Stay broad or niche down?

[JAMES-L67]

Hi everyone,

So I'm looking at starting another side hustle that ties in with my slowlane career. I am an Exercise Physiologist 4 days a week, which I love doing, but I always feel the fastlane pull and don't like being out of control of my income (I am sub-contracted, so I run my own business through 2 medical clinics, but rely on them for all admin and pay a % fees as rent). I wish to one day have my own clinic or start a chain of clinics, but for now I want to blog and possibly help people on-line as well as in person. I have a decent knowledge pool to draw from and feel that I can use this knowledge to provide value.

For those who don't know, an Exercise Physiologist (EP) uses exercise and lifestyle interventions to help prevent, manage and treat chronic disease and musculoskeletal pathologies. Typical clientele for me include:
-Diabetes
-Obesity
-Heart failure
-Osteoarthritis
-Low back pain
-Shoulder injuries
-etc.

What I have done is start a very rudimentary blog with articles such as "3 exercise for low back pain", "The best health apps" blah blah. At the moment the blog is very much tailored to my scope of practice as a whole, rather than one group or sub-group (such as diabetes, heart failure etc.). I plan to develop some programs to sell or e-books, something with genuine value.

So my question is, would you guys recommend staying broad and appealing to my entire scope of practice, or niche down and focus on a group or sub-group?

There are obvious pros and cons to each (audience number, targeted marketing etc.), but I feel like at the moment I lack direction, which is killing my drive.

Excited to hear your input! Thanks for reading.

-James

 

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[FeaRxUnLeAsHeD]

Always niche down as much as possible (in my experience). It'll make marketing easier, and it'll make it easier for you to have a unique selling proposition if you only work with a very specific niche

 

[JAMES-L67]

Always niche down as much as possible (in my experience). It'll make marketing easier, and it'll make it easier for you to have a unique selling proposition if you only work with a very specific niche

That's my general thoughts also, but I just have so many ideas for different groups! There's always the possibility of starting multiple sites and having my personal blog as a general site to link to/from.

-James

 

[Lex DeVille]

Hi everyone,

So I'm looking at starting another side hustle that ties in with my slowlane career. I am an Exercise Physiologist 4 days a week, which I love doing, but I always feel the fastlane pull and don't like being out of control of my income (I am sub-contracted, so I run my own business through 2 medical clinics, but rely on them for all admin and pay a % fees as rent). I wish to one day have my own clinic or start a chain of clinics, but for now I want to blog and possibly help people on-line as well as in person. I have a decent knowledge pool to draw from and feel that I can use this knowledge to provide value.

For those who don't know, an Exercise Physiologist (EP) uses exercise and lifestyle interventions to help prevent, manage and treat chronic disease and musculoskeletal pathologies. Typical clientele for me include:
-Diabetes
-Obesity
-Heart failure
-Osteoarthritis
-Low back pain
-Shoulder injuries
-etc.

What I have done is start a very rudimentary blog with articles such as "3 exercise for low back pain", "The best health apps" blah blah. At the moment the blog is very much tailored to my scope of practice as a whole, rather than one group or sub-group (such as diabetes, heart failure etc.). I plan to develop some programs to sell or e-books, something with genuine value.

So my question is, would you guys recommend staying broad and appealing to my entire scope of practice, or niche down and focus on a group or sub-group?

There are obvious pros and cons to each (audience number, targeted marketing etc.), but I feel like at the moment I lack direction, which is killing my drive.

Excited to hear your input! Thanks for reading.

-James

Have you considered other ways you might niche down besides sub-groups based on ailment? I do think it's important to target a niche or sub-niche as an online personal brand. If your ultimate goal is a local practice, then niching down might not be as important.

Online it's not necessarily about targeting diabetes, heart failure, kidney problems or whatever. That's still pretty broad and there's big websites doing it already. But within specific groups of people with those problems you dip your toes into new pools of opportunity.

