There are hundreds of how-to posts on why you must niche your blog. The conventional wisdom is that you will never gain a following if your blog lacks that focus. Pro bloggers seem to be in full accord that this is the ONLY way to actually make a living at blogging.

So, let’s see…

If your target group is anyone who is interested in your topic, your audience may become very large. In theory, if you then stay on topic and work very hard you may eventually earn a respectable income. But what happens when you get bored with your niche and ideas run dry.

What if your goal is to connect with people who share a number of your varied interests? Of course that approach will shrink your potential audience considerably, and in turn reduce your chances of earning much revenue from your blog.

Just how tightly targeted can a blog niche be? In the case here at “Loosely Speaking,” you have the caffeinated-mac-powered-virtual-assistant-grandma-who balances-work-with-outdoorsy-stuff-like-photography-kayaking-baseball-hiking-and-knitting-in-public.

Is that even a niche?! It might actually be. If you “Stumble” awhile, you will find those who share your exact same set of interests, and there are probably more than one of them out there. If your goal is just to connect with people who do share many common interests, your niche might, in fact, those clones of you.

Turn this on its side for a minute: is a niche absolutely essential in gaining an foothold? After all, when something becomes too conventional it loses its sparkle.

To borrow a concept from life science, biodiversity prevents susceptibility to sudden demise. Here’s to discovering fresh content, thinking and insights in unexpected places!

Let’s explore both alternatives to nicheing AND alternative niches.

Meanwhile, take a look at Ryan Caldwell’s different take on nicheing in his post about Ethnic Nicheing at Performancing.

Edited 5/31/07 - Talk about timing is everything! Shortly after posting this, I received a comment on an older post from 2005 that confirms for me that we humans seek out others who like what we like. Read that here.