A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Your Niche
Find your specialised topic so you can stand out in an oversaturated market
Have you always wanted to be a content creator but you’re stuck because you don’t know what topic you want to focus on? I know exactly how you feel. I started a personal blog several years ago and just wrote about whatever interested me at the time. I suppose it could have been a lifestyle blog because I wrote about the food that I cooked, my career as a teacher, parenting, business ownership, photography, and a little bit of fashion. It was just a mish-mash of content.
I honestly felt that I was going nowhere because my blog was not getting any traction. I knew the number one thing to a successful business was to gain an audience, but it wasn’t happening for me. However, through my process of writing and general experimentation, I discovered what I enjoyed writing about and what content resonated with my little audience the most. That’s when I discovered the importance of niching down as a creator.
According to the dictionary, a niche is “a specialised segment of the market for a particular kind of product or service”. So rather than just being a ‘lifestyle’ creator, which is too broad, you should try to focus on a much smaller topic. If you create content about fitness and interior design and fashion and technology, you’ll find it difficult to find your audience. However, if you were to focus just on yoga or just on computers, you will find it easier to gain some loyal followers.
Now that I have been experimenting for years, I know exactly what I want my niche to be. Furthermore, I know how to expand my niche if I choose to do so in the future.
These are the steps that can assist a content creator who needs to find their specialised topic.
Explore your passions
As I mentioned before, writing about a variety of topics was the key starting point of my journey. Instead of just picking one niche, now is the time to dabble in a bit of everything, no matter how different they are.
The niches I have been with experimenting with are parenting, business ownership, photography, and teaching. Heck, I even have a Redbubble store, where I sell some of my photos and designs on print-on-demand products. I love all of these topics for different reasons, and now I have the experience to know where I want to focus my energy.
Exploration is key to help you decide on your specific niche, so give yourself permission to go crazy during this time. Try out different platforms, such as YouTube, blogging, and Instagram. Discuss a variety of different topics. Give it all a go.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Which platforms do I want to experiment with?
- What are all of my passions?
- Who are the content creators I currently admire? Why am I drawn to them?
- Which 5–6 topics would I really enjoy talking about?
- Of those 5–6 topics, which ones have the potential for growth?
Ascertain what isn’t working
Once you’ve reached the point where you feel you’ve tried out all of your interests and are ready to niche down, start to look for the things that aren’t working for you. It is generally easier to cut out problem areas first.
Look at the engagement on each of the platforms you’re on. Look at the comments sections, the likes, the reposts. I suggest you have a notebook or a table and keep a record of all of the engagement you’ve received. If you find some topics are not getting the engagement that you would like, cut them. If you decide you actually don’t like a particular topic, cut it.
Take Alexandra Strambu as an example. She began her YouTube channel focussing on print on demand, entrepreneurship, finance, and lifestyle. If you look at some of her earlier videos, she had content about the best credit cards, productivity, print on demand, and worst purchases she’s made in her 20s. They were all different but she took note of the topics that weren’t getting much engagement (lifestyle and finance) and ceased creating content about them. Those topics also used to be in her YouTube header, but she’s since made a new header so that they have been removed.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- What parts of your niches do you dislike?
- Which posts are getting the least views/comments/likes?
- Which posts are getting too many negative comments or need too many corrections?
- Are you finding it difficult to make quality content on a particular niche?
- What parts can be removed?
Examine what is working and plan for growth
By this stage, you’ve probably removed a couple of niches that aren’t working. Now is the fun part. Dissect all of your work and find where you thrive. Find the posts that have a positive engagement. Read the feedback your audience is giving you, and use that as inspiration for more content. Then, brainstorm ways you can grow your niche further.
As mentioned above, Alexandra Strambu now focuses mainly on print on demand and online business. She noted that her video about how much she made on Redbubble picked up a lot of traction, so she planned follow-up content. She also consistently asks her audience what they want to see through her YouTube community tab.
Another content creator to mention is Cathrin Manning. Originally she was a blogger that created accompanying YouTube videos on the side. She only ever wanted to be a blogger, but when she saw some of her videos take off, she stopped blogging to plan and create more content on YouTube instead. Her content has even changed. In the beginning, she only posted about how to blog and how to use programs to assist with creating a blogging business. However, the first videos that became popular were all about creating videos and how to create a YouTube business. She let her audience choose her niche for her, and a lot of her videos answer questions she’s received.
