Be the expert in your specialized niche and become a thought leader with Natalie’s tried-and-true business models.
“When you specialize your niche and narrow down, we need to be repelling a whole lot of people. When you start attracting your ideal client, everything becomes easier, and it makes you extremely referable because you are the person that does that.”
Natalie Eckdahl helps consultants, marketers, and financial professionals build an enduring business through her long-standing podcast, Biz Chicks, and her group coaching program and courses.
In this episode, you will learn the following:
- What is the difference between specializing and niching in business?
- How can entrepreneurs trust their intuition when determining their business model?
- How can entrepreneurs build a business in the agency model for freedom and profit?
Listen to this episode on:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Play | Amazon Music | How To Subscribe
Highlights in this episode:
[00:02:20] Today we’ll talk about the difference between specializing and Niching.
[00:03:31] What’s the difference between specializing in niche and just choosing what you want to be known for?
[00:05:49] When you specialize or niche or combine the two, you start to become an expert in what you’re talking about. That is when you attract people to you through your thought leadership.
[00:11:54] When it comes to knowing where your people are, it’s so key. The more you narrow your business, the more you get clarity on all of these things.
[00:17:39] Knowing where visibility boosts come from.
[00:19:06] Natalie markets through her podcast and sales calls have become easier. [00:23:47] Natalie’s goal is to help women pay themselves 8-10K/month.
Quotables:
Unlock Your Business Potential: 8 Steps to Benefiting From Niching vs Specializing
Are you an entrepreneur or business owner wanting to unlock your business potential? Then you’ve come to the right place! In this article, I will show you 8 steps to benefiting from niching vs. specializing–including the difference between them.
About Natalie Eckdahl
Natalie Eckdahl, a consultant, marketer, and financial professional, who has been helping entrepreneurs and business owners build an enduring business through her long-standing podcast, Biz Chix, and her group coaching program and courses, has figured out the secret to success. She has created a system called Specialized Niche Business which gives entrepreneurs expertise, authority & clarity. Through this system, Natalie Eckdahl was able to create an automatic yes business and I’ll outline how she did it in detail. Natalie is an expert in helping entrepreneurs figure out where their people are and which platforms are best for their business, based on their unique niche. Natalie also emphasizes that entrepreneurs need to pay attention to the word-of-mouth referrals and reviews that are happening in their industry.
Why Is It Important For Entrepreneurs To Consider Niching vs Specializing?
For entrepreneurs, niching vs. specializing is an important consideration when launching a new business. And even so, so few know enough about it to even define the two.
Traditional marketing mumbo-jumbo speak would say, “Niche marketing is a way to focus on a specific segment of the market to target and reach potential customers.” Specializing, on the other hand, is a way to focus on a particular area within a market and develop expertise there.
Natalie has a different perspective. “We specialize by the work that we do, and we niche by the who.” It’s like a baker who specializes in baking cakes, but niches down to creating custom cakes for weddings.
The specialized niche allows entrepreneurs to become known as an authority in their field, which can help them stand out from their competitors and attract more clients. Specializing also allows entrepreneurs to hone their skills and create a unique product or service that is highly sought after and in demand.
Here Are The Steps You Need To Follow To Define Your Specialized Niche:
1. Recognize the difference between specializing and niching.
2. Identify what you want to be known for and the target audience you want to serve.
3. Combine the two to create a specialized niche.
4. Become an expert in your field.
5. Speak with authority and attract people to you.
6. Analyze where your target audience is located and focus on those platforms.
7. Take time to pause and reconsider before jumping on the newest trends.
8. Re-evaluate your message and tactics to ensure they are tailored to your specialized niche.
1. Recognize the difference between specializing and niching.
The first step in this podcast is to understand the difference between specializing and niching. Specializing is defined as the work you do, while niching is defined as who you target or serve. When you combine the two, this is referred to as a specialized niche.
Specializing is the “what” of a business. It involves the actual services and products offered, the techniques used to perform those services, and the expertise in the field. Specializing is the primary skill or expertise of a business.
