Writing Niche: Does It Matter?
Possibly; but something else matters a whole lot more
How many writing coaches have you had? How many of them tell you that niche matters, especially if you want to make it as a writer?
They aren’t wrong; but they aren’t completely right either.
The truth is, the more you worry about getting your niche right, the harder it is for you to just start writing. Instead, here are 3 things I want you to try the next time you sit down to write something.
Show up consistently and write on a variety of topics
Writer’s block is a myth. I’ve mentioned this before, several times. Motivation? it’s an even bigger myth.
Most writers don’t wait for motivation to write. They just write.
Not everything has to be perfect and not everything has to be exactly the way it should be. But put writing time on the calendar, the way you brush your teeth every morning and every night.
Block out that time- the sacred and precious writing time- and see what develops. The more you exercise the writing muscle, the more you find that words begin to flow freely and comfortably.
The more topics you write about, you will observe something. You tend to get drawn towards certain ideas more than others.
Does that mean that is your niche? Maybe. But don’t let that limit you.
It’s far easier for me to tell people that I am a writer and a coach instead of telling them that I write about blogging, social media, productivity, business growth and personal development.
You are a writer. That’s what matters.
Listen to the sound of resonance
As you keep writing, you remember I asked you to identify what topics draw you towards them. That’s good!
But more than that, pay attention to those topics that your audience connects with.
In other words, don’t just write for the sake of writing, although there’s nothing wrong with that, by itself.
As you write, test the pulse of the reader. Find out what strikes a chord or energizes them to talk to you. Determine what works and what doesn’t. Take these learnings and re-apply them to your craft.
Start writing and this time, put yourself in the reader’s shoes
Tap into your authentic voice
When you start writing, you’d observe that you tend to unconsciously pick up writing style and nuances from some of your favourite authors/writers.
It’s almost automatic. You sense a bit of kinship and you let it flow into your writing.
Over time, though, slowly develop a voice of your own
People relate to your work because YOU are writing it, not someone else.
When you identify what this is, exactly, you’ll observe that you can talk about any topic in any niche and people will read.
That’s because you’ve stumbled upon the secret to good writing: putting a piece of you into it, without making it obvious.
Why do I say this?
Because, as a writer, I’ve gone through different versions of the writer I was supposed to be over the past 14 years. And at the end of it all, the one thing that helps me write regularly is not trying to be straitjacketed into a niche.
When I began blogging in 2007, I started off with a simple journal of my thoughts as a new parent. It evolved into a way for me to connect with my daughter through letters and notes on positive parenting.
A few years later, I found myself dabbling in creative non-fiction. Spurred by the success of that (and when I say success, I mean resonance- not a book deal), I ventured into writing fiction, poetry and microfiction.
Much later (a decade after that start in 2007) I moved into writing deeper, tutorial-form posts on my website, Blogging and Social Media Simplified.
The truth is, who I am as a writer today has been shaped by all of those experiments and every single word I’ve put down on screen. If I had stuck to my niche (I still don’t have one, to be honest), I’d never have found the possibilities that writing has opened up for me in a myriad different ways.
In other words, writing matters; the art of writing is far more powerful than confining yourself to a niche.
Don’t let limits stop you from expressing your true, authentic self.
As long as you write from a space of clear and unfounded joy, the writing will have readers. What’s more: the readers will end up reading you no matter what you write about.
