Why You Don’t Need To Find A Niche: 8 Tips To Uncovering Your Audience

Stop Trying To Find A Niche

When I got started with my first business, I heard all about the importance of how I need to find a niche.

You hear it all the time in the entrepreneur community, with blogging, online business… Niche down. Narrow down. Find your audience.

And YES, learning how to find your niche is absolutely critical…

But I think we need to reevaluate how we approach finding our niche.

Instead of choosing your niche, let your niche uncover itself.

When I first got started I picked a niche for myself. The problem was, it was the wrong niche. It wasn’t right for me and it didn’t go very well. My audience didn’t buy. I spent a lot of money on targeted ads that didn’t convert, and a lot of time on the phone with people who didn’t act. Read more about why I quit my first coaching business.

But I learned a ton. I started asking my audience questions, and in getting to know them I found myself.

And my niche was revealed over time.

So don’t find a niche. Let your niche find you. Here are some tips on how to let your niche uncover itself.

How To Find Your Audience Before You Find A Niche

1. Find a Niche by Telling Your Story

We all have a transformation story that has led to us wanting to help other people. Often times the people we are trying to help are ourselves from the past before we went through our transformation.

So you might not know your niche or your audience, but you know what you went through and how you got better, improved, solved your problem.

So tell your story. Post on social media and send emails to your list telling your story and see what resonates with people. How do they respond? What do they comment? What questions do they have?

2. Do Work That Makes You Happy

Only do work that makes you feel excited or inspired.

If we’re working for ourselves, ultimately we want to love it, right?

Your passion is going to fuel your business and inspire other people. If you are pushing through just to get a paycheck and your work feels dry and stale, that is going to translate.

To get a little woo, the universe is going to direct you towards your purpose. And I often say that my emotions are like radar for my life. If it doesn’t *feel* good, it may not be the right direction for you.

So what are you passionate about? What makes your eyes light up when you talk to other people? What problems do people share with you that give you big feelings, or that get you excited to share about?

3. Get Feedback

If you are not sure how to find your niche, start asking a lot of questions. Then sit back and watch what happens.

Measure and observe the results. What questions resonate with people? What questions sit unanswered, cold and disappearing into social media black holes? Regularly make posts with calls to action and engagement threads and track what gets commented on the most. Then respond to people and keep the conversation going.

4. To Find a Niche, Get To Know Yourself

Get comfortable with yourself. Think back on your career or jobs that you have had and think about what you really loved, and what you hated.

What are your personality traits? Consider what you are good at and what you enjoy doing. What kind of people gravitate towards you and what personalities you are drawn towards. What are your strengths, weaknesses?

Do you know your zone of genius? What do you get excited to talk to people about?

Do people tend to come to you with certain questions? Has anyone ever said, I know you blank, so I thought I would ask you about blank.

5. Lean Into Your Personality

Don’t conform to the audience you are around.

Lean into the personality you have and let an audience come to you.

Develop a voice and feel confident in who you are. You have a unique perspective. What has happened in life to get you to where you are and how has that shaped who you are today?

6. Get Testimonials

If you have already started your business, start getting testimonials asap. Ask people how they benefited from working with you.

You might be surprised by the answers they provide. An outsider’s perspective on what you offer can be revealing and invaluable. It can literally change the direction you are going and help you find your true strengths to see it from someone else’s point of view what they get from you.

7. Ask Other People What You Do

Start asking other people what they think you do. If they don’t know, then you need to start showing up more.

If they think they know, it will reveal a lot about how you have been showing up. They will either see your strengths or point out your weaknesses.

8. Be Flexible

Don’t worry about labeling yourself. I have re branded myself multiple times over the past 7 years, and even several times in the last 12 months.

But I have worked with a lot of clients and a lot of coaches.

Every client I work with brings out my strengths more, and every coach helps me to hone those skills and define my niche more.

Don’t worry about labeling yourself or deciding on an elevator pitch. Be flexible and use a working tagline. You can always pivot later if you want to.

Find A Niche By Finding Yourself First

I have learned that finding my niche is a journey.

Feeling pressured into starting a business and needing to find a niche right away might put you where I was: spending too much money, working with the wrong clients and not loving what I did.

We’re in this to help people. Find our purpose. Be in alignment.

And forcing myself into a niche I wasn’t passionate about was not the right thing to do.

So, let your niche find you instead. Go on a journey of self discovery. This doesn’t mean you have to put your business on hold, but be flexible and open.

Fly the plane as you build it.

Ask questions along the way and get all the feedback you can to transform your niche on your path and find the perfect niche for you.