25 Comments
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Mayank's avatar

Yup, that's what matters. I learnt it very later

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Mayank's avatar

The 2 points I liked the most, 1. We've to first give a lot of value to others 2. It's about keep going even when you see no results.

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Alea Montañez's avatar

Thanks for sharing your takeaways, Mayank! 🙌🏻 I think those two points really are the most important to remember, regardless of where we're at in our journey :) I always keep in mind to give more than I ask ✨

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Amanda Jane's avatar

Yes! There has been a lot of advice that was based on a particular (capitalist) model and many new creators and entrepreneurs are using a different definition of success.

I often think about a niche as "what's the problem I solve" which is closely linked to your idea of "what's the value I can provide?"

I was thinking just the other day that a person with a hobby thinks "what's in it for me? Or what am I learning from this? How is this helping me grow?" And to transition to a business owner you also need to shift to "what are they receiving? What can I give that is valuable to them? How can this help them grow/change/learn?"

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Alea Montañez's avatar

Yes! The idea of your niche as "the problem that you passionately want to solve" resonates with me too 💖

I think it's a great way to find the intersection between what you love doing and what other people need.

Thank you for sharing your insights ✨

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Amanda Jane's avatar

BINGO! This intersection is what makes it sustainable. Looking forward to continuing to connect and amplify these important ideas.

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Claudia Faith's avatar

always think about your readers and what's in it for them 🧡

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Alea Montañez's avatar

You're one of the best examples for this one, Claudia! 💖 Thank you so much for always keeping your readers in mind when you write ☺️

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Sheridan Cass's avatar

This post came at just the right time for me--"niching down" is exactly what I've been struggling with. "If you want to make money with your passion, you have to find something that you love doing that will also bring value to others." <-- This is such a useful take!! Thanks, Alea :)

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Alea Montañez's avatar

Thank you so much, Sheridan! I'm so happy that it resonated with you 💖

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One Brilliant Arc (OBA)'s avatar

This is the most honest and uplifting advice to creatives who are trying to gain skills to break into the marketing world. Thank you for saying these things so plainly!

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Alea Montañez's avatar

Thank you so much 🥺💖

I myself have struggled with the problem of finding my "niche" and I found that using alternative terminology or just thinking about it in a different way is a big help. I'm so happy it resonated with you! ✨

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Malick Abdullah's avatar

I agree with your point Alea of bringing value to readers; that's essentially what we are writing for. Even with motive of making money, you can't lose sight of this. Realistically a niche is found by bringing yourself to the table and conveying your points in a way that feels most natural and representative of what you mean.

Alongside this, remembering 'why' coincidently relates to my post on distractions and my explorations on Shiny Object Syndrome soon to come. Look forward to reading more!

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Alea Montañez's avatar

Thank you so much for reading and sharing your insights, Malick!

I'd love to read your post on distractions and Shiny Object Syndrome too! I find these topics very interesting as someone with a lot of interests :)

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Benjamin Antoine's avatar

You posed all the right questions, in my opinion at least. It’s a delicate balance between what you want and what your audience wants. In this sense I don’t think you ever “make it”…we are all on a journey of self discovery and improvement. This resonates with me a lot

“The truth is, creators succeed not by finding a “profitable niche,” but by finding something they are deeply passionate about”

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Alea Montañez's avatar

Thank you so much! 🥺 I was inspired by your article too ("Mastery Before Money: Why Going All in On Your Craft May Be the Best Strategy")

I liked how you differentiated entrepreneurs vs. creators — Your message for creators to focus on mastering our craft resonated with me. It's hard to be creative when we're stressing so much about making money with this, especially at the start. I don't have a 9-5 job but I find value in your advocacy and what you're sharing on 2hour Creator ✨ I added your publication to my Recommendations list because I genuinely think that it’s a huge help to other creators out there 👍🏻

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Benjamin Antoine's avatar

Thanks a lot Alea. Are you creating on other platforms or just substack for now?

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Alea Montañez's avatar

I would like to create on other platforms in the future too but for now, I'm focusing on Substack ☺️ I just started recently so I'm taking things slow and enjoying the process :) I'm not really in a hurry since I think I want to be doing this for the rest of my life 🤍

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Benjamin Antoine's avatar

Sounds like a good approach

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Scarlet Voxx's avatar

Think about it. We're all out here trying to build these sleek, perfect online personas. Meanwhile, your cat just threw up a hairball on your keyboard. That's relatable content. That's value.

What if the real value is just admitting we have no freaking clue what we're doing sometimes?

~~ A question I have been thinking about lately ~~

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Alea Montañez's avatar

I agree! As a beginner, I also want to meet other creators who are also just trying to figure things out like me and support each other :) The beginning is always the hardest, and it means a lot to know that you're not struggling alone 🥹

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Brad Wozniak's avatar

Thanks for sharing - this is honest advice. I do find that sometimes the will to escape the 9-5 is motivation, but motivation isn't enough. I started my NL writing about random stories about my kids. It's since become more focused on dads navigating work, parenting, and creative aspirations. This feels more helpful (via storytelling, value sharing) than stories that are only meaningful to me.

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Alea Montañez's avatar

Thank you for sharing, Brad! Your newsletter sounds wonderful ✨ Sometimes it's just a matter of framing it in a way that could also be useful to others ☺️ I also like sharing my own stories, but I try to ask myself how this could be helpful to others too. By identifying a common problem and sharing my own story, the audience usually finds it relatable :)

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Mark's avatar

I'm taking the approach of letting my niche find me, not being pigeon holed to one specific thing and if I find what clicks, great, if not, I'll just keep writing.

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Alea Montañez's avatar

That's the approach I'm taking too! Just keep writing and don't worry too much about what my "niche" is. The saying "you are the niche" resonates with me too :) Don't be afraid to be different and try something new ✨

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