When you’re new to the self-publishing scene, the sea of books and topics may seem overwhelming. There is no question that there is a potentially infinite number of topics that you can choose from. This is why focusing on a niche is crucial to ensuring your success.
In this article, we are going to focus on the importance of finding your niche… and sticking to it.
What is a niche?
Like any product, your content needs to have a specific audience. You can’t expect to write a book that has a universal appeal. There is no, single book that everyone likes. Even the most successful books in history have a litany of detractors. Thus, finding the specific group of people that is interested in your content constitutes the basis of your niche.
How Can You Identify Your Niche?
Identifying your niche is not hard. All you have to do is sit down and think about the following questions.
- What topic(s) do I want to publish?
- Who do I want to target?
- Who will read my content?
- Who won’t read my content?
- What other books are there on the same topic?
- What do you have to offer that others don’t?
As you find the answer to these questions, you will soon begin to uncover your niche. You will soon discover who would be interested in consuming your content.
Who Is Your Niche Audience?
In short, your niche audience is anyone who would be highly interested in reading your content. For example, if your content is on diet and fitness, you can assume your niche audience will be comprised of people looking to lose weight, get fit, or improve their health. Additionally, you can draw health fans and fitness fans.
When you realize who would be interested in reading your content, you’ll soon start focusing on what they want. Therefore, your content should be aimed at providing them with the information and knowledge they need.
What Should Your Message Be?
Your message needs to resonate with your target audience. Therefore, you need to make this abundantly clear to them. Please bear in mind that you’re writing for your niche audience. So, use the language that will resonate with them. Also, don’t shy away from letting your voice become manifest in your content. After all, readers value a real person speaking to them. Audiences favor a personal touch over a mere collection of generic content.
Bringing It All Together
In the end, finding your niche is about marrying your message, voice, and content with the people who would be interested to consume it. To put this exercise into perspective, think about how you go about selecting the material you consume regularly. Think about the thought process that goes on in your mind when you think about reading a book. That should provide you with the basis you need to think like your niche audience. Please never forget that you’re writing to them. Consequently, everything you do should be about your audience.
