Month: January 2022

In last week’s blog, I recommended “scratching your own itch” as a way to discover your niche. In this week’s blog, I’ll be taking my own advice! As an aspiring creative myself, I’ve decided to help other creatives who are either just starting out or who need encouragement to keep going. If this sounds like you, welcome aboard! We’re in the same boat!! Now let’s get to where we’re going, together. 

What does “scratching your own itch” mean?

It simply means “to do something out of motivation to solve a personal problem.” Tim Ferriss scratched his own itch when he wrote The 4-Hour Workweek.* At the time, there were no books that covered the concept of Lifestyle Design, so he wrote it himself. Because my “personal problem” is figuring out how to escape the 9-5 and make money online as a content creator, my blog is now dedicated to “solving” that problem. And because this problem isn’t so “personal” after all, I hope that scratching this itch will help others with the same or similar goals. Using American pronunciation, we can sum it up with a pithy rhyme:

“Scratch Your Itch, Find Your Niche!”

What does “scratching my own itch” have to do with my content?

Again, this is an easy way to discover your niche. Your niche is the main topic that all of your content will focus on, and sometimes it’s hard to pick one. This is particularly true for those of us who don’t know where to start and/or who have too many interests. Take me, for example. I love singing, but I also love writing raps, doing personal development, and discussing the meaning of life. What a spread! While I’ll eventually find a way to incorporate all of these interests into one cohesive, personal brand, in the beginning, it’s very important to stick to one thing and one thing only. And if you choose whatever thing is most “itchy,” you’ll be able to generate niche content just by trying to solve that problem/scratch that itch.

“But it’s impossible to stick to just one thing!”

Trust me, I feel the same way! But by focusing on one interest and one interest only, you will gain “expertise” more quickly than if you had focused on two. And by positioning yourself as an “expert,” you’re better able to attract your initial audience. Don’t worry, you’ll be able to branch out later – after all, most content creators do – but it’s much easier to do so after you’re already established. This is true for two reasons. One: you’ll already have an audience that enjoys your content, so it’s likely some of them will enjoy your new niche as well. And two: the skills you learn from your first niche – researching, creating content, building an audience, etc. – are foundational skills and therefore transferrable.

Note that “expertise” and “expert” are in scare quotes. This is because you don’t actually need to be an expert. All you need is to be a little bit more experienced than your audience or whoever you’re trying to help. I don’t need to play in the NBA to teach someone who has never touched a basketball how to dribble; I only need experience dribbling a basketball with some success.

“Scratching My Own Itch” as an Aspiring Creative

I have every intention of figuring out how to make a living as a content creator. This is my starting point. It’s helping out those of you who have metaphorically never touched a basketball to dribble one. I’m no expert, but I do have experience and I am constantly learning. So if you share the dream of escaping the 9-5, making money doing something you love instead, and helping others along the way, then this blog is for you! I write this blog for you. I’ll be scratching this itch of mine and doing so publicly with the hope that you can learn from my mistakes, experiments, and experience. Perhaps seeing me “go for it” will encourage you to do so as well. Soon enough, we’ll stop “aspiring” and we’ll be “achieving” instead.

(*Tim Ferriss is hands down, one of my biggest role models. He’s part of why I create content in the first place. If you’re serious about living life on your own terms, I highly recommend all of his content, but here’s a short video where Tim discusses the concept of Lifestyle Design himself.)

Some days when I sit down to write, the stars are aligned, my creative engine is revved and ready, and the words just flow. Other days, I just sit here and stare at a blinking cursor… wondering when inspiration will strike, wishing the words would just appear on their own.

Today is one of those days.

I’ve spent the last 45 minutes typing and deleting, then typing and deleting again. Part of the issue is that I’m currently struggling to figure out my “niche.” You know, that highly specific subject or topic that your blog is supposed to be about? That magical category whose specificity will attract your audience in ways that a broad niche could never even imagine? How elusive it is!

Well, it’s time to simplify: I’m just going to create for myself. I’m going to “scratch my own itch,” as they say.

When you scratch your own itch, you’re guaranteed an audience of one: yourself. Perhaps your content is a bit haphazard and your writing style a tad verbose, but at least you will be interested in what you have to say. And unless you’re the most boring human out of the billions out there, chances are someone else will be interested too. And perhaps some of these “someone-else’s” are your friends and family. So you do have a small audience.

Just start there. Don’t get caught up in analysis paralysis. Don’t worry about whether or not you’re in the right niche. Let your personal interests and random curiosities lead the way. Trust that you’ll learn by doing. By trial-and-error. Patterns will emerge then slowly but surely, you’ll uncover exactly what your niche is.

For now, don’t overthink it and just create for yourself.

I know your room could use some cleaning and your desktop “needs” to be decluttered, but if I remember correctly, you scheduled this block of time for one singular task: to create. And would you look at that, it’s clearly written in your calendar, right after “meditate” and just before “lunch.” In fact, it’s even underlined and highlighted! So with all due respect, I kindly request that you sit down at your desk, put your creativity cap on, and get to making something. Make that “something” that only you can make. Don’t let it die in your mind before it’s even taken its first breath!

I know what you’re thinking… “What if nobody likes it? What if nobody cares?”

It’s alright. Don’t worry. Does making this “something” make you happy? Does making it make you lose track of time and maybe even make you forget to eat? Then it’s worth your time, regardless of who else likes it or who else cares.

“Well, what if it doesn’t turn out the way I imagine it in my head?”

My friend, the only way you’ll get it to turn out “right” is to make it “wrong” first. Besides, there’s no such thing as “perfect.” Only better. It would indeed be more accurate to say, “practice makes better.” You might believe that being a perfectionist is a good thing, that it means you set high standards for yourself. In reality, it’s more likely that you’re just trying to avoid failure and/or that you don’t feel like you’re good enough.

But you are. Rest assured, you are. And so is this “something” that you’re about to make. So here. I made you some tea. (And actually, while you were busy worrying, I cleaned your room and decluttered your desk! 😉 ). Now, please… CREATE.

Love,

Your Friend

P.S.

“Hello there! My name is Christian Quiwa and someday, I’ll escape the 9-5, travel the world, and make money online doing the things that I love!”

Oh, the sounds of a broken record!

I kid, of course, but the self-deprecating humor is nonetheless appropriate. You see, for the better part of a decade, I’ve dreamed of living the “good life” of a content creator, but seldom have I made the necessary effort to make good on this dream. At least, not on a consistent basis. Fortunately (and stubbornly), the dream is still alive and I will resume my attempt at turning it into a reality! No matter how many starts and stops I’ve had, no matter how many abandoned projects might lie in my creative graveyard, I will keep trying until I’ve cracked the code of how to be a successful content creator. After all, “the only real failure is giving up.”

So if you’re here for the first time, welcome! And if you’ve read my blogs, watched my videos, or listened to my music before, welcome back! Also, I’m sorry… I’m sorry for the lack of consistency, but I thank you for your continued patience and support.

Anyway, thanks very much for reading! It feels good to write again and it feels good to take action on my dreams. If you enjoyed reading this and you’d like to continue following my creative journey, I’ll have a new blog here for you every Monday. I’ll share what I’m learning/doing to “make it” as a content creator, but perhaps more importantly, I will also share what I’m learning/doing to make a good and meaningful life. But more on that next time!