How to Pick a Blog Niche (+45 Profitable Blog Niche Ideas & Examples)

When it comes to starting a blog, one of the most common questions people undoubtedly ask is how to pick a blog niche or what is the best blog niche out there?

I've seen this type of question pop up on forums countless times, and I've even gotten a few emails asking for advice over the past 2 years.

Now, I will say there is no cookie-cutter method for choosing a blog niche. However, this is probably the most important part in starting a blog, and there are quite a few things to consider.

So, this post is going to tackle the topic of how to choose a blog niche, as well as some blog niche ideas for 2020 to help inspire you.

What Is A Blog Niche? – Why You Need To Pick One

A niche is defined as a “distinct section of a market.” In terms of blogging, a niche is basically the topics you decide to write about on your blog.

Picking a blog niche is a frequently discussed topic because it sets the entire outline for the future of your blog. Plus, there are a number of things to consider when making this decision.

Bloggers often talk about the concept of “niching down” when deciding to start a blog. There are two main reasons why this is very valuable advice:

Scaleability – As a single person operation, it's unlikely you'll be able to cover multiple niches with your writing in a timely manner. In other words, if you write about multiple topics, your blog will have very skeletal categories for a long time.

Readability – It is very difficult to build a readership that shares the exact same interests as you if you write about a wide range of topics. Choosing a blog niche helps narrow your focus and attract a specific audience more easily.

So, that, in a nutshell, is why it's a good idea to pick a blog niche.

Time to break down some other important considerations.

How To Choose A Blog Niche – 7 Important Questions

Before selecting a niche and launching your blog, there are 7 questions I suggest spending some time on.

Write out the answers if you need, and take a few days to think things over. Don't be afraid to ask people for their advice as well or to leave a comment on this post!

If you're already prepared to launch your blog, you can also checkout SiteGround's affordable hosting plans to get the ball rolling!

1. Are You An Authority (Or Can You Become ONe?)

A lot of people think the most important aspect about choosing your blogging niche is if you love the subject or not.

This is a factor, but, it's actually not the most important one.

Undoubtedly, the most important factor in picking a niche for your blog is if you are an authority or not (or if you can become one).

Here's the thing: Google, the absolute best source of blogging traffic out there, gets more competitive every single day.

Additionally, author authority is one of Google's most important ranking factors.

Google uses EAT, or Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust, in their ranking algorithm. If you aren't an authority, it will inevitably be harder to rank on Google with your blog posts.

If you think about it, this is absolutely fair. After all, you wouldn't want to search for health advice and find content on the first page of Google that isn't authoritative.

Now, you don't necessarily have to be an authority before starting your blog or picking a blog niche. This is because you can become an authority in your topic over time (depending on your niche)

For me, a major turning point in getting my blog off the ground was having my phone farming guide rank #1 on Google. 

Personal finance is a very competitive niche. However, by actually buying phones and running a phone farm during my time in college (and publishing honest income reports), I became an authority in that field.

Google rewarded me, I got dozens of free backlinks from people mentioning that post, and my overall authority in the whole “passive income apps” world grew as well. I now rank well for quite a few app related posts.

This is an example of picking a blog niche and becoming an authority over time. However, this isn't always realistic.

For example, if you decided to start a blog about being a pilot, the only way you can really become an authority on that subject is to start flying planes…you get the idea.

So, the first question you have to ask yourself is if you're an authority in what you're going to write about or if you can become one.

2. Is It A YMYL Topic?

Part of Google's EAT algorithm update (which rocked WebMonkey way back when) is heavily related to YMYL.

YMYL, or “Your Money, Your Life” refers to topics that can have a direct impact on your happiness, health, safety, or finances if information is not accurate.

Google takes YMYL content very seriously, and this is again why authority matters so much.

Here's what Google has to say specifically about YMYL websites:

Now, don't let this page on YMYL guideliens scare you.

But, consider it in great detail before picking a blog niche.

It is possible to write in a YMYL niche and find success if you stick to what you're an expert in.

Again, this is a personal finance blog, but I stick to passive income ideas and side hustles, not topics I'm not qualified to talk about (like investing or retirement planning).

The only one I'd really caution you against here is health.

Unless you're a doctor or certified dietitian, I wouldn't touch the health blogging niche with a 10 foot pole.

Niching down to something like yoga or personal training would work if you're qualified, but again, be cautious here and figure out if your blog niche idea is considered YMYL.

3. Would You Write About Your Blog Niche For Free?

Most bloggers don't make significant income from their blog.

In fact, about 50% make between $0 and $200 according to a blogger survey from Digital Nomad Wannabe.

This was definitely the case for me as well. It took roughly 6 months to steadily earn more than $100 with WebMonkey, and 18 months to surpass $500 per month.

I now make more than $1,000 per month from blogging, largely thanks to Mediavine, but there's no denying that the path to blogging revenue is a long one.

So, is blogging worth it?

It is, if you enjoy what you write about, work hard, and have patience.

Don't get caught up on how to choose a profitable blog niche or try to figure out which blogging niche has the most money on the table.

Would you write about it for free? Because, chances are, you will be writing for free for at least a few months! 😛

4. Can You Come Up With 50+ Blog Post Ideas?

A great way to validate your blog niche idea is to make a content map of 50 to 100 posts.

If you hit a brick wall 10 post ideas in, this might be a sign your blogging niche is too narrow.

In contrast, if you hit 100 blog post ideas, look at your list, and can't explain what the website is about within a second, your focus might be too broad.

