Have the Information Come to You – One of the most appealing aspects of developing a micro-niche blog is that it takes very little time to keep updated on a subject. Often you can have the information delivered straight to your inbox. For example, Google has a service called Google News Alerts where you enter a specific word or string of words that you want to keep an eye out for (i.e., stem-cell, Ukraine, epistemology) and Google will notify you whenever it appears in a news story. You can even have it set to send as it happens, once per daily, or on a weekly basis.

Another way to monitor your topic is to search what other blogs are saying. Blogpulse, Daypop, and Technorati are all useful for searching word strings. You may be a stay-at-home parent but by using this method you can appear to be the blogosphere’s foremost expert on Russian politics, winter sports, Green party politicians or any one of millions of other subjects.

Know Who’s Paying Attention – Who "owns" the micro-niche of nanotechnology? Howard Lovy. Why? Because Glenn Reynolds is interested in nano-tech and often links to Nanobot. Reynolds doesn’t have to spend hours every day staying abreast of the developments in the field because Lovy is doing it for him. By owning the micro-niche, Lovy provides a shortcut to pertinent information for the busy A-lister. The ability to catch the attention of an influential blogger conveys "trusted expert" status on Lovy and his blog.

Find out what bloggers share an interest in your topic and then market to them. They may not check your blog every day but if you can provide timely and important news and information you will stay within their peripheral vision. That likely wouldn’t happen if you were just one of a million blogs writing about the topic du jour.

Run Blogads on Your Site – There are two reasons you’ll want to incorporate Blogads into your micro-niche blog. The first is that even if you only sell a couple of ads at rock-bottom rates you’ll be able to cover the operating expenses. The second is that is lends an air of credibility to your site: if you have advertiser there must be a reason. Right? Just “fake it until you can make it.” Give away free ads to stoke interest. For example, choose a favorite, semi-obscure book on your micro-niche topic, and make it a free ad on your site.

Don’t wait for a potential advertiser to ask you if you’d consider running advertising. It’s not likely to happen. Take the initiative. Make them realize that their product matches your audience.

Create Compelling Content – You can be successful by being nothing more than a news aggregator. But you can become a star by creating you own compelling content. You don’t need a PhD in a subject to have something interesting to say. You just need a passionate interest. Few people will know enough about the subject to have formed an informed opinion. Give them one. Let them leave your blog thinking that they know something more about ______ than they came in with. Everyone relies on experts. Be that expert.

Another simple method is to provide original interviews. Find an email address for a unknown professor/author/politician that wrote a paper/book/speech on the topic. Ask them to submit to an email interview and then post it on your blog. Most people would be flattered, especially if you come across as the blog on the subject of interest. You'll have an exclusive that no one else has. Think creatively about other similar ways to stand out.

The blogosphere doesn't need another opinion on Presidential politics. There is -- quite literally -- millions of those already. What we need is enthusiastic bloggers writing about topics we didn't know we cared about. Fill that role and you will find an audience.

Coming next: Three Essential Elements of Blog Design