Today, I want to share some niche marketing secrets for network marketers. This is a popular concept in many different industries, but not too common in network marketing. I think it offers a HUGE upside potential to any network marketer who takes the time to figure it out.
I personally define niche marketing as focusing on a segmented group of people with similar interests. Rather than targeting everyone and anyone about your business, you focus your marketing and lead generation efforts on a specific group of people.
Here are a few examples of different niches, just to get you thinking:
- Doctors
- Chiropractors
- Stay at Home Moms
- Military Personnel
- First Generation Immigrants
- Baby Boomers
- Small Business Owners
- Bloggers
- Whole Foods Enthusiasts
- Accountants
- And many more!
Why Niche Marketing in Network Marketing?
There are many benefits of niche marketing. My favorite reason to utilize niche marketing to recruit new customers and distributors into my business is that I can really FOCUS my marketing efforts. Rather than doing mass marketing ads to appeal to everyone, or using the three foot rule, I can really zero in on who I want to prospect.
Niche marketing makes it easy to advertise. Every niche has events, journals, magazines, meetings, popular websites and different venues that you can advertise in! Once you pick a niche, all you have to do is find out the popular magazines, events and websites in their niche and then place ads in those venues. It’s that easy.
Heck, you can even buy mailing lists for people in your niche and do a postcard marketing or direct mail campaign. Or, you could join a local chapter and go to meetings with other people in your niche. Simply put, the options are endless with niche marketing.
What Niche is Best?
I don’t think any specific niche is better than any other niche. I think you should pick a niche you understand and have experience with. That is the # 1 most important factor for success. Don’t pick a niche just because it sounds sexy. Instead, pick a niche that you are familiar with. It could be people in the same profession, the same civic organization, people from the same college, people with the same hobby, or anything else that is relevant to your particular situation. The more you know about the niche the better.
How to Get Started with Niche Marketing?
The best way to get started with niche marketing is to take a piece of paper and set aside 30 minutes to brainstorm all of the different niches you can think of. Think about places you’ve worked, lived, went to school, your hobbies, talents, interests, etc. and come up with as many ideas as you can with potential niches. Try to come up with at least 50 potential niches and then spend some time online and see what you can find out about each niche.
Pick the niche that excites you the most and offers good potential. Look for a niche with several different magazines, available mailing lists, live events, and popular websites. You want a niche that has at least 3-5 good places to advertise. The more the better.
My Strategy with Niche Marketing
I focus exclusively on two niches to grow my network marketing business. The first niche I focus on is current and former network marketers. I created this blog to attract people in my niche, to educate them and to convert some of them into customers and distributors. I’ve spent 13 years in the industry so I can totally relate to other people in this niche. I know their worries, what they think about and how they think. This gives me a huge advantage because I know what type of solutions and opportunities they are looking for and I can offer that to them.
The second niche I chose is people serving in the Army. I chose this niche because I am a former Army Officer and I can relate to people in that niche. I know their thought process, their worries, their values, and what they think about. As a result, I can relate to them! I chose to build a huge military website to attract some of the folks into my business as customers and distributors.
Since my primary business building strategy is BLOGGING, I simply chose to build a military blog and a network marketing blog. Had I chose another business building strategy, I could have placed ads in magazines and trade journals for people in my niche. I also could have done video marketing, direct mail, events, or many other methods.
Tips for Success with Niche Marketing in the MLM Industry
Niche marketing isn’t all that difficult to do. The # 1 key to success is to pick a niche that you know and understand. Once again, don’t pick a niche just because it sounds sexy. Pick one that you are familiar with. Doing so will give you a huge advantage because you will have common ground with the people in that niche and you will be able to relate to them very well. You’ll know how they think, what they worry about, what they are looking for in life, what they enjoy, etc.
My second tip is to focus on no more than two different niches at a time. You can’t be the master of everything. Ideally, you should pick one niche (if it is big enough) and stick with that. Two is the most you should focus on. Two niches can keep you very busy!
Final Thoughts
The bottom line is that niche marketing is a great way to build your network marketing business. It allows you to work smart and target certain groups of people about your products and business opportunity. The real key to success is to pick a niche that you are familiar with and then to pick ONE business building strategy to connect with people in your niche. Focus on that for a few years and you will have a big network marketing business. It’s by no means the only way to build your MLM Business, but I can tell you that it does work.
What do you think about niche marketing for network marketers? Leave a comment below to share your thoughts. I look forward to hearing from you.
Chuck Holmes
20+ Year Network Marketing Professional
Top Earner & Top Recruiter
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
P.S. Learn how to grow a successful network marketing business. Secret tips, training, and practical ideas. Free training delivered by email.
Thank you Chuck for what you do. I have recently gotten into network marketing and am looking for strategies to be more successful. I found this article to be very helpful in giving me direction.
This makes so much sense. It can be a challenge to create a marketing strategy that has mass appeal and captivates people from a wide variety of backgrounds. When you use niche marketing strategies you are better able to reach the desired group because you are better able to cater to them specifically. Picking a niche you know and understand is great, but you could also do some research just to ensure you know everything you can about that group as to better personalize your marketing techniques.
I believe that focusing on niche groups is the best way to go.
I agree with you Chuck. At one time I was trying to hit anyone and everyone, and it ended up that I would confuse certain people. If we set our sites towards niche groups, we can attract a better response because we use jargon that will be understood by them.
It is similar to when a Doctor tries to explain a medical condition to a patient in the same way he would his/her fellow Doctors. The patient will not understand. If we choose niche groups, we can explain our products or services in a way they will comprehend.
I highly recommend that a person chooses a niche to start with, and as time goes on they can vary into other niche groups.
It so great to hear these secrets from people in the industry that have been successful, thank you for sharing!
You know Chuck, this post really makes good sense, and it goes against what most MLM companies teach people. They want us going out and “pitching” anyone that has blood flowing through their veins, and even ones that don’t. This makes more sense in that you can base your advertising and marketing towards your niche market. By doing this, your ads won’t sound like every other ad out there. Great post with some great tips. Thank you.