Pick your overarching blog niche idea, and a few sub categories.

For example, I selected the finance niche, and then came up with some possible categories like making money online, saving money, and money apps.

Go through this process for your blog niche idea, and don't be afraid to adjust your scope.

5. Will It Be Relevant In 5-10 Years?

This isn't always an easy question to answer, but hopefully, the answer is painfully obvious to you either way.

Industries evolve all the time, and blogs can keep up for the most part.

But, if you choose to blog about a single company, website, or service (I've seen plenty of blogs dedicated to a single app or platform before), know that this is a risk.

Even the biggest companies can fail, and if your blog niche goes under, there isn't usually a way to pivot in time.

6. Is Your Monetization Strategy “All-In?”

This is a bit more of a sophisticated consideration, and you don't need to worry about it if you just blog for fun.

However, if you want to pick a profitable blog niche, this is an important question.

An “all-in” monetization strategy means using only one source/approach to make money with your blog.

Amazon affiliate sites are a pretty common example of this strategy.

Similarly, I've seen plenty of blogs that are dedicated to a single type of affiliate offer or specific product. There's nothing wrong with this approach, but again, it limits flexibility and is a business risk.

Affiliate programs end or change rates all the time, and I personally don't like all-in approaches for making money with a blog niche.

So, when trying to find a profitable blog niche, consider exactly what options you have to actually generate revenue.

7. What Are Advertising RPMs Like?

Again, this is a higher-level consideration, but I think it's very important for anyone who wants to make money with blogging.

Ads are an awesome way to monetize your website. However, not all niches are created equal in this regard.

Your blogging niche has a direct impact on your ad RPMs. In other words, different blog niches are more profitable in terms of ads than others.

To get a rough idea of what to expect from your blog's niche RPMs, take a look at this advertising chart from WordStream:

This graph shows the average Google Ads cost-per-click, or CPC, for different industries in 2018.

Now, this isn't a perfect translation to blogging, but it's an indicator of what to expect.

Plus, the data makes sense. After all, if a certain industry is more expensive to advertise than others on average, that should usually translate to more competition and expensive CPMs for display ads.

Some blog niches with historically strong ad RPMs include:

• Finance.
• Legal services.
• B2B.
• Technology.

Blog niches with historically lower ad RPMs include:

• Advocacy and charity.
• Travel.
• Health and fitness.
• Certain types of Ecommerce websites (think coupons sites, not ecommerce software blogs).

Again, there are exceptions to these rules.

Furthermore, optimizing your ad unit placement or using a premium ad network like Monumetric or Mediavine will make a difference.

Things like seasonality of your blog niche will also impact your ad revenue, so keep this in mind.

Blogging about something you are an authority in should be the ultimate deciding factor when figuring out how to pick a blog niche. However, don't discount monetization viability.

Factors That Matter A Bit Less

There are a few other popular recommendations I've seen when it comes to picking a profitable blogging niche, as well as some other frequently asked questions on this topic.

In my opinion, the 7 questions I just listed at the most important. But, here are some other considerations that are worth thinking about.

What Is Keyword Volume Like?

I don't suggest spending weeks agonizing over keyword research and competition scores because paralysis by analysis is a real threat to getting your blog off the ground.

However, taking a quick peek at tools like Google Trends (to see if your blog niche idea is trending upwards) or keyword volume for post ideas isn't a bad call.

But, don't waste time looking at keyword volume for the most competitive or obvious topics in your niche.

Frankly, you probably won't rank for those posts for a very long time, and that's completely fine.

Rather, look up keyword volume and competition scores for your area of authority.

Here's what my search with Google Keyword Planner would have been back in the day since I started WebMonkey by writing about phone farms and passive income apps:

As you can see, this lets me identify 2 different potential post ideas (phone farming, and phone farming apps) that have 100-2,000 monthly searches and really low competition scores.

This is really all the proof of concept you need.

I had the experience to be an authority on phone farming, the keyword volume is good enough for a beginner blogger, and the competition is low.

The result?

Over 9,000 clicks, and this is just the last 16 months, so we're missing a decent chunk of time as well.

Plus, this post helped get WebMonkey off the ground and to obtain a tonne of backlinks.

Sure, I'll never rank on the best cash back credit cards or some other mega competitive term.

But, I can rank on content like this and then funnel users to higher-value posts or collect emails to do the same thing.

You get the idea.

Check keyword volume and competition for the area you want to be an expert in. Don't sweat the volume for the more competitive topics in your niche at the start.

What Is Google Doing?

Again, organic traffic is the life blood of many successful blogs. Therefore, it's a good idea to keep your ear to the ground for possible Google algorithm changes or policy updates.

I'll give you one subtle example that actually destroyed a lot of blogs in the celebrity entertainment niche or “net worth” tracking websites: featured snippets.

A lot of celebrity blogs used to drive a tonne of easy, organic traffic by tracking celebrity net worth.

Then, Google made their search engine look like this:

No one is clicking that link anymore because the featured snippet tells you everything you need to know to satisfy your search query.

This is Google's entire mission…they want to keep users on their search engine for as long as possible to make money with ads, and they also want to provide the best experience possible.

We're seeing changes to SERPs impacting other niches slowly but surely.

Travel is another prime example. Look at my search result for “things to do in Bucharest,” which gets nearly 7,000 searches a month:

You have to scroll past Google recommendations and related questions before you get to the first organic result…which is also National Geographic, so not fun to compete with.

