Sometimes your Biggest Passion is NOT the Best Niche

Many people have a wonderful and clearly defined passion or hobby that lends itself perfectly to a website and niche. They can see themsleves writing content for years to come with no problem. This was not my case.

When I started a few weeks ago with Wealthy Affiliate I had a hard time settling on a niche. My first site was on a completely different topic than the one I ended up choosing. I read a lot of great advice here about choosing a niche and much of it pointed us towards our biggest passions in life. My biggest passions in life are about raising my kid and inner work (spiritual stuff).

These are the most important parts of my life, but what I learned was that I did not want them to be my niche. My first website was an attempt at forming a niche around what felt too personal and too close to home. Personal topics work well for many people -- it just depends on your comfort level and personality. But when I tried to write content about the topics I consider my passions, I was completely stuck. It felt too personal for an affiliate site. I may return to them in the future, but as my first site, I needed something I was less invested in emotionally.

I did not need the added weight and seriousness that can come from writing about what is closest to your heart. I needed a niche that would allow me to have fun, freely play with all the new tools and skills I was learning and most importantly, keep moving through the training.

What stuck in my mind was Kyle saying that a niche could be ANYTHING, that we can become authorities in any topic, with a bit of work. BUT it needed to be something you were interested in learning about. I needed a topic I was super excited to learn and write about and was completely comfortable promoting and sharing.

This past week since my site has been up has been a whirlwind. Because I'm learning about my niche as I go, I feel like I'm in my own niche bootcamp in addition to all the training. (Beekeeping bootcamp! - my topic is bees & beginning beekeeping.) And it's been a blast!

So if you are feeling a bit stuck about your niche, or are not sure where to start, these are the questions that stuck in my mind from all the great advice I read on Wealthy Affiliate and elsewhere:

What do you know OR WANT TO LEARN ABOUT?

What can you see yourself writing about for YEARS to come?

Is there something that interests you, even if it makes no sense why?

What are you super CURIOUS about?

What sounds like FUN to write about? Even very serious niche can have elements of lightheartedness.

One last piece of advice: Trust YOURSELF! This is your project. YOU are the one who has to make it happen and spend many MANY hours doing it.

I hope this helps any of you deciding on a niche. I know those who have shared their advice have really helped me!

Happy WA Travels!

Sarah