I'm having a lot of fun learning about my audience and about the subject matter of my niche topic, and the biggest thing I would encourage newbies to start by focusing on ONE thing rather than trying to grasp everything. And all those gatekeepers at the perceived top probably aren't as elite as they seem so don't worry about it .^^;; It does take a lot of time so why not start now?
I think the hardest thing to do is pick one topic and stick to it for 5-6 years. My comic is rounding up its second year and there are times when I just don't want to talk about dinosaurs in person anymore. But, I pony up, and it's totally worth it to have an easy connection with new people who also like dinosaurs, and it's so amazing to be able to make them happy in even a small way.