Single moms with heart problems.
Active dads with diabetes.
Millennials still struggling with acne.
Holistic back pain solutions for hipsters.
Ninja Warriors with Arthritis...

When people have instant access to a lifetime of solutions at their fingertips, they follow the person (brand) that suits their identity best because it helps them make a choice between two similar offerings. The world is only getting more connected, so if you plan to make money online, and grow beyond a side hustle, then I say niche down. Also you can charge more as a leader in a niche / sub-niche.

 

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[JoeB]

That's my general thoughts also, but I just have so many ideas for different groups! There's always the possibility of starting multiple sites and having my personal blog as a general site to link to/from.

-James

The site can be broad but the articles shouldn't be.

"The best health apps" is the perfect example of trying to appeal to everyone and ending up appealing to no-one.

 

[McFirewavesJr]

Hi everyone,

So I'm looking at starting another side hustle that ties in with my slowlane career. I am an Exercise Physiologist 4 days a week, which I love doing, but I always feel the fastlane pull and don't like being out of control of my income (I am sub-contracted, so I run my own business through 2 medical clinics, but rely on them for all admin and pay a % fees as rent). I wish to one day have my own clinic or start a chain of clinics, but for now I want to blog and possibly help people on-line as well as in person. I have a decent knowledge pool to draw from and feel that I can use this knowledge to provide value.

For those who don't know, an Exercise Physiologist (EP) uses exercise and lifestyle interventions to help prevent, manage and treat chronic disease and musculoskeletal pathologies. Typical clientele for me include:
-Diabetes
-Obesity
-Heart failure
-Osteoarthritis
-Low back pain
-Shoulder injuries
-etc.

What I have done is start a very rudimentary blog with articles such as "3 exercise for low back pain", "The best health apps" blah blah. At the moment the blog is very much tailored to my scope of practice as a whole, rather than one group or sub-group (such as diabetes, heart failure etc.). I plan to develop some programs to sell or e-books, something with genuine value.

So my question is, would you guys recommend staying broad and appealing to my entire scope of practice, or niche down and focus on a group or sub-group?

There are obvious pros and cons to each (audience number, targeted marketing etc.), but I feel like at the moment I lack direction, which is killing my drive.

Excited to hear your input! Thanks for reading.

-James

It seems to me that the more crowded your field is,the more niche you should be. On the other hand, if you're the only garage in the village, I don't see why you would specialize only in Subaru.

 

[JAMES-L67]

Have you considered other ways you might niche down besides sub-groups based on ailment? I do think it's important to target a niche or sub-niche as an online personal brand. If your ultimate goal is a local practice, then niching down might not be as important.

Online it's not necessarily about targeting diabetes, heart failure, kidney problems or whatever. That's still pretty broad and there's big websites doing it already. But within specific groups of people with those problems you dip your toes into new pools of opportunity.

Single moms with heart problems.
Active dads with diabetes.
Millennials still struggling with acne.
Holistic back pain solutions for hipsters.
Ninja Warriors with Arthritis...

When people have instant access to a lifetime of solutions at their fingertips, they follow the person (brand) that suits their identity best because it helps them make a choice between two similar offerings. The world is only getting more connected, so if you plan to make money online, and grow beyond a side hustle, then I say niche down. Also you can charge more as a leader in a niche / sub-niche.

Great response @SinisterLex
I hadn't really thought about that, but could definitely be a lucrative way to niche down. I might analyse some search terms and see what I can come up with. I'm happy to make a few different sites with specific sub-niches as well. Cheers!

The site can be broad but the articles shouldn't be.

"The best health apps" is the perfect example of trying to appeal to everyone and ending up appealing to no-one.

100% right @JoeB
At the moment the blog is just about getting my writing improved and my thoughts down. I have some more specific articles, but building up my skills and just taking small steps for the mean time

It seems to me that the more crowded your field is,the more niche you should be. On the other hand, if you're the only garage in the village, I don't see why you would specialize only in Subaru.

@Fred Chevry I guess i better find out how many garages there are in my village! Great analogy by the way

-James

 

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