinctly, what you’ll need to do to earn the money you seek. Below, I’ll offer a few ideas for you to think over. These are the most popular methods for generating earnings through blogs today.
- Advertising – By far, this is the most popular method for monetizing not only your blog, but any website you’d like to own and operate.
- Affiliate Marketing – This is probably the second most popular method for monetizing a blog. It requires more work than does display advertising, but it can be quite lucrative for the right industry.
- Selling Products, Services, & Courses – As you become an experienced blogger, you’ll likely become in demand as well. At this point, you might want to consider selling merchandise, other products, and your very own services. And ultimately, you might want to begin teaching others your methods via online courses.
- Sponsored Posts – Every popular blog receives requests for sponsored posts. That’s just the way it is today. If you like the presented product and feel as though you can endorse it, you can potentially earn an income sponsoring said product(s).
It’s important to keep in mind that not all blogs are created equally. If you’re writing about your daily activities, you might not make much income, but if you’re writing about mobile phones, you’ll likely be more profitable. Many factors determine how much earning potential your blog will have, such as:
- Competition – No matter how great your posts are, if they can’t climb to the first page of search engine rankings, you won’t get too far.
- How Your Visitors Find You – From where are you earning your traffic? Is it social media? Search engines? Email lists? Word of mouth? Depending on your traffic sources, your income can vary.
- Popularity – If you have few visitors, you likely won’t make much money. The more visitors you attract, the higher your income will climb.
- Earning Strategies – As I mentioned above, the varying methods for monetizing your blog will impact your earning potential. One affiliate click might equal 100 ad clicks, so choose wisely and do your research.
No matter the method or methods you choose to monetize your website, you’ll need to work diligently and consistently to grow. This isn’t an on and off type of thing. As your audience expands, they’ll expect regular posts that offer value.
What Are the Most Profitable Blog Niches Today?
Let’s get to the meat of this post. After all, finding out which blogging niches have the potential for making you the most money is why you’re here. Before reading this list, however, you’ll need to consider a few things: when choosing a profitable blogging niche, you’ll need to choose a topic that’s 1) profitable, 2) something people actually want to read about (in demand), and 3) something that’s not too competitive. For example, writing about car insurance can make you millions because car insurance advertising is extremely costly, but I’m not sure I know any living soul who wants to read about car insurance. I may be wrong, so you decide.
Below, you’ll find the most lucrative blog niches available today, based on statistics and actual data. I’m not just sitting here making this stuff up. I’ve actually looked at the numbers and this is what I’ve found. Read through the list. I’ll include the major categories (niches) as well as some sub-niches under each section. If something piques your interest, search for it in Google to see if you can refine the topic even further. This will cut through some of the competition out there while still making a lot of money. Also, I’ll be using technical terms below. If you don’t know what something means or what it is, please copy and paste it into Google for a definition.
Digital Marketing
This niche would typically fall under the umbrella of Marketing, but since we’re online, I thought I’d limit it to Digital Marketing. So what is Digital Marketing? This is what Investopedia says it is:
“Digital marketing is the use of websites, apps, mobile devices, social media, search engines, and other digital means to promote and sell products and services.”
When thinking of Digital Marketing, think copywriting, content marketing, social media marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), email marketing, and pay-per-click (PPC).
Technology
Obviously, the Technology niche is enormous, so you’ll definitely want to pare it down to something you can wrap your arms around. But first, let’s define the term Technology. This is what Study.com has to say:
“Technology is the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes or applications. Technology uses scientific principles, and applies them to change the environment in which humans live. Technology can also use scientific principles to advance industry or other human constructions.”
What can you blog about that relates to the field of technology? Think innovations, software, artificial technology (AI), virtual reality (VR), software, apps, and electronics. As I said above, you’ll want to dive deep into any of these topics. Personally, I think if you wrote about iPhones and became popular, you’d strike it rich. Just look on YouTube for evidence of this.
Blogging & How to Make Money Online
This niche is my favorite, obviously. It’s what I do right here on this very blog. As I state on my homepage, I run a blog about blogging. Who knew it would become a “thing”?
Blogging online is a fairly large field, but I’m not sure it needs to be refined. It’s not that large. How to make money online is really a sub-section of blogging though, so if you wanted to separate the two, that’d be fine. But before I go any farther, let’s define blogging. Here’s what The Balance has to say:
“Blogging refers to writing, photography, and other media that are self-published online. Blogging started as an opportunity for individuals to write diary-style entries, but it has since been incorporated into websites for many businesses. The hallmarks of blogging include frequent updates, informal language, and opportunities for readers to engage and start a conversation.”
When it comes to the field of blogging, you can write about how to start and customize a blog, how to monetize it (make money), how to attract an audience and traffic, how to perfect your writing style, and how to engage in other activities that relate to blogging, such as consulting, speaking, and the like.
