One of the best things you can do for the long-term of your career is to choose a niche. This has the huge benefit of giving your career a solid trajectory, while also giving you the potential to earn much more money in the long term.

Most writers, if they’ve been around long enough, have probably been advised to choose a niche.

However, there is one very big misconception most people have when they think about choosing a niche. It is an incredibly common misconception, and a very easy trap to fall into. (Even I fall into this trap on occasion.)

Here’s the deal: A niche is not a topic. For example, if you say you’re a “health writer” that’s a topic. That’s not a niche. If the word “niche” meant the same thing as the word “topic,” then there would be little point is using the word “niche.”

The topic is just one possible element of a niche.

Why? Because, as with all marketing, a niche has more to do with people than with the topic you’re writing about.

Think about it: If you’re putting yourself out there, trying to find opportunities to get paid to write, then ultimately, you’re not “writing for a topic,” you are writing for people.

It goes deeper than this, though.

A niche isn’t just about people, it is about how you fit into the broader community. It is about your role as a writer. Think about the types of people you want to serve and how you will reach them.

An example: If you’re a writer looking to make a living by working for magazines, then do you want to be known as an expert on a topic, such as “organic farming?” Sure. That’s not a bad topic. However, it’s just a topic. The bigger question is, how are you going to fit into the broader picture, in terms of developing relationships with editors? Your niche is your position in the marketplace. In this example, maybe you’d start building real relationships with editors of farming magazines. You could start going to conferences, start building relationships with major vendors and “personalities” in the field. Maybe you’d land interviews with people such as Michael Pollan or Joel Salatin. In short, you would position yourself in the center of the “organic farming community” by doing the hard work of making connections and building relationships. That position, and those relationships, are huge. They’re your niche, much more so than the topic “organic farming.”

Again, that’s just an example. There are many types of niches — not all of them are relationship based, but the best of them are about finding a unique and valuable position in the marketplace.

Now, let’s go back and talk about Michael Pollan for a minute. He’s an interesting example, because he is very much known as an expert on organic farming, even though that is decidedly not his niche. I would argue that his niche is more defined by certain accomplishments of his, including:

• Multiple bestselling books
• Extensive experience with narrative journalism
• Deep relationships at publishing houses, magazines, etc
• Deep relationships that he’s able to leverage for massive publicity for his books

The above list makes it clear why he was able to write and publish an incredibly successful book about a topic that was decidedly not organic farming, but actually about psychedelic drugs.

If he’d thought his niche was the same as his topic, he may be stuck writing about Botany, which was the topic of one of his earlier books. By not letting himself get blinded by the topics he’s written about, he’s been able to build a massively successful career as one of the most popular non-fiction authors of the past twenty years.

Obviously, few of us are going to be as successful as Michael Pollan in our careers. However, we should keep in mind certain principles, when we’re thinking about the direction of our careers, and the niche that we choose:

Don’t get stuck on the topic of your niche. This is often secondary. What is it secondary to? Your position in the broader community. Spend time to think about the people you are serving, and how you can find a unique (and valuable) position in the marketplace.

Finally, don’t fret if you struggle to find your “unique position” right away. This is a long term process that takes time. Instead, think of this as a long term goal. Something to build. If you’re starting from scratch, acknowledge that you probably have a lot of work ahead of you. However, stay focused on building a solid position. Over time, this will pay many dividends.