My new book is due out in early February (Own Your Niche: Hype-Free Internet Marketing Tactics to Establish Authority in Your Field and Promote Your Service-Based Business) and it’s about more than internet marketing. It’s also about figuring out how to stand out in your field—no matter how many others also do what you do.

The process starts by defining your niche audience and a great example comes from the life coaching industry. There are a lot of wonderful life coaches out there, but the ones who do the best usually focus on a niche. Let’s say you want to hire a coach while you go on a journey to lose weight. Who are you most likely to hire: the general life coach who “works with everyone” or the life coach who specializes in weight loss?

If you’re an executive with a major corporation and you want to hire a coach, are you more likely to choose the general life coach or the one who is experienced in working with executives?

If you’re a baby boomer, are you going to hire the general life coach or the one who specifically works with baby boomers?

You can apply similar examples to consultants, freelancers, doctors, attorneys, financial advisors, health service professionals, graphic designers, professional speakers, and virtually any other service-based business. Generalists may capture some business, but those with a focused niche can usually land more clients.

You can find more examples of how to carve out a niche from the experts who have become media favorites. Rachel Ray is known for quick and easy meals. Paula Deen is known for down home cooking. Lisa Lillien (a.k.a. “Hungry Girl”) built her empire around a daily email list of healthy recipes, which turned into a website, a series of New York Times best-selling books, and ultimately a show on the Food Network.

Choosing a niche allows you to stand out against your competition while helping your target customers connect with your services. It increases your chances of getting hired! And despite popular belief, claiming a niche doesn’t prevent you from working with clients outside of your chosen market; you still have the option to do so. But a niche forces you to focus your marketing efforts and your business processes to build a more profitable company.

Want to learn more about how to Own Your Niche? Check out the book!

Own Your Niche: Hype-Free Internet Marketing Tactics to Establish Authority in Your Field and Promote Your Service-Based Business by Stephanie Chandler