The benefits of niching down
Introduction
In a world full of clones and copycats, niching down can be a huge benefit for your creative business. In this article I’ll share how niching down helped grow my business, clients and revenue.
How niching down grew my biz
When I first launched my video production company, I noticed that a lot of my competitors were offering almost every type of video imaginable. Social media videos, commercials, product videos, ads, TV spots, sales videos, etc.
Naturally, I fell into this trap, too. I thought that by offering more options, I could attract more customers.
But by niching down I completely eliminated the need for advertising. I almost never post on social media. Customers know exactly what I offer and are able to refer me to their network confidently. Now my video business is booked up 3 months in advance.
At first I offered everything. But over time I started niching down on the videos I actually liked creating, which were Brand Story videos. Slowly but surely, word of mouth spread and I soon became known as the guy you go to if your business needs a Brand Story done.
It's better to be known as the best at one thing than semi-competent at everything. You'd rather be the go-to in your industry than the master of none.
Become known for something
Don't run from it. Nobody has the same skills, experience and unique life perspective as you. Use that to your advantage and deliver something that is completely unique to your clients.
You want to specialize in something and do it better than anyone else in your industry. You want to learn the in's and out's of your clients and their pain points so you can craft custom-tailored solutions to their problems.
❌ Photographer
❌ Portrait Photographer
✅ Portrait Photographer for LinkedIn & Personal Branding
When you focus on one thing, you can talk to your audience directly. You can update your website to speak directly to your target customer. You can build products and solutions that solve a specific problem.
When you offer a hyper-specific solution, you can charge higher rates. When I was still doing video production, my average Brand Story package was $8,500 for a single video. I typically take on 2-4 clients per month, but because of my margins, I could easily get by with just one project per month.
niche solutions
Another example is BetterMatches.com. This is a side business I built that offers professional portraits for dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, etc. The market is tiny but the problems they have are unique in nature.
It turns out professional headshots don't work too well on dating apps. I know that because I've hired panels of people, conducted user research, consulted many single friends, created testing accounts, analyzed client data and used sites like PhotoFeeler.com to figure out exactly what works (and what doesn't).
By dedicating time and effort to solving this problem, I was able to create a solution that offers drastically better results than the competition. Great results = more happy customers = more referrals.
After doing this solo for +2 years I was able to eventually build systems + processes that other photographers could follow to produce similar results. Fast forward to today and I now get to work with really amazing photographers in Vancouver, New York and Los Angeles to deliver high-impact results for our clients.
It's not that we're better photographers than our competition. It's that we're better dating profile photographers than our competition.
Summary
The bottom line? Find your niche. Don't try to blend in. Nobody has the same style, expertise and life experience as you do. Instead of looking at that as a detriment use it to your advantage and embrace your uniqueness.
