Death to the Niche
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Tired of having to write inside the lines? The era of the niche writer is coming to an end.
Ever wanted to just… write? The creativity and passion behind writing has been lost in an effort to monetize any and every creative hobby. Are you tired of writing within one specific niche? Feeling trapped by guidelines and requirements? Hold on, this story is for you.
Listen Up…
Of all of the podcasts, speeches, etc. that I have heard within recent years, one in particular really stands out to me. This is “The 13 Truths” speech by Matthew McConaughey. If you have not heard it, this speech is available on YouTube and Spotify, and probably a variety of other listening platforms. Before you ask, yes, I have also read his book Greenlights.
While I won’t bore you with the details of the speech, one of the primary points is to “define success for yourself”. He goes on to describe what this means to him and could possibly mean to you, but take this into a writing perspective. There are lots of writers out there that are not enthused by writing about the same thing, every day, all the time, seeking financial compensation and views but tied down to one part of themselves.
Go Against the Grain
This is difficult to come to terms with, because nearly every modern day successful online writer, including the ones on most online writing platforms, stick to one specific niche and never differ. Whether that be financial advice, self help, motivation, “entrepreneurship”, or other topics, this gets boring to read and no doubt boring to write after a little while.
So how do we fix it? How do we battle the niche driven writing industry? Well, we write outside the niche. We write about things we are interested in. We create different blogs, different web pages, different places to write. Eventually, of course, the consumer will realize, “Hey, wait a minute, this is the same author!” I personally believe that leans in your favor. As a writer, being able to differentiate between topics is a lost skill at this point.
Cheesy as it Sounds, Be True to Yourself
Don’t take the bait. Don’t stick to just one topic, just one niche. Write whatever you feel like, whatever you are interested in, and publish it. Don’t waste your writing because it doesn’t fit the brand, when it might be exactly what someone is looking to read about. Don’t perpetuate the stereotype that only niche writers can be successful.
