5 WAYS TO NAIL YOUR NICHE

I’m back with another blog and I hope you’re having another kick-ass week. It’s been another busy one here, I’ve met a few of my brand new coaching clients, a few of them are seeing results ALREADY, and lots of my amazing brand client’s journeys are really taking off. So what do I want to talk to you about today? Well, it’s something which I think is massively, MASSIVELY, important across your brand, your business and beyond. But it’s even more important right now, in January, with all of us putting our plans in place for the year. You probably guessed from the title already, but this blog is all about 5 ways to nail your niche.

As with all my blogs I want to add as much value as possible to you, my lovely readers. So rather than just talk about the importance of having a niche and sticking to it, I want to give you a few of my top tips for how to do it. These are all things that I’ve done across my businesses so far, based on mistakes I made when I was first starting out, and things that I tell all of my clients now. So what are we waiting for? Let’s get started.

 

 

#1 – YOU CAN’T PLEASE EVERYONE

This was the biggest learning curve for me when I launched my first business back in the day. I’m talking long before I left the 9-5. I was so excited to be putting my ideas and my brand out there in the world that I wanted everyone, and I mean EVERYONE to see what I was doing. But that just doesn’t work. It’s impossible.

Why? Because not everyone is going like what you do. Not everyone is your brand hero, your ideal client. That’s why it’s so important to find out who they really are. Lay that foundation. Know them inside and out. Then create a brand, and services which they need in their lives. Grab their attention and even though your audience will be way narrower, you’ll have a core group of massively engaged people, wanting to buy from you or book you. Then, they’ll tell their friends about you, word will spread and the orders will start rolling in.

Honestly, the moment I realised and accepted that not everyone would like what I was doing, I became so much more focussed in exactly what I wanted to do, and who I was wanted to do it for. And most importantly, I noticed a difference in engagement and orders straightaway. Winner, winner!

 

 

#2 – WHAT DO YOUR AUDIENCE NEED?

When you know the people you want to work with, like really want to work with, start looking at their pain points. What are the things that are missing for them? What do they wish they had access to? Or what would make their lives easier? It doesn’t have to be practical, or physical thing either. For example, when I launched my first business, Betty Lou Design, I knew that my ideal client – cool, creative couples, wanted the opportunity to have luxury wedding stationery with edge.

So I used that. I made it my niche. And I became known for being that stationer. How? Because I stayed consistent. I made sure that everything I was creating and sharing fitted within that niche. So whenever potential clients saw my social channels, or listened to a live, or landed on my website, they knew exactly what they were gonna’  get. They knew me because I was always trying to be visible through social (I’ve written another blog on how to do this if you’re interested…), they liked my work because it appealed to their taste, and they trusted me to deliver because they saw that’s what I was doing across every touchpoint.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve been through the ideal client process, or if it’s on your to-do list, what you need to do is make sure you note down their pain points. Not only will it give you niche inspiration, it will also give you a bank of topics to blog about or even do Facebook Lives about. The more value you can add, and pain points you can solve the more your audience will love you.

 

#3 WHAT MAKES YOU UNIQUE?

What do I mean by unique I hear you ask? Well, at the end of the day, you are the thing that sets you apart from your competitors. You are your brand. It represents you, and you represent it. You live and breathe your business 24/7. And no one else has you on their team. So, what skills or experience do you have that you can bring to the table?

Maybe you’re a stationer who creates everything by hand? Or you’re an expert trained in a specific type of treatment? Or you’re a hair and make up artist who loves creating a certain look? Or a florist who loves working with wild flowers? Any of these things can be your niche. And then, rather than trying to be a jack of all trades, you can absolutely master the one you’re most passionate about.

The goal has to be becoming the ‘go-to’ person for your niche. If you do that, everything you share will be focussed and consistent, putting you at the front of everyone’s minds. Then it’s all about delivering, and that’s the easy bit, because YOU HAVE GOT THIS.

 

#4 STAY IN YOUR LANE

There are a lot of opinions out there today. A lot of people who’ve been there and done it and think that it’s got to be their way, or no way. But that’s simply not true. There’s no one-size fits all solution. No one-stop shop. Why? Because no two entrepreneurs are the same. No two brands are the same. And everyone is speaking to different audiences. So what works for them simply may not cut through and connect with your audience.

So what do you do? Well, you need to focus on you. You need to back yourself, your energy and your passion. You’re the reason you got to this point. So don’t worry about what everyone else is doing. Back yourself. Believe in yourself. Take action and make it happen.

 

 

#5 IT’S NOT A RACE

I’m a big believer in the idea that the brand and business process is a journey. It’s a journey full of massive highs, big learning curves and yeah, if I’m being honest sometimes there are lows, but what it definitely isn’t, is a race. Why? Because there’s no finish line here. It’s that simple. Your brand will live forever, and while it might evolve and scale along the way, you have to get it right to start with. If you don’t, you won’t have the foundation in place for success.

So don’t rush nailing your niche. This ties into my previous tip. You might be in Facebook groups where when you look around you see everyone launching stuff, selling courses or sharing their success. That’s great for them. But you, you need to focus on what’s right for you. So take your time. Refine your niche. Get it on point. And then, when you’re ready, shout about it from day one. Your audience will still be there, you’ll still be answering their pain points, and you’ll launch with a bang.

And that, as they say, is a wrap. My thoughts on 5 ways to nail your niche. I’ve used them all myself, across both my businesses and they massively helped me to focus on who I needed to speak to, and what my specialism should be. I really hope you find it helpful as part of your brand journey and before I sign off, I want to leave you with one final point.

Here goes. So I believe that whatever you choose to focus your niche on, you need to be the expert voice in your field. You need to be confident talking about it. Confident sharing your opinion on topics that your audience struggle with. You need to own it so they have no option but to trust you. And when you have your audience’s trust, you’ll get where you want to be, guaranteed.

Good luck with nailing your niche.

Nicki x

P.S Here’s a little recap of those top tips again, so you can refer back to them any time you like 

#1 YOU CAN’T PLEASE EVERYONE

#2 WHAT DO YOUR AUDIENCE NEED?

#3 WHAT MAKES YOU UNIQUE?

#4 STAY IN YOUR LANE

#5 IT’S NOT A RACE