Area of expertise picked? Check! Services planned? Check! Website? Check! Social media? Check! You feel ready to roll; Time to start getting clients! Who are you going to offer your services to, anyone who happens to find your website? Wrong! Let’s rewind a couple steps to talk about your niche.

Having a niche is important for multiple reasons. It will aid you in narrowing down your perfect clients and it gives you a distinct brand voice. Without one, you may just find yourself announcing your services into a directionless void, hoping someone notices your among the crowd of others doing the exact. same. thing. It is as frustrating as it sounds.

PICKING YOUR NICHE

Picking your niche is not the same as picking what kind of business you will run. For example, you are in the graphic design industry but your niche is who you want to offer your services to. Start by evaluating your interests outside of work. In the words of entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, “Passion is priceless.” What do you enjoy enough and are knowledgeable enough in to effectively engage with the community? When not designing, do you spend all your free time exploring hidden trails in your city? Are you the go-to fitness expert in your friend group? You want to narrow down your audience, but if you set it too narrow you risk finding yourself as clientless as you were when you were without a niche at all. Think of you how you could build your niche out to attract a wider audience as well. If you settled for fitness, you could expand that to include nutrition and wellness brands.

ESTABLISH CREDIBILITY

Your niche will influence your brand image and how you set your brand image will affect how credible you appear to those within it. The imagery that is attached to you through your newsletters, your website, or your social media needs to be tailored to fit the ideal client you’re hoping to draw in. If you want to work with gyms, fitness influencers, personal trainers, or workout wear brands, your website should feature some workout adjacent images. Same with social media. If it looks like you’ve never lifted a weight or done a squat in your life, your brand will come across as false and you will end up turning away clients. If this is  your niche, consider posting some work out videos or pictures to your Instagram and linking your feed to your website so visitors can see that you have firsthand experience. Consider even having a blog attached to your website as well (and make sure to contribute to it).

What is your niche?

INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO YOUR NICHE

Now that you’ve picked a niche that isn’t too niche, and you’ve made sure your interest and experience with said niche shows, it’s time to get yourself out there! The last thing you want to do is sit back and wait for people to notice you, that leaves you in the same spot as being stuck in the proverbial void from a couple paragraphs ago. Engage with people in the community. Comment on their posts (but as a follower engaging with their content. Do not advertise yourself in the comments of someone else’s post, that is a surefire way to get blocked), share their videos, and in general be an active member of your niche. All the while, check out people’s online presence, and find an area in which they may need your services. Once you’ve done that, put together a carefully worded email introduction which includes links to your website and direct examples of your work they can relate to and reach out! This is something that you will find yourself doing consistently throughout the early growth phase of your business. 

IT TAKES TIME AND HEART

Remember, establishing yourself in a community takes time and effort. You may find yourself sending out quite a few introduction emails, but don’t get discouraged! The work will pay off in you being recognized as a credible, trustworthy go-to in your niche. Continue to enjoy being a part of it, and that sincerity will shine through to your potential clients.