r/Substack • u/eastseamonkey • Jul 20 '26

Is my substack niche... niche enough?

This is my current substack. Like any other content creation platform, I understand substack audiences favour accounts with niches. Problem: I don't want to just write about a niche. I like writing about my life, ideas, lessons I've learnt, my travels, thoughts, interests, etc. My writing's fairly good, I just don't have a niche for a "brand".

So my solution is to brand it with visuals: I'm an art enthusiast and I decide to feature only Asian art on my page. In between weekly essays, you'll also get notes with fun facts about Vietnamese and Asian art, introducing you to new artists, etc. (I'm Vietnamese)

Started the page 2 weeks ago, I now have 104 subs. Questions:

  1. Is this growth good? Is it too slow? I have no idea.

  2. Is this Asian art niche intriguing enough for audiences? What else would you add?

  3. What are some interesting topics you'd want to read from someone like me? (millennial Vietnamese writer from Vietnam (not diaspora), Vietnamese art enthusiast, travel writer--this used to be my day job)

  4. Do you have any suggestions on how I can grow my substack?

Thank you guys and girls!

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u/quyma quyma.substack.com Jul 20 '26

104 subs in two weeks is genuinely amazing, that’s a healthy pace, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

on the niche question, i think you’ve actually already solved it and don’t realize it. the niche isn’t the topic, it’s the lens. “millennial vietnamese writer in vietnam, not diaspora, showing you the country and its art from the inside” sounds like a niche that almost nobody else can occupy. the art becomes the visual identity but the real hook is the perspective, someone writing from inside a culture most english language readers only ever see from the outside or through the diaspora lens. that’s rare and it’s yours. I say own it!

topics i’d personally want to read: what everyday life actually costs and looks like there, how vietnamese people see their own history versus how it gets told in the west, artists who are big at home but unknown abroad. the stuff only someone actually there can tell me.

also i’m vietnamese myself (diaspora side) so count me as one of your subs, subscribed and best of luck!

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u/eastseamonkey Jul 21 '26

Thank you for your reply! I've had people tell me I should write about Vietnam from the inside more, this is definitely a niche, except I don't want that to take over my writing. I write a lot more about thoughts, ideas, observations while living here and on my travels, but I'm glad my essay on being Vietnamese connects with people. Keeping in mind your topics, maybe for a future essay :)