Google is increasingly encroaching on the travel niche to push their own products.

This doesn't mean travel isn't a viable blogging niche idea, but keep these sorts of changes in mind.

For travel specifically, it seems like niching down to become an absolute authority is becoming more important since very generic posts are getting eaten up by Google.

Do You Want To Be Associated With Your Blog?

If you woke up and saw your blog and your face on national television together, would you be happy?

This sounds like a stupid question, but it's honestly something I struggled with for a while.

For the longest time, WebMonkey was anonymous and had a stock image for my author bio. However, in the sake of transparency and trying to boost my authority, I changed all that a while ago.

I wouldn't care if TOW got a lot of attention. But, if you blog about a touchy subject, give this one some thought.

Blog Niche Ideas & Examples Of Successful Blogs

Alright, now that you know how to identify your authority and validate your blog niche idea, it's time to get to the meat and potatoes of this post.

If you want to find some high demand blog topics or profitable blog niches for inspiration, checkout the following list.

I'm going to break down this section into overarching blog niche ideas and then provide some examples of hyper-niche blogs that are making a killing or stand out from the crowd and have a tonne of potential.

Let's get to it!

Finance Blog Niche Examples

Since my website is about finance after all, I want to highlight some awesome blogs in this niche first and foremost.

1. Credit Cards – The Points Guy

This finance niche blog ended up doing so well its been acquired by Bank Rate.

There's nothing special to say here other than this is a prime example of how to dominate a niche and stick to what is profitable.

The Points Guy started in 2010, which isn't actually the longest time-frame in the blogging game. Time, backlinks, and awesome content are definitely the recipe for success here.

Competitive Advantage – Strong SEO and clearly defined niche. Caught this blogging niche at a great time.

2. FIRE Blogging – A Purple Life

The FIRE movement has seen a boom in FIRE related content, podcasts, and blogs. However, niche saturation doesn't mean this isn't a viable blogging topic or worth considering.

One of my favorite FIRE oriented blogs is A Purple Life.

A Purple Life isn't the most pure FIRE blog out there since there's some content of food, fitness, and hobbies.

However, what makes this blog stand out from the crowd is incredible branding and honesty.

Purple is on track to retire at thirty, which is absolutely insane, even by FIRE standards.

By outlining her progress towards FIRE with a countdown clock and plenty of updates, Purple does a great job of making readers feel like they are part of the journey.

Plus, her social media game is on point, especially on Twitter, and I think this blog is a great example of how to integrate yourself into a niche and thrive.

Competitive Advantage – Branding and networking within the FIRE community.

3. Frugality – Little House Living

A lot of frugal bloggers end up straying from their mission as time goes on; I've stumbled across a tonne of “frugal” blogs that are really just a cluster of credit card offers and online survey websites.

There's nothing wrong with branching out, but it can be hard to keep a strong identity when doing do.

Little House Living is a blog that absolutely nails the frugality niche. With a variety of recipes, DIY hacks, frugal advice, books, and a podcast, this is all-encompassing frugal resource.

Competitive Advantage – Incredible content depth and multiple platforms (books, podcast, blog).

4. Side Hustles – Financial Panther

Financial Panther isn't a pure side hustle blog. The blog is run by Kevin, a former lawyer, and you can find content ranging from credit card reviews to loan advice.

However, where Financial Panther shines is its monthly side hustle reports.

Kevin has left law behind and now makes a bulk of his income from various gig economy jobs.

Each month, Kevin puts out a report that summarizes his income from various hustles and some advice.

You simply won't find this level of transparency on a lot of side hustle blogs, and this lends immense credibility to Financial Panther.

Competitive Advantage – Transparent monthly income reports.

5. Dividend Investing – Reverse The Crush

I've known Graham, the owner of Reverse The Crush, for a while now. RTC is hands down one of my favorite dividend investing focused blogs around, and I think Graham does an excellent job with making his blog niche very clear.

RTC is all about achieving financial independence through blogging and investing.

Through dividend investing reports and other awesome content, Graham documents his progress towards FI.

Graham also does a great job at appealing to a younger audience, and his social media game is pretty killer.

Competitive Advantage – Diligent income reports and strong social media presence.

6. Student Finances – Wallet Wise Guy

I met Clint in 2019 and he has been instrumental in helping me get my freelance writing career off the ground.

But, Clint isn't just a great writer; he also runs a very strong blog in the student finance niche.

On Wallet Wise Guy, Clint shares resources and tips for students to make, save, and manage their finances.

Clint's blog is unique for a few reasons as well, and this is why I think the blog is a good example to look towards.

Firstly, Clint is an immensely successful freelance writer, but that fact doesn't consume his blog or niche. Rather, Clint incorporates it into his content in a way that adds value (he has a pretty awesome guide on freelance writing I recommend checking out).

Secondly, Clint spent his early adulthood working as a Pastor.

In Clint's words, this means that their “success wasn’t due to high income. For the first 7 years of our marriage (until June 2019), I was a pastor. So we never made anywhere close to six figures. Instead, we just put tried and true financial principles into place, and it resulted in financial peace.”

Overall, this blog is a great example of how to use your professional and personal experiences to help solidify your blogging authority and identity.

Competitive Advantage – Professional and personal life experience of the blogger. Awesome content as well.

7. Dealing With Debt – Dept Discipline

Debt Discipline is a blog that helps people tackle debt, and if you want authority, this blog is overflowing with it.

