December 2016

I created dozens and dozens of websites. Some for clients some for myself. Over time I've learned something very valuable. If you want to succeed in the world of content then you need to dominate. A lot of people think about simply getting out there or maybe even competing. But that's not enough. You have to dominate your niche.

And the tough part about that is that it's quite difficult. I'm guessing that in your niche you can think of someone with ease who is already seemingly dominating the niche. Maybe you are even a bit jealous. Perhaps, that person is doing such a good job it's actually holding you back because you think you don't even have a chance. I know I've been in that spot before.

The thing is…there is no shortage of success. Just because someone is successful in a niche doesn't mean there won't ever be someone new who claims top spot. Most often I think the problem is effort. The person on top is likely outputting 10x the content that you are. There is only one thing you can really do and that is match them and go beyond. Which I'm guessing is quite difficult for you if you haven't already done so.

Perhaps we can look at it in a different way. What if you stopped trying to directly compete with them and instead diverted your strategy to open up a new niche. Something where its relevant to your initial idea but still unique. Eventually all things divide into two. That's one of the immutable laws of marketing. Cola went to diet and regular. Computers went to Desktops and Laptops. Automobiles went to cars and trucks. Cars went to gas and electric.

I guess what I want to be clear about is that you can easily find a niche to dominate if you get creative about your content offering. Just diverge ever so slightly and be first in the category. Then you will feel a lot more motivated to up the content levels so you can be the one that people look up to in that niche. Each post will feel like a continued success rather than a sense of “it's just not enough”.

Maybe you wanted to be a personal blogger. Saturated. Then you went to travel blogger. Saturated. Then you went to Europe travel blogger. Saturated? I'm not sure. I guess it kinda sucks that you have to shrink the size of your potential audience down a notch but would that really bother you if you were to dominate and be looked at as an authority? Remember we only need 1000 true fans. Would it be so bad to narrow your target audience and offering? Once you dominate in one niche it is much much easier to broaden the scope if you still desire. At that point you'll have so much momentum you won't have the same resistance.

Your alternative is to just get to work and start out-working your niche competition. That is still a valid option. For some that may seem impossible but you won't know what's possible until you get started. And trust me it's going to be writing and publishing daily that gets the job done. Something I have been totally slack about. I'm really giving my head a shake at this point and ready to commit to full-time publishing and the tasks that go along with it. The social media, the videos, the live streaming — whatever it takes. I'm kinda tired of this blog not going anywhere. I've written some great posts on here but they don't get noticed because I'm not dominant in my niche and I have a very small group of readers.

I'm going to stop with all the concerns about branding, layout, email, etc. I'm just going to focus on consistent daily publishing and look to diverge and offer value where others have not. I think that's the ticket.