“You Are Your Niche” Is Terrible Advice For 97% of Writers
How to join the remaining 3%
Social media loves trends and mainstream advice. The rebel in me dreads them and instinctively starts going against the current.
“Write every day.”
“Clear not clever.”
“Join the 5 am club.”
Seriously, if everybody agrees, did you really say anything new?
The latest chant is “Be your own niche.”
The concept is tempting:
Embrace your authenticity and uniqueness and write about you.
Be the star of the show and let your instinct take you to wild places.
Instead of finding a niche, be the niche.
From a philosophical point of view, it’s flawless: be free, be you and let the writer become the writing.
From a marketing standpoint, it’s a recipe for disaster. People who don’t know about you couldn’t care less about your personal random stories…until they start caring. That’s the key part.
If top creators on social media like Justin Welsh, Kieran Drew, or The Hormozi publish an article about any random topic, from the Roman Empire to what they had for breakfast, they will have thousands of views and hundreds of comments.
I’m not taking any merit away from them; pretty much the opposite. They have earned it. They have built their name and nurtured their community for years and people look forward to what their favorite creators have to say, regardless of what they say. They are yielding social dividends on years of hard work.
Credit where it’s due.
However, if you are a small creator or a new writer, and that is 97% of us, you have to earn the right of passage.
At first, people don’t go to your writing because of you because they don’t know you. They (might) choose to read your work because of the value expectations: education, entertainment, inspiration, humor…
You have to give readers a reason to choose your article, podcast, or course over thousands of alternatives, and I’m sorry to say, but what you (or I) had for breakfast is not that exciting (for others).
So what should you write about?
I have observed dozens of successful writers and creators across different platforms, and there is no magic formula you can copy-paste, but most fall under the following categories:
1. Vision
The focus here is on the big picture, the big why behind your writing, and you let it flow from there.
That’s where I place myself. My vision is to help people unlock their potential and personal growth. Whether I talk about the mindset to finish an Ironman, frameworks to build a personal brand, or overcoming fears, my North Star is always helping, empowering, and hopefully inspiring others.
I start with the end goal, the transformation (what I want my readers to feel or gain), and reverse-engineer from there laying the building blocks to reach the destination.
2. Niche
Creators love a niche. Writers hate a niche.
A niche is at the core of marketing. The idea is to go as narrow and specific as possible:
“Fitness tips for women over 40”
“Ghostwriting on LinkedIn for busy founders”
“Finance acumen to plan your retirement”
A niche approach is particularly effective on social media platforms like LinkedIn or X. You talk to a targeted audience and try to convert readers into leads and leads into customers of related products (e.g., a course, a fitness program, a coaching package, etc.).
Unlike creators, most writers I know dislike the idea of a niche: it’s limiting and suffocating and doesn’t allow for creativity.
3. Genre
Some writers focus on genre rather than going for a niche topic.
One of my favorite Substackers, Laura K, writes a sarcastic publication in which she publishes brilliant and thought-provoking articles about society and politics.
Many writers in my Lemon Tree Mindset tribe focus on a specific genre:
, and write poems, writes travel guides, writes about medieval English history.It doesn’t matter what the topic is; they focus on creating music with their writing.
Becoming your niche
Regardless of your approach to writing, the most important question to ponder before publishing a piece of content, an article, or a post is “Why?”
Why are you writing it?
Why should people read it?
Why would people care?
Chances are, at first, people won’t care because of you.
However, if you write long enough, keep adding value consistently, connect with people, and invest in building your community, sooner or later, people start caring about what you write because of who you are.
Then and only then will you become your niche.
You are not your niche: you become your niche.
Source: the 97% is totally made up and yes, random numbers work better.
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This --> "You are not your niche: you become your niche."
Brilliant 👏
I like this article because it really puts into perspective what my thought should be and how I should focus. I'm gonna try and focus on putting out as much great content as possible