Brian, the owner of Debt Discipline, documents his journey to paying off more than $100,000 of debt and becoming debt free and shares tips for other people to pay of their debt as well.

He's been featured on Good Morning America, U.S. news, Business Insider, and dozens of blogs, podcasts, and media appearances.

Plus, Brian's content is solid, so there's really no weak point here.

Competitive Advantage – Perfect example of using personal experience to gain authority and land media appearances.

Affiliate Blog Niche Examples

Some bloggers, myself included, make the bulk of our blogging income from advertisements.

In contrast, some blogs have a heavy reliance on affiliate revenue.

There's nothing wrong with this approach, of course, but there are a few examples of affiliate blog niches and approaches I want to highlight in this section.

8. Amazon Affiliate Blog – Roasty Coffee

Let me start by saying that you can start an Amazon affiliate website about legitimately any product category that is sold on Amazon, so this is a tough one to pick.

However, Roasty Coffee is undoubtedly one of the best Amazon affiliate blogs I've seen.

With awesome SEO, in-depth buying guides, and a super clean design, it isn't hard to see how this site has found success.

What's cool about the site is that is was only started in 2015. Despite getting hammered by Amazon (this is a prime example of why affiliate-only sites are a risk), the owner still sold the site for $55,000. Not bad at all.

Competitive Advantage – Strong editorial team and a clear SEO-driven mission for growth.

9. Category Affiliate Blog – Outdoor Gear Lab

Alright, I challenge you to find a category affiliate blog that is as high in quality as outdoor gear lab.

These guys absolutely dominate the world of outdoor product reviews in terms of depth and value.

With a ‘scientific' approach to gear and product rating, Outdoor Gear Lab knows how to cater to their audience of crazed outdoor enthusiasts.

This blog is really the perfect example of why you can't fake expertise, especially in the affiliate world.

Once you read a single product review on this site, there's no doubt that the editors and writers are flannel wearing, outdoor adventurers who absolutely have a love for what they do.

Competitive Advantage – Most in-depth and authoritative product reviews.

10. Niche Affiliate Targeting Blog – Ordinary Moves

I have to say, I absolutely hate this blog.

But, I can't help but marvel at how good the owner is at SEO.

See, Ordinary Moves has 4 posts in total…each one targeting a high-value affiliate offer like Rakuten, Ibotta, or Honey.

Yes, you heard me correctly…4 posts. No about page, social links, or clutter. Just 4 affiliate articles.

The blog owner also has sites in other niches where he does the exact same thing. The premise is simple, but executed to perfection.

Basically, Ordinary Moves has an unreal backlink profile.

It's a pure SEO play that targets high-value affiliate offers, and the model has been duplicated in other niches as well.

Again, I hate how good this guy is at SEO, but hey, consider me impressed. Go spy on his backlinks if you want to see what link building can do.

Competitive Advantage – This guy knows how to get backlinks.

Travel Blog Niche Examples

I mentioned that the travel blogging niche is becoming harder to get into and that Google updates are a threat.

While this is true, there is still money to be made in the travel niche (not right now, but once travel is viable again).

Here are some examples of travel niche blogs that are nailing it.

11. Solo Female Travel – A Blonde Abroad

This blog is really the perfect storm of strong content and a killer social media presence.

Kiki, the owner of A Blonde Abroad, has done an incredible job at monetizing her blog while simultaneously turning her lifestyle into social media clout.

There's really not much to say here other than the fact that this blog is the whole package.

Kiki travels to cool places, takes awesome photos, and is an influencer. Not a bad model to chase after if you're getting into the travel niche and have a social media following.

Competitive Advantage – Perfect example of an influencer with a blog.

12. Digital Nomads – Goats On The Road

With an immensely catchy name and some stellar SEO-content, Goats on the Road is one of my favorite digital nomad oriented blogs around.

Nick and Dariece, the owners, have been featured on practically every media outlet under the sun.

The duo is on a quest to help people turn travel into a lifestyle.

With their content, ebooks, and courses, they provide plenty of ways for people to learn about the digital nomad lifestyle and to fork over some cash.

Competitive Advantage – Strong SEO and multiple monetization methods.

13. Niche Travel – Van Clan

This blog is dedicated to sharing tips, inspiration, and guides for van life, a minamilistic living/travel lifestyle that is sweeping the globe!

Van Clan does a lot of things right. Branding is on point, the site is easy to navigate, and the SEO fundamentals are all there.

Plus, Van Clan is diversifying quite well on YouTube and social media, so this is really a great example of how to build a niche brand and community.

Competitive Advantage – Strong branding and community.

14. Travel Gear Blog – Pack Hacker

In my opinion, Pack Hacker is an awesome example of how to find your place in the travel niche.

Pack Hacker publishes informative, user-friendly guides on how to pack smarter and make the most out of your travels.

With a great user interface and strong SEO, I wouldn't be surprised if you stumbled across this site organically in the past. I know I did when I was prepping to go to Colombia.

Travel is competitive.

But, if you can find your niche (or specific city/region) to call home, you can set yourself apart from the crowd.

Competitive Advantage – Outstanding niche selection and SEO.

15. Adventure Travel – Adventure Junkies

Aside from the perfect name, this blog is a great example of a professional, well-rounded travel niche blog.

The website is stunning and clearly organized by category depending on the type of adventure you're into. However, this site also has a heavy focus on building a membership base, which is a pretty cool and rare strategy to turn to.

Ultimately, I don't think memberships are a good idea for beginner bloggers.

But, from a design and branding perspective, this blog is worth studying!