Furthermore, it will really help you build a relationship with your audience if you continually go to them for feedback and create content that directly answers their questions. They will feel heard and appreciated, and they will be more likely to stay with you.
Now it’s your turn. Ask yourself:
- What is it about my content that I love?
- Which posts are generally getting the most engagement? How can I expand upon those posts?
- Is my audience asking me specific questions about a particular niche? Can I use those questions to create new content?
- Make your plan
Go all in
The final step will be to actually double down on your popular content. Post often, keep it regular, and keep it within your newfound niche.
For example, if your most popular blog post is about how to choose the right cat for you, start posting similar follow-up content. Posts comparing different cat breeds, or explaining how to bring your new cat home, are examples of highly related follow-ups.
Now is also the time where you might want to invest a little bit of money into your content creation. Perhaps you want a new camera so your photos or videos are crisper. Or perhaps buy a subscription to a program to help you create Instagram posts. Or maybe you want to move your blog to a self-hosted WordPress site. Start small and only buy things as you need them. Whatever you do, don’t invest too much money until you’ve narrowed down your direction. You might think that you’ll be a YouTuber at the start and buy a microphone and lights, only to find out that Instagram is your preferred platform.
Furthermore, I wouldn’t recommend giving up your day job until your business can cover your expenses and you have enough diversified income, but I suggest having a look at your life to see where you can pull back. Try ceasing any volunteer work for the time being. Or, if you do extra, unnecessary work for your day job, see if you can reduce it. Find pockets of time to create your content.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- What products do I need to buy? Will they assist me on my journey?
- What time of the day and days of the week is my audience most engaged? Can I schedule my posts for those times?
- Do I have a series of posts related to my most popular content?
- When can I schedule a time to create my content?
Expand your niche after you are established
You don’t have to be pigeonholed into one niche forever. It’s taken me so long to create my own content because I had it in my head that I needed one specialised topic forever. I thought I couldn’t pivot.
However, that simply isn’t true. Once you’ve established your audience and you have people loyal to you, you can begin experiment with other topics. You can expand by either adding to your already existing platform or by creating a new platform.
Emily Schuman of the blog, Cupcakes and Cashmere, started by only writing about food and fashion. Those were her two specific niches. Once she garnered enough of a following, she pivoted and added on interior design, travel, beauty and motherhood. Now a full lifestyle brand, Emily and her team can write about whatever they choose. But it was only because she established herself in the beginning.
Another example is OG YouTuber, Patricia Bright. Her main channel is mostly about beauty and fashion. She wanted to also create content about business and finance but, rather than add to her existing channel, she created a brand new channel, called The Break. She brought some of her existing audience across to her new channel, and also found a new following.
Through the experimentation faze, I personally worked out that parenting, photography and business ownership are my strongest topics, in that order. So my plan is to begin and grow with parenting, add in photography after I have a dedicated audience and perhaps have a new business-themed blog in the future. What is your plan?
If you would like more than one niche, ask yourself:
- What else would my audience like to know?
- Can I add a niche to my existing platform, or should I create something brand new?
- If I want to add it to my existing platform, how can I seamlessly integrate my new topic?
- How can I advertise my new platform to my audience?
Final thoughts
It is definitely fun to be able to create content about any topic that interests you. However, if you want to be a creator who can expand your business, you really need to be an expert in one niche.
It all comes down to trust. Your audience wants to know that you are an expert in your topic and you need them to trust you in order to grow. But they can’t see you as an expert if you just want to talk about anything that takes your fancy.
Furthermore, having one niche at the beginning helps give you direction and clarity for your future. Perhaps you might like to create a product in the future. There are an infinite number of products, but if you have one specific topic, you will be able to easily create something suitable to sell. You’ll also find it easier to market any products you create.
Remember to:
- experiment in different niches
- cut out what isn’t working
- expand upon what is working
- go all-in on your final niche
- allow yourself to pivot in the future, after you have established your following
Take these steps, find your niche, and build your audience so you can scale up your business.