Swedish Cowboys and Scuba Diving Brides: 8 Reasons To Have a Niche

I just hung up the phone. Lost another writing job. Actually, I turned it down. And I'm smiling.  "I'd like three articles written about my business," the person on the other end said. "And I need someone who can place them in newspapers. Maybe in online directories, too. How much would you charge for that?" I used to be the Ninja Copywriter. I could do it all. Bobbing and weaving. (Wait a minute, ninjas don't bob and weave.)   I wrote copy for annual reports. Brochures. Newsletters. Print ads. Websites. Training guides. Postcards. Fliers. I wrote for hospitals. School districts. Colleges. Retail stores. Restaurants. Banks. City governments.  All kinds of service businesses and nonprofits—large and small. I was a generalist. And it served me well for many years.  But back to the phone call. "I don't do article marketing anymore," I said. "My specialty is helping small biz owners in service industries develop unique online identities. But I can give you the names of at least two outstanding writers who would be a perfect fit for you."  Why would I do that? Turn down work, especially these days?   8 good reasons to have a niche I know a CPA whose niche is water company operational audits. He's doing very well. I read about a yoga instructor who specializes only in yoga for pregnant women and new mothers. Over one year, she increased her income by more than 30%. And the owner of a remodeling company who started focusing on making custom window coverings for oddly-shaped windows ten years ago. Today, his sales exceed $1 million a year.  The money is a great incentive. But are there other reasons to have a niche? I can think of at least eight. With a niche business you: 1. Become the best at what you do. You will learn so much more because you are constantly perfecting your specialty. Learning new strategies. Reading. Absorbing. Getting better.  2. Build credibility as an expert. With time, you will become the go-to expert. Offering advice on social media forums. Writing articles. Being helpful and solving people's problems. 3. Are less frustrated. There is never time enough to learn everything about a broad field or industry. As you build your specialty, though, there will be fewer instances where you are stumped when looking for solutions for a client. And that means less stress. 4. Get more referrals. Bob, my biz partner, narrowed his graphic design/web development work to just WordPress blogs and websites. When he did that, an amazing thing happened. Happy clients started telling friends and colleagues about him and his schedule began filling up—fast. 5. Have a shorter learning curve. It's easier to keep up on new strategies and tools in a niche than in an I-can-do-everything-for-everyone business. And when you have the opportunity to practice the new stuff you are learning every day, it becomes part of your repertoire more quickly. 6. Have less competition. There may be a bazillion copywriters out there. But how many specialize solely in helping clients develop authentic and unique online identities? Not as many, I suspect. 7. Stand out in directories and on social media sites. Some sites, like Biznik, let you list yourself under the specific category of your choosing. And with a niche, you may be the only person (or one of just a few) in that category. So people looking for that specific service can find you easily.  8. Get more of the clients you want to serve. You'll be a client magnet. When people know exactly what you do, they will come to you when they need that specific thing because they see you as the expert. Finding your niche: make it narrow, but not too narrow A good niche is one that combines your passions and expertise to fill a real and specific need in the marketplace. But how specific should you really get?  When I started exploring niches, I was afraid that I wouldn't survive if I didn't take every single client who came my way. A target market of, say, Swedish cowboys who collect Star Wars memorabilia, is just too limiting. Or an event planner who specializes in weddings for brides who scuba dive and want a rock star theme. Okay, clearly those niches go a little too far. (Although if you have read Chris Anderson's book, The Long Tail, you might disagree.) The key is to narrow down to just the point where 1) you have a clearly defined specialty and 2) there is still a large enough market for your service or product. One strategy I always find helpful is mind mapping. I use it for blog posts, my weekly marketing e-tip, my articles, most anything content-related. Mind mapping is a great way to take a broad topic and narrow it down into something manageable, so it works well for niche thinking. In mind mapping, you start with a broad topic in the center and keep working your way out, brainstorming from the general to the specific. It's a visual activity, so if you are unfamiliar with it and want to see to see how it works, get out your own pen and a blank sheet of paper and follow along. Let's say you are a photographer. Draw a large circle in the middle of a piece of paper and write "photography" in the circle. Now draw a line out from that circle and connect another circle to it. In this one you might write "commercial photography." Branching out from there, the next circle might be "outdoor," which is a type of commercial photography. Outdoor photography might make you think of "aerial photography," which would be your next circle. The farther you go out with your circles, the more specialized your niche.  You can do the mind mapping exercise several times, coming up with different ideas for niches each time. Take a yellow highlighter and mark the niche ideas that you feel attracted to. Take a green highlighter and mark the ones that are niche areas that you can identify as needs or trends—or you might do a little research on. If you have a niche area that has turn lime green because you identified it as both an interest (yellow) and a market need (green), that would be a good one to explore further.  Of course, there is much more work to do. Like researching the actual needs in the marketplace. Listening. Lurking on forums. Tuning in to what current clients say they are looking for. Just don't worry so much about whether you are qualified or experienced enough. To establish a niche, you don't necessarily have to have a Master's or PhD. in a subject. But you do need to:  • Be interested/passionate about it. If it is something you truly care about, that love will come through. When I discovered my niche of online identity development, I knew I had hit on a passion: helping people develop their whole selves, complete with real and authentic personalities. • Build on what you know. Use what you know, your strengths and background, to develop and refine your niche. My experience as an educator and degrees in psychology were a big help.  • Try your idea out. If you belong to a networking organization, offer a free, introductory class in the niche topic you are thinking about. Or offer a longer class for a fee. The yoga instructor in my example advertised a six-week "Yoga for New Moms" class as a way to try the marketplace. It filled up quickly and she had a waiting list, so it encouraged her to offer more. Now she works with only pregnant women and new moms. She found her niche.  • Be willing to learn more. You can't possibly know everything about your chosen niche right now. If you read, interact with colleagues, and embrace that lifelong learning thing, your skills will keep growing. And that's a good thing.  • Talk it up. Everywhere. When you have found your prefect niche, tell everyone you know. It's actually easier now because you know exactly what you do and you can describe it in very few words. No more rambling and confusing elevator speeches for you. What about you? Have you created a niche business? Are you thinking about it? What's holding you back?       2009-07-17T20:52:31Z

2009-07-20T10:00:44Z

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swedish-cowboys-and-scuba-diving-brides-8-reasons-to-have-a-niche

2009-07-20T04:59:46Z

2009-07-20T10:00:44Z

A good niche combines your passions and expertise to fill a real and specific need in the marketplace. But how can you survive, especially in this economy, if you don't take every client that comes your way? Learn how.

Swedish Cowboys and Scuba Diving Brides: 8 Reasons To Have a Niche

2009-07-20T10:00:44Z