Easy Ways to Start and Find a Niche

Niche?

“What is that? How do you pronounce it? I do not know how to say it. I have been saying it wrong, and I don’t know what it is.”

These were my thoughts the first time I encountered the word.  What has a niche got to do with my chosen career path of content writing?

I refused to be ignorant. Ignorance is the bane of writers.  So I started to research, learn, and try to put what I learned to use.

Fast forward, ignorance was replaced by knowledge. The exact definition that best describes the word niche is from Dictionary.com – a place or position suitable or appropriate for a person or thing.  It is pronounced as nich or neesh.

I learned that there are ways to find my niche.  The process appeared to be daunting and I didn’t know where to start.  Eventually, by reading articles and content about finding one’s own niche, I discovered how.

Now to illustrate the process of finding your niche, let’s look at the case of an employee from a company.  Let’s conceal her identity and name her Marcela instead.

Marcela needed to find extra income for the family.  A friend told her to use Google to learn about her niche. 

Below you will see how Marcela started to find a niche.  You will find that she is talking to herself, more like a self-evaluation.

Marcela starts to ask herself

Are you good at writing?  What are your talents and skills?  Are you still good with these set of skills, or were you good at them before but not anymore?

Marcela hesitates and cannot identify them at first.  After thinking them over, she made a list of talents and skills she can perform well.

Hmm. You are good at articulating your ideas before.  You still have communication skills.  You are computer literate, and you are an expert now on MS Office and other applications. 

You are very detail-oriented in your work before.  Something changed.  Maybe you are not paying enough attention now, but I believe you still have it. 

You are good at identifying the strengths and weaknesses helping you identify improvements.  You facilitated tasks because you are imaginative and innovative.  You are quite good at making connections and negotiating your skills.

What more? Yes, you are also very good at storytelling.  I remember that you presented your solution to a problem through a story. The next day your proposal was approved. Your exceptional writing skill resulted in the approval.

Marcela examines and sorts her list to decide on her niche

What do you enjoy the most out of this list? What do you like the most?

You love writing and storytelling more than anything else. You find ways and resources to solve a problem through stories.  You love to craft stories to finish a theme.

You love computers and everything that comes with it. You find the technology that accompanies these machines amazing.  You did not stop learning. You like all tasks that involve the computer the most.

Marcela researches what employers want

You want to pursue writing, but what type of writer will you choose to be?

You have to know who will need you for your skills and talents in writing.  You have to do market research.  What careers are growing in areas nearby?  What careers are in demand?

You need to know the soft skills required for your writing career.  Are you competent enough to meet an employer’s needs and requirements for this type of writing career?  Do you have decent writing skills? Can you write in different styles and tones? Your spelling and grammar have to be flawless, too. Are you confident enough you can do all these?

Marcela explores more about her chosen niche

You chose to write e-books.  How many organizations or companies need your services as an e-book writer? You have to explore job portals or hubs.  How many are willing to pay more than the other? Do you have chances of growing doing a project with an employer?

You have to make sure you can do what you chose as a niche. Your decision lies in your willingness to do it well in the future.  It also lies in your decision to exhaust all means to succeed in your niche.  

You make or break your chosen path, so give your best.

So that is how Marcela finds her niche.  I hope you all enjoyed Marcela and her journey.