All around the internet there are a lot of different blogs. Lifestyle, fashion, mom, game and of course book blogs to name a few. These topics in itself are a specialization. But even within these topics there are quite a few ways one can go. One can become a niche blog.
Niche: denoting or relating to products, services, or interests that appeal to a small, specialized section of the population.
Technically of course being a book blog is already a niche. I focus on a small section of the population that are readers by blogging about books. But with those readers there are a lot of ways to go. There are different genres and target groups to focus on for instance. For a while I have been wondering if maybe I should specialize myself more than I already have.
Maybe I should shift into a fantasy & sci-fi book blog.
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Clearity
One of the reasons that I have been thinking about moving into a Fantasy & Sci-Fi book blog is because I think it is clearer to my readers. While I have always said that I blog for myself, this doesn’t mean I can ignore any of you all either. I appreciate everyone of you. As it is, I read mostly Fantasy with a tad of Sci-Fi here and there. But every now and then I read something else. People who might be drawn to my blog because of the fantasy aspect might not understand this. In general those kind of reviews don’t tend to get a lot of views either.
For the most part there would be little change to A Dance with Books. I would just keep out reviews of books that aren’t fantasy or sci-fi and any lists for Top Ten Tuesday for instance would be more focused on those two genres as well. I think it would give me clearity as well. I often wonder about posting reviews for contemporary books for instance. They just feel so out of place.
I also decline review requests for anything that isn’t fantasy and sci-fi yet I do review other things from time to time. I expect that might sound confusing as well.
More Easily Found
Another positive to being a niche blog is that you will more easily be found through google. There are so many book blogs out there that you might not come up easily in a search. But if one would focus more on a certain genre, like fantasy, you will pop up a bit more easily for those looking for a fantasy book blog.
Limited
While these above things are true, I’m not sure I want to limit myself on this blog. While fantasy & sci-fi are big genres and leave a lot of room to explore, I do enjoy a lot of different things. Lists would most likely be limited to fantasy books as well. And I would feel I could not easily step outside any of that.
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How do you guys feel about niche book blogs? Do you blog and do you focus on a certain genre or target group? What are some benefits to that for you?
A Dance With Books 
I guess my niche is sort of YA since that’s mostly what I read, but I don’t think I’d want to go anymore specific than that since I like to read different genres within YA and talk about those. I’d say do what makes you happy! 🙂
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I rarely deviate from fantasy so I was just wondering how everyone felt about it. 🙂
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I know of a few niche blogs though I am not sure how well they do. In my case, my reading tends to be diverse from thrillers, historical fiction, African literature to contemporary. I believe that my followers/ readers are diverse too so perhaps getting one specific niche would be limiting in a way.
But I am with Michelle on this one,weigh the pros and cons and d what makes you happy? If your followers are mainly into fantasy and sci-fi then a niche could work. All the best 😉
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Thanks. I will have to see how things work out the rest of the year. For now I think I’m leaving things as they are.
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Personally I prefer blogs (&YouTude&Instagram accounts) that don’t stick to just one thing. I mean if you only read fantasy, that’s cool, but if you also read other things from time to time i like seeing your thoughts on that too.
But in the end it’s your blog and I think you should do what makes you happiest with it. 🙂
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I was wondering if that was of interest to any of my followers since those do tend to get the less views. But I suppose for those that do like that it is great to still share those as well.
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I get the WHY.. why you’re thinking about focusing on a specific genre, but to me personally a more diverse blog is more fun to read – there are exceptions. And that’s coming from me as a reader. One thing that’s definitely a plus about bloggers who blog about a specific genre is that you always know what to expect. Those blogs are reliable – doesn’t mean others are not.. but, ugh, I just suck at explaining this, lol..
Me as blogger… I’ve thought about doing this as well but in the end I just don’t want to limit myself because I don’t only read just one specific genre but multiple ones and that would mean that I wouldn’t be able to talk about a lot of books I’ve read, anymore and that’s not why I started blogging in the first place. I started blogging to talk about everything I read and experience within the book community and I just don’t want to limit myself – because it feels like limiting myself if I’m being honest.
I think there are more diverse readers out there than readers who limit themselves to a specific genre. I follow one book blog who only reads new adult/contemporary for example and from what I can tell she’s doing really well and I love reading her blog but overall I like diverse blogs more, but that’s just my opinion.
And what you should do with your blog is entirely up to you of course. You always need to do what feels best for you because you’re the one writing and maintaining your blog.
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I get what you mean. 😉 The reason why I didn’t start this of as a fantasy/sci-fi blog is because I was scared to limit myself. And I still kind of feel scared of that. What if I do change it and I don’t like it? But I’m not changing anything for the rest of the year in any case. It gives me enough space to consider it more.
Thanks for your opinion.
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I’m new to book blogging so so far I have only reviewed books in my favourite genres which are sci-fi/ fantasy too. But I think in the future I will continue to review the books I enjoy reading no matter what the genre, you should do with your blog what makes you happiest 🙂
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Sci-Fi/Fantasy is the best. 😉
I will think on it some more. Thank you for your opinion.
