The Rebel’s Guide to Owning Your Niche Like a Pro
We've all heard the saying, "the riches are in the niches," or "find a niche, not a nation." This isn't a new idea that I'm bringing to you. But what I want to talk about today is how to actually create a niche so specific to you that you are the only one in that niche; therefore dominating it.
This doesn't mean you are going to find the most obscure thing to provide as a service. But there are key questions you need to answer to help you create a niche that you dominate and attract the right people for you.
Why Niche Down, Anyway
Think about it this way. If you had a toothache, who would you prefer to help you, a general practitioner or a dentist?
If you wanted to learn how to write a fantasy fiction book, who would you prefer to help you? Someone who has written five fiction books in many genres, or someone who has only written fantasy books?
Last example. If you want to hire a chef for your new vegan diet, who would you prefer? A general chef or a chef who specializes in vegan food?
If we think about it, niching down makes sense. Because in our daily lives we often opt for the things that solve our specific problems.
Here's a personal example. The other day I had a headache and I went to get Aleve Headache Pain. Now the crazy thing is, I could have just gotten the regular Aleve. The ingredients are exactly the same. But because I had a headache and the bottle specifically said headache, I got that one.
When we niche down, it gives us the space to dominate that niche.
As the authority or go-to expert in that niche, leads will be coming to us because they recognize that we are the only solution.
Now, how do you use people's proclivity for getting a specific solution to their specific problems? By niching down.
The Conventional Way to Find Your Niche
You will typically hear that to find your niche, you need to drill down on a certain audience, problem, and outcome – people + problem + way = niche.
So, for example, if you are a photographer, the conventional niche advice would have you saying:
I help business professionals capture their power through portrait photography.
People = Business professionals
Problem = They want to look powerful and capable for their job or business
Way = portrait photography
Now the example above would be considered a niche, and a great one at that. But, let's be honest. There are thousands of photographers who take portrait photos of professionals.
So while this is a niche, it's not a niche you will be able to dominate. What you want to do is find ways to differentiate yourself from every other portrait photographer for business professionals out there.
That's Where Category Design Comes In
"Category design is a business strategy that helps companies develop and dominate a specific niche of products or services."
Again, the best way to dominate your niche is to be the only one in it.
But how do we do that?
Before we go into the how, let me give you an example of a business that created its own category and is therefore the only option in its niche.
Airbnb: When it launched, no site let you pay to stay with someone in another country for a few days. They solved a problem many faced: high hotel prices. People wanted a home-like feel, but with easy online booking. Airbnb had created its own niche and subsequently dominated it. Granted, other companies have since come out doing the same thing. But no one has topped Airbnb because it was their niche.
Now, I'm not telling you to go build your own Airbnb. But we can learn a few things from some of these companies dominating their niches. For example, Tesla, Amazon, and Walmart. These companies are where they are today because they sought niche dominance.
Let's help you do the same.
Here are the 7 ways service-based entrepreneurs can become known for their own niche:
WHAT do you do that makes you stand out and be uniquely known for it?
WHO do you serve that is willing to pay premium prices for your expertise?
WHEN do you offer it, aligning with what’s most urgent and important for your clients?
WHERE do you provide it that makes it so desirable that anyone would want it if money were no issue?
WHY do you do it in a way that connects so perfectly with your ideal customer that they can't stop talking about it?
What OUTCOME do you deliver that's 100x more valuable than the price you charge?
What is the COST? It should balance value and premium. Also, it should offer a payment method that feels like a benefit.
The more of these niche opportunities you combine, the more unique and irreplaceable you become.
So let's use our example of the portrait photographer again. Based on the information I gave you, you can say that the photographer did a good enough job at the "WHO" (this could be improved). But not much in the other areas. So let's flesh things out a bit. Remember, you don't need to have all these to create a powerful niche you can dominate, but the more you have, the more unique you will be.
The "WHAT": This could be that the photographer not only does portrait photography but only does it in black and white.
The "WHEN": This could be that he only works with business professionals who have been promoted recently. If you think about it, this is a time in their lives when people care a lot more about how they look to others.
The "WHY": Maybe the photographer chose to take pictures this way because of how fulfilled he felt when he helped business professionals feel more confident about themselves during that promotional period.
The "COST": This could be that his clients only pay if they are happy with their photos.
Now, if you put this all together, this photographer would probably be the only person doing this.
Here's how the niche would look.
I help business professionals who recently got a promotion capture their confidence through black-and-white portrait photography so they can forever remember how powerful they are. And they only pay if they are happy with their photos.
Now that's a niche that someone can dominate because I guarantee you, no one else is doing that. If the photographer throws in a location that makes it even better.
But as you can see, by digging a little deeper than just people, problem, way, you can create a niche that aligns closer to you and that will have people running to you for help.
If you are serious about dominating your niche, take some time to ponder these questions. It will take some thought, but it's worth it.
What if you could embrace a different way of marketing?
A way that frees up your time to focus on what matters in your life and business. Our Rebel Marketing System might be that way.
We created a short quiz. It will help you find out if our Rebel Marketing System is right for you.
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