Finding Your Niche

One of the hardest things for a writer is finding their unique niche. 

What is a niche? I love this definition: “An activity for which a person or thing is best fitted.” It is specialized and tailored to the individual. In writing, it is what makes us truly unique; our core theme that is woven into all our writing.

It took me many years of writing what burned in my heart before I realized my niche. We can sometimes feel shame for that, like we should have known our message and had it polished from Day 1. But we are not wasting time writing while unsure of our ministry purpose. Zechariah 4:10 tells us not to despise small beginnings.

Writing from our heart develops our message into our niche.

For most of us, finding our niche happens while we are writing — unless you are that person who knew what you wanted to do and what causes you wanted to fight for when you were about 5 years old.

As we write, we begin to connect the dots and recognize similar elements that point to the main message from which all our writings flow.

• Show Up.

Finding our niche happens when we show up consistently to write.

In different seasons of my writing, I made appointments on my calendar with the objective of simply writing. There was no specific topic, just a general guideline of writing a message that pointed people to God’s Word. 

Just showing up led to inspiration and a clarification of my niche.

As I review my current books, my niche is clear. However, it was not clear when I was writing each one. Showing up and writing consistently codified and clarified my message, stirring up a passion for my niche topic.

• Grow Up.

Our niche becomes more evident as our writing matures. 

When I first started writing, it was under a pseudonym — with the goal of healing. I hurt so much and was afraid my inner thoughts would be discovered by those against me. Those first words were raw and real, necessary words to get my thoughts out, and they helped lay a foundation for discovering my niche ministry message. But those words needed to become seasoned as I processed my thoughts further and gained even more understanding. 

We can better help others when our initial writings are transformed through spiritual growth.

Our motivations for writing shift from lesser goals to more focused ones as we begin to write with a clarified purpose over time.

• Go Up.

Looking to duplicate other’s niche topics will not give us ours. 

It can be tempting to see what others are writing about and start to write on similar topics, but that won’t give us the heart to write about what God has given uniquely to us. We need to look to God and His Word for inspiration and our own personal calling, shaped by our personal testimony and relationship with God.

When our messaging becomes clearer, it does not mean we have arrived, for our niche is not a destination but a constant work in progress. When we dare to continually develop our niche, the central theme of our words goes deeper and brings deeper healing to our readers.

All for Jesus,

Denise

Have you discovered your niche ministry topic? How have you sought to develop your niche writing?