I’ve recently been applying for jobs and there’s something that simply doesn’t resonate about full-time roles.
The thought of shackling myself to someone else’s vision for 40 hours per week just doesn’t do it for me.
So for now, I’ve decided to continue with freelance work, supplemented by my own side projects.
My friend put forth a nice metaphor for this, saying it’s akin to occupational tapas.
I.e. trying bits of the this and bobs of that, rather than indulging in one oversized meal.
Read some good website advice the other day about picking a business idea.
This specifically pertains to creating niche websites:
Out of them all, I think number 2 is crucial.
Basically, choose something that people are likely to shout about in their Tinder profile:
E.g. I’m a vegan, I’m a doctor, I’m a reader, I’m an entrepreneur, I’m American.
Better still – if you’re actually part of this target group, you can speak with authority and authenticity.
Failing that, it could be the group of someone you know or simply a topic you want to learn more about.
Bonus points if it has a positive connotation or strong group identity, where people earn image points for being associated with it.
E.g. sustainability, healthy living, prestigious career
Extra bonus points if people preface their affiliation with ‘I am’
E.g ‘I’m a father’ is better than ‘I love knitting’
Why? Because ‘I am’ is an identity-based statement.
Once you’ve found the niche, you can segment further within it to pick a specific angle or group.
That’s because as a new website, you’ve no chance of beating the incumbents – like to write about personal finance? Good luck against NerdWallet.
The smaller the niche, the easier you can become the most definitive source on the word wide web and stand out.
It’s a bit like a restaurant doing one thing really well rather than cooking every type of food badly.
To drill down, focus on a specific area of the niche and/or a type of person within that subset.
E.g vegan athletes, parents of twins etc.
Start small and you can always expand into other areas later, especially by picking a broad domain name.
Then educate and entertain while solving your audience’s pain points.
Simples.