3 Hard to ignore reasons you need to work on your niching

Do you ever feel like it’s just too damn hard to get your stuff in front of the right people online?

Are you sick of social media, do you run out of things to say, do you get triggered by people who do similar things to you having more success?

These are all signs that perhaps you need to niche…and even if you have a niche, maybe it’s time to revisit it and finally nail your business messaging.

Seriously, it is 2022 guys, and we can’t ignore this stuff any longer. 

You see I thought I had a niche.

I helped people build communities. I was a business coach. A no bullshit business coach…I even have a bullshit buzzer I use for fun with clients…I even bought the url.

But it wasn’t enough.

I had to go deeper, I had to make what I do so damn simple for people to understand, that when I explain what I do to people they had to get it first time…even if they were not my ideal client…because chances are they knew someone who was.

So here are 3 hard to ignore signs that you also need to niche further.

1. You are not making enough money
2. You are struggling to come up with powerful marketing materials day in day out that convert into engagement, leads and sales
3. Other people find it difficult to explain what it is you actually do.

Lets have a look at the 3 M’s in a bit more detail

MONEY

Correct me if I am wrong, but you are in business to make money. You might not completely be driven by money, but without sales in your business you just have an expensive hobby.

Sales = impact.

Making money in your business fuels it, plus it fuels your marketing, it fuels your development, it fuels your ego. Money is not the be-all and end-all but it gives you choices and is a sign that you are doing good stuff in the world.

When you niche and people get it, it becomes an easier job to get people across the line. There is no confusion over what you do and how you can help people…and sadly in this world success follows success.

A coach that doesn’t have any coaching clients is going to show up online very differently to one who has a revolving door of clients, plus a coach who knows how to build and activate a tribe, is also developing a living breathing marketing team…out in the world talking about how great you are.

So yeah…making money, is kinda important right?

MESSAGING

When you don’t have a clearly defined niche which you are completely aligned to, it can feel hard constantly coming up with fresh ways of marketing your stuff. You literally run out of things to say, or second guess yourself with every social media post, blog or speaking gig (what? You don’t have speaking gigs? Erm niching lol)

Without a defined niche that feels like it’s yours, you can feel like your messaging just sounds like everyone elses, you find it hard to get traction and engagement, and you literally get bored of your own content, so imagine how other people feel. 

When you niche…the way I do niching, you become a content generating machine. Literally everything you have ever done in your life becomes fodder for your marketing, and out of nowhere stories and ideas and concepts jump out at you.

And people start to see the real you….and want to be in your world, marketing becomes fun…seriously.

MARKETING

Very few people go into business to do marketing…apart from marketeers I guess. Whether you like it or not Marketing is a non negotiable part of running any small business. It can be challenging getting on top of it, finding a strategy that works for you, that you don’t burn out from.

When you have a clearly defined and exciting to you (and others) niche, it’s easier to activate your network to become your marketing minions….which sounds a lot meaner than I mean it to lol.

“Oh you should speak to Julie, she’s great at building Tribes”

“Have you come across Julie Crefffield, she is a real expert in online communities”

“Oh yeah I am working with business coach called Julie Creffield….she’s helping me to scale my business…we are working on launching that membership idea I’ve had for ages”

The thing with activating your network to talk about your stuff, is they don’t even have to have the right words, they don’t even have to get it completely right…but when you are known for one thing, and people see evidence of you doing and talking about that thing, day in day out…it will inspire conversations about you….and that drives interest in you and your work.

So they are the 3 M’s…the BIGGIES in terms of things holding you back due to your poorly defined niche.

Some other signs to watch out for

• Wearing too many hats…FYI nobody gives a shit about all the thing you do apart from you…most people just care if you can help them
• People still talking about the old thing you used to do
• Being overlooked for gigs/opportunities that are perfect for you
• Not showing up on social media
• Being slightly embarrassed at your website
• Procrastinating on things like being a guest expert or getting PR
• Thinking about getting a job in Tescos

Seriously.

Over the past years I have successfully scaled 3 different businesses in slightly different areas of personal and business development, and grown my personal brand simply by defining my niche and growing an enthusiastic community around each of them, and in the last 3 years I have helped more than 3000 solopreneurs to increase their income, impact and influence by doing the same.

Ready to bring all the clients to your yard with your improved business messaging this year?