The Online Etymology Dictionary conjectures that the term niche, so relevant in all things marketing today, evolved  from nicchio, an Italian term for “seashell”. That’s illuminating, because  what is good copywriting or good writing in general if not the endeavor to draw audiences out of their shells, to buy what you’re selling or read what you’re writing.

As a Cancerian, I understand. In a wide open world crammed with content relevant, irrelevant and everything in between, the niche is where you can find calm in the chaos. It’s a snug little spot people of a particular mindset curl up in, waiting to hear just the right message, through just the right media, signaling to them to emerge.

The more noise in the marketplace, the more refined that signal must be to get through. You can try to crack the shell with shear weight of content, but that is costly, time consuming and ultimately destructive of the conversation itself. Far better to write your way in, crafting content that curves with the contour of the niche. You may not have to make it all the way inside,  just far enough to draw out the cozy creatures within.

Writing for the niche can feel confined , but really it is freeing. You can stop holding back for fear of offending those who will never respond in the first place. You can say the wrong thing to the wrong people, in order to express the right thing to the right people.  They are just waiting for the signal.