How “specialized” are you?
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In my 6 years or James' 15 years of running an online business, he says he's probably made EVERY MISTAKE in the book (I've totally made my fair share too), but here’s one of the biggest...
(By the way... if you’re NOT seeing the growth you’d like, you’re probably making this same mistake!)
Recently, James was visiting his parents' house at which point they LOVINGLY encouraged him to clean out some of his old junk. 😂 #beenthere
That’s when he found THIS:
His first Business Card for his "online business" (circa 2009) said he was a "Marketing Ninja." 🥷🏻
Can you spot the MASSIVE mistake there?
If you could choose right now, would you rather hire a "marketing ninja" or an "Instagram Growth Specialist who can double your engagement in 30 days?"
The latter, right?! So... what’s the difference?
One Word: SPECIALIZATION. How specialized are you?
📌 Pin it!
A "brain-based" approach to niching down
In a complete resting state, your brain consumes 30% of your calories. In other words, just THINKING takes up a lot of energy. And to conserve energy, your brain will do everything it can to AVOID thinking.
...that’s what Decision Fatigue is all about.
So... what does this have to do with you?! Well... people have problems. And they will ALWAYS have "problems" that need solving!
Most want to save time and effort and just PAY someone to solve those problems! So... when people go looking for solutions to these problems, they want to do as little research and thinking as possible (chances are you can relate to this, right?!)
So, in an effort to conserve brain-power, your prospects simply look to who is PERCEIVED as "the best." The "Expert." The “Authority!”
It’s just human nature. People seek out the best and that’s who they want to buy from. You don’t invest in training from those who don’t know what they’re talking about... do you?!
Of course not! You seek out the best. And so do YOUR prospects!
Even if you’re sitting there saying, "But Katelyn, I’m NOT the best" OR... "who the hell do I think I am to be selling/providing/doing this?!"
Well... here is the BIG FIRST STEP to BEING THE BEST: SPECIALIZATION.
THE big mistake most struggling course creators, coaches, and membership owners are making is they are attempting to be the GENERALIST. BUT, in an effort to attract MORE customers, they try to be ALL things to ALL people.
“When you try to be everything to everyone, ... you end up being nothing to NO ONE.”
Again... would you work with the "Marketing Ninja" or the "Instagram Growth Specialist?"
Creating SPECIALIZATION makes it easy for you to be the best! Think about it: being that BEST at everything is impossible... but what about ONE THING?! Are you telling me you can’t commit to getting EXTRAORDINARY at one thing?!
But SPECIALIZATION doesn’t just make becoming an authority easier, it gets you known, because it’s SO MUCH easier for you to communicate what you do in a way that people actually GET IT.
Here’s how James learned this FIRSTHAND...
Back in 2010, he was brought in to consult with a start-up. The CEO introduced James to his entire team... –or rather... he tried to:
Guy: "James, what exactly do you do?"
James thought he'd impress the guy and his team, so he rattled off EVERYTHING he can do...
James: "Well, I can do it all. Copy, Email, Social, Adwords, SEO..."
As the list got longer, James could see their eyes begin to glaze over... He was totally losing him. 😂 ...that’s when he completely SAVED THE SALE by adding––
"...but what I’m really known for: Video Marketing!"
That’s when everything "clicked"––
Guy: "Oooh! You’re the video guy! Of course!"
(You may already know that James was the "video guy" -slash YouTube-guru for SEVERAL years and sold over $10 Million in "video-related" courses. ...even though he did far more than just "teach video.")
SPECIALIZATION doesn’t "put in you in a box" or "limit your potential." It does the opposite! It gets you OUT OF THE BOX of generalization and noise.
SPECIALIZATION informs the brains of your prospects that YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT... and YOU CAN HELP.
...and now that your client sees you AS the SPECIALIST, and you help solve their problem... it opens the door for you to work on solving other problems they might have. Which is how you can end up working with people on stuff outside your specialization, should you want to.
So... how specialized are you?
Can your audience/followers explain what you do and how you help in 10 seconds or less?
If they don’t know what you do or how you do it... ...how do you ever expect them to buy from you?
Would you buy from someone who couldn’t explain to you what they do?!
So, if this is something you are lacking "clarity," confidence, and/or certainty on (which I assume you do, otherwise you wouldn’t still be reading this hella-long email from me…), then stay tuned because James is relaunching his Nail Your Niche Masterclass THIS week!!
And trust me when I say, you don't want to miss it. 🥳
My experience in Nail Your Niche
In the next post, I tell ya all about my own experience inside JW's Nail Your Niche Masterclass including:
how my first draft got picked apart by James & Mel Abrams, –in front of the rest of the class (for an introvert that literally made me sweat!),
how their dissection of my first draft actually helped me SO much
how NYN helped my business take off and what my results have been like since NYN
Need help figuring out your specialty? Why not NAIL IT!!
