#080: How to Pick the Best, Smartest Niche for Your Freelance Business

Welcome to the High Income Business Writing Podcast, helping you propel your writing business to a whole new level. And now, here's your host, Ed Gandia. Well, hello there and thank you for joining me for episode number 80 of the High Income Business Writing Podcast. My name is Ed Gandia and this is the podcast for business writers and copywriters who want to take their writing businesses to the six figure level or the part time equivalent to that. As a quick reminder, you can find detailed show notes for this episode by going to b2b launcher.com episode 80. You know, the process of picking a niche can be extremely, extremely stressful. But I found that most of that stress, most of that frustration is the result of just plain bad advice. In fact, I found that most of what I read and hear on the topic of picking a niche is severely misguided. It treats the issue as a very simple, one dimensional decision. You know, pick something, pick something quickly. It's either you don't have one and you're going to fail, or you have one and you're going to succeed. And that's not reality. I found that this is actually a complex, multifaceted topic and decision that requires you to think about your business at a deeper level. At the same time, it requires you to take action even before you feel 100% comfortable with your decision. So there's kind of a duality to this. You have to take a deeper dive, you have to really give this some thought, but you have to give it the right kind of thought. At the same time, you can't stall and take your sweet time doing this because really it's about making a decision that's good enough, taking action even before you feel this is the way to go. Because I don't think most people ever feel that they've made a decision they're a hundred percent comfortable with. And in fact, I found that in most cases your best niche ends up finding you. But it will never find you unless you make a smart decision. You take action before you're 100% comfortable and then you kind of wait for that niche, the final best niche, for you to end up finding you. I've addressed this topic before in episode 16 of this show, but in this episode we're going to take a deeper dive. And my guest is my good friend and colleague Elise Bennen from marketing-mentor.com Elise is a frequent guest in both of my podcasts and in some of my training classes. And in this interview she's going to share some practical ideas to help you solve Your niche puzzle. She's going to offer you more things to think through. I think she's going to simplify this process. This is a awesome, awesome interview. Don't miss this one. Even if you've already picked something, even if you feel comfortable with what you have, I think this could help everybody out there listening. So let's get right to that interview. Hey, Elise, welcome back back to the show.

Thank you, Ed. It's great to be here, as always.

It's always fun to have you here. Always love to talk about this stuff with you. You really make me think about some of these issues a little bit more deeply. So let's talk about the hot question, the one I get so much. How to pick a niche, Right. How to pick a smart niche. Do I need a niche? In fact, let's start there, right? Do you really have to pick a niche in order to be successful as a freelance professional?

Okay, so the short answer is no. But because, you know, there are. If you look around, there are so many people, creatives, all different types of people, frankly, who are doing from the outside, it looks like pretty well in a very general way, in that they haven't picked any kind of focus or niche. And you look at them and you say, well, why do I have to. They haven't, and they're doing fine. That's what I hear from people all the time. Often my response is, well, first of all, we don't know what's happening in their business unless we're really talking to them. And I am actually talking to a lot of these people, and I'm hearing that they feel completely scattered and. And they don't know where to focus, and they don't know who to approach. And when they even try to do some marketing, they can't figure out where to turn because they haven't made this decision. And that's when they come to the realization, all right, I have to focus somewhere. But I feel like sometimes that's part of the problem, too, because the myth is you have to pick one place to focus. But it's not that. It's the very complex. It's a process. It takes time. And also, as you're building up to, I mean, I'm going on 25 plus years in business, and it was probably not until about 10 years in that I really started to narrow to the niche of creative professionals. And then little by little, over the last 15 years, have narrowed more and more each year. And that. Not that it's going to take anyone 25 years, but it Could. So this idea of, all right, just pick something and then you're stuck with it is not what it is. And that's what I'm trying to describe and demonstrate and show in as many ways as I can.

