I see this question, in some version or the other, pop up a lot across the internet.

Do I need to blog about blogging to make money?

The theory behind this question is a bit rudimentary, but none the less, it is understandable why so many people wonder about this.

You see, it kinda seems like most successful bloggers are always blogging about… you guessed it — blogging.

I’ll give you some example:

• Jon Morrow (of the Smart Blogger)
• Melyssa Griffin (of Melyssa Griffin)
• Pat Flynn (of Smart Affiliate Marketing)
• Michelle Schroeder-Gardner (or Making Sense of Cents)
• Neil Patel (of Neil Patel)

And a bunch of others.

I’m one of those bloggers who blog about blogging, even though I’m nowhere near as successful as the guys I mentioned up above. I don’t make six-figures from my blog. Yet, I’d totally consider myself a success story because, hey! 5K+ per month in two years, businessing on the side, that ain’t nothing!

But the question remains — is it the only way to be a successful blogger?

This question comes from those who have only just started researching about blogging. They go online and search for how to start a blog, or how to be a successful blogger, and they find us — those who’re blogging about blogging. Some of us share crazy earning reports, and that gets people to wonder if it is the only way.

So, in today’s post, I want to share some very transparent facts about the blogging niche so you can make an educated decision when choosing your niche.

Why the blogging niche seems like the only one that makes money

Well, it isn’t the only one for sure.

But it may appear so to newbies who’re just starting to learn about blogging for the reason I mentioned above — most bloggers sharing their monetary success stories seem to be blogging about blogging.

But there’s an easy explanation behind it.

Bloggers like us who teach blogging need to prove to our readers that you can be financially successful as a blogger. To show that we know what we’re talking about, some of us share our income reports. You do not see a recipe blogger teaching how to cook sharing their income reports because that’s irrelevant. And yet, food blogging remains one of the most popular and financially successful niches.

It’s the same with health and fitness blogs, fashion blogs, personal development blogs, sex blogs, writing blogs, and believe it or not, Pat Flynn once interviewed a six-figure blogger whose niche was … wait for it… scrapbooking!

If scrapbooking wasn’t convincing enough for you, get this — ConvertKit also interviewed a successful blogger once who made a full-time income by creating content on magic tricks!

So yeah, it’s not so much about the niche, really. There’s an audience for practically any and all niches under the sun. At the end of the day, these are some of the things that matter most when it comes to financial success through blogging:

• You actively grow your audience.
• You provide value to your audience.
• Your audience learns from you.
• You create quality content consistently.
• You’re innovative when it comes to monetizing your blog.

The truth about the blogging niche

People have a lot of opinions about blogging on the blogging niche.

Some people think it’s boring.

Others think it’s too easy.

And some really do think it’s easy money!

Some think it’s a way to scam people.

Some look down on it, thinking those who write about blogging are only in it for the money.

And then some want to write about blogging but are afraid that it’s a saturated niche and nobody will read what they have to say.

These are just a few, but there are lots more stereotypical ideas regarding the niche. The fact is that it’s none of the above taken out of context. Let’s debunk a few of these misconceptions people have about the blogging niche.

Misconception: writing about blogging is boring

Writing about blogging is like writing about anything else. Ask me to write about fitness, and I’d sooner start counting sheep. Whereas fitness bloggers are probably having a blast creating their content.

It’s about whatever floats your boat.

Am I passionate about writing about blogging? That’s a stretch. But I should say that I like it enough. It’s something I can do because I have the knowledge and the experience, and I like to think that I’m able to help a few people who’re trying to make something of their own blogs. For me, that’s enough to stave off the boredom and continue doing what I’m doing.

There is no universal law that states the blogging niche in and of itself is boring.

Is it sexy? No. But you shouldn’t be doing something based on the merit of sexiness anyway. You must do whatever you choose to do because 1) you find meaning in doing what you’re doing, 2) you enjoy doing it to a certain degree (nobody ever loves doing something 100% of the time; that’s an unrealistic expectation) 3) you’re able to do it well.

Misconception: it is easy

It is neither easy nor difficult.

It requires knowledge and understanding and a willingness to do research and keeping up with the trends.

But that’s true for all genres, more or less. Regardless of what you’re blogging about, it can be as easy as you make it, or as difficult as you’re willing to dig deeper.

