Day 1 Lesson: Why is it important to niche and know your market?
Welcome to Day 1!
Day 1: Why is it important to niche and know your market?
When it comes to choosing a niche, most coaches, strategist, consultants, and personal development solopreneurs struggle with making a decision about who to serve. There is TONS of advice online about how to choose a niche and why you should and some even say should NOT choose a niche. And this back and forth about the niche keeps so many business owners stuck and not serving anyone. By not having a niche, you are in essence saying that your marketing is everyone and no one, all at the same time. And this in turn means you probably don’t have any clients and aren’t making any money in your business.
Today I want to share with you why it is so important for you to niche and know your market. I also want to share why you niche should target a group TYPE verses a single person.
First let me briefly tell you what a niche is: The specific group of people that your business serves, markets and caters to. It can be simply put that way. It can also be described as the people who your business focuses on.
Now, why is it important to have a niche or specific group of people that your business serves? If you know WHO you are serving, that means you know what their struggles are, what they need help with the most, and your business provides the solution or answers to those needs in the form of your offerings, whether they be free or paid.
Knowing your market helps you to market and communicate to your market effectively! If you don’t know me, then you can’t possibly talk to me or help me. Or if you do, it’s most likely random help or luck. And some newbie solopreneurs get this kind of randomness or luck in the beginning and convince themselves that they don’t need to niche. They can serve everybody. The only problem with that is…luck and randomness is not sustainable to build your business. So for example, while you may have gotten a client by saying you help people who are stuck, it doesn’t mean you can market yourself that way and build a business. Most people like to get help from those who have demonstrated an understanding of their problem. If you’re helping everybody with every problem, then you are too general and won’t be able to sustain your business that way. Remember, if you help everybody, you’re really helping NOBODY.
So now, how do you transition from working with everybody to working with a specific group? By targeting a GROUP of like-minded people with similar problems, you give yourself an easier way to find clients. Most coaches teach to niche down by describing your ideal client. That’s great to know how to see your client when they appear, but to find clients consistently, you will want to focus on a specific GROUP of people that YOU can serve. Whether it be entrepreneurs, professionals, accountants, moms, athletes, Christians, personal development junkies, social media gurus, bloggers, etc., having a group that you market to is easier than trying to find that one person you think is your ideal client.
Think about it this way. If you are on an island and you had to put all like people together, how would you group them up? Would it be by job, or profession, or college, or mindset, or skill level, etc. Thinking of your niche in this group format gives you a clue as to whether or not you will be able to easily find your potential clients when you market. It’s easier to find people when they are associated into groups.
Assignment:
Now, your first assignment as part of the 4 Days to Choosing a Profitable Niche Challenge is to come up with a list of possible group types that you can serve. Grab a sheet of paper and make a list of all the possible groups that YOU CAN SERVE! Now the key to this assignment is in bold: groups that YOU CAN SERVE. Don’t come up with groups that you can’t serve because then you will be stuck. For example, if your skills doesn’t allow you to serve graphic designers, then that group should not be on your list. If you can’t help an entrepreneur, then don’t have them on your list.
Okay, now brainstorm a BIG list of groups that you can serve and consider groups that you are already a part of (i.e. coaches, solopreneurs, married, moms, women over a certain age, personal development, hypnotherapists, EFT, spiritual, etc. Come up with a minimum of 5 groups.
Do this exercise right now. Challenge yourself with a timer set to 20 minutes to be done with it. That’s it! When you are finished, you have completed Day 1 of the 4 Days to Choosing Profitable Niche Challenge. In Day 2, I will teach you how to break that list down and choose the right group that is viable and profitable for you!
Now get excited…you’re getting close to have a profitable niche…the key to get clients and creating consistent cash in your business! Let’s GO!