To Niche or Not to Niche...
To niche or not to niche... is it really a question? Believe it or not, some people really do question whether narrowing down their audience helps them to grow. I know because I was one of them.
When I first started blogging three years ago, I literally scoffed at the idea of "finding your niche". I thought, “I don't need a niche because I can serve everyone... right?”
Boy, was I wrong.
Below I'm going to explain exactly how and why finding a niche helps you find success. I'll also give you some niche examples because it's can be kind of confusing
What is a "Niche"?
Just so you don't have to Google it yourself, the official definition of a niche is:
adj. niche.
: denoting or relating to products, services, or interests that appeal to a small, specialized section of the population.
: a specialized market
In short, a niche is a very specific definition of your type of business. However, most people confuse the term niche with a broader definition.
3 Niche Examples To Give You Ideas
To help you get a clearer picture of the different types of niches and why you need one, take a look at these niche examples.
They start with some general topics and further narrow down into more specific categories. These categories can be dissected even further if you want to really define your niche to target an audience.
Example #1: A Real Estate Niche
Topic: Real Estate Agent
Category: Real Estate Seller's Agent
Niche: Real estate seller's agent specializing in celebrity waterfront homes
For example, if you're a real estate agent, then you might deduce that your niche is real estate. But that term is a bit too vague to be considered a niche.
That’s when you might want to hone in on your business' exact forte. You're a real estate agent that specializes in selling homes, rather than buying.
So you might be thinking that your niche is a real estate seller's agent.
That term is still too ambiguous. There are plenty of real estate seller's agents out there.
What makes you so special?
What makes your content more important than the other 32,600,000 "real estate seller's agent tips" that appear in a quick Google search?
What a niche really is is the microscopic definition of a particular genre. Yours can be the same as someone else's, but your niche specialty should be relatively unique.
You're a real estate agent that has a knack for helping homeowners sell their properties. But what kind of sellers do you primarily work with? Celebrities, families, first-time home sellers? Then think about the types of homes you work with. Maybe you help celebrities sell their waterfront homes.
Do you see how we just went from a general topic of "real estate agent" to "real estate seller's agent specializing in celebrity waterfront homes"? Your niche should be that specific if you want people to take an interest in your blogs because they know exactly what they're coming to you for.
Example #2: A Travel Niche
Topic: Travel
Category: Female Travel Blogger
Niche: Female travel blogger who gives safety tips for every place she visits
Example #3: Professional Niche
Topic: Lawyer
Category: Copyright Lawyer
Niche: Copyright lawyer who specializes in helping start-up businesses with copyright, trademark, and LLC in Tampa, Florida
RELATED: 4 Reasons You Don't Need a Blog
Why You Need a Niche For Your Business
Okay, now you know what a niche is and you even have some examples of just how specific you need to be. So let's get down to the real reason you're here:
Why you need a niche for your business.
Like I said, when I first started, the idea of having a niche really bothered me. When I first became a freelance writer, I wrote blogs for dentists, marketing companies, medical websites, coaches, real estate agents, plumbers, home inspectors– you name it.
But as soon as I started narrowing down my range of topics, the more dedicated clients I started to get. There are a ton of reasons why you need a niche for your business, but these are my top three:
Reason #1: Google and Social Rankings
If you’re tired of depending on just social media, you need SEO (you can read more about that here).
These keyword searches are what help your business land on Google's front page. But now that almost everyone is on the internet, you have even less of a chance to show up on Google's front page.
Being more specific in your keyword search (and your niche) will help boost those chances of people discovering your product or services. More people are searching for "real estate buyers agent in Tampa, Florida" than they are simply searching for "real estate agent" or even "real estate agent in Tampa, Florida".
This fine-tuned approach also helps people feel more drawn to your social media accounts. There are literally millions of other business owners doing the exact same thing as you.
You need to niche down in order to give people a reason to stick around specifically for you. You need to give them a reason to remember you.
Reason #2: A More Engaged Audience = More Purchases
Because people are now you for your unique point of view, you'll have a more engaged audience.
They will feel closer to you than the other person in your field because you’re talking to them like a close friend.
And once you have them engaged, they're more willing to make a purchase (or sell) from you.
Reason #3: You're a Bonified Expert
To top it all off, the reason your niche is so helpful is because it designates you as the expert.
And by having a blog and social media presence, you have even more to offer.
Sure, there might be plenty of other female travel bloggers but do they have a blog with valuable content?
Do they have social media that shares daily safety tips for every country?
They’re few and far between.
So, become that expert. Become that social presence in your niche if you want to be successful.
These niche examples prove that having a targeted content approach not only designates you as the expert in your field, but it gives people a reason to remember you.
