One thing I talk about is the huge value of niching down to a focused specialization.
Yet I know most people won’t do it, because it’s terrifying to niche down. I’ve been there. Our brains create all sorts of logical reasons why it’s not a good idea.
Fight or flight: our brains are biologically biased to run away from negatives, rather than toward positives.
So rather than give you reasons why you should niche down, in this email I want to tell you what you’re missing out on if you don’t niche down.
➡️ If you don’t niche down and specialize, you miss out on the opportunity to become a recognized authority in your field.
Because, obviously, you have no field. If you have no single field, building your authority is nigh on impossible. Even if you love writing blog posts, they’ll be all over the map on different topics for different audiences. You will get no traction, no momentum.
➡️ If you have no authority, you won’t get invited to speak at events.
Why would event organisers bring in someone who is not an authority? (Would you like to attend a talk from someone like that?)
➡️ If you don’t niche down, you miss out on opportunities for pattern-matching.
You are moving from similar project to similar project, similar client to client when you’re specialized. As a generalist, you’re always working at a surface level, never developing deep expertise.
➡️ If you don’t niche down, you will miss out on building an audience.
That’s because you are moving from problem area to problem area, from sector to sector. Your latest posts are not relevant to your earlier followers. You don’t get shares and follows.
➡️ If you don’t niche down, you even find it difficult to create content.
Your blog posts, your writing sounds bland & generic, as you try to generalize it for a broader audience. It has the flavour of wallpaper paste, but none of the stickiness. (I’m speaking from experience)
➡️ If you don’t niche down, you will miss out on relationships with experts who provide services that are complementary to yours.
Because when you’re a generalist, everyone is a competitor – because you do everything. When you’re a specialist, you can partner with folks in complementary fields.
I get it, specializing is scary, and yes, you are turning away opportunity.
But look at how much opportunity you are turning away if you don’t specialize!
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the specialization decision. And if you need help with specializing, check out The Specialization Podcast.
