Passion is a term with a few related meanings, one of which is intense desire. It has interesting synonyms as well, such as: fervor, zealousness, fanaticism, enthusiasm, and obsession. These are pulse pounding words. These are nouns you can’t touch, but you do feel.
They make so much sense when you’re deeply engaged, in the flow of your craft, or hammering away at your favorite activity, but what do these words really mean in a business context? Should you start a blog based on your interests?
There’s fulfillment in your fascinations. There’s purpose found there. There’s a unique view and understanding that only comes from inside that zealous fervor. There’s boundless enthusiasm you can tap into.
There are real, palpable advantages to following your passions when choosing a blog topic to base your business around. Let’s explore.
The Energy of Enthusiasm
It takes time to get good at anything. It takes hard work, determination, and grit.
Blogging is a long term endeavor that requires sticktoitiveness to become successful, but pushing against sandpaper everyday will rub you raw. It’s so much smoother to follow your interests.
When blogging, you’ll be writing content daily and doing so for years to come. The challenge of launching a successful blog is difficult enough, don’t make it more so by jumping on a topic that you don’t have a deep interest in. Instead, follow your inner compass.
You are part of the equation of your success. Tap into the enthusiasm you have for a topic. Let it point you in the right direction.
When following your passions, problems present themselves as interesting puzzles to solve, rather than as barriers that look impossible to overcome. Challenges thrust you forward, rather than hold you back.
My passion for graphic design and illustration fueled me to build massively popular blogs in those niches. My obsessive interest in all the nuance of those subjects drove me to learn more, compelled me to dive deeper, share, and connect with an audience that was equally fanatic.
Your passion for a topic helps you outpace your competitors. Audiences can feel if you love what you write about. They identify with people that have strong opinions. Enthusiasm is contagious.
You can tap into your inner-fire, completely geek-out, and be adored for it.
The View from the Inside
Members of a group share passions, share challenges, share struggles, and share problems. They have a shared experience. They are a tribe. As a member of that group, you have a unique view from the inside. You know your tribes’ needs, wants, and desires.
This is insider knowledge you can leverage when you build your blog-based business. When you know a topic, when you have a love for it, you have a feel that outsiders lack:
- Climb – You know what beginners face when building up their skills. You’ve climbed that mountain and lived those challenges. You can help the person coming up behind you, whether as an expert or a leading learning.
- Pulse – You know where this group gathers online. You can feel their pulse. You know who the influencers are. You may even know them personally.
- Pain – You can readily find the pressing problems this group needs help with. In each of these problems, lies potential business solutions.
You can tap into your own struggles, share your view from the inside, and build your blog around your insider knowledge.
Not an Excuse for Blind Pursuit
Our passions drive us to pursue things, even when we don’t actually knowing why.
Deeply obsessing over our interests can lead us to new, uncharted discoveries, or push us down unproductive paths. It’s important to take a realistic look at the market within the niche you’re considering.
Often when people have a problem with the idea of following your passion to start a business—a blog-based business, an online business, or any business really—it isn’t that they dislike enthusiasm. They don’t think it’s impossible to start a business centered on someone’s passion. They just want to make sure that there is a real market need present here. That there is an opportunity to solve a pressing problem. That there is a group willing to hand over money for a solution. That’s just business basics. So, don’t ignore this advice.
Do some market research. Analyze competitors in the space you’re considering entering. Look at what opportunities exist in the market, what value you can bring to the table, and how you can compete.
Avoid pursuing a topic, that you may be passionate about, but which you can’t possibly make money at. No one is going to pay you to eat pizza. That doesn’t mean your passion for food can’t be expressed in your blog-based business. Find an angle into it that you can carve out a space in. Consider what products or services you can sell to monetize your efforts. Put your passion into business context.
Be obsessive. It’s an asset. Go off the rails or dive way too deep, but do so where you’ve identified real market opportunity.
The Purpose is in the Passion
Choosing a niche topic you have a passion for is the road to blogging fulfillment, especially when your interests overlap with the needs of your audience. Your personal purpose, your blog’s mission, and your audiences’ goals are in alignment.
You can tap into that energy you have for this blog topic daily. You can help people learn what you care so much about. As you build your expertise on the subject, you can share and grow together with your audience. You can identify opportunities from the inside, and act on them much quicker than any uncaring competitors.
Build a blog filled with your thoughts on a topic you love. Find purpose in it. Offer products or services that genuinely provide value to your tribe. Help them achieve their goals.
Dig deep inside yourself to build a blog that matters—one that makes a long lasting difference to your audiences’ life and your life as well.
Graphic Credit: Potion designed by Matt Brooks from the Noun Project.