That's a good. You brought so many great points there. In fact, I want to touch on one of them later on in our conversation, which is this whole thing about how long this could take and this whole idea of, are you stuck? Because I think there are very few things in our line of work that will stay with you forever, right? This is not like, I don't know, like picking a, you know, a partner, a spouse, right? That. It's like, man, you got to make the right decision now because, you know, this is not something you want to take lightly. And I do see a lot of people kind of just stressing out over this decision, mainly because their assumptions. And I think that's what we're really talking about here, right? They assume X, Y or Z, and therefore they're not making a decision or they're making it harder than it should be.

Right? And so what I'm trying to say is that picking a niche. Niches. I'm trying to pluralize everything, because especially at the beginning, you don't know what the one is going to be, and you may not find it for years.

So.

So start with three. Start with three different areas that you would like to explore, and then you go through the process of exploring them, and you get the feedback from the market of whether or not that niche is the right one for you. You will know that the market will tell you, and it's through that process that you can figure out which ones to abandon because it's not working, because you can't find the prospects easily enough because the prospects are there and they desperately need your help, but they don't know it or they don't agree, or they don't value what you do.

All right, so that's a great way to set up, I guess, the two main areas I want to talk about. And the first one has to do with the different ways you could approach the whole niche thing. And by the way, I call it niche because I partnered with two Canadian friends, right? Steve Sloan White and Pete Savage. And I used to say niche, but in Canada, they say niche, which is actually the correct pronunciation, I think. And, man, after like a year or two of hearing it, it just stuck. So it's. I'm not trying to correct you. I'm just. That's like. That's like what Flows. Flows out of me is niche.

I think we can pronounce it differently. And I go back and forth, actually, and I pronounce it niche only because it sounds better with my product. The pick a niche kit.

Ah, okay. Yeah. Pick a niche kit. That doesn't. Yeah, I'm with you. Okay, so the first thing I'd like to talk about is the different ways you could approach the whole decision. I find that one of the biggest misconceptions in the freelance community is this belief that the only way to focus your business is by picking an industry. You know, okay, well, I'm gonna focus on high tech. That's my niche. Or healthcare or financial services or nonprofits. But there are many other ways to focus, aren't there?

There are, and you can be really creative about it too. And that's why it blows my mind sometimes when these creative professionals don't think creatively about their niche. They get very kind of religious and rigid about as you're saying. Well, it's gotta be what we call a vertical N, which is essentially an industry sector.

So let's talk about the different ways. I mean, let's start with that one, right? Let's start with the obvious one, which is an industry sector. And maybe you could talk about what it is and maybe an example.

So the thing I love about the vertical industry sector niche is that it is actually one of the easiest to find prospects in, you know, because there are trade associations aligned with so many. With most industry sectors, which tells you that there's probably a viable market there in the first place. But the idea is, you know, that you essentially go to an industry that needs your services or that you think needs your services, and you promote yourself as the specialist in that industry and essentially become entrenched in that industry. And again, there are industries that are really, really broad. Like a lot of people talk about. Nonprofit. Nonprofit has. It's huge. But there are also many, many, many sub niches within it that you could focus on or not, or choose a few within it. So even the idea of vertical being pigeonholed is not the case. It's a myth. Because if you choose a very broad vertical market, then you've got a lot of space.

Yeah, and that's, that's the way I approached it. I started with high tech, which is extremely broad. You're thinking, man, you've just narrowed it down to still everybody. But I got to tell you, at least when I went from I'll write anything for anybody to I work with corporate high tech marketers, My business changed almost overnight. I mean, I was having a different discussion with people. I was getting approached differently, and my business took off. Now, interestingly, as I progress, what I found is I started developing expertise in very specific sectors, like you said, within it. And it was now software, by the way. It was almost all software. It was enterprise software, and then it was construction software, constructured or architectural design, data management, ERP and supply chain management. I mean, they were like these three or four pockets where I kept getting referred, I kept landing different clients, and I just. I became kind of known in those circles. But that evolved. There's no way that I could have predicted that from the very beginning. So, yeah, I got a little bit narrower, and I saw the value of that very quickly.

And people are willing to pay for that expertise. That's the beauty of focusing and specializing. But I just want to go back a second because I want to make sure people don't think that all you have to do is make this choice and your business is transformed overnight. It doesn't happen that way, but you do start to make some of these decisions. I often recommend choosing three markets to start with, three vertical markets, or even three niches of some of the ones we're going to talk about. And then little by little, you explore them until you get the feedback. And the operative word there is that you explore them. You start reaching out, you start attending events, you start reading and learning, and that's how your business grows.

