3 Tips to Help You Stand Out as a Blogger

I’ve been feeling frustrated with my blog lately because I haven’t been able to nail down my niche. Part of the problem lies in the fact that we, as a society, generate more and more blog posts, ebooks, videos, images, infographics, and memes every single day on every imaginable topic.

How on Earth is a small business owner supposed to stand out as a blogger? Finding a niche can be tough, so I was super excited to find some great advice on the topic from one of my favorite bloggers, Mark Schaefer. He just went through this exercise with one of his own clients. Here’s what you can do:

1. Look for forgotten audience segments

Are new demographic groups seeking out your products or services? Maybe you have always targeted working women ages 30-45, but working fathers need your services too – and no one is reaching out to them. You can create content just for dads, in addition to the content you already create for moms.

2. Mix up your content

Take a look at your competitors’ websites. Are their blog posts all the same? A lot of companies inadvertently create one type of content, which gives you an opening to create more engaging and interesting content.

• Do they have a channel on YouTube?
• Do they create podcasts or offer webinars?
• Do they include Slideshares and infographics in their blog posts?
• Do they share original images?

Naturally, if your competitors do any of the above, it doesn’t mean you can’t also, but you need a different style, format, or subject. Your best bet, though, is to create the content that they are not, especially if your target market(s) are avid consumers of that type of content.

3. Share the heck out of it

If your competitors are creating a lot of quality content but it is generating no engagement, that’s another opening for you. If their blog posts are getting zero to few comments, likes, shares, etc.:

• Look them up on social media – are they even sharing stuff?
• If they are sharing their content, are they sharing it more than once?
• Are they engaging with their audience and following people back?
• On Twitter and Instagram, are they using hashtags so people can find their content?
• Do they make it easy to subscribe to their blog?
• Do they have social share buttons everywhere?