What to do when you can’t nail down your niche
You’ve heard that riches are in the niches.
You’ve tried narrowing in on the thing you’re most interested in exploring.
Maybe you’ve even paid good money for a course or book or other resource to hone in on “your thing.”
But, you just can’t put your finger on it. You can’t figure out your damn niche.
And if you’re in any line of online work — particularly creating content or building a brand as an independent contractor (like me) — you’ve been told that you need one.
The problem, as you see it, is that you’re interested in too many things. You’re a savant with multiple passions and projects and skill sets.
But you also know that starting with a focus is one of the best ways to help your brand, project, or business scale and reach new audiences or customers.
You know because you’ve been told this over and over and over again.
So, should you keep sweating it? Should you just quit your complaining already and pick a path?
No. There’s another way.
And here’s why my opinion counts.
I’ve struggled with finding a focus for as long as I can remember.
“Renee, I love that you’re passionate about so many things, but you need to find a focus.”
It’s the one criticism my dad gave me in high school that’s stuck. (While I’m sure there are others, I’ve now buried them deep into my subconscious. Anyway.)
I’ve carried this criticism as a weight on my shoulders throughout my entire adult life and early career.
Journalism—my first job out of college—allowed me to get around this issue (a bit). When writing for a publication, you get to focus on several interesting topics and subjects.
While I had to pick a “beat,” the beat had enough variety.
It was perfect until it wasn’t. Long hours, lots of pressure to produce, and little pay were ultimately not worth the tradeoff for me.
So, I went into content. I focused on food. I picked a niche in the food space and built a successful blog.
Then! I became a mother. There were more pressing issues than food to focus on. I suddenly needed to help new mothers struggling to find community.
So, I built another online platform. I created a new brand using all the learning from my first blog, network, and skillset acquired during my journalism days.
My point is this: Each project or business I’ve successfully started and scaled had a focus. But, my focus shifted with each new endeavor.
If you can’t find your niche, find a temporary focus.
Simply pick a path — for now.
Figure out a topic or group or corner of the universe that you want to go deep on for the next six months. Give it a good go, then move on if your interests take you elsewhere.
Because here’s the thing:
Your skills will continue to be relevant.
You will learn something you can apply to something else.
And every audience or customer base you build—even in different niches—will give you credibility and a jumping-off point to build the next.
So, go ahead and ask yourself all the usual questions that niche-finding people tell you to ask but with one slight modification:
Include right now.
What am I most interested in right now?
What pressing problem do I want to solve right now?
Who do I want to speak to right now?
And do we care about the same things right now?
If you need more help here, people like
(who I love), talk about how to define your niche. He has excellent tips and tactics for picking a focus.
Your niche will inevitably evolve. (Most people do.) And you shouldn’t waste any more emotional energy or time beating yourself up about which direction to take.
A final word on why this is so hard:
Ultimately, I think many of us fear missing out on opportunities or reaching a wider audience by niching down.
We’re afraid we’ll get stuck in the topic we picked. (Or bored.)
While that does happen, it’s worth remembering that if you did it once, you can probably do it again. Because you’ve had experience building something, you’ll be ahead of the game with whatever you choose to focus on next.
Can you engage an audience without niching down? Can you truly define a target market without having a focus?
The answer is: Yes, but it’s much, much harder to do so.
I’ve you read this to the end, you’ve engaged in my most recent project.
I’ve decided to embark on a path of niching down to talk about building a successful freelance content marketing career for those who are interested in doing the same.
I’m currently in the process of building again. In a way, I’m starting from scratch to build an audience.
I’m an independent content marketer with a successful 6-figure solo business, so I have some things to share. But I also have a lot to learn.
It’s all hard. But, it’s what I’m focused on. For now, at least.
