I Have A Multi-Niche Blog + Didn’t Use WP (but it worked)

I have a multi-niche blog. I talk about travel, creativity, the carefree lifestyle and creative entrepreneurship (like blogging).

(I used to blog about music too, but I’m moving that content over to a separate site here)

And while these subjects may look random, they’re totally connected for me. They represent my core brand vision, lifestyle and creative goals.

I love to blend carefreeness and travel together and make creative travel projects. I really can’t imagine blogging about just one of those pillars.

But my rogue blog habits don’t stop there. I also opted out of using WordPress (WP) — a serious faux pas in the blogging world.

So this is my guide on how to build a multi-niche website (with or without WP).

Now let’s get to it!

Table of Contents Show

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What Is A Multi-Niche Blog?

A multi-niche blog is a website that covers multiple domains or verticals, under the same brand umbrella or website name.

I have a multi-topic blog because every niche I talk about is a pivotal part of my brand.

This isn’t a terribly surprising turn of events for me though. I’ve always had meandering passions and creative focus has been a persistent issue for me (maybe you can relate).

But blending my pursuits has been a fun and creative solution.

Can A Blog Have Multiple Topics?

Totally.

While I think it’s important that your topics aren’t too different (like covering car repairs and gardening under one roof), having a blog with multiple topics is definitely possible.

Ultimately, it depends on your brand vision, goals and niche choices. Whether you have a single-niche blog or a multi-topic one, planning ahead with a clear content strategy is key.

So yes, you can have a blog that covers multiple topics or domains — as long as you stay strategic and intentional.

Pros + Cons of Having A Multi-Niche Blog

Pros of a multi-niche blog

More content flexibility
More creative freedom
Increased opportunities
Less creative ruts or problems with running out of topics
You are more adaptable and resilient to changes
You have a broader audience appeal

Cons of a multi-niche blog

Slower growth
It can be confusing for readers and Google
Harder to build topical authority
More difficult to organize (in both content and website design)
More difficult SEO
Issues with brand identity or clear direction
It can be more overwhelming

I Didn’t Use WordPress (the horror!)

Besides targeting multiple niches, I went against the grain in another way.

I didn’t use WordPress to host my blog.

(insert screams from concerned SEOs)

I know what you’re thinking, I must be mad. If there’s one mantra I hear echoed by every blogging guru, it’s that using WordPress is the only way to grow a blog (or fail miserably).

But I decided I wanted something simpler. I was also curious to see if I could grow a blog outside of this WP dogma. And the results are in — everything is working out (quite well, actually).

While WordPress is definitely a solid choice and a powerhouse for bloggers, it’s not the only way to find success or get traffic.

I grew this website using Squarespace. And I’ve had zero issues.

While I may not have as much customization as a self-hosted WordPress site, Squarespace is way easier and just as powerful when it comes to SEO and article ranking.

My website is proof of this.

I started taking things seriously around September/October of 2022 and I just ended this year (December 2023) with over 16,000 monthly visits.

And things are really just starting to compound — I’m getting thousands of more visitors every month and my articles continue to rank better and better.

You can check out my full review and Squarespace blogging results here.

So yea, I broke the rules. I have a multi-niche blog and I didn’t use WordPress.

But hey, it’s working.

How I Grew My Multi-Niche Blog (6 tips)

If you also have a multi-niche blog (or you’re keen to start one), then take note of these top tips for growing it.

Because despite the naysayers, it is possible.

1. Focus On One Niche At A Time

If you’re building a multi-niche blog, avoid trying to build out every niche all at once.

This can lead to creative burnout and fatigue (at least, it did for me).

While my blog’s growth has been consistent and steady, I do believe things would've gone even quicker had I focused on one pillar at a time.

My content strategy in the beginning was a bit sporadic and lacked clear direction.

But I suppose I was still testing things out and figuring out who I was as a brand even — so I can’t be too mad at myself.

Still, it can take a long time to build topical authority for a niche. You need to cover your domain in full to become an authority.

So focusing on one niche at a time will make life easier and help get you traffic quicker.

2. Connect Your Niches

If you’re starting a multi-niche blog, it’s best if your multiple verticals are connected in some way.

