How to find your niche

It seems like a simple question. And sometimes people will give a simple answer! But I disagree with the answers that are most often provided.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Creator Science]( Presented by [ConvertKit]() Hello my friend! Good morning! This week, 1,274 new readers joined Creator Science, pushing us to 20,159 total subscribers! 🎉 Not only have we hit the 20,000 subscriber goal I set for February, but we've exceeded it with nearly two weeks remaining. So, as you may have deduced, my growth experiments for this newsletter are going well! And I'll share the full breakdown at the end of the month. I have another major milestone to celebrate this week – The Lab hit its limit of 200 members! ​ [twitter profile avatar] Jay Clouse [Twitter Logo] @jayclouse [I'm still in disbelief. 😅 46 members joined The Lab in February, which pushed us to our 200-member cap. 200 members in less than a year. $255,000 in revenue. It's an incredible community and such a gift... I don't take it for granted 🙏]() February 15th 2023 1 Retweets 208 Likes ​ That means that we've now moved from open enrollment to a waitlist. When existing members choose not to renew their membership, new spots will be released to the waitlist. If you're interested in joining The Lab at some point, I suggest you [get on that waitlist](=)! In this week's essay, I'm answering one of the most common questions I'm asked – how do I choose a niche? It's a complicated question and I disagree with most typical advice. So I'm finally breaking down MY approach for you below. But first... ​ ​ PRESENTED BY CONVERTKIT Sponsor THIS Newsletter! Guess what? You're reading promotional content in a newsletter! Sponsoring creator newsletters, like this one, is a great way to reach engaged and targeted audiences. It will build your brand — whether that is your personal brand or your business. So here is the deal. Creator Science is part of the ConvertKit Sponsor Network (CKSN), representing more than 100 individual newsletter creators. I absolutely love working with ConvertKit and their sponsor network – and we're taking the next couple of issues to let you know that you can sponsor THIS newsletter and get in front of 18,000+ creators. Not only that, but by working with ConvertKit to sponsor Creator Science, you'll gain access to many more great newsletter opportunities too. So what do you think? Want to work together? 👇 [Sponsor this Newsletter]() ​ ​ [Featured Image]( THIS WEEK'S ESSAY How to find your niche (and why the typical advice is bad) When someone subscribes to Creator Science, they get an email from me with one simple question: If I were to dedicate the next issue of my newsletter to you and the challenge you’re currently facing...what would that issue be? I get several answers to this question every day. And the most common question I receive, by far, is some variation of, "How do I find my niche?" It seems like a simple question. And sometimes people will give a simple answer! But I disagree with the answers that are most often provided. In this week's essay, I'm diving into the nuance and my recommended approach. [Keep reading (10 min) ↗]( ​ ​ CLICK WORTHY 🔥 Check these out 📝 [SURVEY: Understanding the Creator Economy]( – This is big news! I'm partnering with The Tilt on a new research project. We want to understand your journey as a creator. Can you spare 5-10 minutes to complete this survey? To thank our survey-takers, we’re hosting a giveaway. One person will win one AirPods Pro or a $250 Amazon gift certificate (your choice). --------------------------------------------------------------- 🎧 [“Flowers” and the art of the response song](=) – I'm a big fan of the podcast Switched On Pop and this episode dissects Miley Cyrus's new song, Flowers. --------------------------------------------------------------- 📘 [Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction]() – I'm re-reading this incredible book by Derek Thompson, a writer for The Atlantic. It was published in 2017 and is so insightful in exploring how things become popular. ​ LISTEN ON CREATIVE ELEMENTS #137: How I’ve doubled my following on LinkedIn in the last few months [Creative Elements Cover Art]( This week I have a really actionable, audio-only episode of the podcast for you. For the past several months I've been experimenting with my own growth strategy on LinkedIn and have been paying attention to the current research. As a result, I've doubled my following over the last several months! In this episode, I share how I'm incorporating that research (combined with my own observations) into my current LinkedIn approach. [Play episode]( [Apple Podcasts]() [Spotify]( [Stitcher]() [YouTube](=) New to the show? Start with a [curated playlist](). ​ ​ LAST WORD 👋 What?! The podcast is evolving! One of my priorities this year is to evolve Creative Elements. Not only is there a forthcoming name change 🤫 but I'm also enjoying exploring two new formats: - In the weeds conversations with creator friends - Topical, solo episodes This past week's episode covering my approach on LinkedIn is a great example of #2 and I'm fascinated by the data. Look at this retention chart: [Creative Elements Retention chart] ​ If you don't look at podcast retention charts as often as I do, this ranks very well – especially relative to other episodes. This episode was just under 40 minutes long, and the average listen length was nearly 39 minutes long. That's very high retention – I guess people really enjoy the solo episodes! So I'm excited to keep putting out more of these. I also would ask from you: - Do you have any feedback on the solo episode(s)? - Do you have questions/topics for a future episode? I'm all ears! I hope you have a great week. If I'm slow to respond, it's because I'm on a boat! Cheers, Jay [Me fishing with my dad] ​ --------------------------------------------------------------- [Photo of Jay Clouse]( Jay Clouse [Say hi 👋 on Twitter]() or [Instagram]( ☎️ [Book a 1:1 call with me]( Thanks for reading! Reply any time. [Edit your profile]( or [unsubscribe here](. This email was sent with [ConvertKit]() and designed using [Palladio](=). Want to work together? - [Work with me 1:1]( – book a coaching or strategy session. - [Sponsor this newsletter](=) – get in front of 20K+ creators (booking into March). - [Join The Lab](=) – my membership community for creators (Waitlist). - [Courses & Workshops](=) – learn the essential skills to become a professional creator. Send mail to P.O. BOX 797, Worthington, OH 43085