Competitive Advantage – Branding and membership base.

Gaming Blog Niche Examples

Gaming is an incredibly tricky blogging niche because news and trends change rapidly.

For the most part, this blogging niche idea is dominated by major publications, or exists on other platforms like YouTube or TwitchTV.

However, you can still carve your way into this market if you niche-down and play to your strengths. Here are 2 cool examples:

16. Small Gaming Publication – The Game Fanatics

The Game Fanatics caters to “geek culture,” and offers an eclectic mix of video game reviews. gadgets, and even anime and cosplay content to attract readers.

With under 20 staff, I think The Game Fanatics is an awesome example of what a smaller but hungry team can accomplish.

If you and a few friends decide to start a gaming blog, I'd use a similar model to find your footing.

Competitive Advantage – Authentic content and decent presence on social media, YouTube, and Twitch.

17. Handheld Gaming – Tiny Cartridge

In terms of niche gaming blogs, I think Tiny Cartridge is the best example around.

This blog focuses solely on handheld gaming, offering readers daily posts and a simplistic design that is free of ads.

Patrons can support the blog by joining “Club Tiny,” and overall, this blog just has a wholesome feel that makes it pretty clear this is one awesome passion project.

Competitive Advantage – Clearly a labor of love.

Profession-Based Blog Niche Examples

Sometimes, your blogging niche idea is sitting right in front of you.

There are a surprising number of highly successful blogs that are based on a specific profession, and the room for creativity here is also immense.

18. Doctor Blog – Physician On Fire

The idea behind PoF is actually genius…doctors make a lot of money, so why not make a blog to cater to doctors and their patients about reaching FIRE?

Picking a narrow niche like this sounds scary, but if you think about it, blogging from the perspective of your profession is a barrier to entry…how many FIRE doctor bloggers can there really be, after all?

PoF isn't dramatically different than a lot of other FIRE blogs.

However, the perspective is still unique, and that's a competitive advantage right there.

Competitive Advantage – Highly profitable blog niche and great branding.

19. Teacher Blog – Cool Cat Teacher

Despite the slightly antiquated look, this blog really has a lot going for it.

Strong content, a newsletter, free teacher resources, a podcast, and a regular post schedule are the strong points for Cool Cat Teacher.

Ultimately, I think this blog is the perfect example of a way to build a blog around a profession and to provide immense value to anyone looking for specific resources.

Competitive Advantage – Wide range of free resources and lots of media attention.

Example 2 For Teachers – Senior High Hustle

I'm expanding this niche example because I think this second blog, Senior High Hustle, is a really creative way to start a blog as a teacher.

Senior High Hustle provides resources and tips for teachers and high school students.

The blog is a perfect blend of teaching resources and tips, as well as entrepreneurial inspiration and ideas to motivate students.

I haven't seen other teaching blogs that provide value to both audiences quite like this, and I think this is an awesome blog to study if you want to start a blog as a teacher.

Competitive Advantage – Awesome content that appeals to students and teachers alike.

20. Nursing Blog – The Nerdy Nurse

This blog is another excellent example of how to provide value (and to thus build a readership) to a specific group of people.

The Nerdy Nurse has a host of free resources and tips on how to become a nurse. Plus, this site also has tonnes of content for how to manage the nursing lifestyle or ways to make your life easier.

It's a clean site, the author clearly displays that she is a registered nurse, and this is just a solid blog with multiple monetization methods.

Competitive Advantage – Clean design and multiple revenue streams.

Lifestyle Blog Niche Examples

Creating a ‘lifestyle' blog isn't exactly easy because organic traffic is not always your friend.

I mean, as much as you would love to write a blog post about your morning routine or weekend plans, no one on Google is really searching for that stuff.

This is why a lot of “lifestyle bloggers” mostly subsist on Instagram, Pinterest, or YouTube.

Not that there's anything wrong with this, but those are challenging platforms in their own perspective.

However, you can still launch a successful lifestyle blog if you stick to somewhat of a niche and know your audience.

21. Lifestyle Blog For Young Professional – Living Like Leila

I've been following Leila for a while. In fact, she's even taken part in a Young Money Interview on WebMonkey!

Leila's blog is a refreshing take and example on how you can still be a lifestyle blogger without solely depending on Instagram or YouTube or some form of insane clout.

Leila does a great job at using multiple traffic sources (Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, and Google) to drive traffic to her Mediavine blog.

Plus, her scope isn't all over the place, and there's a common theme of personal development and health on her site.

Competitive Advantage – Multiple traffic sources and overarching theme.

22. Lifestyle Blog For Teens – Modern Teen

Daniel, the author at Modern Teen, also writes for WebMonkey. But, although I am biased, I really love what Daniel is doing with his blog.

Daniel recognized that while there are tonnes of blogs out there on college or teen advice, a lot of it is not written by young adults…let alone young men.

His blog does an excellent job at providing teens with resources on finances, health, and general life advice.

If you also want an example of how to crush it on Pinterest, definitely check out Modern Teen!

Competitive Advantage – Killer Pinterest presence and unique position in the niche.

23. Blog For Men – Art Of Manliness

The Art of Manliness is probably in my top 5 favorite blogs of all time, and it's a blog I try to read as frequently as I can.

This blog does so much right.

In a day and age where a lot of media focus is on toxic masculinity or other topics that appeal to morons, this blog sticks to what it's designed to do: to help men become better versions of themselves.

