Why I keep writing about this one thing even though nobody really cares

Oct 17, 2023

You would think after going back to the same well so many times, I’d pick a topic people actually want to hear from me on.

But when you’re trying to build a content business, it’s important to always be expanding your horizons.

Although I do think it’s important to start with a small sub-niche where you can gain some traction, eventually you need to move into the spaces where there’s real money to be made.

Take me for example.

When I first started writing on Medium, I focused primarily on my quit alcohol quest.

This was extremely gratifying work not only because it paid well, but because I really felt like I was helping people.

I got the loveliest comments from people going through the same thing, and that pushed me to keep writing a lot on the topic.

However, there was also a secret third benefit to becoming authoritative on that topic: it gave me a toehold on the much bigger and more profitable area of general health in fitness.

A woman sadly looking at a tablet. — It’s tough to keep grinding away on a topic when nobody seems to care (Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash)

Big topics, big money

In fact, most of my highest-earning stories here have nothing to do with sobriety, but are focused on general diet and exercise.

That’s because there’s a much bigger audience for that stuff.

But without my sobriety writing, I never would have been noticed in my space.

I think this can be an effective strategy whatever your niche is.

Let’s say you want to build a voice and start earning on the topic of cryptocurrency.

Well, maybe you become the leading voice on a niche crypto that’s just starting to trend and use that to move into Bitcoin and Ethereum.

(I’m just thinking out loud here — try and apply it to your own interests).

Right now, I’m trying to figure out how to build a presence in stock market investing and personal finance.

I keep writing and posting videos about it, but it’s a challenge because nobody seems to care.

Take one of my recent videos, for example.

Typically when I post a video on my YouTube channel, it gets an average of 200–300 views on the first day.

Here’s a look at my dashboard today. I posted a video yesterday (the one in bold) and you can see how it compared to my 10 most recent videos. So this one is performing close to the average:

A look at my YouTube dashboard. — My YouTube dashboard.

Now look at video 9. That’s the niche I’m trying to break into, but nobody really cares.

Yet I’m sticking with it for 3 reasons. Let me tell you about them.

Reason 1

Reason 1 is because the finance niche is the most lucrative one on the internet.

Watch any YouTuber earnings video in that space and you’ll see that their CPM, or the cost advertisers pay per 1,000 views, blows almost all other topics out of the water.

From what I can gather, finance CPM is usually in the neighborhood of $25-$30. Compare that to sports or gaming, which is closer to $3-$4.

I want to be building a business in areas that have the potential to pay off in a big way.

Reason 2

I think I have something valuable to offer.

Lots of people present themselves as experts when they’re actually huge phonies with no wins in their area of “expertise”.

And although I’m not a financial advisor, I’ve done pretty well as a self-directed investor.

As I pointed out in this largely ignored video, I managed to beat the S&P 500 by close to 20% over the past year or so.

This is an area where I think I’ve developed some knowledge, so I intend to stick with it.

Reason 3

This might be the most important reason.

I actually like it!

If you choose a niche and focus solely because you think it’ll be profitable, the chances of burnout are much higher.

I’m extremely enthusiastic and interested in markets and investing and I actually have fun writing about them.

So even if I’m not making much off it right now, I’m still getting something out of it.

The endgame

I think my problem may be that I don’t have a voice in a sub-niche yet, so nobody really cares what I think about the stock market in general.

Potential ideas I’m exploring are REIT and dividend investing, crypto staking, and investing in the AI space.

I have yet to find success, but content is a long game.

Success doesn’t happen overnight.

Consistency is everything.

What areas are you exploring? What are some sub-niche ideas you have? Let me know in the comments!

Publish Every Day Goal Tracker

How much I need to retire comfortably: $175 per day

What I earned yesterday: $9.56 (writing), $0.92 (YouTube) — $10.48 total

2023 averages:

What I published:

An article about my audacious 3 step plan to leave commuter life behind within one year
A bunch of Tweets promoting my work.

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James Julian's Publish Every Day

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