Everything You Have Been Told About Niching is Wrong
3 Tips that are waaay more fun.
OK this is big so lets dive in. If you are a coach, consultant or building a thought leader personal brand, this is for you.
TIP 1: STOP FOCUSING ON “DEFINING YOUR NICHE”.
You have heard that “the riches are in the niches”. So frustrating, right? Especially because many of the coaches that say that are not very niched!
Anyway, this is what happens:
We get caught up in our niching. We download an Avatar worksheet. Maybe we print it out.
When we are uncertain, we stop sharing how we are different and start posting stuff we think people want to see.
I KNOW BECAUSE I WAS THAT PERSON FOR A WHOLE YEAR when I first started online. All my focus was on “my ideal client”.
ARRRGH. ok, all done with primal scream ALL CAPS therapy.
“What’s my niche?” is a freakin’ squirrel brain runaround that slows us down. I share examples of how to fix this in a minute, but first things first, and that is YOU.
The riches are in YOU. The most important thing is that you are fearless in sharing how you are different, and that you are reasonably good at what you do.
Perfectionists, listen up:
It is unfair, but A students don’t always finish first in the real world, or IRL, as my millennial daughter puts it.
You might be better or smarter than Suzy so-and-so, but if she shares her special Suzy sauce better than you show up with yours, Suz will get the biz.
Why?
Because when you share who you really are, you naturally attract people who share your values. And that is your niche, at least for starters.
I saw an online entrepreneur once, I wish I could remember her name. She does not niche, offers about 10 different things, makes bank, and is goofy as all get out.
You will either love her, or unsubscribe within 2 emails. Not much in between. Obviously, I was in the latter category, but that doesn’t mean I don’t admire her marketing chops.
Guess where I heard of her? On Amy Porterfield’s podcast. I love Amy P, but her podcast has a massive unniched audience and features at least one if not twelve episodes preaching the riches are in the niches.
Stop trying to define your niche and start sharing what is interesting and different about YOU. Share your stories, what makes you tick. Share your personal style and preferences. Your niche will come to you.
But where to share?
Tip #2: STOP LOOKING FOR YOUR IDEAL CLIENT (aka leads) IN RANDOM ENTREPRENEUR GROUPS.
Seriously, I cannot go into the Women Helping Women Entrepreneurs FB group anymore. Kudos to Christina Rowe, but the branding is still Barbie pink vintage 2016 and the energy in there is like wandering around the Mall of the Americas on Black Friday with hungry twin toddlers and a broken stroller. And I don’t like to shop.
I’m not saying it never works to hang out in that group and others like them, it just doesn’t work for me.
When I used to network IRL, I almost never went to filmmaker / video meetups. Why would I do that? I needed business clients way more than I needed another bad margarita and smudgy creased business card from an underpaid videographer.
Try this instead: Add value to people you meet in groups where you share values, like hobbies or causes.
You will have more fun, which is always a great start, and you can more easily identify leads in those groups than you can in the mega-FB groups full of people like you, aka other entrepreneurs looking for leads.
TIP 3: EVEN BETTER, CREATE A SHARING PLATFORM AROUND YOUR PASSION.
Example: Tale of 2 Realtors.
Mr. Allin starts a podcast about real estate to “educate his target niche”. #superyawn.
Ms. McMansion is a boat fanatic. She hosts a YouTube Channel about yachts, sailboats, yacht lifestyle, snorkeling, exotic ports of call. She publishes a yacht babe calendar featuring both women and men. #equaltime #beefcake
Who is going to attract more dream clients, and have more fun? Who is maybe even going to attract sponsors for her podcast? #sidehustle
Who stands a better chance of running off with a yacht babe, a billionaire yacht owner, or both?
See how this works? I have seriously considered using that strategy to start a podcast about Montana ranches.
But first, I’m doing this:
I’m writing more this year and planning a new vodcast.
And yes, I was having some angst about my niche.
Cue the swoopy music:
I’m fascinated by the flashpoint where the inner journey meets the outside world, and the conscious souls that are bravely walking their path.
huh?
Did I lose you? I KNOW. #sobad
Try again.
I write and create videos about change to help ambitious, unconventional people bust out of that windowless room in the mind, run amok through the forest, do amazing things, change lives, save the world, succeed and thrive.
OK, getting better. Running amok through the forest is a blast. The less clothes the better.
But still, what is Kala’s #1 Commandment? We must always ask ourselves, Why Should They Care, in this case, to run amok through the forest? And “saving the world, do amazing things” — super weak and way too vague.
Thankfully, a bubble of inspo burst up from my subconscious yesterday morning.
I’m still fine tuning my elevator pitch, but its coming along:
I serve ambitious, diverse, unconventional entrepreneurs without young children who crave next level personal growth and networking via immersive experiences of living and working in other countries.
Quick note — I said “no children” because families are a separate niche that require oodles of content that people with no children don’t care about.
I ride the massive ripple effect of the “work from home” wave, which is quickly turning into “work from anyplace with decent wifi”.
The BEST part is, I am my niche! I already did it, over the last 5 years! Before COVID! At my age!
And, I want to do it some more! #Thailand2021
In the process, I attract ambitious, diverse, unconventional entrepreneurs and related small businesses for my new video packages.
What? New video packages? YES’M
Supercoach Patty Dominguez is helping me with positioning and my rollout of MYB Scroll Stopping Shorts, one minute wonder videos to attract and engage people who don’t know you — aka top of yo’ funnel.
So I hope this helped you get more excited about attracting, rather than defining and finding, your ideal client.
Short version:
Your niche = people who share your values and who also need your expertise or product.
Thanks so much for reading.
All my best -
Kala