This blog nails branding, SEO, and audience building. I also love that it's sticking to the original mission and aiming to help men with self improvement.

Competitive Advantage – Honest content and a strong brand.

24. Blog For Women – The Every Girl

I think this blog is an awesome blog because it truly has a wide range of resources and content to appeal to every reader.

Finance, career development, health, tech, and fashion are the main categories on this site. There's a clean design, strong content, and some solid SEO to boot as well.

This is definitely a larger publication with an impressive social media following.

However, I think smaller bloggers can still learn lessons from studying what makes this blog so successful.

Competitive Advantage – Content depth and strong SEO/social mix.

25. Parenting – We The Parents

I didn't include mom blogs or dad blogs on this list of blogging niche ideas for 2020 because those two categories sort of irk me. Like we get it…you are capable of procreating!

However, I like the idea of parent blogs because so many other blogs out there just focus on a single parent. I'd argue the duo is much more interesting in terms of a blogging perspective.

Anyway, We The Parents does an outstanding job of branding. This site is clearly a hub of info for parents, and the site has a very clean design.

With Mediavine monetization and a strong affiliate presence, this blog is a stellar example of how to monetize a niche parenting blog as well.

Competitive Advantage – Clear branding and simplistic site design.

Health & Wellness Blog Niche Examples

I also mentioned that health and wellness is a tough blogging niche to break into due to YMYL concerns.

However, if you have the authority to write about health content and know how to prove it, this niche isn't a lost cause.

Here are some health and wellness blogs that are a great source of inspiration.

26. Mindfulness – Zen Habits

Zen Habits is undoubtedly one of the most famous blogs in existence.

This blog is probably one of the first blogs that went the minamilistic design route. And, guess what, it absolutely works.

This blog is an unbelievable example of how to brand and build a following. I'm sure you could write case studies about Leo Babauta and how he cultivated his website to what it is today.

Competitive Advantage – An innovator and long-term player in the blogging game with high quality content and loyal readers.

27. Personal Development – Tiny Buddha

Tiny Buddha is another long-time player in the blogging game; this blog launched in 2009!

But, while Tiny Buddha has been in the game longer than most blogs, it's still a great resource to study.

This blog is an example of what happens when you mix great SEO, age, and audience development over the course of 11 years…Tiny Buddha has more than 5 million followers and a tonne of traffic.

This site also has a robust forum, which is immensely hard to build and maintain as a blog (RIP Rockstar Finance, you will be missed).

Competitive Advantage – Forum for user-generated content and massive following.

28. Niche Fitness – Nerd Fitness

Nerd Fitness is a blog that caters to nerds and average, everyday people alike.

In a world where a lot of fitness content is geared towards serious athletes or gym-goers, I think this particular niche is quite clever.

Nerd Fitness uses a mix of awesome SEO and content to build readers.

Plus, the site also monetizes with an academy system and through various courses, so it's interesting to see this monetization strategy in the mix for a change.

Competitive Advantage – Great niche positioning and awesome content. Testimonials also help to sell the courses.

29. Running – Run to the Finish

Run to the Finish is a book and a blog that absolutely owns the running niche.

What I really like about this blog is that is plays the niche well. Here's what I mean.

A lot of running blogs are, frankly, owned by absolute maniacs.

I'm sorry, running is awesome, but I refuse to run barefoot through the Appalachian trail on a sabbatical to help “get in touch with my roots” or whatever.

Run to the Finish does a great job of using science and sports training resources to appeal to serious runners without completely freaking out new readers who might just be getting into the sport.

I think this blog niche is the perfect example of how to write about what you're passionate about but to keep it enjoyable for a wide audience.

Competitive Advantage – Scientific content that appeals to serious runners and newbies alike.

Hobby Blog Niche Examples

What would be better than to get paid to blog about your favorite hobby?

Hobby enthusiasts are often insanely passionate about their given hobby, and this is always a good sign if you want to start a blog and build a loyal following.

Here are a few examples of some awesome blogs in the hobby niche.

30. Board Games – The Dice Tower

You would be amazed at how much competition there is in the board game niche.

Between Ecommerce giants like Amazon and a plethora of game review sites and channels, it's a very saturated market.

Plus, board game enthusiasts know what they like and don't like, so good luck convincing them to follow your advice.

The Dice Tower does an awesome job at using blog content, social media, YouTube, and a podcast to get their name out there.

These guys are clearly passionate about board games, and I think if you want to survive in this niche, this has to be what you live and breathe.

Competitive Advantage – Multiple platforms and their love of board games is abundantly clear.

31. Sailing – SV Delos

I worked as an intern at a marine satellite company back in college, and let me tell you, the sailing niche is weird.

On the one hand, you have veteran sailors and media outlets that still stick to print, don't know how to work an iPhone, but are miraculously still sailing around the world and are absolutely cool people.

And, on the other hand, you have a younger generation of tech'd-out sailors with all the bells and whistles.

It's a weird mix, but, undeniably, the one thing all sailors have in common is a love of sailing and new adventures.

SV Delos does an amazing job at appealing to new and experienced sailors alike.

With a strong YouTube channel and multiple monetization strategies, I really think SV Delos is a great example of how to maximize the potential of a niche hobby blog.

Competitive Advantage – Mixing in YouTube to grow their brand has been amazing for SV Delos. I think this is a great call for anyone in the travel or adventure blog niche.

32. Crafts – A Beautiful Mess

A Beautiful Mess was founded in 2007, but the blog has certainly undergone a redesign due to its modern and inviting feel.

