A new way to think about niching
Ep. 83: Choosing + changing your niche (with Tom Garfield)
“Niche or die!”
“Niche and die of boredom!”
If there’s one question that’s sure to rile people up in the freelance community, it’s the debate around whether or not to niche.
What do you think? Do you have a niche or specialism as a freelancer? Or does the idea of narrowing your services to a particular type of client or project make you feel like a labradoodle with only one toy?
While I’m a huge advocate for specialising (I explain my approach to niching as a healthcare copywriter in this episode), the truth is you can run a perfectly successful business without limiting your options.
Equally, it’s entirely possible to build your business around a single niche without ever feeling bored, pigeonholed or trapped.
Still, deciding whether niching is right for you can be a tricky exercise.
That’s why I invited website consultant Tom Garfield to join me on 15 Minute Freelancer to share his experience of choosing – and changing – his niche.
Tom transitioned from providing broad digital marketing services to healthcare practitioners (a “vertical” niche) to specialising in website conversion for a broader range of industries (a “horizontal” approach).
Choosing to serve a particular industry or type of client can be a powerful way to use your expertise to differentiate yourself in a sea of generalists, attract your ideal clients, and potentially charge more.
But industry and service aren’t the only ways to narrow down your offering.
In fact, perhaps it’s better not to think of it as “narrowing” at all – it’s about how you position yourself to attract your best-fit clients.
Tom talks about affinity positioning, where you might seek out clients who share your beliefs around a particular topic (e.g. a commitment to environmental sustainability). Others might attract clients through their personality or style (e.g. a copywriter’s tone of voice, or a visual designer’s quirky illustration style).
Crucially, the decision isn’t irreversible.
If you pick a niche, you’re not stuck there forever. In fact, being adaptable is one of the biggest advantages as a freelancer, as Tom explains on the pod.
If you’re pondering the neeeshing question for yourself, I hope you’ll find this episode useful. Our convo covers:
Different ways to specialise and make yourself stand out
Tom’s fears about transitioning from one specialism to another and what actually happened
Pros and cons of niching (and how to know if it’s right for you)
How to figure out your "natural niche"
Why "affinity positioning" might be an effective new approach to niching
Check out the episode and let me know what you think.
Listen here »
🌟 Bonus clip: Towards the end of our conversation, we talked about how having a niche can be an effective way to raise your rates. I put Tom in the Question Time hot seat and asked if he thought this held true in an economic downturn – here’s what he said:
➡️ 15 Minute Action: How you position yourself in the market can be one of the biggest factors determining your success as a freelancer. It’s also one of the biggest challenges. Being able to describe your services, process and value in a way that resonates with the clients you most want to work with is essential.
To figure this out, I encourage you to think about the projects you’ve most enjoyed working on (or would love to work on in future). Consider:
the topics/industry you enjoyed working with
the type of client (size, location, whether they were owner-operated or involved a large team, values and beliefs)
the types of service you provided (formats, style, etc.)
the duration of the projects (one-off or on retainer?)
whether you led the project and set the strategy, or whether the client issued a brief and you took it from there.
If you don’t ask, you don’t get! Once you know what kind of projects you’re looking for, make it obvious in your marketing and outreach. Tell a compelling story about what you do and why. Share case studies and testimonials only from the types of projects you want more of.
For more tips on positioning, you might also enjoy:
this episode with Samantha Anderl and Andrea Wildt of Harlow, on positioning and pricing
this episode with Heather Pownall, on pivoting your business and adopting a “strategic” niche
this episode with Diane Wiredu on refining your messaging and storytelling to attract better clients.
Drop a note in the comments or hit reply to let me know how you feel about the big ole niching question.
Stay tuned for next week’s episode, where a special guest will join me to discuss how to work less and charge more. (Um, yes please)
Until next time, happy freelancing!
Louise xx