You Don't Need a Niche (Or Do You?)
Stop overthinking and get started!
The most frustrating advice on writing, making money online, and earning side hustle income is to choose a niche.
Or don’t.
But do.
Or maybe you don’t need to.
Because you are the niche?
If you’ve heard all this advice and are just as confused as me, then I welcome you to the “What the hell is my niche?” club.
But don’t worry.
We’ll get you sorted. Just keep reading.
I was out for a walk while listening to this video from Clark Kegley about overthinking, and in one of his 6 steps to squashing it, he talks about this problem of worrying about a niche.
But before we get there, let me first give you his best advice to overcome overthinking in two simple words…
Take action!
Think about it.
You want to start a side hustle.
But you don’t know who your audience is, so you don’t know what to write about. You keep hearing advice to start a newsletter, but what the hell do you start it on if you don’t know what your niche is?!
Until you get started, you’ll never know.
You will sit there and (over)think about it for an eternity.
Even though it seems silly to start writing when you don’t know what to write about, you have to start somewhere.
My best advice is to put something out there on Substack or Medium (or whatever platform you like) on a topic you truly enjoy. And then put something else out there. And something else.
Then keep going.
The more you write, the more you figure out what you like to write about and what people respond to.
It’s the only way to know!
Back to Clark…
He gives 6 ways to stop overthinking. I encourage you to watch the entire video, but here’s the TLDR; version:
Slow your thoughts down by going for a walk without listening to anything.
Focus on momentum by building on small wins.
Allow yourself to suck. (You don’t need to be perfect!)
Shoot your shot and be OK with rejections. (You won’t die if you get rejected.)
Set action goals instead of results goals. (“I will go to the gym every day” versus “I want to lose 20 pounds”.)
Simplify.
#5 is where Clark talks about how people overthink before starting a side hustle.
“I’m going to post. But what’s my niche? What’s my product? Who’s my ideal avatar? Who’s the person I’m talking to?”
(I can so relate to this! I have notebooks filled with me trying to figure all this out.)
Clark says to wipe all that clean.
Who cares about the results right now? Just take one action.
Post one article or one YouTube video. Then maybe give yourself a goal to post once a week. Use it as a creative outlet for a while to see if you even like it.
What if you spend all this time coming up with the perfect niche for YouTube, but you end up hating it?
That’s why it’s best to act first and figure it out along the way.
Experience is the best teacher.
Now, get out there and create something great! (Or create something sucky. It doesn’t matter.)
Do you have a niche, or do you post about whatever comes to your mind? Have you wanted to start something (like a newsletter or a YouTube channel), but haven’t because of overthinking? I’d love to read your thoughts!
You’re right. The more you act, the more patterns you’ll see emerge. Or maybe none emerge that you like and that’s okay too. I’m going through that in my freelancing. Not sure where to niche down and where there is enough demand. Tough nut to crack but that’s what makes life interesting!
I did pick a niche, but one that actually can be flexed to relate to pretty much anything and everything I've got an interest in as it relates to self improvement more broadly speaking hehe ... I think though that if I hadn't had that particular lightbulb moment I was in the right frame of mind to write simply as Sarah anyway, because whatever is your driver is also what others may resonate with if that makes sense... but yes, fully agree with the diving in and doing the thing regardless having SO SO many benefits <3