If this is your first time coming across my blog, welcome! My name is Nostalgia, and this is my website, Chromatic Dreamers. This site works as both my band’s promotional website and my personal music blog.
I’m only 6 months into blogging seriously on this website at this point, and this is my 120th article! I still got other ideas in drafts, but I will be slowing down to focus more on my band and getting us on stage as the summer nears. However, I do plan to keep writing and blogging for many many years to come!
Thus, if you are trying to figure out your niche, here’s my story on how I got here, along with tips to help you find yours.
And if you’re ready to start blogging, be sure to use my affiliate link for Bluehost where you can get monthly hosting for $2.95/month! I’ve been using them since my first blog in 2020 and have 0 complaints about them. Great cost, security protection, work email included, and fantastic customer service.
What Is Chromatic Dreamers?
Chromatic Dreamers is a name I came up with when I started my rookie anime cover band. It’s been a dream of mine to be in a band and play on stage since middle school.
And not long before having that dream, I discovered Japanese music when I found out my favourite childhood shows were animes, aka Japanese cartoons. Thus, I’ve been into anime and J-music for most of my life!
While I always loved music and played instruments casually through school, I didn’t play any rock band instruments. I did try drums, but wasn’t in a position to buy a kit or practice at home. Did try bass as well, but electric guitar was where I found my home in 2017. I did put it down for a couple years as I got discouraged and wasn’t sure if the dream could happen, but I picked it up again in 2020 as a new years resolution.
Just like my Instagram name, @Key2Nostalgia, I love play on words. Key means to unlock, but it’s also a music term that let’s you know what scales and chords will appear in a song.
Same with Chromatic, which represents colour and the Chromatic music scale which contains every single note available. Since this whole band was build on dreams of the members, and a lot of my/our favourite Japanese songs had the word “Dreamer” in the title (‘Fighting Dreamers’ from Naruto, ‘Kanzen Kanzoku Dreamer’ by One OK Rock, ‘Biggest Dreamer’ from Digimon, etc), I really wanted to incorporate that word.
After my band started playing for a while, I asked if they wanted to take this band seriously or casually. They voted seriously, which would mean a website, business cards, photoshoots, all the fancy stuff. Thus, I built this website.
My Failed Blog Ideas
Now, don’t think this was my first blog or that finding my niche was easy. Since February 2020, I have bought 5 domains and attempted 4 blogs. While I always wanted to be a blogger, I didn’t know what my niche was. I didn’t feel like I knew anything well enough, or was passionate about anything enough to write on and on about it.
However, just a few months prior, my best friend was having some relationship issues with her long term boyfriend. I’ve been enjoying the single life and living with no regrets. Pursuing my childhood dream job, doing solo trips, moving out and finally getting my own room, and just going wherever, doing whatever I wanted. I no longer waited for anyone or made excuses, and I realized, I really didn’t care to have a man in my life.
Thus, I named my first website The Singles Handbook. I was hoping to inspire and motivate others to embrace their single life and do what they can in this time instead of always focusing on finding the one and wasting years with the wrong people. But after maybe 20 posts, I kinda ran out of ideas. It was also a weird blog to really promote as most people don’t want to be single and are embarrassed about it.
A few months after, I created Protagonist Academy. Along with the empowering posts from my last blog, I was also able to write more about goal achievement and self confidence. I wanted to inspire others to be the main character and pursue the live of their dreams, where they would be happiest. I was able to write a few more posts, but because it was quite personal and shared a lot of stories, I wanted to stay more anonymous. But it’s hard to promote on social media that way.
A few months after that, I also created a website under my real name in my new career. I wrote a few blog posts about cyber security, and through that, I actually got quite a few writing opportunities for other blogs and even was featured under women in tech. Wrote some posts and tips on Linkedin too, but I’m still a newbie in the field, so there was only so much I could write about. I’m happy my presence was well received, and it definitely gave me more confidence as a writer.
In 2021, I was a little low on cash, so I was focusing more on instant money making opportunities, and even made a resource database for people in my field who weren’t tech-savvy or comfortable navigating the went for useful tools.
With all the work above and the database, when I started promoting and sent a message to the CEO of my current job, he was eager to have me on his team and schedule an interview. I got a new job at a big established company in my field, which was great! The database wasn’t that popular (12 trials out of 1000+ messages), so I closed it down and focused on my new job.
Why I Started To Write Like Crazy
So when I created my band’s website in September 2021, I knew I would have to write. After all, how else would someone come across it if they don’t know your name and you don’t show up in search results under certain keywords?
