Comments on: Niching Yourself Into a Corner

By: Danny Brown

Danny Brown — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 08:05:59 +0000

I think it's a bit of both. There's nothing wrong with being “expert” in a certain niche – after all, it's how many people might find you through a Google search, for instance. And having strong knowledge in one area is always worth having.

Yet I agree you don't want to get bogged down as “the marketing guy” or “the ice cream sales guy”. This can also put potential suitors off.

So why not have solid expertise in one area and good expertise in several others to balance the boat? Keeps everyone happy then, non?

By: edwardboches

edwardboches — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 06:22:31 +0000

Stuart:
All depends on how many people are interested in your niche and how much content you can generate. A great trainer could write about nothing but training and keep readers interested. Photography, cooking, and cats are all niches and likely to be both narrow yet rich. Hate to say it, but probably cat photography, narrower still, would be enough to build an audience.

By: Danny Brown

Danny Brown — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 05:05:59 +0000

Yet I agree you don't want to get bogged down as “the marketing guy” or “the ice cream sales guy”. This can also put potential suitors off.

So why not have solid expertise in one area and good expertise in several others to balance the boat? Keeps everyone happy then, non?

By: Danny Brown

Danny Brown — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 04:05:59 +0000

Yet I agree you don't want to get bogged down as “the marketing guy” or “the ice cream sales guy”. This can also put potential suitors off.

So why not have solid expertise in one area and good expertise in several others to balance the boat? Keeps everyone happy then, non?

By: edwardboches

edwardboches — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:22:31 +0000

By: Danny Brown

Danny Brown — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 01:05:59 +0000

Yet I agree you don't want to get bogged down as “the marketing guy” or “the ice cream sales guy”. This can also put potential suitors off.

So why not have solid expertise in one area and good expertise in several others to balance the boat? Keeps everyone happy then, non?

By: edwardboches

edwardboches — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:22:31 +0000

By: ryanstephens

ryanstephens — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:11:56 +0000

Here's the thing. This is a tough walk, one that you have to negotiate carefully - and the truth is most of us have a pretty good idea about what we want to write about when we start, but certainly our interests change, shift, expand, etc.

I started with 'online marketing + relationship marketing,' then became infatuated by social media, and now I've narrowed my focus back down a bit, but incorporating other aspects like how social media tools facilitate relationships marketing.

I think that's why I like your #5 - because it is okay to change, especially if you're not that well known yet, still finding yourself, etc. Chances are then you're not alienating 5,000 subscribers.

But you do have to keep your readers in mind.

Back on topic now, the balance is important because what if you blog about social media? Great, so do 100 other people - some of which (Brogan in mind) certainly do it better. Some do it better for certain people. It's important to keep pushing the envelope, developing your own unique community, and doing things different so that you can stand out in a crowded space.

And Seth Godin would say don't do anything you can't be the best at. With respect to business I agree (and maybe blogging as well.) Rich Millington is certainly blazing a trail with respect to community building, but how long can you talk about just ONE topic? He's been doing well - others I've encountered eventually start repeating themselves and becoming apart of their own echo chamber.

So I guess my point is, YES, I agree with your points of emphasis, but I also think it's important not to be so broad and just one of many in a big network because chances are there's already a go-to guy/gal there. What say you?

By: brandonchesnutt

brandonchesnutt — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:47:30 +0000

(Milla Jovovich was also in Zoolander)

I think number four is where a lot of people struggle, including me. With a little experimentation and a willingness to step out of the comfort zone in the future, content becomes stale. You can only blog about “X” so many freaking times. So, spice is up a bit.

P.S. – please provide links to steampunk Belgian waffle maker blogs. Thanks.

By: Tyler Hayes

Tyler Hayes — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:53:57 +0000

I'd definitely say you're doing pretty well when your # of comments outnumbers the RTs on your TweetMeme button Not that it will last forever, but hey pretty damn cool!