This blog is the real deal.

It was founded by sisters for a wholesome backstory, it has awesome resources, tonnes of free content, and it's monetized in a wide variety of ways (ads, courses, books, sponsorships, you name it).

Craft blogging is a competitive niche. However, A Beautiful Mess is an example of what's possible if you take a craft blog to its ultimate form.

Competitive Advantage – Long-time blog with all the right foundations. Hard to find a fault here.

33. Golfing – The Jazzy Golfer

Note: I did include this golf niche blog under hobby blogs and not health and fitness blogs. This is intentional 😉 (play a real sport!)

Jokes aside, golf is actually an incredibly competitive niche in the world of digital publishing.

Pretty much every golf magazine has a website, and there are tonnes of golf enthusiasts with blogs out there as well.

The Jazzy Golfer is an awesome example of how to defy norms and really make a splash in a niche.

Jasmine, the owner of The Jazzy Golfer, is both young and female; not your average demographic for the game of golf.

Now Jasmine doesn't really have a blog. Rather, she uses a mix of YouTube and Instagram to generate attention, and her blog is really just a way to get in touch for business deals.

Regardless, I think this is an awesome example of how to find your market share in a crowded niche.

Competitive Advantage – Refreshing content in the golf niche.

DIY Blog Niche Examples

The entire concept of DIY is incredibly popular. From TV Shows to books, there's always going to be a demand to learn how to do something yourself.

DIY is an awesome niche because you can apply it to so many categories…home improvement, brewing beer, fixing your car…whatever.

I've found a few examples of some DIY bloggers that are doing very well, so turn to them for some insight if you want to start your own DIY blog!

34. DIY Remodeling – Remodelaholic

This blog is an incredibly popular DIY blog that aims to help anyone remodeling their house.

My favorite part about this blog is simply how easy it is to navigate. You can find DIY projects by room, by project type, and also enjoy a host of other free resources.

Photography and clarity of instruction play a large role in how enjoyable DIY content is to consume, and Remodelaholic does great in both regards.

Competitive Advantage – Clean interface and awesome guides.

35. Vintage DIY – Vintage Revival

Vintage Revival is another awesome DIY blog with a great name and clear mission.

This blog has a nice mix of builds, art projects, renovation ideas and craft ideas. Plus, the “DIY gone wrong” section is pretty hilarious.

I truly think this blog is a great example of what you can achieve as a duo DIY blog team.

This blog is in Mediavine and has a decent social media/YouTube following, and the owners clearly love the projects they take on.

Competitive Advantage – Fun and friendly site that is easy to navigate. You don't feel overwhelmed with options when visiting Vintage Revival.

Food Blog Niche Examples

Food blogs are probably one of the most popular categories around. Personally, I think this blog niche is a tough one to crack into, especially in 2020.

Due to competition, most food bloggers that do well take awesome photos and know how to cook very well.

I won't say these are requirements for success, but they are barriers to consider.

However, there are still plenty of successful food bloggers out there. My only recommendation here would be to really niche down if you pick this blogging niche.

Note: I'm not including a “general” cooking blog in this list of examples because I think you definitely need to go narrow for a food website in 2020.

Extra Reading – How To Become A Food Blogger.

36. Vegan Cooking – Avant Garde Vegan

How do you know someone is vegan?

They'll tell you.

Alright, I couldn't resist that one.

But, in the case of starting a vegan blog, this joke is actually pretty important!

From my experience, vegans seems to flock to other vegans. It's kinda cult-like, but hey, this should help you if you can nail your branding as a vegan blogger!

Alright, jokes actually aside, Avant Garde Vegan does everything right.

This blog states its purpose, has awesome photos, and provides killer recipes. This is truly the perfect example of how to build both a blog and brand.

Competitive Advantage – Profession recipes/photos and killer branding.

37. Meat – Smoking Meat

Step aside Avant Garde Vegan, it's time for some MEAT.

Smoking Meat is a pretty nifty niche blog idea because the site focuses on a method of cooking rather than a certain dietary lifestyle.

Now, I already know you were planning to launch your blog “The Ultimate Guide to Pickling Things in your Basement,” so by all means, don't put that plan on hold.

Sticking to a specific type of cooking is an awesome way to niche-down when starting a food blog. I think that this genius idea is why this site has found such success.

Competitive Advantage – Narrow focus and stellar content.

38. Frugal Cooking – Budget Bytes

In terms of food blogs, Budget Bytes is the real deal.

This blog has everything. Branding, an awesome design, a clear mission, and tasty recipes.

The site even offers meal plans and has an IOS and Android app. It's hard to find a food blog out there that is this comprehensive in terms of what it offers readers.

Competitive Advantage – Insane amount of value-add for readers.

Fashion Blog Niche Examples

Fashion is another tough nut to crack in terms of picking a profitable blog niche because blogging isn't the most friendly format for this topic.

I mean, between Instagram, YouTube, and entertainment television, people are already inundated with fashion content.

However, once again, by sticking to a bit more of a narrow niche, you can find success!

Here are some prime examples:

39. Fashion For Short Men – Modest Man

Modest Man is a blog dedicated to fashion for short men. Yes, this is the niche, and it's absolutely brilliant.

My favorite thing about this blog is it tells you exactly on the homepage if you should get out or stick around: 5'8″ and above just have to dress like the brutes that we are I guess and go without some modern fashion advice!

Modest Man does an amazing job at branding, and the SEO is off the charts.

