Let’s face it…
The internet is becoming more and more crowded. More and more people and businesses are competing for the ten top spots in Google, and competing for attention on social networks. It seems there just isn’t enough space for everyone to exist.
Not to mention the fact that social spaces are becoming more and more littered with fake accounts and the use of automation software. And when you consider the numbers…
With more than 2 Billion people on Facebook, more than 1 Billion on Instagram, 1.8 Billion on Youtube, and even Linkedin having gone past 500 million – which means that everything that could have been done and offered, is probably already being offered.
The internet is saturated. Social media is saturated.
That raises the question:
How do you become visible in a sea of competition? After all, getting lost in the mass isn’t just easy – it’s a given unless you find a way to be different.
As Seth Godin said: “You either have to be remarkable, or you will be invisible”.
The solution is actually quite simple:
Narrow down your focus. Narrow it down a lot. Fair enough, don’t narrow it down so much that nobody wants what you are offering – but do narrow it down so much that you can go after a specific type of client or customer.
Yes, your niche does need to have enough people, and it does have to contain enough people who are willing to spend money. There has to be a decent selection of affiliate products to sell – because even if you do create your own product, you will still need to fill up the back end of your autoresponder sequence.
Instead of occupying space in a niche like many others, and having a general blog around one subject, do this instead:
Focus on solving one specific problem.
For instance: If you are into dogs, don’t start a blog, Instagram account, Pinterest account, Facebook account, and a Twitter account about dogs.
Start a blog on say, one specific dog breed. Focus – for instance – on taking care of dogs from that one specific breed. For your opt-in freebie, find ONE single problem that plagues that specific dog breed, and create an ebook or a video around it.
It could be a specific disease, a behavioral pattern, how they relate to children, or even about how to keep them entertained.
Instead of offering a range of different products on your blog, focus on building your list.
Once people join your mailing list, you will have gained some measure of trust, and that will allow you to offer other products (which can also be useful to them) on the back end of your autoresponder sequence.
The aim is to establish trust and credibility.
As your blog grows, and your audience grows, you will be able to widen your focus. As more and more people start sharing your stuff, your credibility will improve, and people will accept that you have a wider knowledge.
At the start, however, it is easier to convince people that you can solve ONE problem than it is to convince them that you can solve ALL of their problems.
After all, if you want to solve all of their problems, you need credentials. But if you want to solve just one problem, many people will simply accept that you have had some personal experience with the issue, and worked through it yourself.
It’s easier to trust an “I can help with that” person than to trust an “I can help with anything” person.
The fact is…
If you focus on solving one specific problem for the people in a wider niche, a few things happen:
1. You aren’t seen as a “Jack of all trades”. Instead of being seen as someone who “just occupies some space in that niche”, and offer a number of different solutions to different needs, the opposite happens:
You are seen as a “go-to person” for solving one specific problem. Those people who allow you to solve it for them will trust you enough to listen when you make your next recommendation.
2. It becomes easier to position yourself. If you want to position yourself as the go-to person for all things relating to dogs, it will take some doing. But if you position yourself as the go-to person for say, how to stop your Fox Terrier from digging holes, it becomes a bit easier – and easier to believe that you can actually do the job.
3. The competition suddenly becomes a lot less. There are lots and lots of people trying to do “everything” in a niche or even a sub-niche. But if you are careful in your selection of a micro-niche or sub-sub niche, you can eliminate most of the competition, and still have enough people to work with – and generate revenue from it.
4. With less competition, it becomes easier to come up with a unique selling proposition (USP), or a unique value proposition – to make your offer stand out from the rest.
