One of the things I keep hearing whenever the subject of creating a successful YouTube channel comes up is: “You need a niche.”
Apparently, you need to choose one particular subject, stick to it, and keep producing videos around that same topic indefinitely.
But why?
Why do I need to put myself into a box and become the YouTube equivalent of a blinkered horse, with tunnel vision and no room to look left or right?
I have nearly 70 years of life experience behind me. Over those years, I’ve developed countless hobbies, interests and passions. Some have lasted for decades, while others have come and gone with the seasons. That’s simply part of being human.
And that is precisely why I struggle with the whole “you must have a niche” philosophy.
What happens when life changes?
Suppose I had decided that my YouTube niche was camping or hiking when I first started my channel.
At the time, that might have seemed perfectly sensible. I enjoy the outdoors, I enjoy exploring, and I enjoy sharing those experiences.
But what happens when life throws you a curveball?
My ongoing health and mobility issues have changed what I can physically do. If camping or hiking had been the entire foundation of my channel, I could potentially have found myself with very little left to create.
The niche would have become a limitation.
But I’m not a machine.
I’m a breathing, thinking human being. My circumstances change. My interests change. My abilities change. And, just like the seasons, my hobbies and interests can change too.
That doesn't mean I'm inconsistent. It means I'm human.
So, pick a niche… but is it actually unique?
We're constantly told to find a niche, preferably one with an audience, low competition and plenty of opportunities to make money.
But there’s another question that doesn't seem to get asked often enough:
How many other people are already doing exactly the same thing?
You can find thousands of channels dedicated to camping, fishing, hiking, photography, technology, cooking, cars, travel, and virtually every other subject imaginable.
So yes, you've picked a niche.
But how different are you from the thousands of other people making videos about exactly the same thing?
That's where I take a different approach.
My niche is me.
My channel isn't about one particular hobby.
My channel is about me, my hobbies, my interests, my experiences, and the things I find interesting.
One week, I might be exploring a Kentish village and looking into its history. Another week I might be talking about photography, drones, kayaking, music, the countryside, something I've learned over the years, or simply an experience or thought I want to share.
And that's the beauty of it.
I don't have to worry about running out of ideas because my life isn't confined to one subject.
My niche, if you really want to call it that, is being myself.
The YouTube guru machine
Of course, there is an enormous industry built around telling people how to “make it” on YouTube.
You hear the same advice repeatedly:
Find your niche.
Know your audience.
Post consistently.
Follow the algorithm.
Grow your channel.
Monetise.
Make money.
And then comes the promise that if you follow the formula, success is just around the corner.
I'm not suggesting that all YouTube advice is bad. Far from it. There is plenty to learn, and understanding how YouTube works can certainly help.
But sometimes I wonder whether we've become so obsessed with algorithms, analytics, niches, thumbnails, click-through rates and monetisation that we've forgotten something rather important.
We're supposed to be making videos because we have something we want to share.
Not because we've been told that a particular formula will make us rich.
What about the people who give up?
Something else rarely gets talked about.
How many people follow the advice of the YouTube gurus, choose their niche, spend months creating videos, obsess over their statistics, and wait for the subscribers and money to arrive?
And then, twelve months later, they're exhausted.
The enthusiasm has disappeared.
The numbers haven't lived up to expectations.
The promised riches haven't materialised.
And eventually, they stop making videos altogether.
Perhaps their problem wasn't that they chose the wrong niche.
Perhaps they simply turned something they enjoyed into a job before they had even given themselves the opportunity to enjoy it.
I'm not chasing the dream of riches
Don't get me wrong. If my channel eventually makes some money, I'll certainly be happy about that.
But making money isn't the reason I create.
I'm nearly 70 years old. I've lived a life. I've made mistakes, learned lessons, developed interests, changed direction, and experienced things that I couldn't possibly have imagined when I was younger.
Why would I suddenly decide that all of that has to fit neatly into one little YouTube box?
I want to make videos about the things that interest me now.
And when those interests change, I'll make videos about something else.
Maybe the algorithm won't like it.
Maybe the YouTube gurus won't approve.
Maybe my channel will never become a huge money-making machine.
And honestly?
I'm okay with that.
Because I'd rather have a smaller channel where I can be myself than build a larger one by pretending to be something I'm not.
I'm a real person, not a content-production machine.
I don't want tunnel vision.
I want curiosity.
I want variety.
I want to keep learning, exploring, creating, and sharing.
And as long as I have something that interests me, I'll have something to make a video about.
So, do I have a niche?
Perhaps I do.
It's called life.
