“It’s entirely possible that you will choose a niche that’s too small. It’s much more likely you’ll shoot for
something too big and become overwhelmed. When in doubt, overwhelm a small niche.” These are Seth Godin’s words, but the sentiment is repeated over and over to small business owners as sage advice for getting noticed and becoming successful. And it is great advice, especially for those of us who run our
businesses primarily online.
It takes about five minutes to set up a craft blog, and five more to open an Etsy shop. It’s easy and cheap to get started in this world. It’s sticking with it that’s hard.
Your blog will come up first when people search for this topic. Some of those people will become diehard fans and commenters. They’ll tell their online friends and your readership will grow. One or two may wholeheartedly and vocally disagree with your perspective, causing heated debates and bringing in more readers. And a few more will be editors at big media houses looking for you to contribute your ideas to their next project, or potential clients looking to pay for your expert help.
Photo by cc-content on Flickr.
Go tiny. Become an expert. Get noticed.
But here’s the thing. People aren’t actually niche. People are complex. They have more than one deep interest. Nobody’s life follows a strict and narrow road.
My blog and business are both centered around a narrow niche: designing and sewing stuffed animals. I’m dedicated to becoming a go-to source of information and expertise about every aspect of this topic. I have a deep desire to know everything there is to know about sewing and selling handmade softies, and to share that information with people who care about it. But it’s important to know that those of us with niche blogs and niche businesses do, at times, struggle against that narrow box. We find ourselves wondering,
“Can’t I just write about something else today?”
“I don’t feel like sewing. I want to carve some stamps this afternoon, but I can’t because then what will I blog about tomorrow?”
Or maybe life takes us down a road we didn’t expect and now we have to take care of an ailing parent or move halfway around the world. Suddenly our niche feels like a trap. My readers want sewing tutorials. What will happen when I can’t or don’t want to produce them right now?
Part of what’s wonderful about a craft blog and a small DIY business is that it’s not a corporation. Most often it’s a one-woman show. And that woman can change, and break out from her box from time to time. We will hang in there with her. We will hang in there with you. And if we won’t, let us go. In order to continue your niche blog and keep up with your tiny online business you are going to have to be the real person you are.
Hi Abby, great post. Being in the first year of my journey with building an online business I’m still finding my way with the direction I’m going, although I think it is starting to all come into focus. A few months ago I became aware I had lost my way a bit & was all over the place with what I was writing about & making. Thankfully I read a post on ‘Create & Thrive’ about building a cohesive shop which really help me start to refocus things.
I like your analogy of being in a school of fish, I have always imagined Tokyo city with all the big building & neon lights everywhere. There are days where I feel like I am somewhere down a side alley with all my things on a small portable table waving a cardboard sign about trying to get peoples attention – lol 🙂
Thanks for this! I know I have wondered the things you write about, and I’ve only been around for a year now! Good reminder. ~Sherri
A great analogy, Mignon. I think the internet is very much that way. It can be very difficult to stand out in the crowd. When I first began blogging in 2005 there were only a few craft bloggers. It’s amazing how different the landscape is now. Those external changes make us reevaluate what we’re doing, I like to think mostly for the better, but certainly there was something nice about that intimate community that was easily penetrated.
thanks 🙂 Your posts always make my week better
Love this post. I totally get the need for narrowing in, being specific and finding your niche. I also get that we are humans and creative humans at that. As a reader I love that feeling of knowing the author. When random posts are thrown in about taking a break from sewing and carving a stamp, it reminds me that the person writing these great posts about sewing is a real person like me! For example, Stacey over at Fresh Stitches had a post about making yogurt the other day. How cool is that? Definitely not a part of her niche but I loved reading it and I felt like I got to “know” her a little more.
Go ahead Abby, write a post about carving those stamps. 😉 Like you said, I’ll totally hang in there with you!! 🙂
While I’d love more readers on my blog, I just can’t convince myself to narrow it down. There are some popular blogs that manage to cover a wide range of crafts, cooking, etc. but it’s probably harder to get noticed that way.
I loved Staceys yogurt post! When she visited me she brought her own yogurt to eat for breakfast every day. Staceys awesome. And Im totally carving some stamps now.
I think if you cant convince yourself to narrow it down thats a pretty good sign that you shouldnt! Blogging, after all, has to provide us with personal satisfaction. Thats the very basic thing that will keep us going and we shouldnt sacrifice it for popularity!
I loved reading this. I feel like I’m still finding my niche. I love doing all things: knit crochet sew. I felt like I needed to do a bunch but to be effective but after reading this I feel like I want to be unique. I think I have an idea if what I want Thanks
Thanks so much for this post. I started my blog in 2006 and treated it mostly as an online textile diary with lots of other stuff thrown into the mix. I think I started to get blogging fatigue when I felt I should narrow it down and it foundered for a few years but I’m getting going again now and not worry about keeping to one subject.
Thanks for blogging – I found it via a link to your post about fabric designers this morning and have been having a blog reading binge all day!
Awesome! I think the big thing to remember is just to keep going. On the internet, memory is short. If you started blogging about one thing and then your interests shift, don’t delete your blog. Just keep going. So often people start and then delete or abaondon blog after blog. No need! It’s okay to change.