Nicheing, on the other hand, is the “who” of a business.
In order to become a specialized niche, it is helpful to understand who your best client is. This means getting to know the industry they work in, the biggest struggle or goal they’re currently thinking about, and what’s already prevented them from fixing that issue. Once you have clarity on who your ideal client is, you can start to become an expert in the field and become a thought leader in the space by talking about that problem or goal–and giving them a quick win or insight. This will help you attract your ideal client, as well as make it easier for you to be referred by other people.
When combined, specializing and niching create a specialized niche, which is an automatic “yes” business. It involves having a detailed understanding of the services offered, who the best client is, and how to attract them. With a specialized niche, entrepreneurs can charge higher prices, have fewer competitors, and become a thought leader in their field.
It’s important to note that specializing and niching are not mutually exclusive. In fact, many entrepreneurs will specialize in a particular niche or industry. This is especially true for those in the business of providing services, such as health coaches or web developers. By specializing in a narrow area, they can become experts in the field and charge higher prices for their services. Additionally, they can more effectively target their services to their ideal customers and create a more sustainable business model.
On the other hand, niching doesn’t always require specialized services or products. In fact, many successful entrepreneurs have built their businesses by targeting a specific demographic or industry without specializing in any particular skill. For example, a health and wellness entrepreneur may provide general nutrition and wellness advice to a specific age group or lifestyle. It may be harder to become known in that way, but it isn’t a non-starter.
2. Identify what you want to be known for and the target audience you want to serve.
Next, identify what you want to be known for and the audience you want to serve. To do this, you need to think about who you are as a business and what your main focus is. Research and ask yourself questions such as:
- What type of content do I want to create?
- Who do I want to work with?
- What is the main message I want to convey?
Once you have identified your main focus, you can start to narrow down your target audience (or niche). Think about what kind of people will be uniquely interested in your services, products, or content and the type of industry you want to focus on.
Think of it like this: when you go fishing, you throw out your line and wait for something to bite. The type of fish you want to catch is called your target audience – in other words, what you are aiming for! You pick the right bait and use the right technique to lure that type of fish and catch them. The last part is a bit bro-market-y, but you get the idea.
This will help you create content and campaigns that are tailored to the needs of your audience and will help you stand out from the competition. Additionally, it will also be easier to find potential clients as you know who you should be targeting. Once you have identified your target audience and what you want to be known for, you can start to create content tailored to those audiences and create campaigns that will help you reach them.
3. Combine the two to create a specialized niche.
Combining the two (what you want to be known for and your best client) to create a specialized niche is the key to becoming an “instant yes” business. When you combine the two, you create an offer that is unique and tailored to the needs of your best client.
For example, you could specialize in holistic health and focus in on hormone balancing. This allows you to become an expert in a very specific area and become the go-to person for women struggling with the symptoms of hormone imbalances. Additionally, you can niche down further by focusing on a specific age and set of symptoms–maybe post-partum hormone recovery is your narrow niche, or perhaps you’ll choose hormone balance for middle-aged athletes.
Which of the following headlines would be more powerful if you were a committed marathon runner struggling with acne (still!) at the age of 38? “Live better with balanced hormones” or “Get more energy while training and cure your irregular cycle by balancing your hormones?”
When you create a specialized niche, you are able to stand out from the crowd and become a leader in your industry. You can create a unique offer that is tailored to the needs of that particular person. Additionally, you can:
- develop a powerful marketing strategy to reach your target market
- become the go-to person for that niche
- create content and engage with your target audience to build trust and relationships
Niching down and specializing also allows you to focus your energy, time, and resources on a specific area and hone your skills. This allows you to become an expert in that highly specialized niche and become an instant yes business. Additionally, you can hone in on your unique advantages and stand out from the competition with a solid brand in this known area.
4. Become an expert in your field.
Becoming an expert in your field is an essential part of finding success in the content marketing space. Once you specialize and niche your business, you will be able to speak as an authority and attract the right people to your business.