Personally, I do not find it a breeze. Most of my posts tend to be over 2,000-words. Writing so much as a side-blogger isn’t exactly easy. A lot of my blog posts also takes a lot of work aside from just writing. I often create how-to articles, tutorials, guides that require small videos or screenshots to help my readers follow my directions. These things add up. They take time and effort. The level of ease or difficulty aside, the blogging niche requires a level of commitment towards quality, and that requires time and resilience.

Misconception: it’s all about the money

As I’ve stated previously, it only appears so. In reality, bloggers across all niches have the potential to be financially successful.

Financial success depends on whether you’re able to attract the right audience, how good you are at growing a community (read: email list), and how innovative you are about monetization. If your idea of monetizing a blog is solely through AdSense or some other ad management service, then well, that’s not gonna fly too well.

But other methods can easily give you the financial leverage you seek through your blog: affiliate marketing, online courses, memberships, digital and physical products, services, coaching, and consultation, etc. I’m positive that regardless of your niche, you should be able to monetize your blog via one or more of these methods I just mentioned. And that’s where lies the truth about money.

You do not NEED to blog about blogging to utilize these methods. You can do so with literally ANY niche, as long as you’re targeting the right people.

Misconception: you can’t be successful because it’s a saturated niche

The contradiction, huh! Some people are worried that it’s the only niche that makes money, while others are worried that it’s too saturated, and therefore, no one will read their blog about blogging.

There is some truth to that saturated part. Yes, many people write about blogging; a simple Google search will prove that.

But this also means that there is demand. And regardless of how many people are blogging about blogging, there are far more people wanting to start a blog on a whole different topic. And these are the same folks who’re searching for blogging tips. So, yes, it is a saturated niche, but it is only so because there is a demand for it.

So, is it a bad thing that so many others are blogging about blogging? Nope! Not the slightest. And I say this to those new bloggers who’re considering starting a blog about blogging. I was in your shoes not long ago, I made something of it, haven’t I?

Now, as for those of you wanting to blog about something else, you may be wondering if it’d be worth your time to blog about something that may not have such a huge demand.

Well, your worries may have been legit in pre-Pinterest days, but fortunately for bloggers across all niches, now we do not have to go out there looking for our ideal audience. Now we can simply create content, promote them on Pinterest, and have the right audience find us instead!

So, even if the blogging niche has some advantages over others, it’s not by much. Not in this day and age.

Can bloggers of other niches make money too?

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, let me just repeat this: yes! You can make money even if you do not blog about blogging.

If writing about scrapbooking or magic tricks can help you make a full-time income and then some, then you bet there’s money to be made regardless of whatever topic you choose to write on.

For those who blog about blogging, they make most of their earnings typically from one or two (or all) of six ways: affiliate marketing, digital products such as eBooks or online courses, sponsored posts, coaching, services, and ads. The good news is that none of these methods are limited to bloggers with the blogging niche only. Let’s have a look, shall we?

Affiliate Marketing

When I picked my niche, I decided on it based on how I wanted to make money. I chose affiliate marketing because the idea of selling a product that already existed appealed to me. I figured this would save me time, and as a side-blogger, time is of the essence.

Long story short, the only companies I knew that paid good commission on sales were tech companies such as hosting companies, email marketing companies, theme and plugin companies, etc., from working as a web designer and developer. I had also worked with a lot of blogger clients and understood a few things about blogging. I’m skipping a lot of details and steps in-between, but in the end, I put two and two together and decided that for me, it would be best to start a blog on blogging.

What I didn’t know at the time is no matter what your niche is, you can find companies that offer affiliate programs. So, you don’t need to be in the blogging niche to take advantage of affiliate marketing opportunities.

eBooks and Courses

Bloggers are perfect for creating educational materials because most bloggers are already teaching their audience something or the other.

As someone who writes about different aspects of growing their blog, I can simply take these topics, consolidate them, and turn them into online courses. This is precisely what I did with my three-course bundle – Blogging Blueprint – where I teach how to use Pinterest to grow your traffic, how to build an email list with your blog, and how to start monetizing your blog with affiliate marketing.

Whether you choose to blog on fitness, or health, or personal development, or writing, or relationships, or even scrapbooking or magic tricks, you should be able to take these topics and create an online course or an eBook – whichever format is to your liking.

For example, one of the things I blog about often, aside from blogging related topics, is Canva. I started writing about Canva simply because I love this super easy graphic design program. Also, since a ton of bloggers use Canva to create graphics and digital collaterals, it was easy to consolidate the Canva related topics with my blogging topics. I also started selling Canva templates for bloggers at one point, and from there, the idea of creating an online course on how to sell Canva templates was born.

