Am I Niching Myself Out of Business?

I used to be stubborn……

OK, OK, I ‘m still stubborn. But that has been a great asset in my life and a big problem. You know, sometimes it works for me and sometimes it really holds me back.

In this case, it was really holding me back. Now, in my defense, I wasn’t being stubborn because I didn’t want to follow good advice or because I thought I knew better. It was because I just couldn’t figure out how to do it.

I know I’m not the only one because I see lots of other blogs out there doing the same. And if you’re doing it, read about my mistake. You don’t have to fall into my trap.

In today’s video, I’m going to talk about niching down the focus of your blog and how it will increase your revenue.

Let’s get started.

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I needed to NARROW my focus. I had heard over and over to have a narrow niche to write about but I just couldn’t think how to do it. And I really RESISTED any good advice I was given about it.

I’m a hypnotherapist and when I began blogging about hypnosis, I was really STUCK. Imagine a general practice doctor trying to write a sales paragraph about what she does. She sees everything from sniffles to snoring, from coughs to cuts, from pain to pink eye.

Well, hypnosis helps a wide variety of issues also and I felt that I should be writing about them ALL or I would lock myself out the market. I thought if I wrote about smoking cessation than all I would see in the office would be smokers. If I wrote about anxiety, I would ONLY see anxious people.

But that was the total opposite of what really happens when you niche down. My thinking was BACKWARDS. Instead of decreasing the number of clients I attracted and variety of symptoms, I found I was vastly increasing my business and I saw a variety of issues. Of course, that was exactly what I wanted.

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But WHY does it work that way? You may be thinking the same way I used to and wondering how could that possibly work?

   Picture me standing with my mouth hanging open in surprise. I did it on faith. I still didn’t think that niching down would work. But what I was doing wasn’t seeing a ton of growth so I just jumped in. Another thing that I do; just jump in.

   When you position yourself as a Jack of all Trades, people look at your blog and website and just feel SO SO about you. They see someone who seems to know about a variety of issues but they are in need. They might even feel that they are alone in their particular story. Looking at you makes them feel just OK.

   But when you niche down and write about their pain, their problems, and their issues, it feels to your prospective customer like you KNOW them. It feels like you must be in their head because you are actually talking about their exact feelings. And they want YOU in their corner. They want to buy what you are selling. They want to book time with you because you KNOW them.

   I know what you’re thinking. “But isn’t that what I just said? Isn’t that attracting that one client when I can help lots of others?” Sure, you’d think that. I know I thought that.

   But that’s not what actually happens. When you grab a customer’s ATTENTION and they buy from you, join your email list and begin to get to know you more, they will wonder what else you can do. They will start asking about other problems they have. They will refer friends and family members to you because, now, they trust you. Soon you’ll have a reputation for helping and delivering what’s needed even if it’s not being pushed on your website.

   Your business will EXPAND from there. And you can also start mentioning other people who are in the same or similar genre, that may have a different take on their issue. Or maybe have a product to sell that you don’t do. Your email subscribers will appreciate you because you are an Expert giving an insider’s opinion in an area where they need advice. They will appreciate you and give you more business because they like you and feel you’re the AUTHORITY they can count on.

   So, here’s a little homework for you. Go out and randomly look at some other blogs. Now, it might work better if you look at blogs that are in a different business than you. It’s hard to be objective about something you know a lot about. Look at blogs that very specific and look at some others that talk about a wide variety of topics. These should be businesses that have something to sell.

   Now just see how it makes you feel when the blog talks about something different every week. Like if a cake baking blog starts talking about car repair. A person can bake cakes and repair cars but you want an expert in transmissions, see how you feel when that expert talks a lot about frosting consistency.

   Then come back and give me a comment about looking at narrow niched blogs as compared to general blogs. Let’s see if your blog measures up after this exercise.

Well, I have something to make it a little easier for you.

To get started, be sure and download my free Pretty & Smart Roadmap to Success. There I outline my basics for you to help you plan your blogging and product selling. You can get it at AngieJHernandez.com/Roadmap.

Second, if you want to hang out with me and so many other blogging biz creators just like you, make sure you sign up for my free Facebook group, #SmartCookiesHub. Come into the #SmartCookiesHub. We’re waiting to let you in.

GET YOUR FREE COPY THE PRETTY & SMART BUSINESS PLANNER ROADMAP

And thanks so much for watching this video today. I appreciate that you took the time.

P.S. One more awesome thing, pretty one, if you want to blog but are overwhelmed, don’t let it get you down. Sign up for my Free Super Simple Blog Framework! It’s a 3 video class that takes all the angst out of blogging. In fact, it’s SUPER SIMPLE! Get it for yourself right here.