At the dawn of Internet for the masses, many online publishers took a somewhat egotistical "if we build it, they will come" approach with little regard to user experience. And people on the Internet who couldn't seem to get enough of free content, didn't care about ads all over the screen, popping up in their faces.
Did they not care? Or did they have no better options?
But as the Internet has evolved, our audiences have gotten savvy with ad blockers. They avoid websites with generic content and poor UX. Today, the quality of your content and your ability to connect through niche publishing matter, especially if you rely on ad revenues to fund your niche audience content creation.
Today's audiences expect you to get them on a deeper level. And they have options. On Wordpress alone, creators publish 70 million blog posts.
Only niche publishers can break through this content overload.
1. Know Every Audience Is a Niche Audience
Many online publishers cast a wide net, thinking they'll catch more fish that way. But the truth is that if you try to appeal to a broad group, chances are you're not connecting with any one of them on an intense level.
And without this connection, you don't have an audience. You have people who look at your content sometimes and engage little.
They're not that into you. And because of that, they're not likely to tolerate any form of advertising for the "privilege" of viewing your content. You won't meet your business or personal goals without appealing to your niche.
2. Niche Publishing and Niche Content are NOT Synonyms
Niche publishers must know that a niche isn't just the topics you talk about or the actual content itself. Connecting with a niche audience goes beyond to:
- Where your niche audience goes for your kind of material (search, social, etc.)
- How they want to receive the content (email, messages, referrals, subscriptions, etc.)
- What types of content they consume with what frequency
- When they consume content
- Overlap in interests
- Who they trust for information
Double down on what works in your niche publishing content strategy. Focus your effort more wisely to broaden your reach without losing your connection.
3. Listen First
Niche publishing often has a big problem. They run out of ideas. And as they do, the quality of content drops. They begin to regurgitate old stuff to fill a publishing schedule. But doing this delivers diminishing returns. Engagement drops and people move on.
The truth is that if you're plugged into your niche, it's tough to run out of ideas for great content. That's because that niche is continuously evolving. Events happen. New trends take over. The niche audience gets older, younger or expands into new areas.
And it's hard to see these trends if you're not in the middle over it.
Social listening is a great way to understand your niche audience better, how they use social media and what kinds of content they're looking for.
So follow hashtags, topics, and influencers to stay informed. Get those creative juices flowing. And never miss an opportunity to connect with your audience by getting in on the discussions they're having right now.
Simpleflying Listens
Simpleflying.com exemplifies social listening to create more relevant content for niche audience. Their goal is to be the go-to source for everything about flying. They listen to the industry and their audience.
Through it, they're able to create as many as 100 pieces of fun and informative content each week.
They've only been active since July 2018 and now have over 4.75 million monthly page views on which to earn revenues through ad space. They don't have to overwhelm their readers with 10 ads on a page to see an ROI.
They have two small ads on each page. Customers are willing to view those ads because:
A) They're relevant to this niche audience and
B) The content adds value to this niche audience. They're willing to view two ads for the privilege of viewing the content.
4. Be Authentic
Without authenticity, it will be impossible to connect. Your audience sees right through you. And the battle to prove your legitimacy will overwhelm content creation time.
As stated above, listening first is the best way to show your authenticity because you understand your audience well. Apply what you learn about your audience and stay true to your values.
Fox Valley Foodie As Authentic As They Come
The creator of Fox Valley Foodie is passionate about food and life. Reading and viewing videos on his site are akin to sitting down in a room with a good friend to talk about recipes, cooking techniques and his English bulldog Basil.
He's built his niche audience around content that's approachable, friendly, and helpful. And because of it, he's been able to turn his passion into a full-time career in niche publishing by creating content that generates significant ad revenues.
5. Take an "Everything About Something" Approach
When people are into something, they want to know everything about it. That includes all the things that other "fans" of a niche don't know.
To connect in niche publishing, share information that people aren't getting everywhere. Your audience needs to see that they get something from your content that they don't get elsewhere. This means you're going to have to dig deep into the niche to produce content that connects.
When you do, people are willing to pay for that kind of content.
Monetizing Your Niche Audience
Admiral's Visitor Relationship Management (VRM) platform helps ad-driven publishers like you increase ad revenues for that amazing niche content you create while streamlining your audience's user experience. Our advanced, proprietary tool effectively detects adblockers and recovers the maximum revenue via whitelisting or reinsertion.
We further enhance your money-making potential through UX-optimized sign up for email newsletters, social signup, and ultimately paid subscriptions from loyal readers. Taking these steps helps you get more out of your content while enhancing your relationship with niche readers.
One tag, one vendor, one consistent visitor experience, we're saving the free Internet one publisher at a time. Want to learn more about Admiral? Let's schedule a brief Q&A to discuss.
