Niching Down
Recently I had a conversation with a thriving health coach who pinpointed the importance of knowing your lane. When he decided to leave the corporate world and start a wellness coach career, the playing field was already ultra-competitive. What Brian did was lean into his unique demographics: men in their 40s. Why? Cuz Brian was 40 himself and understood the difficulties of staying in shape at this age. He then researched the market, weighed the options and tapped into a territory he knew intuitively.
I feel that the same approach is valid for YouTube as it is for podcasting.
My guest Alex Andorra took this idea to heart very closely. He capitalized on the fact that no one was creating content about Bayesian Statistics and is now rated among the 1.5% most popular shows in the world, according to Spotify. Alex said that it took him 7 years to get here without skipping a beat in 1/2 weekly publishing, but having this specific positioning and a clear name (i.e., “Learning Bayesian Statistics”) distinguished his show and targeted a uniquely suited group who became his supporters instantly.
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And of course, this plays to the tune of my friend Chad Sowash, who found an acute angle to disrupt the HR market with “The Most Dangerous HR Podcast,” discussing news, talking sh**t and dropping F-bombs but only after HR ladies confirmed that that’s what they were all dying to hear. (go figure, right?) 8 years later, he and his co-host are the leading voices in the industry, and conferences line up to invite them as notable speakers. (by the way, if you’re in HR tech, check out this event promo trailer we put together)
In totality, today’s evidence suggests that being a generalist, although desirable, is extremely difficult to achieve. And though I want to be one — understanding how old my audience is, what they do and want, and how my content can be beneficial to them — is a worthy exercise.
