One part of creating a successful business (which you need to do as an artist) is identifying your target market and within that, your ideal customer. This is the archetype you should direct your brand, your messaging, and your social posts towards. Don’t get caught up in the tactics, work in reverse.
“Eighty percent of marketers begin with tactics instead of goals.” – eMarketer
This happens because we’re so overwhelmed with all the social media platforms that we are supposed to be keeping up with, and all the tactics they each require. When I took my first photography class I could not understand “aperture.” I kept torturing my photography teacher asking her to explain it all in minute detail. Finally, she said, “Aperture is aperture!” and I thought well that answered it (not)! I was too caught up in the tactics of photography instead of my goal, which was to take great photos. The lights started to go on for me when I started to simply take pictures and then reverse engineer the nuances from there. When I was taking photos of things I loved, I attracted more friends to my photos. Your fans most probably like the same things that you like or they would not have been attracted to you in the first place.
Find Your Target Market — Your Niche
There are two hundred million blogs. Your niche could be anything you want. Seriously, choose anything and you will find dozens of blogs about that thing. I know this because at Cyber PR® we focus on niche marketing. The more “niche” you can get, and the more you become known in that niche, the more success you’ll have (as long as you know this niche is one that can pay you – do your homework first). As creative people (artists or entrepreneurs) we want everyone to like us, but the truth is you don’t need everyone to pay you; you only need a small focused target market.
Go Deep – What Makes You, You?
Today I urge you to dig a little deeper and focus. For example A niche is not, “travel.” Instead, it’s “European backpacking”, or “shamanistic journey.” Get granular within your niche. We’ve run entire content marketing campaigns around this concept and I wanted to share it with you because I think it will get your mind going about what your niche (or niches) could be.
Choose Your Primary Target Market and Then Get Granular
You want to have a primary match, obviously, but there can also be secondary or even more niches and focus areas to add. You don’t have to choose just one and only create content around it (this will begin to feel tedious); be flexible here. You can be the photographer who is also gluten-free, an author who also happens to be passionate about dogs, or a musician who is also into the power of positive thinking. You can pull these assets together and build an online strategy that incorporates both of these things and more!
My niche for years was exclusively coaching and publicizing independent artists, I also happen to love cooking, and my cat that I rescued from an animal shelter. I post content on my socials that have to do with these topics and they are great for starting conversations with like-minded potential clients and future friends alike. Causes, charities, and lifestyle are all wonderful things that you can choose for your niches.
You can add any of these niches on top of your primary platform, and that’s the beauty of this strategy. You definitely want to get thinking about what resonates with you — what are you passionate about?
There, you’ll find your niche.
Once you have your niche and target market you will want to build a PLAN! For more tips and tricks, order Ariel’s latest book Ultimate Guide to Music Publicity!
