Summary

The author shares their personal experience of burning out by writing in a niche too closely related to their day job, emphasizing the importance of choosing a niche that complements but does not extend one's career.

Abstract

The article "How I Burnt Out Writing in One Niche" delves into the author's journey of content creation and the pitfalls of selecting a niche that mirrors their professional work. Initially, the author enjoyed the benefits of their choice, including an active community, collaborations, and recognition. However, the overlap between their job and their niche eventually led to a loss of passion, as the hobby turned into a second job. The author advises against skipping self-reflection when choosing a niche, stressing that it should complement one's career rather than be an extension of it. The narrative serves as a cautionary tale about the risk of burnout, which can creep up unnoticed and take a significant toll.

Opinions

The author regrets not maintaining enough distance between their professional role and their personal brand, leading to work feeling like a constant grind.
Initially, the author found value in the overlap between their job and niche, enjoying easy collaborations and networking opportunities.
Over time, the author felt that their content creation had become a mandatory task rather than a fulfilling activity.
The author suggests that a niche should be chosen with careful consideration to avoid it becoming a source of stress and burnout.
The article implies that financial considerations should not be the sole factor in niche selection; personal fulfillment and enjoyment are crucial.
The author experienced a significant downturn in their industry, which exacerbated the feeling of their writing niche being too closely tied to their job.
The author emphasizes the importance of self-reflection in the process of choosing a niche to prevent burnout and maintain a healthy balance between work and personal interests.

How I Burnt Out Writing in One Niche.

What they don’t tell you.

It’s the dream, isn’t it?

That one day you’ll wake up and all your hard work of writing content, creating for social media, and building a brand pays off.

It is, and it’s an amazing feeling.

Your comments are active, you’ve built a fun community, and you’ve published in a magazine or two.

Or at least it is until you realised you’ve built a second job for yourself that is far too close to your actual job. Everything feels like work, and the joy you once had in writing has slowly crumbled to ashes.

Learn from my mistake.

That mistake centers on my niche, but probably not in the way you think.

When you create content and build a following, you pick a niche, right?

I did what all the gurus said to do. I picked a niche that was profitable, one I could easily create content around, but it was so close to my industry at work that, over time, people overlapped.

At first it was great.

Collaborations were easy to find, and I made some wonderful friends. Some of whom I had looked up to for years. People I could never imagine having a conversation with.

However, when you pick a niche that overlaps too much with your job, you are always working. The hobby that was fun becomes a chore and you resent it.

You log off work only to create content for what now feels like a hamster wheel of your own making. Even worse, when your ‘profitable’ industry has a downturn and it’s no longer paying.

Don’t end up like I did.

When I started researching my niche, I skipped the first step: self reflection. I aligned my content and practiced writing around skills that I knew I needed for my career path. I thought this was okay, as I was highly interested in the area in which I work.

But don’t skip this step!

Figure out if there is enough distance between your current role and the personal brand you’re creating.

That your niche complements your career but isn’t an extension of it.

Because burn out is real. It exacts a terrible toll, and you don’t see it coming until you’re already there.