Great advice. All right, so let's move on to the next one, the next way you could do this.

So we're Talking about the 10 ways that I have identified, and I don't know if we're going to get to all 10, because they're kind of complex. But we'll talk about as many as we can. The first one is the vertical. The second one is the horizontal. And the horizontal focus or niche is essentially where you specialize in a particular service offering. The first one, you're focused on a certain kind of client. This one, you're focused on a certain type of service like copywriting or SEO. Copywriting or black and white photography or web design.

Gotcha. Yeah. And that's also a very popular one, right?

It is popular, but the problem is that, of course, a web designer is specialized in web design. That's not going to help your marketing. You still have to figure out who you're marketing to.

Yeah.

So that actually leads to number three, niche number three, which is a horizontal and vertical combo. So that would be web design for the software Industry or branding design for destination marketers or SEO copywriting for. For the animal industry.

Gotcha, gotcha. So it's that the type of project or service for a specific vertical market or vertical markets. Right. It could still be a combination.

Exactly, exactly. And the thing I love about this one, number three, is that there's usually very little competition because most people don't want to pigeonhole themselves. That's the ironic thing, is that if you do, you will have less competition. If you don't, everyone is a competitor.

Yeah, yeah, that's brilliant. That's a very powerful one, two punch. Very powerful. Okay. And I've seen many examples of this. I'm sure everyone else has. Right. White papers for high tech, annual reports for associations or foundations, branding, like you said, for destination marketers. That's really. And I guess one of the things you got to be careful about when making this decision is making sure that it's not so narrow that you've just limited your market to just a handful of people out there. That's typically not the case, but. Right. Have you seen how that could be a danger? Have you tried to get way, way too narrow?

Well, but that's where we go back to the idea of how long it takes to narrow to where you need to be. Because if you do slowly, as you described you did, then by the time you get there, you're entrenched in the market and how much business do you need? If you're, if it's just you and you're trying to keep it small, then there it may be viable for you.

Yeah, good point, good point. You'll know, you'll, you'll make a good decision at that point. Let's. Yeah, and let's see how many we can get through. You got some great ones in here. Let's talk about then the fourth one, which I think is technology specialization.

Right. So that means you are a specialist in a particular technology. So that could be not just web design, for example, but Drupal or Squarespace or WordPress or. The example I am using is a PowerPoint designer, because most designers hate dealing with PowerPoint. So she's carved out this little niche for herself and she gets all the work nobody else else wants. So to focus on a particular technology and say, you know, I'm the one who does this. And again, one of the problems with this one is that you still have to figure out who needs it and who knows they need it. So with a WordPress designer, for example, you have to find people who know they want WordPress or with Drupal, you have to find someone who knows they need Drupal or you have to convince them that that's what's going to be best for them.

Gotcha. Okay. Yeah. And by the way, I think this still applies to other professionals who don't necessarily use a technology. Like I can see writers, for instance. Well, I specialize in working with leadpages, for instance. Right. So I mean, and I haven't seen anyone who actually bills themselves as that, but that would be an example of something I think that could actually be viable if you do it right.

Absolutely.

Okay. Umbrella focus. So what's that about?

So the umbrella focus is this is where we start to get creative. So the umbrella focus is essentially you look at all the types of projects that you either have found most lucrative or most enjoyable or more satisfying, or the types of clients you want. What is the common denominator if you're one of these people, like, my work is all over the place and that's part of the problem. How do I pick one? You're not going to pick one with the umbrella focus. You're essentially going to look at what is the common denominator amongst the ones that I most enjoyed and want more of. And so this is where we get a little creative. And I'll give you an example. Actually in my Creative Live course, one of the participants in the audience was a video producer who, when we talked about this umbrella focus, wanted to deal with people. He wants to work with clients who are in the business of transformation, helping people transform their lives. That's his umbrella.

Okay.

