Niching is something that’s talked about an awful lot in marketing circles. How to define your niche is something you have probably read about, and maybe even downloaded a template for. But what if that’s not working for you?
In this video I talk about why the way you’ve always been taught to niche might not actually be the best way after all, and what to do instead… (if you prefer to read, keep scrolling)
The concept of niching is that you need to refine down your wider audience to just your target audience, so that you are just talking to only them. It makes your message very specific. It helps people self-identify that you’re talking to them, and it helps you have more clarity in what you’re talking about.
Great concept, but what if you’re trying to follow the traditional route of niching by coming up with your ideal client avatar (ICA) and it isn’t working?
The traditional way dictates that you need to be able to think of their name, their gender, where they live, what they do for a job, how much they earn, whether they’ve got kids or not, what size shoes they wear, where they shop, what colour their hair is, what language they speak…
And that can sometimes be as overwhelming as the thought of not niching at all!
The thing is… In the online space, you might not know much information about your audience, like you might if they came into your shop. And so you need to do something differently.
Instead of niching according to a set of tangible assets, think about the feelings and emotions you want to evoke. THAT’s what really matters.
Using the traditional method, you’re limiting yourself by not refining your messaging to really speak to the hearts, and the souls, and the minds, and the physical sensations of the people that you want to connect with.
If you’re saying “I want to work with anybody who will pay me”, how can you appeal to somebody who wants high-end, long-term service, as well as someone who wants a quick and cheap £7 win?
They are completely different audiences, and so the language that you would need to use, the visuals that you would need to use, the information that you need to impart needs to be completely different. And the emotion you want to evoke is wildly different.
Instead of focusing solely on building a prescriptive ICA or profile, think about the feelings and emotions, and what matters to your ideal audience. This way you will engage more fully with them as a rounded person. And you’ll get inside their heads: you’ll get into their psyche. They will say, “oh yeah, that is what I need”!
There won’t be any question about whether they want to work with you. They will feel it. They won’t think about the price, because they just will know that you absolutely understand them and that’s what they need.
That’s intuitive marketing, and it’s also absolutely brilliant niching.
Understanding the emotion you want to evoke in people will get you better, faster, more aligned results from your marketing than simply focusing on Sue, who’s 42, and has a labrador.
I promise you that.
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