A lot of the popular niches are the most competitive with already established blogs synonymous with those niches for example: web startups - techcrunch/mashable gadgets - engadget/gizmodo make money online - shoemoney/problogger It seems that the only thing you could do nowadays is either have something so damn unique from these guys that people are willing to pay attention to your blog as well, or have a huge load of money to hire people to write amazing articles and push out more than those blogs. Aside from those 2 obvious though, I was wondering if you guys had any advice or thoughts on how a blog would be able to hold up in those competitive niches that are near-impossible to have a good standing in?
You have to have a business model to enter in the competitive niches. This also mean you have to view the whole thing as a business and yes, maybe hire people, find money, etc. If you want a blog to get to the level of mashable/problogger/etc it can be a solid 8 hours a day dedicated to your blogging business. Nothing is easy, 1 hour a day probably won't make it unless you have a very unique idea. The keyword: business.
The best personal advice I could give is dedication and patience. If you are willing to put effort into it, some money (it really doesn't need much) and a lot of patience you can achieve whatever you want. Most online business fail cause 99% of people get bored or give up after a year or two of working without seeing a profit. If you are willing to put your heart and soul into any project for more than 36 months without seeing a decent profit out of it you'll probably make it. Just make sure to learn from your mistakes, never stop investigating and learning.