So under that umbrella, what we came up with was everything from environmentalists and conservationists to thought leaders who are trying to change the world by speaking about certain issues to yoga studios, you know, so again, here we can be creative because your prospects may not know anything about your umbrella. Right. And then they have to see themselves under your umbrella. So this one takes a lot of marketing, but it can be very satisfying.

I love that. That does take some creativity. And I don't think it's the kind of thing that happens overnight as we've talked about earlier. Another example I saw recently is a writer who is billing herself as a. She's a ghostwriter and she works with CEOs and high level executives who need a writer who can actually communicate in their authentic voice. And I'm not saying this exactly how she's explaining it, but one of the challenges that a lot of these executives have to have a thought leadership strategy, they're trying to get articles done and presentations and so forth. And they use ghostwriters or a book. They will write a book. But it's very difficult to work with a writer who can actually communicate in their real voice and their authentic voice. That's a. That's a different skill set. Few people can do it well, and that's her gift. So notice we're not talking about an industry. We're talking more about that whole umbrella. Hey, this could encompass many different people who are attracted to this idea, who have. Especially people and executives who've been. Who've gone. Had a bad experience with a different. With other writers who couldn't do this. So as soon as they read this, they identify with that pain point.

I have a feeling this is more like number 11, a new niche to add, because I'm hearing it as a special gift or talent you have that people who offer the exact same services you don't have.

Ah, yes, yes. So the example you gave is more about kind of a commonality that they all have, but it has more to do with them, the audience, than it does with you, doesn't it?

Exactly. Yes.

Yeah. All right, so here we go. Revision number two. Just pick a niche kit. Okay. Love it. Let's talk about the next one. Related industry focus.

So this is kind of like the umbrella. Similar yet different. And it's where you choose two or maybe three, really at the most, three vertical markets that you're interested in that are themselves related, that you can put a little umbrella under. So, for example, the one example that I use in the pick a niche kit is of a client of mine who specializes in. She positions herself as a specialist in health care and wellness. So it's everything from major health systems and hospitals to small medical practices to the yoga studio, because they all fall under this related industry type of umbrella.

Okay, I see that. Smart. Smart. And this is. Yeah, you have to see those patterns. Ari, what about number seven?

Number seven is the. In quotation marks. We understand your customer niche.

What does that mean?

So that means that it's not that I'm a specialist in your industry, but I'm a specialist in your customers. So baby boomers, for example, you could target any company, any industry that targets baby boomers or women. Or the example I use in the kit is one, a design firm that specializes in enthusiast brands, which is any brand that has a fan base, essentially, or a following of people who are enthusiastic about it. We know how to deal with enthusiast brands.

Okay.

And that can sometimes be even more powerful to your prospects. Than we understand your industry, we know your customers.

I like that. That could be very, very powerful. So one thing I noticed is so I started working with a client that they did a lot in the food and beverage industry. Their software was for food and beverage manufacturers, among others. But that was. And I learned so much about the food and beverage industry that made me attractive to other clients who targeted that same industry but were non competing, if that makes sense. And I never put that on my website, I never branded myself as that. But I would use that in conversations, which I think is another thing to keep in mind. Guys, it's not. Some of this could be used not just on your website and your branding and your marketing materials, but you can adjust the way you handle a conversation with a prospect as you're trying to differentiate yourself and explain what you would be the obvious choice. You could pull from some of these ideas and present a case right there on the spot.

And that's really the answer to your later question. So we'll just plant a little seed for it right now, which is when you're new at this and it's not yet time for you to pick something and put it on your website and put your stake in the ground. But you begin and you practice and you test out essentially your niche by talking about it in a certain way in email, in your warm email prospecting, for example, or at a networking event. And so it's not you kind of standing on the roof and proclaiming it to the world, but just on a one on one case by case basis to see does this work.

