Have you ever heard the saying, “The riches are in the niches”?
If you’re trying to build a network marketing business on social media, you might have come across people who advised you to “niche down.”
To be perfectly honest with you, you might have even heard it from me because this is one of the first things that I taught people when they entered my programs.
Reasons Why Niching Down Might Be Keeping You Stuck
The idea of niching down is one of the most significant sticking points for network marketers trying to go online, and there are two reasons for this.
The first….
Too scared to get too narrow
People are scared to get too narrow because they don’t want to leave people out. They don’t want to limit themselves. They don’t want to say, “Well, if I get too narrow, I might be leaving out this person who might be interested in my product.”
And that is not the right way to look at it. So let’s just get that out of the way.
You absolutely need to get super, super narrow on social media to stand out.
A confused mind doesn’t buy.
Clarity is what converts, so you definitely want to get super narrow.
The imposter syndrome
I know on social media and even in your business you probably get major imposter syndrome.
Yes, I’m talking to you!
Have you gotten major imposter syndrome when the topic of niching down comes in?
How can you claim a niche?
How can you become a go-to for something that maybe you’re still personally figuring it out?
Maybe you don’t feel like an expert yet, so how can you show up as an expert?
Because choosing a niche means you want to be the go-to person, you want to be the teacher or the expert in that area.
For example, in your “I help” statement, you might say you want to teach people or help them with something you are particularly good at. That statement identifies your niche for your new followers. So when somebody comes and lands on your Instagram page, the first thing they see is your “I help” statement and how you help people specifically.
Now, if you don’t personally feel like you can help somebody as yet because you still have to help yourself, you’re wondering how can you possibly show up authentically without feeling like an imposter?
So this is where niching down can keep people stuck, and it’s understandable. But the good thing is, there is a solution for it.
How Not to Get Stuck When Niching Down
So if you’re stuck on niching down because you don’t want to get too narrow, GET OVER IT. You’ve got to get narrow to stand out. Period.
But if you are stuck on niching down because you’ve got imposter syndrome, I’ve got some REALLY GOOD NEWS.
You don’t have to show up as an expert to niche down. It’s unrealistic for most people, especially in network marketing, where many people are coming into the industry without feeling like they have an area of expertise. They join the industry without having any business experience sometimes.
When experts say, “Pick a niche, become an expert, become the go-to,” you might feel like an imposter.
Now, if you are an expert, that’s great. Stick with what you’re doing.
Niche down, get narrow so that you can stand out. But if you don’t feel like an expert and you’re still trying to figure it all out, rather than picking an “I help” statement or a niche, what I want you to do is pick a journey.
Creating Your Journey Statement
When I say journey, what I mean is why did you join your company? In what way are you looking to transform your life?
If you go to any network marketing event out there, the people on stage all have one thing in common: they all have some story of transformation.
Your journey is what builds influence. Transforming your life in one way or another and sharing the journey as you go attracts people.
Social media is such an amazing platform. It allows you to start a new journey, transform your life, and share it as you go.
So when creating your journey statement, ask yourself the following questions:
In what way are you looking to transform your life right now?
Are you seeking to build wealth?
Are you in search of happiness and a sense of fulfilment?
Do you have weight loss or fitness goals to achieve?
To address the imposter syndrome, you need to identify the personal journey of transformation you are starting. Maybe you’ve been in your network marketing company for 10 years, and you’ve had this amazing transformation story to share.
In this case, you are probably an expert. You have transformed your life in some way. You can claim that expert title. If you haven’t transformed your life in some way, even if you’ve been doing this for a while, or if you just started yesterday, commit to transformation.
So, for example, when you say, “I help new moms lose the postpartum baby weight.” You’re asserting that you’re an expert in helping new moms lose postpartum baby weight.
But if, in truth, you’re thinking, “Well, I just had a baby six months ago, and I’ve been living on Doritos and Diet Coke. I haven’t lost a pound. How am I going to show up as an expert around this?”, don’t say you’ll help new moms deal with postpartum weight gain. People will see through the inauthenticity in 30 seconds.
The last thing you want is Sally from high school saying, “Hey, now you’re teaching weight loss. Last time I saw you, you were shoving Twinkies down your throat.” That feels super, super inauthentic, not to mention embarrassing.
Therefore, I want you to be real.
Let people know the journey you’re on.
Let them know that you’ve been living on Diet Coke, Twinkies and Doritos, and you have decided that you’re going on a new journey to change your life.
Let them know you’re going on a new journey to get rid of the postpartum baby weight and be healthy from the inside out. Announce that you’re going to be sharing that along the way and that’s you’re inviting people to come along with you on that journey.
So in your profile, I want you to put a journey statement instead of the “I help” statement. It will probably look something like this if we’re using the same example.
“On a journey to losing the stubborn baby weight one step at a time. Follow along.”
So instead of sharing expert content like you’ve got it all together when the truth is that you’re still figuring it out, I want you to share what you’re learning, the ups, downs, wins, and the losses. Share what you’re learning.
You only need to be two steps ahead of the person you’re trying to help. I don’t know about you, but I would choose the person who is on a journey and has lost 10 pounds and is sharing it authentically over the person born with six-pack abs as my coach any day of the week.
So share what you’re learning. My friends, take the pressure off. To show up on social media and build influence, you do not have to be an expert.
You have to be willing to be authentic.
You have to be willing to be vulnerable.
You have to be willing to commit to and share a transformation.
Why would anyone trust you if you haven’t shown them yet why they should?
This goes for money, too. You just started a network marketing business, and you want to be a business coach. You want to help people earn income online. Well, rather than saying, “I help people make six figures in one year,” when you haven’t made a dime on the internet, why not share that you’re on a journey to get out of debt?
Share the tips you’re learning along the way.
Share the fact that you just had your first $500 paycheck in network marketing was able to pay down a bill.
That is relatable and real.
Remember, influence on social media is built through sharing a journey and a transformation first. It is not by showing up as the person who has it all together, and all figured out when the truth is that your people know you don’t.
Once you share the transformation journey, people start to see you and know you as an expert in that area. And that’s where your posts and your content will start to change over time because you’ll see that shift happen where people no longer view you as the person who’s on the journey.
Instead, they’ll see you as the person who’s changed your own life, and they’ll want to know how you did it. And that’s where the transformation happens from the person who’s on their journey, the best friend content, to the person who’s the expert.
Take this blog post with via audio. Listen to it again and again.
I know you’re probably reading this and saying I’m still feeling afraid to niche down. You’re not going anywhere in your business because you are NOT niching down. So let’s help you get started.
Identifying Your Genius Zone
I am doing a brand new training called the Six Secrets To Social Selling In 60 Minutes. And in that training, I’m going to teach a simple formula to identify your zone of genius so that you can stand out on social media and get seen and heard by the right people.
That is going to be part of this one hour workshop that I’m putting together. Space is limited. So click the link for the Six Secrets To Social Selling In 60 Minutes, so you can go ahead and grab your spot.