Sports, Exercise, Health, & Fitness
This is another area that you’ll surely want to break down into smaller chunks. There’s no way you’ll have the time or space to cover the entire world of sports, fitness, and exercise by yourself or on one website. That being said, let’s define what health and fitness is. This is what the National Institute of Health (NIH) has to say it is:
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely absence of disease. Fitness is an ability to execute daily functional activities with optimal performance, endurance, and strength to manage minimalist of disease, fatigue, stress, and reduced sedentary behavior.”
When thinking about health, fitness, and exercise blogging niches, think about these topics: nutrition, exercise, mental health and wellness, holistic health, extreme sports, personal training, running, weight loss, and workouts – the list goes on and on. Take your pick because the world of the health of the body is huge.
Personal Finance & Investing
The field of personal finance and investing is quite a lucrative one. If you think about all the people working in these fields, you’ll most likely also think of their lovely homes in Westchester, New York and Greenwich, Connecticut. There’s money to be made in finance and writing about it can earn you some of that money. After all, most of the money made is through commissions on sales, so it’s there waiting for you.
What is personal finance? Here’s what Investopedia has to say:
“Personal finance is a term that covers managing your money as well as saving and investing. It encompasses budgeting, banking, insurance, mortgages, investments, and retirement, tax, and estate planning. The term often refers to the entire industry that provides financial services to individuals and households and advises them about financial and investment opportunities.”
If you decide to blog about this niche, you can easily choose from these areas: budgeting and saving, debt management, real estate investing, retirement, financial independence, investing, stocks, bonds, budget shopping, frugal living, and so much more.
Recipes, Food, Beverage, & Eating
When we think about food blogs, we typically think about blogs that share recipes. Most food blogs are of this type and the competition among them is high. There’s a lot more that can be written regarding this niche than just recipes though and if you’re trying to beat to your own drum, you might want to dive into a food related sub-niche. Before I go any farther, let’s find out what food blogging actually is. This is what Wikipedia says it is:
“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.”
If you’d like to start blogging about recipes, food, and beverage, you might want to look into these sub-topics: dietary trends, cultural cuisine, sustainable eating, food and restaurant reviews, food photography and styling, food blogging in general, meal planning, coffee, craft beer, kitchen equipment, recipes and tutorials, and more.
Self-Care, Wellness, & Personal Development
If you’ve ever taken a yoga class or have read and learned about yoga, you’ve likely begun your journey into self-care. It’s a rather large niche that offers many avenues to explore. If you were to delve into blogging about health and wellness, you’d never need to look at another niche as long as you live. It’s deep, to say the least. Let’s take a look at what self-care, wellness, and personal development are. This is what Pfizer has to say about wellness:
“Wellness is the act of practicing healthy habits on a daily basis to attain better physical and mental health outcomes, so that instead of just surviving, you’re thriving. To understand the significance of wellness, it’s important to understand how it’s linked to health.”
If you were to blog about this profitable niche, you could choose any one of these sub-niches to get started: mindfulness, self-purpose, stress-management, goal setting, motivation, happiness, self-esteem, meditation, mental health, self-care, and more. Think blogging about motivation isn’t lucrative? Just tell that to Tony Robbins, one of the world’s most famous motivational speakers alive.
Lifestyle
Lifestyle blogging can cover a lot of area and it can overlap into other niches as well. I love lifestyle blogs. I see many of them ranking very well in Google and I know the owners have monetized their blogs appropriately to earn them a substantial amount of money. Lifestyle is great because it can cover day-to-day topics as well as one-off events without blinking an eye. What is lifestyle blogging? This is what 10Web says it is:
“A lifestyle blog is a website where writers share tips and personal experiences on topics like health, fashion, travel, and food. It’s diverse, covering anything from fitness and style to cooking and home decor.”
As I said, lifestyle blogs can earn a lot, with an average income of $5,000 per month not being unheard of. They include mommy blogs, travel, fitness, fashion, beauty, self-help, relationships, gardening, decorating, DIY and home improvement, gardening, hobbies, and so much more.
Parenting & Personal Relationships
Depending on which track you take, there’s money to be made in this blogging niche. Every year, countless brides scour the internet for wedding related posts. Every day, millions of people search to learn how to fix or enhance their relationships. Every minute a new mother wants to learn how to be the best mom she can be. Whether you call them parenting blogs or mommy blogs, it makes no difference. Pick one and start writing. Let’s see what GreenGeeks has to say about personal relationship blogs:
“For some people, relationships come easy. But for others, it can be very difficult. A relationship blog can help those who struggle by providing helpful tips and stories while also making money.”