The thing about Google though, people only go to it when they have questions. Thus, if you can answer these questions, and if you can answer them well and become a reliable resource, Google will push you up higher on search results. How do you answer questions on your blog? Through blog posts. Chances are, that’s how you came across this post.
By October, work slowed down, as it is a field that fluctuates over the seasons. I knew it would only get quieter, thus I had a lot of free time. I was already ahead of the band’s setlist, so I figured, what better time to get ahead than now? Due to the pandemic, I was still able to quality for some benefits. I really won’t have another slow period like this in the future, so I wanted to make the most of the free time I had. I really won’t have that kind of privilege again.
I was watching some videos from Income School on Youtube where many of their videos urged to get your first 30 articles up ASAP. This would help you get index faster, and the older an article, the better. Thus the faster you post em up, the quicker they will age. So that was my first goal. Hopefully, if I started now, by next winter, I should have some passive income.
But, what should I write about? That was still the main question.
Figuring Out My Niche
As a newbie, it was a bit hard finding what to write about. My website name was vague enough that I wasn’t forced to write about just anime music or just guitars. Chromatic covers everything music related, and dreams could refer to anyone who has musical dreams.
On top of that, whether it was guitar, or deeper music theory, or Japanese music, and other things that related to my band, I was still quite new to it all. While new, I was definitely passionate about it, so I wasn’t afraid to do my research, learn more about it, put it together logically, and explain concept in a way that was easy for beginners to understand.
I’m very honest, so I’m not going to portray myself as some advanced-20-year-experience-guitarist. If anything, it’s nicer learning from people just ahead of you because they can actually remember what it was like being in your shoes. But honestly, for the things I wanted to write about, like rhythm guitar and Japanese music theory, there really wasn’t much on the internet, and that was super frustrating for me. Thus, I was eager to provide more reliable and detailed resources for other beginners.
Slowly but surely, I kinda had an idea of what I wanted to write about, and I started with what I couldn’t find. Then for other things, I wrote more detailed and complete guides for beginners. Then more and more ideas came to me, or I’d read a question from a Facebook group and write about it.
While the website name is vague and I could certainly explore many other genres of music, I stuck to what my band was about. We are a rookie-anime-cover band. Thus, I focus on guitar lessons for rookies, anime and Japanese music, and band tips for others trying to start their own. And since we are based in Toronto, I could also write about Japanese related things in my city, like Japanese cafes and where to see Sakura/Cherry Blossoms in the city. It seems like a mess, but everything ties together perfectly.
And best of all, this is a niche that I am proud of. I’ve already dipped my toes in so many Japanese related things over the years as a life long anime and Japan fan. This means I have many photos to share and stories from my experiences.
I can create a blog that is more personal and relateable. You read my articles and it feels like a friend is talking to you, as opposed to a news article. While I do use a stage name, I was recording my own journey on guitar way before I started the blog and it shares a lot of personal experiences, so it’s still me regardless.
As opposed to the self improvement niche, it’s been a lot easier finding and picking products and services I want to promote in this niche because, these are tools and sites I’ve used myself!
I used GuitarTricks for 2 years before writing about it. I have this chromatic tuner which I love so much, I bought a second, and even got one for my bassist. I got a Soundbrennar watch as a gift. I have a music stand and many pedals from Amazon in my room. No one sponsored me. I’m also not a pro trying to promote beginner products I have no experience with. These are products I truly love and want others to know about.
But I will be honest, this is a small niche, so I don’t expect to ever have a blog that brings in 6 figures or anything. View count is still pretty low as it’s still a new blog, but I’ve been patient and writing away anyways.
Regardless, even if it never makes money, I would still write! I just love to write. It’s an outlet, it’s a way to help others, it’s a way to journal and learn even more about myself. It’s a way to grow and hopefully find others who are into the same things. That’s how I know I found the right niche for me <3
But I’m feeling confident about this blog just because I’m passionate and I’ve written a lot of quality content that I am proud enough to share around.
Tips for finding your niche
Consider Your Current Passions
It’s funny. I’ve been an anime fan since childhood and stumbled across Japanese music since 2006. I’ve been able to explore and listen to it more after getting Spotify and doing research for my band. There’s not many things I’m super passionate about, but for some reason, I neglected this niche that was always in my ear. So don’t think too hard! If you like drawing, gardening, hiking, photography? It’s best to pick your current passions.
Avoid The Top Blogging Niches
If you look through niches that will make money, you’ll come across things like shopping and fashion, makeup, travelling, money, fitness, etc.
Now, if you are truly passionate and feel you can compete among the thousands of other people writing about these niches, then go for it! You’ll have to work a bit harder and wait a lot longer to start getting results with all the competition, but there’s enough people looking up these topics to go around.
