The “Me” Niche

Not too long ago I read a post authored by a rather well known and established blogger. It was her tips and tricks for the new and/or low follower count blogger on how to grow your following. I read it mostly to see what her take was, but to also understand what people have to do to get to hundreds of thousands of followers and to make money or receive products. 

What can I say,  wouldn’t it be nice to do what you love and get paid for it?  

Reading through it I just had to take a deep breath and resign myself to the fact that I don’t fit into the “Insta-Blogger” culture. I just don’t. My talent is in my writing and my comfort is behind a camera more than it is in front of one. 

I am not someone who lives a deeply exciting and riveting life; I go to the doctors, I work, I drink an unhealthy amount of coffee and eat and equally unhealthy amount of cereal, talk on the phone with my best friend half a million times a day, and even though I have (thank G-d) more clothes than I really need I rotate the same four maybe five outfits. I’m a boring and normal every day human, and It seems silly to me to try and make my life seem like something it isn’t.

That being said, having a boring life isn’t a bad thing. We’ve just been made to think that we’re the only one who’s living a boring life. Not every moment of every day can be one that’s Instagramable (is that even a word?) but that makes it really hard to build a following or to make yourself noticed among the masses. It also lends to the question; Do I photograph and post a picture of my avocado just because it will make my story show up and bring someone to my page, even if everybody knows what an avocado looks like and could have happily lived their life without knowing I had one for lunch? This may or may not be a real story… and the answer is yes. I did post the picture of the avocado, but that was what caused my thought process on this to form.

At what point do we share too much, share not enough, strike the right balance, or make sure the things we are saying and doing actually bring value into this world?

In the blogging/Insta/whatever world, everybody has a niche. One of the things this blogger mentions is the importance of having a lane and staying in it (paraphrasing, but you get the idea).

So I have to ask; Is it okay to not have a niche? 

Would that make me… the no-niche niche?

I wonder this because these niches allow for people to form a basis, a following or viewership. It’s putting yourself into a category/subcategory which helps you to know that you’re not boring people with your content, per say, because you fit into this grouping that they enjoy. 

For example: You’ve got your frum (religious) Instagrammers, and from there you can brake off into fashion, wigs, makeup, food, music, etc. 

What if you don’t really fit into any of those?

What if my personal category is just me? 

I am happy with my pictures on Instagram being spontaneous and okay with the fact that they don’t fit any sort of aesthetic. I like that I try to write captions that mean something to me, but above all else, I like that I stay true to who I am, because I won’t be anyone else.

I’m not really sure where this post is going, but it brings me to say this;

I like writing. My niche is writing about life, my life, how it’s disheveled and unfair but also beautiful and full of so many wonderful people and things. I am truly blessed, and I am humbled by the fact that Hashem gave me a talent with words and a platform of whatever caliber to share my thoughts on. 

That’s why I reach out to you, dear reader. How do you think that we can expand my platform? Allow more people to know about my writing and allow me to be able to share thoughts and achieve a dream. What do you want to read about? As much as this is about me, this is about you. I want to know what your thoughts are, because that lets me know what to write about and gives me what to go off of. 

I look forward to hearing from you! 

XOXO

F&F