The Importance of Niching Down

No matter how you pronounce it,  niche is always a word on the tip of every entrepreneur’s tongue who wants to differentiate themselves from their competitors. 

What is a niche? I like to think about a niche as a subgroup of a targeted market.  It is the unique way you package and serve your unique audience. 

Let’s say you’re a brand photographer, but your niche is that you do brand photography for women entrepreneurs who are authors and speakers. You’re going from a broad market of photography and creating a specific subgroup of people who need that service. You are narrowing your focus to a small group so that you can cater to them and their specific needs.  

In this blog post, I’m sharing who needs a niche, why one is so important, and how you can begin to create a niche for your business today that will accelerate your growth.

The BIG question: Does everyone need a niche?

Yes and no. I believe that finding your niche is an evolution. In the beginning it’s okay to be experimental. When you first start out in business, you’re trying a lot of things —  validating your ideas, seeing what you like to do, and creating a business model. At that point, you might not be ready to niche down just yet. 

But then there comes a point where you hit a wall. 

You realize that you’re tired of doing all the things, and you long to tighten up your message and serve a more specific crowd. By now you may be seeing a lot of transformation with a specific client type. Or maybe you realized there is a specific problem you love to solve, or you see that out of your ten offers, you have two that keep selling over and over. 

This is when it’s time to narrow your focus and create a niche that works for you and your goals.

The Benefits of Niching

Once you find your niche and tailor your message accordingly, you’re able to move from being a generalist to being a specialist. This helps you become more referable. When you have a well-defined niche, people already have a picture in their head of who you are and what type of person you work with. This accelerates your business because you’re building a reputation around something specific. You’re becoming a  master in that one thing. 

When you are able to identify what your niche is, you show up better in online spaces. Whether it be in your web copy, on social media, or in your brand photography — when you get specific in these areas, the message is more clear and understood. This clarity leads to more confidence and elevates you to that coveted expert status. 

Niched brands have put the stake in the ground, and it really creates a mindset shift. They no longer feel like an imposter.

How can I transition from general to niche?

1. Look at your market.  Go through your client roster, list them all out. See who you have to work with. Who had the best transformation? Who paid you openly and willingly? Can you pinpoint a common thread among those people? 

2. Look at your skill set. Think about all the things that you’re good at. Write out all of your strengths and your skills. Really try to understand why people are coming to you over and over.

3. Look at the problems you solve.  Is there a certain problem that you’re really good at fixing? Do you have a process that you’ve built? A methodology or framework that you can do on rinse and repeat to address this problem?

4. Look for a gap in the market. Is there a place in the industry you can disrupt? A place you can innovate? Try to own something, claim it and commit to it. Instead of being a Jack of all trades or a Jane of all trades, become a specialist in that thing.

Go ALL IN

I know committing to a niche can be scary, but I believe that sometimes the only way to know if it will work is to just do it. 

Take that risk, and go all in.  Remember, if it doesn’t work out, you aren’t stuck. Give yourself permission to try and fail.  If you decide you’re a photographer, and you’re going all in for, say, wedding photography for elopements, but then you realize you hate it, guess what? You don’t have to be a wedding photographer for that specific group forever. Even if you leave that niche and try another, you can use the learning as insight and intel to help you develop your brand over time.

Give yourself a timeline, maybe six months to test this out, to see if you like it, to see if you’re getting traction. If it’s not working out, you might have to pivot or make some tweaks!

How do you feel when someone asks you what your niche is?

If it makes you feel uncomfortable because you’re afraid to get specific and fear missing out on clients, you’re not alone.  Rember, MORE is not a sustainable strategy. Defining your niche will help you become memorable, referable, findable and profitable. 

I hope that this blog post has helped you take a deep breath and realize that creating a niche doesn’t have to be scary! Follow the steps listed above to get started, and stay in touch with me throughout your niche journey. 

Want to learn more about niching down? Listen to the complete Talk Copy to Me podcast with Erin Ollila. In the episode, I chat with Erin to discuss the ways niching down helps to attract the right-for-you clients and clarify your messaging. 

Need more help building your brand?  My step-by-step guide, The Brand Confidential Blueprint, is an easy to follow,  “just tell me what to do” brand-building plan includes 

• 21 days of prompts to move your brand into action and out of brand confusion

• A fillable blueprint worksheet to set the foundation of your brand 

• Resources, exercises, and templates to shape your brand story

Get the Blueprint now and unlock your Brand Brilliance