Creating stacks of content that slot perfectly into a niche topic will position you as an expert in your field. Owning this particular niche is a gateway to building brand loyalty. If you can clearly demonstrate that you have the products, services, and information that people are looking for, then they will naturally want to keep coming back for more.
But, if scanning through the numbers in your web traffic and social media reports leaves you feeling like your audience might be slipping away, it could be that your bread and butter content is drying up and turning stale.
Is it time to mix things up a little?
Reasons to create content outside of your niche*
*This isn’t a green light to start pummeling your super serious business blog with a constant stream of irrelevant but very cute animal gifs all the time, but rather about finding the confidence to spread your wings and occasionally test a different approach or explore a new idea.
Grow a larger audience
If every blog post becomes nothing more than a box-ticking exercise – simply a case of churning out the same old topics, and the same old message, over and over again – its appeal is going to fade pretty quickly.
While it is important to shout about the bread and butter of your business’ products and services to help establish ownership within your niche, sometimes taking a breath of fresh air and creating content outside of your comfort zone is the perfect way to rejuvenate your audience and earn the attention of new readers.
The majority of your content should, of course, pique the interest of the people looking for your core offering, but there’s no reason you can’t branch out and explore a change of scenery from time to time. Start with a topic that is relatable to your area of expertise, but from a new perspective – think of it like taking a given subject and viewing it through a narrow lens Vs. a wide angle lens; both are still focused on the same end goal.
Establish (even more) authority
As a content creator, you should bear two groups of people in mind when you get to work 1) those who understand the importance of your products/services, and 2) those who don’t (yet) understand the importance of your products/services.
Creating content outside of your niche can become a magnet for attracting that second group of people toward your brand and persuading them to think in the same way you do. If they like what they see, they’ll inevitably want to learn more about you, and see more of your brilliant content. Broadening the horizons of your blog in a way that offers more variety to more readers, will enable you to connect with readers before they even see a need for your services through positioning you as an authoritative source of information within your industry.
Once you’ve established a strong connection through mutually interesting content, you are better able to influence opinion, and later down the line should a need arise, those very people are likely to think of your business first, and move through the funnel of conversion to become your customers.
Add personality to your brand
If you’re regularly creating content, then trying to explore fresh ideas and new ways to talk about the same handful of topics can bring about challenges, and it’s inevitable that a bout of writer’s block will hit at some point (check out these handy tips to help you recover).
Don’t be afraid to say the slightly abnormal off-topic thing that everyone else is too afraid to say. Yes, it’s vital to write genuinely helpful content that will inspire your readers, but equally important is expressing yourself and your brand in a memorable way. Ignite your work with a little personality, and become the brand that people genuinely enjoy hearing from.
Off-topic content success; it’s a marathon, not a sprint
While dominating a particular niche will absolutely give you a solid platform for building a strong presence online, making the leap to create content outside of your niche from time to time is key to growing that influence, while providing your audience with more exciting and original content to connect with.
Just don’t over do it.
