I read this blog after I discovered "How Will Your Audience Find You?" That post was thirteen days old so I couldn't upvote it. Not wanting to comment without upvoting, I came here. I have duly upvoted this post, but would truly like to comment on the other, if that's OK.
At my age, I no longer worry if I can do it --I just go ahead and do it. But finding an audience, and finding a niche--that's an interesting concept for me. I think I've been avoiding a niche my whole life, and this seems to be true in writing.
I've worked at many jobs, most of them weren't very enjoyable. I spent time, precious time. The best of me was not expressed in that work. But writing is different. I love to write. The best of me, whatever that may be, is attempted in my writing. I will not compromise that part of me, as I did in wage-paying jobs, so that an audience can find me.
If there is any unifying theme in the blogs I write for Steemit, I hope it is that I've done my best in each instance to post quality material. The subject may be history, art or science. It may be a short story. I never just crank it out. I work hard. Research. Edit. Read and reread.
I'll never earn at living a writing, but writing makes living so much richer. So, I'm not looking for a niche. I'm looking to grow, to learn, to expand my skill and knowledge base. At some point, I won't be able to do that, but until then...the blogs will keep coming.
Hope you don't mind that I express my perspective. Your blog is obviously valuable for someone who is at the beginning of their writing life and wants to frame a career around this talent. I'm sure they would do well to heed your advice
It's wonderful to meet you @agmoore! And thanks for coming to comment- I truly appreciate feedback and conversation. Not only does it help to clarify, but it also starts a discussion and that can be the most valuable aspect of writing online.
Not having a niche can be a niche in itself, insofar that your blog is "general". I know a lot of bloggers label that as a "lifestyle" blog, as they write about everything that interests them or everything that is a part of their life.
If you have a passion- write about it! Write about all of your passions! Write for you. That is the most important thing. When you first start writing, for sure you will not earn a paycheck from it. That is natural and normal. But if you write with passion, and you write for you and from your heart, it will show through and interested readers will respond by reading more of your work.
As they say ~ if it ain't broke don't fix it ;)
I like your style (you have a new follower by the way) and you are doing well here on Steemit. Keep it up! Do you use other platforms?
Thank you! What an encouraging response. I love to write here. Steemit offers the opportunity to write about subjects in depth. Some of the topics that interest me--worms, for example--wouldn't be welcome in many places, but usually there is an audience here, even if a modest one. And some ideas for my blogs grow out of articles I read on Steemit.
I have blogged on GoDaddy, Wordpress, and Twitter. Also, there's a string of self-published books on Amazon I can lay claim to. These are marketed under my daugher's LLC and she keeps the pennies that come from sales.
Steemit offers the best qualities from each of these platforms. Usually (hopefully 🙂), there are readers here. Real live people. A community. Plus, of course, there's crypto, the chance I might make money.
So, I'm here to stay and, I hope, to grow. Nice to meet you!
Of course, you also have a new follower. Thank you for following me.
Oh I love writing here, too. Because of the community.
Where else are you going to find such a talented and driven community of likeminds (came here for the promise of making money) who are extremely supportive, encouraging, and dare I say close? And community minded? (stayed here for the community)
Where else can you find such a group of people?
I'll tell you where- nowhere!
I've been working from home since 2009, which means I've spent more hours than I like to admit in front of my computer, online. When I'm not writing I'm marketing my writing, building an online community for my writing, honing my writing craft by learning and reading, chatting with other writers and fans, helping fellow writers build their brand, etc. All of which is done online.
In all my world wide world travels, never have I encountered a group of talented, driven, bright, supportive, encouraging, and contributing people as here on Steemit. And to be honest I've never been proud to be a part of any social media platform. But I'm damn proud to be here on Steemit, among you fine folks, who arguably make the best community of humans I've met :)
There is an audience here, but it takes time to grow. So many people come to Steemit only to leave a month or two later because they keep looking at the trending page and feel discouraged.
But if you look at the high earners of Steemit you'll see they've been here a while. @papa-pepper is one of my favorite examples. Shortly after I started here I saw an article someone wrote about him. It showcased how in only 18 months @papa-pepper had made over $100,000 on Steemit.
But nobody dug deeper into the story.
Every story has a backstory ;) After I got to know Papa I learned he had come to Steemit with zero computer or blogging knowledge. He'd never written an email, much less a whole article! But he was determined to succeed. He learned how to write blog posts, how to find eye-catching images to add to the article, proper formatting, the importance of title, etc. He wrote and learned and wrote some more- publishing sometimes four articles a day.
He was not given anything- he earned it. And with consistency, dedication, patience and passion, you too can be earning six figures from blogging. You just must first build a strong foundation.
Steemit, like anything else, takes time. Nothing great was built in a day :)
But you know what they say- if you build it, they will come ;)
I'm a seasoned lady. One thing I learned was not to look around and begrudge the success of others. A most non-productive exercise. Resentment, envy...do nothing to advance a position anywhere, anytime. I set my mind on a goal. Realistically assess whether I might achieve that, then go for it. On Steemit, that's the way forward, but also there's the pleasure of the chase. It's fun. I wouldn't do it if it wasn't fun. Most of the fun comes from the community. A lot of it comes from my own creative engagement.
I'm trying to introduce other people who are creatively inclined to try this platform, not as much for the crypto as for the experience. Crtypto is a cherry on the top.
I think the core community here will keep this platform alive and I think it will thrive in the future. There is much life. That's our future :)
I agree with all of the above.
Crypto is a cherry on the top. ~ well said!