I met PJ Van Hulle last summer in California and liked her right away.
And then I got word that she was creating a new telesummit on a favourite topic of mine: niche.
She’s even interviewing me for it next week (Wednesday, August 24 · 3:00pm – 4:30pm MST). You can listen to the interview with myself and the other speakers for free if you go here.
Here’s my blog interview with her below . . .
*
What is the name of your project?
Total Niche Clarity Virtual Symposium
What’s the story of how this came about? What was the need you saw in the community that it emerged from?
Over the last 10 years of working with entrepreneurs and business owners, I’ve discovered that choosing a specific niche is the cornerstone to effective marketing. However, it’s also an incredibly “gremlin-ey” subject for most entrepreneurs that I’ve worked with and they get stuck for months or even years, spinning their wheels, either trying to be all things to all people or thinking and re-thinking their niche.
You say that figuring out the niche thing can be a “gremlin-ey subject for most entrepreneurs”. What’s your take on this? Why do you think so many entrepreneurs get stuck here?
I think it’s one or a combination of the following things:
1. They’re afraid that by focusing on a particular niche, they’ll lose business / clients that aren’t in that niche.
2. They feel they do “SO MUCH MORE” than just their niche statement so it feels too limiting
3. They’re afraid they’ll choose “wrong,” have to switch later, re-do all their marketing materials, and look bad.
4. They offer several VERY DIFFERENT services (possibly totally different businesses) and don’t know how to fit them together.
What do you think is being done wrong to help people figure it all out? After all, most marketing courses I’ve seen talk about this – and some even promise clarity – but most people leave feeling unclear still – but maybe even GUILTY because they think they SHOULD have it. What’s going on here?
That’s the main reason why I wanted to put together the Total Niche Clarity Virtual Symposium.
I think where these marketing courses fail is the same place that most courses in general drop the ball… there’s no ongoing support.
Discovering you niche is a process… or maybe 2 processes that fit together. It’s a process of SELF discovery and also a process of interviewing and understanding your potential clients.
That process can take a while so it’s hard to “get” in a short bootcamp seminar.
Also, sometimes people just need to hear the niche conversation from a certain teacher in a certain way for it to “click.”
My intention with the TNC event is that we’ll be exploring it ongoing for long enough, learning from enough different teachers, and approaching it in enough different ways that by the end, it will become clear for people.
Some people say that you should have ONE target market, others suggest a top three approach . . . what’s your take on this?
Personally, I think your marketing will be more effective and powerful when you choose ONE target marketing and go deep with that target market.
That said, if your potential clients identify with several different words or if you just can’t force yourself to pick one, you could do a top 3 as long as they’re somewhat related.
For example, I work with coaches, consultants, and speakers. Most of my clients are all 3 of these things.
It would be weird to say, “I work with heart surgeons, new moms, and african grey parrot owners.”
I imagine since you’re hosting a summit on this you’ve been learning a lot about target marketing – what have been your top three ‘aha’ moments in the process?
We just finished up the first week of interviews, and here are my top 3 “aha” moments:
* If there are 50,000 ore more potential clients in your niche, it’s not too small
* Use the Tribal Niche Checklist (that Bill Baren shared in his interview) – 7 Questions to determine if you’ve discovered the right niche for you.
* Tip for connecting with Power Players in your niche: comment on their Facebook and blog posts in a way that compliments what they’ve said & adds value to it (without undermining their authority)
How does your project work?
26 speakers are sharing their insights, experience, advice and tools through the Total Niche Clarity Virtual Symposium, a series of conference calls that we are providing to the community for free. My thinking is that as the participants learn multiple approaches from multiple speakers, eventually their niche will “click,” and they can stop struggling.
Who do you find it’s working best for?
This works best for people that are willing to sit in the “hot seat” with a coach that understands niche marketing.
What are the top three most effective ways you’ve found to market this?
1. TNC speakers sending solo e-mails to their lists
2. Affiliates sending solo e-mails to their lists
3. Facebook Event pages
What are the three biggest lessons you’ve learned along the way?
1. It’s important to follow up with the speakers and affiliates to remind them when to promote.
2. It’s important to make it as EASY as possible for speakers and affiliates to promote (for example, sending swipe copy in the body of an e-mail with their affiliate link already embedded so they don’t have to search around for it).
3. Video is only cool if the darn thing loads quickly. Otherwise, it’s a distraction.
What’s the next level for your project? What are you most excited about that’s coming up?
This series of interviews will become an info product that I (and the other speakers if they want) can sell independently or stack with other programs. I don’t have time to coach every single person that comes to my workshops around their niche. This way, I can give them this product so that they don’t have to stay stuck on this topic. Also, I don’t have to repeat myself so much.
If people want to find out more about your project, support it or get involved – what should they do?
They can become an affiliate and receive lifetime commissions at: http://www.realprosperityinc.com/affiliates/
They can recommend my Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/realprosperityPJ
Anything else you’d like to add?
You’re my hero, Tad! I love what you’re doing with your blog! : D
———————————————————————————————————————————————————
Want Help? If you’d like some more direct guidance and hand holding on figuring out your niche then go and check out my Niching for Hippies coaching program https://marketingforhippies.com/niching-for-hippies/