Plus, the blog also publishes income reports, which I think is pretty nifty.

Competitive Advantage – Clearly defined niche and awesome site layout. Crazy SEO skills as well.

40. Plus Size Fashion – Curvy Fashionista

Again, this blog is an awesome example of how you can make it in the fashion niche if you narrow your focus and provide real value to your audience.

Curvy Fashionista provides an awesome mix of fashion advice, beauty tips, and lifestyle guides for curvy individuals. Again, they know their audience and they create valuable content that keeps readers coming.

This site is monetized with ads and affiliate offers, and it's definitely making its own way in the world of fashion.

Competitive Advantage – Clean design and content depth.

41. Senior Fashion Blog – Advance Style

Now, let me just say that this blog is a complete enigma.

Advance Style is a very popular blog in the senior fashion niche. However, the owner is actually a 35 year old photographer.

The blog has been running since 2008, and it's really a collection of photos and outfits…oh, and there's a documentary.

If anything, this blog really proves that age is not always a restriction when picking a blogging niche.

Competitive Advantage – Great photography and a strong social media following.

Productivity Blog Niche Examples

Productivity is another popular blog niche that really encompasses a wide variety of angles.

There are blogs that take on a organizational/rational approach, and others that emphasize tools or software to help readers work more efficiently.

Then, there's also blogs that touch upon topics like bio-hacking, or even ways to use mindfulness or minimalism to boost productivity.

All in all, it's a bit of a mixed bag with this blogging niche.

But, if you can clearly define your focus and find a way to stand out from the crowd, you might be able to find the same level of success as the following blogs.

42. Study Hacks – Study Hacks By Cal Newport

Study Hacks is a productivity niche blog that is run by Cal Newport, a computer science professor who focuses on deep work and productivity.

This blog is interesting because it reflects the highly analytical mind of a programmer and how they systematically approach productivity optimization and deep learning. It's actually pretty neat.

According to the about page, Study Hacks aims to answer 2 questions:

• How do people reach elite levels in knowledge work careers?
• And of equal importance, how do they do so while keeping their work a meaningful and sustainable part of their life?

It's a refreshing balance of tangible advice without going overboard Gary Vee mode.

I think this is also an awesome example of how to blend your own personal experience or professional background into a productivity blog.

Competitive Advantage – Unique perspective and awesome writing style.

43. General Productivity Blog – Productivityist

This blog has been featured in so many national media outlets or other productivity blogs, and it's one of the most popular blogs in its niche.

Like a few other niche ideas I mentioned in this list, Productivityist is just a great example of how to build an audience and monetize in different ways,

The blog has coaching, a book, a podcast, and newsletter to generate revenue. If anything, study this blog to get some post ideas and to take a sneak peek at their SEO efforts.

Competitive Advantage – A wide range of products to make money with and strong SEO.

44. The Best Organization Blog – A Bowl Full Of Lemons

A Bowl Full Of Lemons is the dream niche blog of anyone with mild OCD like me!

This blog focuses on organization, cleaning, and budgeting. The entire concept behind this niche is to help readers organize and manage every aspect of their life.

A Bowl Full of Lemons uses ads, affiliate links, and printable resources to generate revenue.

It's a clean and simple example of how to niche-down and provide value to readers.

Competitive Advantage – Great example of how to expand on a niche topic without going to far.

Bonus Blog Niche Idea Time!

Alright, time to wrap up this list of some of the best blog niches in 2020.

Struggling to come up with an idea for your first website?

Check this out.

45. Blog About A Person – Lil Wayne HQ

Yes, here we are, the absolute pinnacle of blogging niche ideas.

Lil Wayne HQ is the definitive resource for any Lil Wayne fan.

Now, I'm unsure if Lil Wayne has filed a restraining order against Danny M, the main writer on Lil Wayne HQ.

Regardless, this site is hilarious, and it has more social clout than you'd guess.

With over 3.5 million fans on Facebook and a steady stream of traffic, this anomaly of a niche blog is, I guess, an example of how narrow you can get in focus.

Now my Elon Musk blog is coming in 2021, of course, so don't steal that idea.

But, if you are truly out of ideas for what to blog about, I guess this creepy option is still on the table.

Competitive Advantage – I can't even begin to take a stab at this one if I'm honest.

Final Thoughts

Wow, that was definitely the longest post I have ever written on WebMonkey.

I know the idea of getting started with your own blog can seem intimidating…I was on the fence myself for a while before starting TOW.

However, it's truly important to not suffer paralysis by analysis and to pull the trigger at a certain point.

When choosing a blog niche, don't spend weeks agonizing over the decision.

Pick a niche, signup for blog hosting, launch your blog on a free or cheap theme, and get that first article out as fast as you can.

Write about what you're an authority in, do some basic content planning and keyword research, and just start.

You don't need unique blog ideas or to write about something that has never been talked about before. As long as you add real value to your readers, you will find success.

You will make mistakes in the beginning, but that is how you learn. As long as you stick with your blog, you'll be surprised at where you end up with a few years of hard work. 

Anyway, I hope that this guide on how to pick a blog niche has provided a bit of insight into how you can approach this aspect of starting a blog.

I'm no expert, so don't be afraid to find your own path or to try something new.

But, whatever you do, don't steal my Elon Musk niche blog idea!

Catch you guys in the next post!

Related Reading:

• How to Start A Successful Blog.
• The Road to A $100/Month Blog.
• The Road to A $500/Month Blog.
• Is Blogging Worth it in 2020?