My point is, you can create an online course on practically any topic! If a course seems too intimidating at first, you should at least be able to put together an eBook easily. I mean, bloggers do one thing the most – create a shit ton of content. And that experience alone should be enough to create educational digital products to help your audience.

Coaching (or Services)

Similar to creating online courses, you could also offer to help your audience one-on-one.

Many people who blog about blogging often offer one-on-one coaching or other kinds of services. For example, I have provided one-on-one blogging consultation in the past. I also often get email requests from fellow readers about helping them set up their blogs. Had I not stopped freelancing, I could have made good money with that service.

But even if you do not blog about blogging, you should still be able to help your audience regardless of your niche.

Are you a vegan nutrition blogger? Why not offer one-on-one coaching to those who’re struggling to figure out a healthy and tasty vegan diet?

Do you blog about relationships? You can just as easily start offering one-on-one relationship advice.

Maybe you blog about personal development? Coaching is a great way to extend your help and advice to your audience.

Maybe you blog about DIY crafts? Help a reader create something with a one-on-one coaching, or perhaps create something bespoke for your audience. The potentials are limitless!

Sponsored Posts and Ads

This is another way to make money for bloggers who blog about blogging. I do not do so myself, so I’m not the best person to teach you the ins and outs of sponsored posts and ads. However, there are plenty of bloggers out there, both in the blogging niche as well as other niches, who make a significant amount of money from sponsored posts and ads.

Personally, I’m not a big fan of monetizing a blog with ads alone. It’s not a sustainable method of earning and takes way too much effort compared to the outcome. But that’s just my take on this particular monetization method, and it definitely has little to no effects when it comes to the niche.

So, who should start a blog about blogging?

Bloggers blog for a couple of reasons:

1. To make money.
2. To be able to write about the things that matter to them.

So, when choosing a niche, there are ideally two approaches.

The first approach is that you figure out how you want to make money, and then choose a topic that will allow you to make money with your preferred method. This is the approach I adopted when I started TSB.

The second approach is that you decide on your niche first based on your interest, and then decide how to best monetize the blog.

And as I’ve stated above, most monetization methods can be fashioned to suit your blogging niche and vice versa.

For example, when I started TSB, I didn’t know a whole lot about blogging or monetization techniques. With what knowledge I had, I decided on making money with affiliate marketing and then chose a niche that would allow me to sell the specific products I knew I could make money from at that time.

Of course, were I to start a blog now, I wouldn’t be too worried about neither the niche nor the monetization technique(s) because I know now that it really doesn’t matter too much. There’s always a way to get the right audiences to your blog and make money.

So, does that mean anyone can start a blog about blogging and be successful?

Well, that answer comes down to one single fact.

Can you continue to write about blogging week after week, for years to come, with patience, persistence, perseverance, and provide actual value and quality with each blog post that you write, to the best of your ability?

If your answer to that question is a “YES,” then sure, go ahead and start a blog about blogging!

But if you have doubts?

Well, doubts are part of being human. I cannot honestly say that I never had any doubts when I started TSB back in June of 2018. Sure, I had my doubts. But I knew I wanted to do it, and after writing the first 10 or so blog posts on blogging, I was confident that I could do it. Week after week. For years to come. And provide value in my posts to the best of my ability.

So yes, give it a try if you really want to do it.

But after writing a few posts, if you find yourself hating it, or dreading the act of sitting down to write a blog post, then I think it is safe to say that you should probably find a different niche.

But don’t worry. As I have said over and over again, other niches can be lucrative too. I can’t speak to six-figure earnings, as I do not myself earn that much as a side-blogger, but I know that making a couple of thousand bucks per month from your blog, regardless of your niche, isn’t all that difficult as long as you do the work. Different niche may require different strategies, but it isn’t impossible to cultivate a financially successful blog with about any niche.

So, are you a new blogger trying to decide on your niche? Or do you already have a blog? Do you blog about blogging or something else? Let me know in the comments!

Oh, and if you’re struggling to find your niche, here’s a blog post to help you with that!

Or, you can sign up for my 10-day blogging bootcamp that will help you to start a blog the right way. In this 10-day FREE online course, you’ll learn how to pick a niche, how to prepare yourself mentally for a successful blog, how to set up your first blog, and get ready to drive traffic and build an email list from day-1.