This will make everything more cohesive, intentional and clear.

I imagine this like bridges that connect different (but still nearby) islands. So look for bridges between your multiple niches.

For my brand, my core themes (bridges) that underpin everything I publish here are carefreeness, adventure and creativity.

These bridges connect nearly all of my posts — from travel to starting a blog.

So have a clear purpose for each of your niches and look for ways to blend things together.

Connect everything to your ultimate brand vision.

3. Be Brand Intentional

A great way to grow a multi-niche blog is to build it around a personal brand.

This means being brand intentional.

While I cover a variety of topics, they’re all connected and serve a specific purpose. Everything ties back to my personal brand.

Building a brand around my multi-niche blog is how I stay intentional with my content. So, although diverse, I only talk about hyper-relevant topics, which for me include:

Creativity
Creative and carefree lifestyle topics
Creative entrepreneurship
Travel

Put another way, I’m not going to start talking about snowboarding here. Because even though I love to shred, this topic is not connected to this brand vision or content goals.

So my advice is to have a clear purpose and intention for which niches you decide to include.

Because having multiple niches isn’t the problem, it’s having multiple niches without a clear purpose that creates issues.

4. Make Things Organized

Simply navigation and organization is an important part of UX (user experience) and blogging success.

This is especially true for multi-niche blogs, which inherently require more organizational finesse.

For example, you can see that my main menu navigation is clearly organized by category. Each category represent a main pillar (niche), which includes various sub-niches.

This is better than just linking to all of my posts under a general blog link.

If a reader is unfamiliar with my brand, they could get confused to find Tokyo travel articles sitting next to topics like how to be more creative.

So I organize things more clearly.

This is an ongoing process and I’m constantly fine-tuning things to make the UX even better.

As you build out your domains and your site grows, you’ll find better and better ways to organize everything.

It can help to get some outside feedback though (from friends and family or from community threads).

5. Define Your Audiences

My macro audience would be anyone who loves creativity, travel and the laid-back lifestyle (and how I blend those things together).

For example, both traveling artists or carefree digital nomads would probably enjoy my content all the same.

But someone who just happens to find some of my Japanese travel articles (but is not interested in creative pursuits) would be a micro audience subset.

It helps to clearly define these different target groups to better plan and organize your content.

For example, readers of my carefree content will have totally different values, goals and pain points compared to someone reading my posts on how to start a blog.

While I find ways to blend things together and combine my niche, my writing will mostly reflect the specific audience nuances for the niche I’m writing on.

So I’ll speak to values like personal expression and authenticity more in my creativity or carefree lifestyle posts, but I’ll lean into values like making money or social media metrics more for my creatrepreneurship posts.

Know your audience. And write for them.

6. Be Extra Patient

Growing a single niche blog takes a lot of patience and work as it is.

But growing a multi-niche blog requires even more content and time to build topical authority for each pillar.

Your attention will be split between multiple domains. So, naturally, it’ll take longer to grow each category.

Managing expectations helps here. So think in years (not months) and become process-oriented.

Put another way, fall in love with the journey and work towards checkpoints and milestones (not endpoints).

7. Know Your Goals + Preferences

At the end of the day, it’s most important to simply have clear goals and understand your preferences.

Why do you want (or need) a multi-niche blog?

How do you plan on blending everything together?

Is it absolutely necessary or would it be better to have separate blogs?

Having clear goals sets the stage for building a multi-topic blog. An intentional content strategy is important — even more so if you’re juggling multiple niches.

So know your goals and make sure everything has a clear purpose and long-term vision.

Also, dig deeper into which platform you want to use (for example, WordPress vs. Squarespace).

Explore things more and sign up for some free trials to understand how things stack up to your goals and preferences.

This way, you can make the best decision.

Later ✌️

A single niche website isn’t for everyone. Luckily, it’s definitely possible to grow a multi-topic blog.

My website is proof.

But everything I publish here has a very specific purpose and is connected to my long-term vision and personal brand.

So be purposeful, stay creative and, most importantly, love the journey and have fun.

Blogging is an epic adventure.

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