Do You Need a Niche?

YOUR LINKEDIN QUESTIONS ANSWERED! 

Do you have questions about your LinkedIn profile or how to use LinkedIn? Send your questions to our LinkedIn Expert Debbie McCormick and she’ll answer them in the magazine! Use info@LinkedInBossLady.com with subject  

 Dear Debbie. 

I heard you speak the other day on whether or not business people need a niche for their marketing. Could you talk more about that? 

~ Danny T. 

Thank you for your question, Danny … I’ll be happy to. 

I’ve always been taught, have found to be true and therefore have taught others, that to market effectively it really helps to narrow your niche, meaning to very narrowly choose who your perfect client is. 

The further you reduce the number of different people you’re talking to, the easier it is to talk to them. 

For example, my niche, or who I market to, are women entrepreneurs who inspire me and want to change the world through their businesses. 

This doesn’t mean that I don’t work with men … I do. I just don’t market to them; they usually come to me through referrals of women they know or work with. 

(It does mean that if I’m not personally inspired by the work someone is doing, no matter who they are, I don’t work with them … but that’s a whole ‘nother workshop.) 

I was challenged on the “narrow your niche” concept by a candle maker, who said she thought her product was universal; that everyone loves candles. She didn’t feel like she needed to narrow her marketing, but she also wasn’t entirely clear about how she should market if she wasn’t talking to one type of person. 

After thinking about it, I agreed with her. Candles may be one of the few products that could be marketed to both men and women, from young adult on up … though I’m willing to bet women do most of the candle buying. 

Nevertheless, you could market to both genders by talking about how your candles make the buyer feel, and get creative about it. 

For example, when you want to wake up in the morning, burn your Caffeine Candle.  

When you want to wind down your day, light up your Chamomile Candle. Or your Tequila Candle LOL. 

If you want to feel like you’re outside, burn your Cedar Candle or your BBQ Candle. 

If you have a non-generic product and you want to attract both men and women of pretty much all ages, talk about the thing that makes your product special that doesn’t have anything to do with gender. 

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I’m happy to answer your LinkedIn questions every week in the YES I CAN Living Magazine. 

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