When trying to decide what to write about in this niche, think about these topics: parental self-care, baby and family product reviews, education, parenting style, child development, pregnancy, baby care, families, dating, relationship advice, weddings, and more. The list goes on.
Real Estate
Real estate is another popular and profitable blogging niche that can easily be broken down into sub-niches. It can also go in a few directions as well. You can blog about the income generating potential of real estate investing or you can go the home improvement route, and even those two can overlap at times. This is what Wix says about real estate blogging:
“It’s your own platform to share valuable insights, market trends, and tips on everything real estate. Whether you’re a seasoned agent or just passionate about homes, a real estate blog lets you connect with your audience and showcase your knowledge.”
And this is what Lasso says about it:
“Are you passionate about real estate and want to turn it into a side income or full-time business? Starting a real estate blog is a great way to make it happen! Successful real estate bloggers are earning tens of thousands of dollars every month by sharing their experiences.”
Real estate blogging is super broad, so consider choosing one or more topics to stay focused. Think about home renovations, real estate investing, home ownership, market updates, interior design, relocation, decorating, and more.
Tips for Blogging Success
With success comes profitability, so focus on success more than anything else. With that being said, I offer you these tips to become a successful blogger:
Your Content Comes First
It’s tempting to launch a blog and jump right into search engine optimization. Please try to avoid succumbing to that temptation. After all, if you’ve got little to no content, there’s nothing for the search engines to optimize. Also, remember that each post you write needs to be written at the university level. The internet doesn’t need any more low quality blog posts, so be sure that your posts are well thought out and researched, very well written, offer a full evaluation of your topic, offer a level of expertise that can’t be found elsewhere, and above all, provide whatever it is your readers are looking for, whether that be solutions to their problems or simple entertainment. If you’re going to do it, do it well and make it worth everyone’s while. Quality, quality, quality.
Search Engines Are Your Friends
You’ll eventually find that most of your traffic will likely stem from search engine results. With that, be sure to focus on which keywords you use in your posts, make sure to use proper keywords and be descriptive with your post titles, write descriptive headings throughout your posts, make sure your website is operating properly, is well structured, uses a sitemap, and takes advantage of well written meta tags. Also, since the internet operates by websites linking to each other and since Google loves links, be sure to earn some high quality ones that point to your website home page and individual post pages.
Create Social Media Channels
Social media is becoming tough to work with these days because most users see more ads than posts from accounts they follow. Social media algorithms also block much of what our friends post too, but using these free services can still be worthwhile, especially if you’re popular.
After writing a blog post, be sure to tell your followers that you did so by sharing the post on social media. Use the big websites like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Twitter (X). When posting, be sure to make the experience immersive for your followers. Add pretty graphics and videos and be sure to write captivating messages. Also, don’t stop at posting to just one website – be sure to cross-post to all you use. And when someone leaves a comment, make sure you reply. There’s nothing worse than for a follower to comment on something you posted, only to be left high and dry. Always interact with your people. They’re the ones who are going to be making you all of your future income.
Always Stay Engaged
As much as we’d love to believe that we can simply write a post and leave things at that, we need to remember that blogging is a people-oriented business. The only thing that truly matters is how our blogs impact our readers. With that said, my advice to you is to build a vibrant community and then engage with it. Stay engaged by replying to every single comment and question you receive, send your posts out to subscribers via newsletter (try Substack for this), build a fanbase on social media, and perhaps build a forum to accompany your blog when the time is right. It’s one thing to write to people, but when you become popular enough, you may want to consider writing with people.
Never Quit
When it comes to becoming a successful blogger, I’ve got three pieces of really great advice for you:
- Success comes very slowly with blogging these days. Don’t look at your stats in the beginning. Simply write good stuff and never quit.
- Publish posts regularly. The search engines love regularity and will reward it with traffic.
- Mix and mingle with other bloggers. This will build your reputation, earn you links, and make the entire profession a heck of a lot more fun. This last suggestion can be elusive for most bloggers. Work hard at it.
If you’d like to learn more, please check out my entire post on successful blogging. It’s much more comprehensive than what I just shared above.
Conclusion
Don’t ever, for a single minute, think you can’t become a successful blogger who earns a living doing so. You certainly can do it. If you follow the advice offered above and settle on a niche that’s profitable and enjoyable to write about, you’ll be well on your way. The biggest hurdle to overcome is time. It takes time to build a library of posts and search engines want to make sure you’re serious about what you’re presenting before they refer you in their search results. By a search engine showing your website in their results, they’re essentially saying, “We vouch for this wensite.” Make your content top-notch and get to know other people in your field. If you do all these things, you’ll be better off than most of your competition.
If you have any questions or comments about what I’ve shared above, please leave them down below. If you have anything you’d like to add, please that down below as well. Thanks for reading!
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