Niche Strategy - Solving the Puzzle

Posted on October 03, 2010 by Cindy Schulson, One of Thousands of Entrepreneurship Coaches on Noomii.

Creating a niche strategy is critical to your success if you are a solo entrepreneur marketing yourself online.

Yet many solo entrepreneurs struggle with how to do it, and end up mulling it for months, or even longer. It’s a frustrating place to be. Having strategic focus gives you the clarity you need to market yourself with confidence.

Finding your niche involves putting together 3 pieces of the puzzle. It’s a synergistic process, and all three pieces have to work together. Those pieces are:

1. You
2. Your target market
3. Your competition

You are at the heart of your niche. What are your passions, experiences, interests and skills? Those should be the starting point for finding your niche. Your goal is to find a solution that you offer. Remember that what people are interested in is not so much a product or service, but rather a solution. It can be a solution to help them overcome a particular challenge or a solution to help them reach a goal.

Once you’ve found a possible solution you can offer, you have to find who is most interested in what you have to offer, and are they willing to pay for it. This is your target market. You also want to make sure your target market is one you can relate to and enjoy working with.

The third piece of the niche marketing puzzle is analyzing your competition. Find the leaders in your niche and see how they are marketing themselves. What are their products, services, solutions, branding, etc.. How can you differentiate yourself? Who might be a possible strategic alliance partner for you?

It is only when you put together these three pieces of the puzzle that you can find your niche, and create a niche strategy that attracts your ideal clients. It takes effort, but it’s well worth it. After all, your niche is the foundation for your business success.