The truth about finding your niche in the creator economy

Why most creators overcomplicate niche and what to do instead

Author

Akta from Passionfroot
February 24, 2023

Hey passionate creator,

Since becoming a creator, I've been haunted by one buzzword: niche.

Almost every creator I’ve met has experienced one of these niche dilemmas at some point in their career:

  • They don’t know what their niche should be

  • They don’t want to feel boxed in by their niche

  • They’re worried their niche is too broad

  • They’re worried their niche is too specific

  • They’re multi-passionate and can't choose between their interests

  • They’re bored of their current niche

  • They don’t know how to monetise their niche

Have you noticed that some of these problems are contradictory? For every creator worrying about not being specific, there’s another creator worrying about not being broad enough. While some creators don’t know what to focus on, others worry about becoming known for only one thing. Even creators who have found “the answer” might change their mind over time.

This has got me thinking that maybe we’re overthinking niche completely. Maybe it’s not about obsessing over the topics and content buckets we can talk about. There could be a simpler, less stressful way to approach it:

  • Follow your interests in a logical way. It sounds simplistic but this is exactly what Thomas Frank has done over the past 10 years. As you change so do your interests but your content doesn’t have to stay stuck. Let it grow with you.

  • Bring your own experiences to your content. The common thread running through your content doesn't have to be one topic. Instead it can be how you incorporate your own thoughts, opinions, and experiences.

  • Find your own way of standing out. Ultra-specific niches are usually the answer to standing out in saturated markets. But there are other ways to stand out: personality, style, and unique spins on popular topics. Take James Jani: a lot of creators have talked about escaping the rat race, but his unique documentary style grabbed attention.

  • Get to know your audience. Instead of researching profitable niches, coming up with product ideas, and researching creators in similar niches, listen to your audience. What are they asking for?

  • Follow the signs. Instead of trying to come up with one clear answer, create great content and follow the signs. Did you find that article boring to write? Did you get more comments than usual on that YouTube video? What pieces of content are being shared more often?

  • Stop trying so hard. Instead of looking for proven niches and formats that perform well, do what feels authentic to you. This makes the creator journey more sustainable.

Choosing a path and sticking to it is something we associate with traditional careers. Lucky for us, we’re anything but traditional. We're creators. We don’t have to “find” our one thing. We're always creating it.

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If you want your writing to spread, approach it with STIRC: surprising, true, important, relevant, cool.

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Before you blame Elon Musk for your lack of engagement on Twitter, read this. 

The reason I've been thinking so much about niche is because of my conversation with Thomas Frank. With 2.8 million subscribers on YouTube and $15,000 sponsorship deals, he was doing well. But he decided to start a second channel focusing on Notion. He now makes over $100,000 a month with a smaller audience.

Most creators are scared to make changes in case they lose their audience. Thomas is proof this isn't the case: after 10 years online, smart pivots have helped him to stay relevant as a creator. 

Céline Willers is one of the biggest business influencers in Germany. By sharing videos on innovation and entrepreneurship on LinkedIn, she was able to grow to 150,000 followers within a year. She's even been recognised by LinkedIn as a "LinkedIn Top Voice" in 2018, 2019, and 2022.  Céline understands the platform and and she's sharing her knowledge. In this free 1-hour session, you'll be able to ask Céline all of your burning questions on how to grow as a LinkedIn creator.

Our raffle winner

Thank you to everyone who entered our raffle to win a spot on Justin Moore's sponsorship course. We're so excited to announce our winner: PLV music, a music producer, singer, and YouTuber 🥳. We're so excited to see the brand deals come through 😍

If you missed out this time, don't worry. We're always looking for ways to give back to our Passionfroot creators 🧡

Do you have a niche problem? How do you deal with it?

Stay passionate,

Akta