You know what, let's move into that right now because I mean we're not going to have time to go through all the 10 and I think this is a very important point. So let's talk more about that. And the issue is this, and this is where I see it happening a lot. You're new, you're trying to decide what to pick or whether it's one or three or whatever. But you don't feel the analogy I like to use is new college students. For instance, you're 18 years old and 18 year olds for the most part don't really know what they want to do. I mean you're expected to declare a major and apply to one of the schools like business school or whatever. And I mean you're 18. And a lot of kids think they know what they want to do, which is why we have so many former attorneys these days, right? Because everyone thinks they want to be an attorney, they want to be this they want to be that, but that's when they were 18. They didn't. Hadn't been exposed enough to really make a wise decision. So I think a lot of people are caught in this, in the cycle where they feel they need to make a decision, but they're waiting until that decision happens before they take action. So how would you advise someone? And I think a lot of people in my audience are in that situation who's trying to make this decision, but they haven't really moved and taken action because they're waiting for the right answers.

Right. Okay, so two thoughts. One is that essentially you have to choose, review first as many possible niches or target markets or ways to focus as possible first, and then narrow it down relatively soon to no more than three that you are actively going to explore. I do, in this pick a niche kit, have a worksheet called the Target Market Brainstorm worksheet, where you essentially take 10 out of a list of, I don't know, 50 or so industries. You take 10, and you rate them according to how many connections you have, how many samples you have, and how much enthusiasm you have. And then the ones with the top three scores are the three that you explore. And it's just a really nice way to figure out where should I at least start exploring? Exploring. And so then from there, you. Again, I just want to emphasize this is a process. It takes time. You don't put it on your website yet. Maybe you test it first in on your LinkedIn profile and see if it changes who connects with you or who invites you to connect. I've had lots of clients actually do that because it's so fluid on LinkedIn. And you can, you know, change your title, you can change your summary. You can emphasize some things there and others not. So you start by just kind of putting your toe in the water a little bit with these three possible target markets. And then you see who responds positively. And again, little by little, you narrow. And even if for the first few years it's on your website, even it says, I specialize in this, this, and this. You know, law firms, museums, and healthcare companies. There's nothing connecting them. But still, if those three who have, you know, come up with your highest scores, come to your website, or you drive them to your website, then they'll at least not be alienated by the generalities and the vagueness, but they'll be attracted by the specifics of what they see in themselves. There.

That brings up another question. I get this a lot where people say, well, look, let's use your example there. Attorneys, museums, and, I don't know, landscape architects. Gosh, those are so different, Ed. And I'm having a hard time tying them together. Should I have three different websites?

No.

Tell us about that.

Oh my God. Three websites. That's way too much to do. I don't think the clients need you to do that. I don't think. I mean, yes, on the one hand, people tend to be kind of narrow minded and if they don't see that you can do exactly what they need, then they may go somewhere else. But that's why I'm saying to have three examples. I don't think they interpret it as how could you possibly know these three areas if you had 10? Okay. Yes. And that's why I'm saying focus on three because that is doable.

I couldn't agree more. I think the thought of three different websites, not only that, but you have something. The advice used to be a little different. I remember some authors and coaches used to advise to split it up. I was never really a big fan of that. But something has happened in the past 10 years or so, which is social media. And as you're becoming more and more of a personal brand, you're diluting your message if you have three different websites. Because from a social media standpoint, it's not really practical to point to all three either. Right. You want to drive everyone into one focused spot. So it becomes hard sometimes.

The way it happens on the website is you start out with, you know, three buckets of equal weight and then little by little as you start to get the feedback and people start to respond positively. It's not like you drop one of the buckets per se, but you just de. Emphasize one over another. Or maybe, you know, all that's on your homepage is the two that seem to be the most successful and the third one, again, you don't just make it disappear, but maybe it becomes a miscellaneous. So again, this is an evolution of your own positioning. But so many people seem to be in a hurry to number one, make the decision and then, you know, not change it.

Yeah.

And you just really have to just keep reinventing, keep evolving.

So I've seen this happen, you're right, where they take a lesser focus and so will they'll place the copy about this other specialty will be on the services page, for instance, that they have kind of a service focus. Oh, and by the way, I also work on A, B and C even though they've been focused on this one thing, A, B and C have now taken kind of a backseat and they're placed there or in the bio page where they'll say, oh, and by the way, yes, since I just mentioned that I have a passion for landscaping and gardening, I also work with landscape designers. I have a lot of experience here, but it's kind of a PS Instead of kind of front and center.

