Knowing Thy Platform and Niching Down

I ain’t even gonna lie, folks! It’s so difficult keeping up with all the platforms that content creators have to manage when trying to get the word out that they exist. I’m definitely not into a pity party mode, but I am into expressing the reality of what I’m currently experiencing in trying to grow my overall Degrees of Maternity platform.

I’m afraid I’m teetering close to the “spreading myself out too thin” boundary line, but I’m very aware that to grow, you have to try new things and be willing to work extremely hard at the beginning to reap the rewards of all your efforts later on. Yes, I know this, but where is the stopping point to growing your personal platform? When is it safe to say that enough output has been expended and you can take somewhat of a breather?

Well, it’s certainly not at the onset of presenting your content on a new platform, that’s for sure. And here is where I find myself: putting in some major hours toward two new platforms that I’m brand-spanking new to — Etsy and Pinterest.

And I have to admit that I’m beating myself up for not having jumped on those two bandwagons earlier than I have. It’s okay though. I’m a firm believer that most things happen in the timing that they’re supposed to (for whatever reason they’re supposed to), but I wish I had tuned in to these two platforms a little earlier on in my content creation journey.

I also realize that you can’t rush the process. What I mean is this: it has taken me up to this point in time (almost two years) to identify exactly what Degrees of Maternity’s focused contributions to the world would actually be. And again, the timing thing is important here. There were obviously steps I needed to take and parts of the process I needed to go through to bring me to where I find myself residing.

I hear it said all the time that bloggers should find their niche instead of trying to cover every subject under the sun. And whenever I would hear or read such statements, I could easily dismiss them, because I was determined to never be put into a confined box when it came to my content creation goals. I’m still of that mindset. Just because “niching down” may work for the majority, I’ve never been of the understanding that certain popular strategies are one size fits all. I’m my own individual and I have to march to the beat of my own creative drum (not someone else’s).

But here’s the thing. I actually ORGANICALLY have taken on the niching down approach. Not because some other content creator expressed how important it would be for me to do so if I wanted to grow my platform, but because my natural growth process in content creation actually brought me to that particular approach in this point in time.

WHAT? Have I become a conformer? Certainly not. Well, I don’t think so, not on purpose anyway. I just happened to stumble upon my purpose-driven focus for what I want to do with my efforts going forward.

I used to think that the content creation journey would take me to publishing a bijillion books a year through Amazon, Ingramspark, Audible, etc. And, those platforms are still very viable routes to go to get the fruits of my labor out into the world, but I won’t be doing the “publishing a bijillion books a year” thing.

In fact, I’ve had to really evaluate my areas of strength and the areas of focus in life that I enjoy and can get immersed in. Furthermore, I’ve taken an extreme interest in how I can realistically offer content to people that can be positively impactful to their lives and content they’re willing to invest in. These factors are really the driving forces for what I’m doing now and into the future.

And because I’m a one-woman show, trying to wear all of the hats in this creative entrepreneurial setting, I’m having to drop those things that don’t make as much sense for me right now and take on new avenues that will get me closer to my creative goals.  I can’t effectively and efficiently be all things to all people. There’s just no humanly possible way. (If you didn’t recognize it already, I just dropped a productivity nugget out there for you.)

And here’s what my niching down outlook will entail:

• I’ve indicated that I intend to incorporate a children’s focus into much of what I do at Degrees of Maternity and my current new product development goals will be a direct result of that directive.
• I still want to write books. It’s in me to do that, but my efforts will not be exclusive to writing books only. And when I do write, there will obviously be a child-centered focus involved.
• I have paused on YouTube for the moment, as I don’t feel that the direction I was going on this platform is in line with what my current and future Degrees of Maternity branding has grown into. (YouTube may be something I pick back up in the future and align with what I’m doing in the children’s educational arena).
• Yes, my focus will be in children’s education, specifically in assisting parents in providing instruction to their children at home as well as providing fun educational tools for children to use in their learning processes.
• I’ve decided to focus on the Etsy platform as it’s geared to handmade, homemade, creative items designed by their shop owners. I actually enjoy the idea of having my own Etsy “shop” (sounds artsy-craftsy, boutique-like, even), where I can display my wares to the public.
• I’ve indicated that I plan on incorporating my own children’s talents into what I do at Degrees of Maternity. And, my daughter (Toodlez) is getting the opportunity to showcase her artistic abilities through the products I’m offering on Etsy. I’m so incredibly proud of her and in awe of her talent. And, you can look forward to witnessing more of her work displayed in the next batch of items that I’ll be rolling out throughout the rest of this month and into August. (Oh, and I can’t forget my 10-year old, Little Man. He’s going to get in the artistic mix as well.)
• I’ve also grabbed Pinterest by the horns and don’t plan to let it go. I was so apprehensive about starting my Degrees of Maternity presence here. I really was. But like all new platforms that I’ve ventured onto, this was no exception. I go through this process of talking myself into then out of moving forward with each new endeavor I pursue. But eventually, I decide to go for it and see what happens. Honestly, I think my willingness to set up a Pinterest account and get going on this platform had everything to do with setting up my Etsy shop. The two platforms just seem to go hand-in-hand. So, you’ll see me very active at these two sites for the time being:
  • https://www.etsy.com/shop/degreesofmaternity
  • https://www.pinterest.com/dofmaternity
• Although I have cut my posting days to Mondays and Thursdays, you’ll definitely see me consistent on my blog as well. After all, my Degrees of Maternity blog site is actually the hub for everything I do. It’s the platform that I utilized to start my journey and will more than likely be the platform that outlasts all the others. After all, writers write, don’t they?
• Along with children’s education, health and wellness topics are on the top of my list of interests. So, I don’t plan on giving up my discussions on the well-being of the family. For this very reason, I’ve decided to continue the “Back to Natural Basics” series for the Thursday posts. I’ll still be talking about getting back to nature and doing things that will feed our bodies, minds, and souls in healthy ways.

In conclusion, I just wanted to provide you with my direction going forward, here at Degrees of Maternity (in case anyone was thinking I was giving up blogging). Not a chance on that one. You’re stuck with me, folks. Like I’ve stated in other posts, blogging is truly therapeutic for this writer. And now that I’ve experienced how liberating it is for me to blog, I don’t imagine I could give it up even if I wasn’t self-publishing books for Amazon distribution or distributing children’s and parent’s educational tools out on Etsy. Writing is in me — always has been and always will be.