There’s a lot of talk about niche marketing and whether is something you should or should not be focusing on. The general consensus is, that it’s the best way to go when building your online business. I know that for me it was a great help when I was totally new to the whole deal.
Bearing this in mind I’ll share what niche marketing is, and why it’s a good idea to consider, especially when you are just starting out.
This does not mean it will definitely be the way you want to go, and on occasions there are benefits to addressing a wide audience. You may start wide and your niche develops and refines as you grow, but thinking about it enables you to have a plan. This is always better than floundering around. Understanding why you have made a decision will lead to you to be more productive
The definition of niche marketing
– focus is the key
Niche marketing is when you target a very specific and well-defined segment of a wider market. It can apply to what ever business you are creating. Whether you are building a website/blog and focusing on an affiliation or selling your own product online, the process is the same. You look at a specific client group and focus on their needs.
An example of this is;
Your business could be built around health and fitness for the family. If you are creating a blog this is a great niche but is still really wide.
Think about who you want to engage with. Who do you want to promote or sell to?
Exercise for moms is very different to exercise for children.
If you focus on children you could then think about obesity in children and could incorporate diet and/or exercise. This is specific and connects with a defined target group.
The benefits of niche marketing – Why you don’t end up missing out
Competition is lower
There will be fewer companies doing the same as you. If you’re a small business or just starting out, competing with the big boys is impossible. You could easily get lost in a big old business sea and end up at the bottom. They are going to have more money and man power to throw at advertising, campaigning, production etc. they can throw their net wide. By concentrating on your niche you can focus on areas where there is competition; enough for it to be profitable, but not so much that you will get lost. You can be more unique which brings me to the next point
You can get to know your target audience – Make an emotional connection
By directing your attention only to your niche, you will be able get to know the needs of your target audience. You can focus on what makes them tick. What do they need?
Once I have my niche I brainstorm to begin understanding my target audience (see the diagram below). It’s quick and easy but really effective.
I just grab a pen and paper and off I go.
Pinpointing my target audience helps me keep a clear focus when creating blog content
Showing that you understand their needs and having this as your priority you will build trust and form emotional connections. You can focus on having quality engagement with you audience and build a relationship with them.
As you grow you will then build brand loyalty. Visitors to your site, or customers for your product will keep returning. They will want to come back and may then recommend you and hey, a chain reaction has started! It’s up to you then to keep the connection going.
You can keep a clear focus – it’s too easy to get side tracked
You may be nothing like me but I’m one of those people that can’t help getting distracted. I could be going along a perfectly good path and everything is going great then something interesting happens and I’ve veered off, taken a side road and I’m onto something totally different. This is great for creativity, I love it when it happens and it helps to keep everything fresh and alive, but it can be a bit of a disaster when building your business. You need to keep an eye on your objectives and not get lost.
To keep my objectives clear I use the template here. It’s simple and quick to do. I’m up for anything that’s effective and will save me time.
Having a defined niche will pull you back and help keep you on the right track. Make sure you don’t lose your creativity but use it in the right way.
I keep a “Great ideas for another day” notebook. In it I jot down all the ideas I have that are not relevant to what I’m doing.
By doing this I know I’m going to have them for another project or niche and can put them out of my head knowing they’re not lost.
Becoming an expert is so much easier
By not spreading yourself too thinly you will give yourself time to build your knowledge and become an expert rather than a jack of all trades. You can become the go to place for your audience. Make yourself the first stop when they want to know about that subject or product. Give your followers the quality and depth they can’t get anywhere else. You will become more visible in the group that you are in, better to be a big fish in a small pond. It has it’s advantages!
Marketing is targeted
By having a smaller niche you will be able to identify the type of marketing which is most effective within that group and focus your efforts their. You will have to spend less time ploughing through data to understand what your audience is looking for. Your research will be less complicated and more time efficient.
A wide niche on the other hand, will have to resort to mass marketing which takes many man-hours and at the end stands a greater chance of being ignored.
Targeting your marketing ensures you are reaching the right people who will already have an interest in what you are saying and the likely-hood of this getting a response is much higher. This then equates to, less output for a higher return.
Higher profits
People are far more likely to pay more for services or products if they are buying from an expert. In the same vein they are more likely to take advice and act on recommendations if the person is an expert. It goes without saying then that building your reputation, through your knowledge, in that niche will lead to higher profits. Here again recommendations come into play. If people trust that you know what you are doing they are more likely to pass the word on to others within that niche.
Keeping an eye on the competition
You are definitely going to have to keep an eye on your competitors if you aim to stay ahead of the game.
- Take a look at their websites.
- What advertising campaigns do they have going on?
- Who exactly are they targeting?
- Are they offering the same as you. If so what makes you different?
Trying to watch a whole market area would be massively time-consuming for one person or a small business. You could end up spending all of your time trying to keep ahead or lose touch completely.
By refining your niche there are fewer places to look. You can make it manageable and have enough time to devote to the rest of your business.
You can always add another niche when you’re ready
By focusing on one niche initially you will get a feel for other ideas your audience may be interested in.
Diversifying could give you the opportunity to create a second niche.
You will already have an engaged group to start with and can expand on these and draw in new visitors/ customers.
The process is the same as creating the first niche so make sure you have the time and capability to do it .
If you have then go for it! it’s a great way to accelerate your business and develop what you have already put so much time into building.
Hopefully this will have given you some idea of how focusing on niche marketing will help you gain rather than lose out. At the end of the day you are going to free up time and if you have chosen a niche that you enjoy you will be able to devote more hours to doing what you love, and less on the parts of the business you find less attractive.
If you are interested in starting your own business but not sure what to do next visit my post on the Wealthy affiliateprogram.
I highly recommend this not because I am an affiliate, which I am, but because it gave me all the tools and amazing training I needed when starting out which I still use every day to grow my business and achieve the lifestyle I want.
I would love to hear from you if you have any questions or comments. Please feel free to drop me a line in the comments box and I will be sure to get back to you.
Good luck to you all with your endeavors!
Su