So, if you don’t care a whole lot about these niches (or you’re only considering it for the money), it isn’t worth it. You’re going to get discouraged easily when you’re on page 17 of Google because there’s so many other established and more passionated creators in front of you.
If you are passionate about those niches, be sure to niche down, aka, pick a smaller niche within that niche. Instead of fashion, do DIY fashion. Instead of travelling, how about travelling solo or activities in different countries?
Don’t Shy Away From Small Niches
If you have an idea for a smaller niche, whether it’s unique or just a specific topic, don’t avoid them because you think no one’s going to look it up. You’ll learn soon that there is a market for everything. Even if you have a really weird or unique niche, there are still going to be thousands and thousands of individuals looking for information in that content.
And while that may not be as many viewers as the travelling niche, you won’t have to share your viewers or subscribers with others. These are going to be people who are faithful to you because you’re the only one, or 1 of 3 people who release content in it. If you create a unique book that no one else has written about, it’s a lot easier to sell.
You Don’t Have To Know Everything Right Now
When I started this blog, I definiely had more information than the average anime fan, but trust me, I was far from an expert. However, I had a passion to learn, and as I’m learning guitar and playing in an anime band, I had more of a reason to dig. I wanted to understand the chord progressions more. I wanted to understand the lyrics more. I wanted to be able to create a Japanese-inspired song in the future.
As a blogger, you are teaching others, but in the process, you are also learning and teaching yourself. If you have a question, don’t just look it up, but start writing about it. Your article isn’t finished until you feel you’re able to write clearly and summarize it. With time, as you continue to write and answer your more questions, you’ll slowly but surely become an expert at your niche.
Pick A Niche You Would Be Proud To Show Off
In your first few months, you’ll have to do a lot of promotion yourself to help kick off the views and test your content. A great way to do so is to join Facebook groups with people in your niche, and share your posts under relevant questions people may have. You would also want to share with your friends or people at conventions who also enjoy the niche.
But this all means your blog and your content should be something you’re proud to share. I mean, you could start a foot fetish blog and I promise you, it would/could get a lot of views online, but if it’s something you are embarrassed of and wouldn’t tell a soul you run that side, maaaaaybe you should reconsider. Maybe.
If it does well on SEO, then you’ve hit the jackpot, but you do miss a lot of opportunities if it’s something you wouldn’t want tied to your face or your name. (Be sure to also pay for extra privacy with your host, otherwise, your name will show up under the domain in Whois searches regardless).
Pick A Niche You Will Feel Motivated To Write About
Blogging is a lonely path, and it’s a long term commitment. It may take 6 months just for you to hit 5 view a day, and much longer before you make your first $100. Your friends and family won’t understand blogging and will think you’re delusional when you say it can become passive in a couple years. And of course, when you’re a nobody and have 0 subscribers, you’re essentially writing to nobody and hoping for the best. You’ll be spending 30 hours on an amazing article, and still, no views.
Thus, you need to pick a niche that you personally love, that you want to research, that you like to write about, and that you can keep yourself motivated when others are discouraging. Even if you never make money for the first year or two, would you still feel motivated to write? If the answer is no, maybe there is a better niche for you.
Trust me, blogging is all fun and games for the first month, and you’re excited to work on the layout and your first 15 articles are amazing, and you have big dreams, but the feeling fades fast when no one is reading your blog. But you have to keep at it. It will take time.
Conclusion
Blogging is a lot of fun! It’s not for everyone as it requires a lot of time, research, writing, promoting and so on, but it can be a wonderful outlet that allows you to share things others may be looking for. However, it’s best to pick a niche you are passionate about, while also being something you can continually write about.
And while I didn’t go into detail in this article, blogging is a lot more than just writing. Creating and designing a WordPress website takes a few weeks, and much longer if this is your first website. You’re going to be so confused so you may just pick an easy default, which is fine, but there’s still plug-ins and many features that will be quite overwhelming.
Researching your blog topics takes time. Writing, rewriting, formatting and editing your blog posts takes time. Finding royalty free photos or digging through your own collection of photos takes time. Creating social media pages and promotion takes time. Starting up a blog is not something you can do overnight, and how successful it would or could be would come down to the effort you put in.
So trust me when I say, your passion will help you push through the learning curve and keep you writing before you get any results. Pursue your passions, write about what speaks to your heart, or fill a need if you can be the one to do so.
If this article has help you, feel free to leave a comment below! Also reach out to me on Instagram or at nostalgia@chromaticdreamers.com if you have other blogging questions. I’m happy to help ^_^
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