I want to start a podcast… but don’t know what to talk about.
Should I really find a niche?
Wanting to start a podcast (or YouTube channel, blog, etc.) is difficult when you have a lot of interests, and just don’t know which one to narrow in on for your audience.
Is it worth it to take the time to nail down what your niche is going to be, or are you better off getting started and adjusting as you go?
The answer to that question is really in the eye of the beholder. Niching down can help you gain traction, but it can also stick you in a place where you don’t appeal to anyone, or you are creating content you don’t actually want to be creating.
Anyway, when it comes to figuring out what to talk about in your videos, audios, or articles… there are a few questions you should ask yourself, and they are as follows.
3 Questions to Ask Yourself
1.) What am I the best at?
Even if you have a whole collection of interests, hobbies, or passions, you should be able to pick the one or two that you are best at in terms of skill.
Maybe you are a senior accountant at your company by day and love to play guitar as a hobby when you get home from work.
On top of that you also like to study leather working, and recently you’ve been doing a lot of construction projects around your house too.
Odds are you are already consuming content from all four of these categories of your life — accounting, music, leather working, and construction.
So to start creating content you want to find which of these YOU are the best at, which in a situation like this is likely the accounting piece.
Granted, if you are significantly more passionate about guitar, and want to start teaching guitar online, that could be the better option for you without a doubt.
Not if you are hardly a beginner with the guitar though…
2.) Which topics have the best longevity?
When talking about a podcast, blog, or YouTube channel, longevity is definitely a factor to consider. Otherwise you’re going to end up making more of a course.
There is a reason why channels in the finance space, fitness space, and dating space can do so well.
First of all, these are all niche topics that still pertain to everyone.
And second, there is a constant source of news and innovation flowing through all three.
When you start making your content, try to make your topic something narrow enough that people will be attracted to it, but broad enough that you don’t end up running out of gas after just a few months or even weeks.
3.) Where does my focus go?
The last question you can ask yourself is “where does my focus go” when all possible topics are in front of you.
This can be a difficult question to answer if you are already struggling to come up with a topic, but spend some time thinking about it.
If you had every one of your interests and passions written on a piece of paper in front of you, and had 5 seconds to swipe one of those pieces of paper that you would then have to stick with as a topic for your content, which would you take?
This trick is similar to the old coin flip trick where you toss a coin to make a hard decision, but rather than looking at the result of the coin landing, you realize what your gut tell you you want the decision to be while it’s in the air.
So in short… go with your gut.
The best advice I can give you.
Taking all of the above into consideration… if you are still struggling to land on what “niche” then here is my advice to you.
Focus on your personal brand.
Let yourself be yourself, and make your personal brand your niche. There is nothing wrong with spreading yourself out across two or three interests in your content.
Study creators like Ali Abdaal, Peter McKinnon, and Matt D’Avella.
All three of these creators are on a different level on YouTube, and none of them are necessarily tied right into on niche (although they may have started as a very niche channel).
Ali has put out videos on medical school, typing speed, and stock market investing… all of which have performed well.
Most of the world at this point knows about Peter McKinnon’s love for photography… but they also know about his love for coffee, the outdoors, and craftsmanship.
The same thing goes for Matt D’Avella with videography, minimalism, and basic finance.
So when in doubt, always look back to who you are as a person, and don’t be afraid to mix up what you talk about.
It may not be the best “growth hacking” advice… but it could easily be the best advice for consistency and longevity.
