You and I talk about niches

Hey sweetie, we need to have a talk. (That came out sounding a bit ominous, didn’t it? Don’t worry, it’s cool.)

A talk about what? you say.

It’s about your niche… and how you don’t really have one.

I do too! you say.

Oh really? What is it?

Well, my website is about penguins, and so it’s for anyone who is interested in penguins.

Isn’t everyone kinda interested in penguins? They’re a part of the human experience.

Yeah, I think everyone has a need for penguins, deep down. And that’s why I want to make this work, because so many people would benefit from it!

I know. And that’s your problem.

Huh?

Look, if I took a hundred random people off the street – some businesswomen, and a grumpy guy from the post office, a few gothy teens and little old ladies and a muscle-bound dude headed to the gym, and lots of others – and put them in a room… could you rock their world? Create big shifts in their attitudes about penguins? Get them taking action?

I could educate them!

Does that matter? Is it important that they know more about penguins, or that they change their life to create more penguin-y goodness?

Well, if they knew more then they could take the action…

Really? Are you saying they don’t already know pretty much everything they need to about penguins? Because most people do, the same way they know that smoking will kill you and that multi-level marketing is Satan’s toilet paper.

I guess you’re right. But I really want to help them take action! I know how much penguins could improve their lives!

The problem is that unless you chain the doors closed and kidnap your audience – and I’m pretty sure that’s illegal – you can’t force anyone to change.

I know, but…

…but you really wish you could.

Yes!

I know, sweetheart. It’s tough, but it’s the way things are. Since you’re not going to resort to Stockholm Syndrome, you need to stop trying to convince everyone that they need more penguins, and start talking only to the people who are ready to take penguin action.

Why can’t I talk to both?

Remember that room with a hundred random people in it? Tell me one phrase that will inspire every single person in that group.

Umm… penguins are great! The more you get them into your life then more your life will improve!

Can you imagine the politely skeptical faces?

Yes.

Okay, what if you were talking to Bulgy McMuscles over there? What would you say to just him?

If you get more penguins in your life, you will have more energy, and a much faster recovery time from muscle strain!

And the goth triplets up the back?

You know those moments when you really connect with the music you’re listening to? Your whole life is more emotionally intense when you’re connected to your penguins!

And the little old ladies?

Penguins make you feel twenty years younger!

Okay, now swap those statements. Do the little old ladies care about building up their lats and delts? Do the goth triplets want to feel twenty years younger?

No.

So if you try to talk to everyone, you talk to no-one. If you choose one specific group to talk to, you can rock their world.

But the other people still neeeeed meeee…

That’s your opinion, not theirs. You can’t change anyone who doesn’t want to change. You can have sorta-kinda success talking to people who are sorta-kinda ready to change. Or you could create massive and transformative change for the people who want more penguins, value more penguins, and believe they can achieve more penguins.

I look really pouty, don’t I?

You really do. I have some good news for you, though.

Please.

Imagine that you focus on Bulgy McMuscles – and people like him – and ignore everyone else. As a result of that focus and personalisation, you bring an exponential number of penguins into his life. How does he feel?

He’s never felt so good in his life.

And so what does he do next?

He… tells everyone about it?

Indeed he does. He tells all of his buddies at the gym…

…and that leads to lots more clients for me.

It does, but it’s better than that. He also tells his girlfriend, and his work buddies, and his little sister the goth, and his grandma. He spends hours telling them how penguins would rock their world, too.

Oh, and maybe Grandma decides that she could use a bit more penguinosity in her life!

Yep!

And I can help her get it!

Nope.

Awwww…

Sorry, duckling, but you have to choose one group to serve. But you CAN send Granny to another penguin wrangler you know who specialises in people over 60.

So how do I choose which group to work with?

That’s easy. Who do you love the most?

Why does that matter?

You’ll be spending a lot of time working with these people, creating penguin products for them, answering their penguin-related questions… you need to know this group intensely, be able to speak with them intimately, and to identify their hidden problems and objections and fears. It’s much easier to do that with people you know and love. Also, it’s more fun for you.

I’m pro-fun.

Me too. So are you gonna do it?

I have to, don’t I?

Yep.

Okay, I will. And stop looking so smug.

Awwww…

The moral of the story

For maximum impact, you need to get specific. Diluting your message to reach as many people as possible – or even everyone who you know would benefit from it – leads to homeopathy-strength communication. (Take one drop of your message, and a big bucket of water…)

When you commit to serving one niche, and only that niche, your message becomes a 10cc syringe of impact right to the brain. Here’s the big caveat: your niche must value the benefit you are offering. (Not the solution, necessarily. That’s a magical pink donkey, remember?)

Make the decision to choose a small group: gym junkies, geeks, perkygoths, world-changers, horse-riders, marine biologists, Mythbusters fans. Note that they aren’t demographics. (Because demographics suck.) This is about something much more powerful: identity. We choose our identities, we value them, and we make decisions informed by them.

So choose an identity group that you love. You already know how to move them, delight them, and make them cry. You know how to make them feel welcome, and special. You know how to rock their world.

And why would you settle for less?

If you want to know more about how to choose the right niche for you, then Goddamn Radiant is here to help.