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I often wonder the same thing BUT since my tastes change so much I don’t know how I would make it work. Yes, I think you are right. You may be feel “limited” if you decide to do it Another way to go is to have more than one blog, which I already try and… CRAZYYYYYY
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Oh my gosh I cannot even imagine having to keep up with more than one blog, haha.
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Ik heb een heel duidelijke niche (al wijk ik daar soms eens vanaf als ik zin heb, eerder deze week schreef ik bijvoorbeeld over de boeken van Jenny Han XD), maar soms vind ik het spijtig dat ik niet kan schrijven over de meer literaire boeken die ik lees. Maar tegelijkertijd vind ik ook weer dat mijn blog origineel is, door enkel op science fiction te focussen. Achja, ik doe gewoon maar wat XD zolang het leuk is! Dat is voor mij het belangrijkste 🙂
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Ja klopt. Het maakt jouw blog origineel. Voornamelijk omdat sci-fi vaak ook het achtergelaten kindje is. En dat is ook zo. Maar nu vallen sommige reviews van boeken zo buiten de rest van de blog, voor mijn gevoel in ieder geval.
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Voor mijn gevoel is dat veel minder het geval: ik heb je recensie van Paaz bijvoorbeeld net zo graag gelezen als bijvoorbeeld je recensie van Sleeping Giants. Mij als lezer stoort het in ieder geval totaal niet! Maar je eigen gevoel is het belangrijkste natuurlijk.
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I was going to say, books is already a niche. But I get what you’re saying. I guess my blog kind of is a sci fi/fantasy book blog, but that was never really on purpose, it’s just those are the only genres I like. But I have considered removing the few non sci fi/fantasy reviews I have. And I have one non-fiction review I haven’t posted yet that I’m still considering. But in reality, most of the people who visit my blog seem to read every genre. I might have some non blogging readers I don’t know about, but in terms of fellow bloggers, I have not had much luck making friends with purely sci-fi/fantasy bloggers. So I figure I might as well just post what makes me happy 🙂
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True. I mostly follow blogs that don’t focus on a specific genre either (though sometimes do focus on young adult most). I’ll think on it some more and see how I feel at the end of the year.
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Most of the people I follow are scifi/fantasy slanted but occasionally post something else, and I’m the same – I don’t think it’s bad to occasionally deviate even if you’re mostly niche?
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That is true. Thanks.
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I mean, I never thought of it this way. But, if it makes you feel like you can target an audience better, go for it. Plus, I think you tend to read this genre anyway, right? I say that’s a great fit, then. For me, I’m still very new to this book blogging business, so I don’t really know what my niche is. I like the books you tend to choose. You’re a lovely friend of mine, and I love your blog. It’s always a pleasure stopping by, for sure.
*hugs*
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Aaah thank you love. Hugs.
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I write about books, reading, writing, and random pop culture that sparks my attention. I wouldn’t say I’m niche because I cross genres and age groups. I value freedom greatly. If I feel boxed, I struggle. I do like niche blogs and they have their place for when I need a genre expert or two.
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Yeah I’m scared I might struggle once I set myself up for a specific genre niche.
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Well, I say if you are doing your blog just for yourself read and review what you want, unless you need to boost your stats to get certain ARCs you may want. I enjoy seeing what other bloggers have thought of certain high profile Contemporaries. I think I also get a better feel for whether I would like certain Contemps when they are reviewed by bloggers who rarely read them and read more Fantasy/SciFi. I will love your blog no matter what you feature because I like your taste in books, and your blogging voice. 🙂
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Thank you. 🙂 True, that is always interesting to see, regardless of what they otherwise focus on.
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Goh, ik ben eigenlijk nog nooit specifiek op zoek gegaan naar een niche-blog. Ik hou er van om verschillende boekenblogs te volgen én als er dan af en toe een recensie verschijnt die me niet aanstaat dan slaag ik die gewoon over. Zelf vind ik het wel leuk dat ik over alle boeken die ik lees kan bloggen. Dat vormt geen duidelijk afgetekend beeld voor eventuele nieuwe bloggers maar ik lees nu eenmaal verschillende genres. Van kookboeken en creatieve boeken tot romans, thrillers, fantasy, YA en af en toe een comic of graphic novel. Ik vind het wel nog steeds grappig dat ik in het begin schrik had dat ik zonder inspiratie zou vallen wanneer ik me uitsluitend op boeken zou richten terwijl ik nu net veel frequenter blog dan in mijn beginperiode als blogger.
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Ja grappig hoeveel je inspiratie op doet en jij post nog wel bijna dagelijks ook!
Ik sla inderdaad ook vaak wel reviews over (sowieso als ik ze nog niet heb gelezen haha) en sommige discussie posts als het mij niet ligt. Uiteindelijk is deze blog wel een beeld van mij (en heel soms betekent dat ik geen fantasie lees). Hmm ik ga toch pas eind van het jaar kijken hoe ik mij er bij voel. 🙂
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