Finding that Ellusive Niche
Everyone talks about finding their niche, but I haven’t heard much about how to do it. How do you do a niche that fits? Finding a niche is Critical Skill 6 in what I call The 10 Skills Most Critical to Your Future. Once you can find hidden assumptions, you’re on your way to finding hidden niches.
Finding a niche that fits you and the market takes involvement, patience, and self-awareness — you need to know all points of view to get the perfect fit, and nothing less will do.
That best-fit niche is a tiny space where you’ll live, work, and relate to people. You’re going to have to like it there, but so are folks who don’t even know you. How do you find the niche that works for you and attracts an audience?
Five Ways to a Niche that Fits
As the clutter of information gets louder, finding the best-fit niche gets critical. Without a clear niche identity, how will people ever find you? Each day the task of defining a niche seems harder as more people look for their niche too.
Still change is constant, and changes bring new needs with them. New needs create new niches. Try these five plus one ways to find the niche that fits YOU and the market that inspires you.
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1. Understand your YOU-ness, your individual expertise. Who are you? What things do people ask you to help with? What would the world miss without you? What is the unique value that you bring? What’s your personal BIG IDEA?
2. Don’t hunt niches. See needs. Start with those you know the best — your own needs. Look inside your expertise to find what YOU wish YOU had. If you are the “go to person” for a skill or a service, a missing piece is a niche worth looking into.
3. Ask friends about their wish list. Listen actively when people share their needs and desires, hopes and dreams, plans and goals. Get curious. Listen for what’s not out there. Imagine solutions together — talk about how things might be like. You might describe a product or service that you have a passion for bringing into existence.
4. Always ask “What if?” and ‘How come?” Take ideas apart and put them back together. Wonder what they would be like if you did them backwards or upside down. Suppose you offered the reverse of the most popular thing that folks are doing — What if you made it exclusive instead?
5. Develop macro-vision. Magnify the details. Look at how things are constructed. Imagine ways to make them simpler, easier, or more beautiful. Even better, find a way to make things faster, friendlier, or more fun.
PLUS ONE: Authenticity is the best fit. Always start with what you love, what you do well. Look for the niche that says, “I am you.” The best fit is a niche filled with what you love to talk about — what you’ve been talking about since you first started talking.
Look inside your BIG IDEA for what’s missing. Keep asking folks what they need and wish for, and keep imagining how you might provide their answer. When you put those two together — your big idea and an answer that fits you and them — you’ll have the niche you’re looking for. That niche will be the one that fits because it started from who you are.
It will be a unique niche-brand, because you are the only you in the universe, and you’re made of the same stuff as stars. Do all you can to make the most of that.
What are doing to find your best-fit niche or make your best-fit niche even better?
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Need help finding a niche that fits you? Click on the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.
Related articles
The 10 Skills Most Critical to Your Future
Critical Skill 1: Strategic Deep Thinking
Critical Skill 5A: 3 Parts of Spectacular Ideas
Critical Skill 6A: Five Tools for Finding Faulty Assumptions
Hey Liz!
Guy Kawasaki had a video from his book The Art of the Start on his blog a couple of weeks back. Under one section called “Niche Thyself”, he showed a four quadrant graph with value to the customer along the horozontal axis and uniqueness along the vertical. Obviously, the place with the potential to make the most money was high uniqueness and high value. You could also make money on high value and low uniqueness – but you’ll alway be competing on price in that quadrant. It was really interesting (and helpful)!
http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/06/the_art_of_the_.html
Thanks Ann,
You’ve talked about this video and I want to get over to see it. So thanks for leaving the link here for all of us. Four quadrant grids can be very useful in situations such as these. I’m drooling.
The only part I’m not totally in agreement with is the ‘start with what you love’ part.
I operate blogs/websites in several niches that i don’t love or even like tremendously…BUT, I found a ‘want’ that wasn’t being filled and the opportunity to fill it over-rode my not being passionate about the niche.
Profits create passion in my neighborhood.
Other than that micro-point, this is great advice and should create plenty of discussion, which I’ll miss because I have to mow about 1 1/2 acres of grass.
One thing I’ll add is this –
Always, always, always whittle you niche down to the most passionate group of evangelists out there for the best results, most profits and best group to work with.
For example : Car Enthisiasts are a great group. Ford enthusiasts are an even better group. Mustang lovers are a niche and Shelby Mustang evangelists are the best of the best.
Micro-size the niche to expand the ease of making a profit and the ease with which you find a group who will buy !
Okay, I’m on a roll and can’t stop, so I’ll give you one more tip and then you guys can add to this while I mow –
When researching a list of keywords, the more words that are in the search phrase, the more likely that person is interested and will buy.
Example – search phrase of ‘car parts’ is a surfer with nothing else to do.
‘Ford car parts’ is an enthusiast.
‘Leather seats for a ’69 Mustang’ is a prospect waiting to be sold.
Yore turn !
Mike,
I disagree. You always start with what you love, because what you love is selling. So as long as the product fits your parameters it suits you fine. Some folks can only talk a few things. Your model generates your passion and it works damn well too. You got me down. UNCLE!!
PS
Thanks for your comment. I love the parts that you added — especially about whittling it down to the niche folks who pull the most weight. They’re the ones who own the “big property value and throw the best parties” in the imaginary world of what makes the world of the niche fun to live in.
There’s no glory in trying to squeeze juice from a rock…which is what you do when you deal with browsers.
Always whittle it down to those that want to buy and are proven buyers.
Email me and I’ll tell you how to find out what each niche is buying and where to find them and the lists of what they buy.
If you think it’s all that I say it is, I’ll give that secret to everybody else who wants it. Maybe for the cost of a Starbucks Pomegranate drink.
Now, back to the mower ! I had came in for some ice-water.
Liz,
Great post. Mike – great comments.
I keep looking at my site and realize that I need to continually whittle down to the most important points. I’m not there yet, but I keep learning from seeing things like this.
Thanks…Scot
Yeah, Scot,
I know what you mean. I constantly find myself writing a post and getting half way through it; then cutting the second half to save for the next post because I’m trying to do too much.
You also wouldn’t believe how many words I delete a day. It’s massively wasteful. Thank goodness my brain doesn’t charge by the word!