One thing that used to hold me back from ever starting a blog (like this one) was the pressure to find a niche.
Shall I write about (only) school? Shall I write about (only) work? Shall I write about (only) personal growth? Shall I write about (only) travel? Shall I write about (only) finance? Should I write about something else?
There is a commonly told narrative that content creators should find their niche and build a targeted audience. This way, they gain “loyal supporters” and when they want to monetize their channel, there is a ready audience to convert into “customers”.
But, I didn’t want to just choose one area and write exclusively on topics within that area. I write to express myself and hence, choosing a niche would be restrictive for me and definitely stifle my mind.
One day, I came across a blog post by Zulie Rane: The “Niche Myth” Is the Biggest Lie Told to Beginner Bloggers. My key takeaways from her post were:
- Choosing a niche can end up limiting yourself because you pigeonhole yourself into one topic of expertise only. You may run out of things to write one day.
- Your audience read your stories because of your writing personality, voice and interests.
- Instead of focusing on a single topic, make your (writing) personality the focus. Build a blogging lane, not a blogging niche.
After reading Zulie Rane’s article, I felt some weight lifted off my shoulders as I stop pressurizing myself to pick a niche!
Alas, I will continue to write as I go through life and reflect on my experiences. I want to share my stories with the world, be it about personal growth, school, work, travel, finance or any other areas!
And thank you to everyone who has been on this journey with me!