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“I want to speak to everyone!” This was the goal of my super enthusiastic young coaching client. He was sure that he had a message that was useful for everyone to hear, and if he could just get enough publicity, he’d be busy on stages across the globe.
Yeah, not so much.
Even people who have access to major bully pulpits, like Presidents, Prime Ministers and the Pope – all have to tailor their message to their intended audience if they want to be most effective. This is even more true the smaller you are, the more narrow and focused your message and marketing needs to be.
Think of it like one of those flashlights the police use with the light spreader on the front. They can shine their light on a wide area, but it’s faint. When they want to really see what is in the alley, they focus that light for maximum brightness.
Our messaging must the same. Sure if you’re Coca-Cola you can spread your message across many different platforms – but unless you have an ad budget as big as theirs, don’t count on spreading your message out. Much better to find a niche, or even a sub-niche, to really drill down into for your marketing materials.
To be truly known in a market takes great effort, and a lot of repetition upon the audience. That’s why I suggest that if you want to be truly effective in your industry, service or product sales, you need to find the trade groups that are in a niche you like and make a name for your service or product with them. Let them get to know you, and then they can become your brand ambassadors to widen your marketing efforts.
A generic personal trainer is way too vague and there are too many others who describe themselves that way.
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I know it’s exciting to think that with the internet we have the whole world as our audience – but trust me – you’ll be much more effective by going narrow and deep. The more narrow you can become the better – because it’s easier to target your customer on Facebook, LinkedIn, Snapchat, and YouTube.
If you’re a personal trainer – find a niche. A generic personal trainer is way too vague and there are too many others who describe themselves that way. But a Personal Trainer who specializes in cardiac care (either rehab or preventive care) is going to have a much easier time finding clients.
“I’m a writer.” – okay but a non-fiction, memoir writer is going to have an easier time finding a client, and sending out emails to people who are interested in that speciality, than a freelance “writer.” To say that you specialize in something makes it more memorable for the people you come across each day. Instead of being a web development guy – be the one who specializes in dental offices / restaurants or mental health offices.
If you want help figuring out how to get focused – drop me an email at [email protected] and let’s chat about your goals, dreams and opportunities.
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