Right. And I think what happens, even with designers who are designing their own websites, is they think they have to show everything, number one. And they don't seem to realize that you have to basically guide the visitor to see and hear and receive what you want them to get and not just let them flail around. Hopefully they'll come on the right thing on your website. So that's why how you continuously evolve the emphasis or the de emphasis of these various markets is important.

So, Elise, we've mentioned it a couple of times already and might as well just talk about it. Just head on. You have a new program, new training program. It's called Pick a Niche Kit. I want to call it Pick a Niche Kit because I just can't force myself to say niche. Tell us a little bit about it.

So this is my attempt to help people go through this process and focus on something that is based on, you know, actual facts and. And a process. And essentially what it is is an elaboration of why you need to pick a niche. And niches that I started to describe with actual examples and screenshots of people who are doing them and, you know, excerpts from the homepage and the positioning message so you can see exactly how each niche is demonstrated or elaborated. And then I have several interviews, podcasts, transcripts, examples of people who have chosen all different types of niches, talking about how they. How they decided, how long it took, what the process was like, and how it's working for them. So it's really my way of saying, you know, this is an important thing to do, and here are people who've gone before you and have done it and are thriving as a result. And so, you know, just trying to take people through the process to do it too, man.

And I'm going to chime in here and give it a personal plug. I went through it this week. It's awesome, guys. Awesome. It's well done. It's a little different from the approach that I typically take with my training programs in that it's mostly based on a PDF, so it's very easy to skim and just kind of go through. And then there are links to multimedia, right? Links to all these Supplementary materials, examples and so forth that will reinforce, give you more information, more ideas, but it's everything. Like the PDF is really the hub in the heart of the program, which I think it's a really neat way of doing it well.

And the idea there is just to make it easy for people to contain it all in one place so they don't lose it. Because when there's multimedia, it's hard to keep track of all the different pieces. I also have a companion ebook from flauntmydesign.com where we have five interviews with designers and writers and other creatives who have also chosen different niches and why and how and how it's working for them. So just lots and lots of examples because I feel like that's what people. I mean, I can talk all day long about why it's important, but unless you can see people who are actually doing it and succeeding, it makes it more difficult. So that's what, that's the point here.

So where can people learn more about it and grab a copy if they're interested?

So, number one, I have a little freebie download that I'm offering, which is the Niche checklist, which is 60 plus different target markets that you can consider with a link to places. A place on my website, actually, where you can look at some of the actual trade associations associated. So that's at the Bit Lynch Niche Checklist and we'll give you that link so you can have it on your Show Notes page and then in the Marketing Mentor online store. That's at marketing-mentor.com there's an online store and it'll be on sale through early July. So if you want to get on the list to receive the sale messages, then be sure to sign up@marketing-mentor.com or get the free download, the Niche Checklist.

Absolutely. We'll include those links in the show notes, but let me repeat it once again just in case somebody wants to type it in right now. Bitly.com what was it?

Niche Checklist.

Niche Checklist. Altogether?

Yeah.

Okay, awesome, guys. Check it out. This is really, really solid stuff. I'll be very vulnerable here and say this is the product I wish I would have created. So I'm a little jealous. But I'm glad you did it because this needed to be done. So congratulations, Elise, on putting that out there. Thank you so much. This is really, really cool. I'm glad we had this discussion and I know listeners will get a lot out of it.

Thank you. Me too. And one little other plug, if you don't mind, because if people feel like they can't figure it out themselves, they're welcome to take advantage of my free 30 minute mentoring session. And you can sign up for that on the website, too.

Oh, cool. Yes, take advantage of that, guys. It really is free. And Elise is very low key. She's not gonna hound you or anything. So, hey, thanks. Thanks again, Elise. Always a pleasure, Always fun.

Thank you, Ed.

All right, folks. Well, I hope you enjoyed that interview. I hope it got you thinking in a new direction about your niche. And I wanted to remind you that you can grab the details show notes for the episode@btblauncher.com Episode 80 I also wanted to give you a quick.