Follow These 3 Signposts To Find Your Niche (In This Order)
How I grew from 321 to 2900 followers when I found mine
It’s the question I get asked all the time.
What do I write about? How do I decide my content?
It’s a crucial decision.
Get it wrong and you could be lost in the writing wilderness for years.
But you don’t choose a niche. You discover it. You don’t sit down and decide what it’s going to be. You set out to explore.
And on that journey, these 3 signposts will guide you:
1. What are you curious about?
Hopefully, you’ll be writing about your niche for a long time. So your interest needs to be strong enough to sustain you.
Curiosity trumps current knowledge.
When I started writing I’d been leading organisations for 20 years. I’d been obsessed with learning about leadership. But now my leadership role is limited. I got oodles of knowledge but I’m no longer studying it.
Should I pick leadership as my niche? No, I shouldn’t. My expertise will soon be stale. The lack of fresh energy will show in my writing.
Write what captivates you.
This makes writing fun, fresh, and energizing.
2. What are you learning to do?
Imposter syndrome poses a huge challenge.
You don’t know enough. You don’t feel like an expert. This holds you back. It makes you think you’ve nothing to share.
But it’s your greatest opportunity. The easiest way to grow an audience is to learn a skill and write about it. This gives credibility because you are doing it
You won’t believe how powerful this is.
Look at this article of mine:
It’s one of my best performers earning $163.
Why did it do so well?
Maybe because it’s about making money. But I’d made less than $1000. Why would anyone waste time reading this, when top writers share their $100k articles?
Because it’s relatable.
The closer your experience is to your readers the more attractive your writing is.
If want to learn to run who will you listen to? Kelvin Kiptum, the Kenya marathon world record holder? Or the couch potato who works a busy 9–5, has 3 kids, and hates any form of exercise. But completed a 10k run.
You think she gets me. What worked for her might work for me.
Write about what you are learning to do.
Those two steps behind you will love it.
3. What do readers want?
Whatever your reason for writing:
- make money
- help people
- influence
- have fun
you need readers.
And you gain readers when you write what they want.
Readers want 3 things from you:
help
Readers want solutions to their problems. They want tools they can use. Tips that work. Ways of thinking that enable them to get what they want in life.
inspiration
You get ingestion when you overload on tips and hacks. So readers need motivation. To feel good. They want to be understood. And given hope.
entertainment
People read in their leisure time. So they want to enjoy it. This doesn’t mean it can’t be educational or motivational. But it needs to be pleasurable to read.
Pick a niche where you can offer a healthy balance of helping readers, inspiring them, and being enjoyable to read.
But don’t be too quick to judge there is no market for your stuff. Just because no one else is writing about it. It’s a mistake to copy what others are writing. You don’t need a lot of readers to make a lot of money.
Loyalty beats numbers.
If you find 500 fans who will pay you $100/year. You’ll make $50k.
Now you have the signposts you need a simple process.
Use this process
Without a niche, you won’t succeed as a writer.
But don’t rush the decision. Take at least 6 months to decide.
- Write about several topics
- After 3 months narrow your focus to your most popular two.
- After another 3 months pick your best performer as your niche.
I grew from 321 to 2900 followers once I found my focus. Find a niche with these 3 signposts and you’ll grow too.
Sign up to my newsletter for more writing tips that have worked for me:
