How to find and establish your creative business niche

In the online world we consume so much content every day that it can seem like a huge mountain to climb when we try to figure out how will be unique in our offerings. How we will stand out from this crowd. The key to this mystery is simple – it is finding your niche and then speaking directly to that niche within a strong brand identity framework.

But finding and then establishing ourselves in our niche can be one of the biggest hurdles to overcome when it comes to launching or relaunching a creative business. We often lose our nerve at the last minute, worried that by niching down too much we are alienating those that might be clients. Or get consumed by that artist’s voice in our head that says ‘but I want to create ALL the things!’ – which incidentally is fine, you just don’t have to sell all the things!

But nothing could be further from the truth. In actual fact, by being clear and directly speaking about one issue in one sector of the population, it is so much easier to maintain clear consistent messaging; to create relationships based on mutual understanding and passions, and to therefore sell with ease (without it feeling icky!).

So HOW do you decide your niche?

Decide what work YOU want to be doing – what sort of work or clients get you excited? Be really specific, eg for me I love photographing outside in the countryside creating imagery for similarly nature-inspired businesses. I have no desire to be in a city environment or working for large corporates. I love working with rural entrepreneurs with a strong sustainability focus. So you see how I niche into working with countryside creatives who have the same values as I do.

So how can I help them specifically eg, with imagery that understands and reflects the importance of their own values, sustainability and love of the outdoors. How do I specifically help them, eg by creating imagery that speaks to these common values, that illuminates their own love of nature, yet is still beautiful, detail led and engaging.

So try writing down: WHO, WHAT, WHERE, & WHY. Explore what is the value that you, and specifically you, can bring to these potential clients. What specific skills and abilities and common-ground or understanding of their problems can you help with? What sort of clients would you love, one-off (eg a wedding business) or repeat (eg a product photographer). Would your service or product be at a distance or 1-2-1? eg online or in person? Would it be time-limited or on-going (eg a course or product versus coaching).

Testing the Market

Next once you have found your niche you need to ensure that there is a real and likely market for it, this is where other businesses operating in your niche is NOT a bad thing – it proves there is a need for whatever you’re selling. Your USPs and brand identity will help you stand out amongst these. Eg my USPs are having been a creative director/stylist for 10 years I know how to plan and direct a shoot, not just photograph it. My brand identity is strong visually because of my niche (see how they feed into one another!) but I also bring my own innate style which is feminine and unforced.

To test the market try Googling search terms you think your ideal clients would likely find you by using – then see if businesses similar to what you propose show up in the results. How can you stand apart from them and forge your own identity in this arena?

Next if your idea is very unusual, I would test the market with a free simple product that would be a typical smaller version of your main offerings after full launch, eg through a simple landing page with a free lead magnet (or low cost offer under £5) and linked email list. Ideally assigning a small budget to this with a Facebook/Instagram ad campaign will help you test if you understand who your audience really is and what they want. Even just £5-10 a day for a month would help give you some indication of your likely success within the niche you propose.

If all this looks good, congratulations you have found your niche, established your USPs and are ready to get on with creating your full brand identity.

And if you’d like guidance with finding that unique brand identity that clearly reflects your niche and attracts the right clients do book a free discovery call to see how we could work together.