Don’t Find Your Niche; Find Your Voice
A lot of writer entrepreneur handbooks or articles will tell you that, in order to be successful, you must find a niche. You need to write solely on feminism. Or art. Or politics. Or economics.
Truth is, though, it doesn’t really matter what you write about; it matters who you are. Your followers and email subscribers will want to read your work — not because you stick to one topic, but because they appreciate how you can write about any topic.
A few bloggers may pop into your mind whose work you enjoy reading, no matter what they write about. For me personally,I will read anything that Benjamin Sledge writes, just because he is completely honest, offers a valuable Christian perspective on mental health and veterans’ issues, and is a thoughtful cultural analyst.
You can probably think of dozens of writers whose voice has impacted you. A writer’s voice is always reflective of his or her personality, and you are going to choose favorite authors based on this. Neil Gaiman, Ray Bradbury, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Anthony Esolen, Rene Denfeld — all have unique voices directly traceable to their personality and character.
As Paul Johnson observes:
“Most people are resistant to ideas, especially new ones. But they are fascinated by character.”
Your voice is what will keep people coming back. But how?
Be yourself
I know you hear that a lot, so let me clarify. People who are jerks are genuinely “being themselves.” So, don’t let authenticity be your only rule. Being yourself simply means that you draw from your own unique background, training, experience, and education to write an article. You’re comfortable in your own skin, and you’re not trying to be anybody else. Write as you would speak. Don’t be pretentious. If you actually want to reach people, they need to be able to hear you.
Write about what you want
Feel free to write politics, poetry, and personal essays. Honestly, Neil Gaiman could write about anything (and he practically has, in his collections of essays), and I’d read it. If you’re writing about what you want, you will be fired by whatever makes you tick — a love of botany, a passion for social justice, a determination to share your coding idea — and it will be interesting. If you’re interested in it, you’ll be bound to find others who either share your interest or are set alight by your interest. Don’t be bound by the expectation that you must write on only one topic.
Be unique
Although this might sound like finding your niche, it’s not. It’s simply accepting the fact that every person is unique and should not feel bound to conform to the patterns that other writers have set for themselves. You don’t have to post every day on your blog. You don’t have to follow the ten-step program for success. You don’t have to sign up for every blogger email you come across. Just relax. Most of them aren’t helpful anyway.
Sure, practice writing, but realize that no path to success ever looks alike for any two people. It’s okay to arrive at your own time and at the destination you want.