Aspiring blogger with so many questions

Hello, everyone! I'm brand new, and this is my first time posting! I'm very interested in getting started in blogging, and I've been scouring the internet to do as much research as possible so that I can be well-informed before delving into this venture!

Because I'm coming at this from perhaps a different angle than most, I wanted to ask some questions that I haven't exactly seen answered in my research and reading about blogging.

1. I've set up a sort of "practice" blog via Wordpress's freebie option. Mostly I've been playing (within the freebie limits) with themes, customizing the look of the site/blog, and actually trying to figure out what my overall niche/purpose for the blog will be. I haven't actually started blogging yet on my little site, but I will begin soon (possibly tonight). I realize with a freebie blog, I'm not going to get much/any traffic if I don't actively promote and invite people to come read it. That's fine, I have a list of a dozen or so friends on Facebook whom I'd trust to come check it out and give feedback, leave comments, etc.
So the question...is this a good strategy? As I said, I'm not REALLY sure where I'm going to focus my attention for the "real" blog, and I thought by starting this one with a random bunch of ramblings about various topics that interest me, I might be able to narrow down (1) what I like writing about the most, and (2) what my small audience responds to and likes the most. Good idea?

2. Of course, I have the wild fantasy of blowing up the internet with my witty, clever, sexy blog, and via ads and affiliates, just sitting back and watching the $$ roll in. But I'm a realist too. My main motivation in starting all of this is simply a way to get my writing out there. Almost like a writing portfolio or resume that I can use to boost my chances in landing freelancing work? Does that sound reasonable, or am I dreaming? Mind you, I'd be covering a myriad of topics on this "practice" blog, restaurant reviews, book reviews, features helping to promote my friends' businesses (a professional organizer, a photographer, and a graphic artist), possibly a piece on one of my friends who home schools her three kids, my own insights into planning great Walt Disney World trips, caring for geriatric horses, dealing with aging parents, maximizing credit card bonuses and rewards, and possibly some content dealing with my day job: teaching high school. Sort of a "throw it all against the wall and see what sticks" approach, with the hope that having a lot of content that covers a broad range of topics and formats might help me land paying writing gigs?

Those were long questions. LOL! I guess to sum up: Is having a freebie personal blog with a small following and a ton of varied content a good way to get a "feel" for what I might want to seriously blog AND a way to showcase my ability for possible future freelancing?

HUGE thanks to anyone who actually read through this!

 

sarak gave you some good advise.

My question to your questions is, "Do you have a formalized plan for this searching activity?" You should have a defined timeframe for how long you'll allow yourself to look for your chosen niche. And in my opinion any length of time is too long. You could fall into the trap of searching forever and never really doing anything meaningful with your blogging efforts.

There's a lot of wisdom in the saying, "Just do it!"

 

If anything blog your interests and gaming life. People love reading about those things. I wrote reviews on games to see what it would be like. Feels accomplishing and great if your a gamer yourself. Be sure to try it out. Maybe you'll end up getting some project together to get more viewers. Im always interesting in blogging myself. Maybe you could also write me a article on a game you like and I'll post it on my site. Better yet id appreciate it if you would like to.