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Your writing platform will have a lot of elements, but it starts with you, the writer, and what you\u2019re about or what\u2019s your thing, your topic, your niche.\n\nWe\u2019ve talked about establishing an online home, because you want to have a place to welcome people who are searching for your niche or your name.\n\nWhen people arrive, they should have some idea of your focus. \u201cAh, I see that Alice Author writes about the Arts.\u201d The visitor\u2014whether editor or reader\u2014won\u2019t be surprised to find the image of a painting or a still shot of a stage production on Alice Author's home page.\n\nNonfiction Ned writes about leadership. His website will offer some clues through design choices and content\u2014maybe taking inspiration from leadership book covers or from websites like Fast Company and Entrepreneur.\n\nLet\u2019s say Ned decides to narrow his niche from leadership to leadership for entrepreneurs in the startup phase. That\u2019s his niche. And Alice writes not just about the Arts in general but about introducing children and families to the Arts.\n\nIf you\u2019re like Alice and Ned, narrowing your niche, you want to ensure you love it enough and can write enough about it without getting bored.\n\nHow will you know you\u2019re able to sustain interest in this to write about it over the long haul?\nThe Temptation of Trends\nResist the urge to pick a topic because it\u2019s trendy\u2014it\u2019s tempting to think If it\u2019s working for others, I'll increase the odds it\u2019ll work for me, too, and I\u2019ll find plenty of material from others to inspire and inform my own posts.\n\nBut that\u2019s their thing. Is it really your thing? Maybe. But remember that you need to be fascinated, captivated, and energized by it now and long into the future. So just be sure before going in that direction.\nThe Temptation of Popular Posts\nIt\u2019s also tempting to pick a category because you\u2019ve been writing about all kinds of things for a while and happen to find some success with one topic\u2014an article went viral or you got hundreds of comments on one particular post. This could be a clue, yes. Maybe that is pointing to your narrowed niche. But it might be a random post you wrote that happened to hit people the right way, and you would never sustain interest in it longer than a dozen posts.\n\nIf I\u2019d made a decision about my narrowed category\u2014my specialty, my niche\u2014based on the popularity and response to a post or article I wrote, I\u2019d have a blog devoted entirely to oatmeal. And while I do like oatmeal, I don\u2019t like it that much.\nConfirm Your Niche\nBut back to you. When you think you\u2019ve got some narrowed topics in the running, pick one. Just one, for now. The top contender. The narrowed-down category that makes you smile because you realize you think about it all the time. You read about it all the time. You talk about it all the time.\n\nThat\u2019s a good place to start.\nStep One: List Subtopics\nMake a list of subtopics related to this narrowed category. Let\u2019s say it\u2019s Ned\u2019s leadership for startup entrepreneurs. He starts thinking about all the startups he\u2019s consulted with and realizes he could write dozens of case studies, interview entrepreneurs, ask if they want to guest post. He could talk about organizational tools for startup teams, communication skills, startup statistics, recommended conferences, top leadership books. His mind goes wild as he thinks of all the subtopics he can explore.\n\nAlice, who loves the Arts, starts thinking of how families can begin to engage with the Arts, so she lists all the museums she\u2019s visited with her family, all the Broadway shows she\u2019s seen, the concerts and operas she\u2019s attended, and what she did to prepare her children to understand and appreciate it all. She looks into virtual tours she can link to and starts listing educators who might offer guest posts, courses people can sign up for online to learn about art, individuals she could interview\u2014from actors and artists to docents and curators.\n\nNow it\u2019s your turn. Think about your main category\u2014photography,