Additionally, it will be easier to make referrals and become more referable, a must in the services space online. Becoming “very referable” means that both people you know and those you kind of know have a solid grasp on what you do and who you do it for–the very definition of a specialized niche.
There are plenty of ways to develop your expertise in your network:
- develop relationships with people who are already successful in the space
- joining industry forums
- consider creating (more) content that showcases your expertise
- speaking at events and conferences to further demonstrate your expertise and establish yourself as an expert in your field.
5. Speak with authority and attract people to you.
The fifth step in the process of is to speak with authority and attract people to you. To be quite clear, this isn’t magic. You don’t wave a wand and immediately, masses come running. This step involves using the information from the previous steps to develop your own thought leadership and become an expert in your field.
Once you have a specialized niche, you must use it to inform other aspects of your business. This includes your website, social media presence, podcast, and events. I’ve spoken about working through feelings of Imposter Syndrome by creating more content–this is another way of saying that. By speaking with authority and focusing on your specialized niche, you can become an expert in your field and draw more people to your business.
It is also important to be consistent in your content creation. This means not only publishing regularly but also creating content that is relevant and useful to your target audience. Finally, it is important to measure your content marketing efforts. This can be done by tracking the performance of your content, such as the number of views, downloads, and shares. This will help you to understand what is working and what is not, allowing you to adjust your content strategy and make it more effective. By following these steps, you can effectively use content marketing to attract more people to your business and become an expert in your field.
6. Analyze where your best client is located and focus on those platforms.
Step 6 is to analyze where your target audience is located and focus on those platforms. For example, if the target audience is not on TikTok, then investing time and energy into building a presence on that platform may not be necessary. Instead, focus on platforms where the target audience is more likely to be, such as LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, and others. Once you know where they are located, you can create content that is tailored to those platforms, such as videos for YouTube or audio for podcasts, and focus on building a presence in those areas.
Bonus:
Creating content that speaks to your ideal client’s problem is essential for successful marketing. Knowing how to craft effective messages tailored to the needs of your target market can help you stand out from the competition and increase ROI. Utilizing video, stories, analogies, and case studies are all effective ways to communicate the value of what you offer and make a lasting impact on potential customers.
7. Take time to pause and reconsider before jumping on the newest trends.
Are you in the habit of jumping on the newest trends? We all have a tendency to get caught up in what’s popular when the algorithm pushes it, but it can be helpful to pause and reconsider before joining in. Short-form video content, trending sounds, and other fleeting fads can quickly take over our newsfeeds and pull us away from our long-term goals–especially if the reasons you chose your specialty require more nuanced thought than soundbite marketing can effectively share.
Before diving head first into the latest buzzworthy trend, ask yourself: Will this help me reach my long-term goals? There is such a thing as being too much of a niche marketing strategy!
8. Re-evaluate your message and tactics to ensure they are tailored to your specialized niche.
Step 8 is to create a content strategy that fully encompasses your message–the message that resonates with the best client now that you’ve found your niche. Any content plan should be based on strategic content that serves your audience well, allows you to show up as you are, and is built to hone in on what works. If not, it simply isn’t going to be sustainable in the long term.
Your niche audience will resonate with the content you create in a measurable way–so you’re a profitable business. They’ll relate to the stories you tell and the suggestions you make slowly as they learn to trust you while moving along the customer journey.
To conclude, specializing and niching are two similar, but different, topics to define as a small business. When combined, they create a specialized niche that helps entrepreneurs become an expert in their field, stand out from the competition, and be a lucrative “instant yes business.” With the right guidance, you can unlock the potential of your business and achieve the same results as Natalie Eckdahl.
I’d love to hear how you apply the Specialized Niche Business format to build expertise, authority & clarity. Leave me a comment on how it went for you or drop any questions you want me to answer!
More on Natalie:
Website | Instagram | LinkedIn
Resources Mentioned:
Music by Michael De La Torre. Thanks, Mikey!