What makes you special has the capacity to make you money if you think small enough. In branding it’s niching. Unfortunately, like so many others, you might think bigger is better. If that's true I be you offer all the things. And if you offer all the things I promise it's driving your brand into the ground. Yeah, I'mma need you to stop that.
As a smaller brand you can't afford to let shit ride. That includes your lowest performing offers and the 10 price shoppers who want you to keep it. Having a long list of offers and a customer base that's waiting for you to drop a coupon is seriously bad driving for your brand. You don't even run your life like that. Can you count on one hand who’s gonna be down with you when the world is kicking yo ass? If you can then you know everybody can’t be yo friend and the same is true for your brand.
I know you've heard it SO many fucking times already so one more time won't kill you. Everybody is not your customer so stop trying to sell so much shit. I want you to stop being afraid to brand boldly. You need to be fearless when cutting off shit that's making you chump change?
Stop trying to impress folx with a treasure trove of bullshit? #SideWaysCrazy
How you niche is more about how you market your brand than what your brand actually sells. When you say I have something for everyone all the fucking time, you give no thought to your gifts OR your limitations. Contrary to what you heard, the possibilities are not endless. That is straight brand violence.
Let me share a story with you. It's nine words my sister said to me that I carry with me to this day when I think I realize I'm do'n to much.
We were caught in L. A. traffic. I was doing my usual duck’n and dodge’n across five lanes of rush hour crazy. I guess I changed lanes once to often because she turns to me and says, “You know you can’t get in front of everybody.”
As we were prone to say, my response was, "You got me fucked up." I’ve been drive'n L. A. streets since I was 12 years old. Then I followed up with my momma and her we were in trouble threat. “I can show you better than I can tell you.” But every time I changed lanes I watched the car I was just behind get further in front of me. So I would do the logical thing and switch lanes again.
No matter how fast I drove. No matter how many folks I cut off. No matter how many laws I broke. I would never be able to be in front of everyone. Even though I had shit to do, traffic doesn’t work that way. Well, neither does branding.
Y'all probably wondering, what in the fresh hell does this have to do with niching. Well, here it is.
Driving Lesson No. 1 - You can't brand in every lane
Changing offers and products is like changing lanes. When you jump from thing to thing, you're telegraphing you're good at nothing. You think you have show folx you're good at everything. What they want is for you to show them you're good at one thing. Changing because of the latest trend, fad or crazy are for folx who think short term. Your brand strategy is about be long term.
The short term will drive you to do follow for follow. This is a waste when there is no rhyme or reason for it. Following the wrong folx can throw off your algorithm. The ones who followed for a follow back aren't engaging or sharing. They just letting enough time pass before they unfollow you or is that your strategy. Neither of you benefit financially. You’re getting cussed out because you’re spamming folks in the DM’s. Your lead magnet is something you bought or copied before slapping your logo on it.
Where do you think you're going with this fuckery? You're driving your brand the wrong way. You're me in L.A. traffic. You think you see a shortcut to making money with every new tip and trick. You give no thought to the relatability of your brand or business. If you stay in your lane you can put your haters in your rearview.
Driving Lesson No. 2 - You miss what's meant for you
Swerving from lane to lane usually made me miss my damn exit. I was too far over and the haters driving next to me wouldn't let me over. Although I blamed them for not letting me in, it wasn’t their fault. I was being a smart ass and trying to prove a point
When you get to far out of your lane you run the chance of missing money that was meant for you. Have you ever heard, "Oh I didn't know you do that.?" That's you missing money because you offer so much they don't want to take the time to see if you got what they want.
Refusing to niche either horizontally or vertically costs you dollas all day e’ry day. It's a marketing tactic not handcuffs to stifle your many interest. It's a way of positioning your brand for the folx who will let you in and give you all the money you asked for. Nobody is gonna chase you down to give you money.
There is no reason for you to venture out of the lane that is closest to your money. Save that crazy for somebody else. Don’t be impatient like me when I drive. If you go with the flow of your brand it will take you to where the money resides.
Driving Lesson No. 3 - Fix yo raggedy shit
I was driving a blue used Toyota Tercel when my sister said those nine words to me. It wasn't rust raggedy but that stretch of the 405 was littered with expensive cars. I was bit intimidated and envious when I would pull along side a car better than mind. By comparison I was not on their level and I wasn't trying to be. That didn't stop me from feeling some kinda way.
The same was true when I began this branding journey. Yes, I turned my old business into a multi-million dollar brand. Ask me how I did it and I will tell you it was a daily grind. I didn't understand the marriage of brand and marketing. I sure as hell didn't know anything about brand strategy. I'm glad I didn't know because I might still be in the restaurant business.
It is so easy to drive a raggedy brand. You know you're raggedy when you have chase down sales. You see everyone as a potential customer. That's the old days of guerrilla sales tactics, not branding. But even those are better than raggedy branding because they focus on selling one thing well. There is no reason for you to be out in these streets running folx down. Trying to drive your brand with this makes it worse
There is no shame in starting raggedy. The shame is in staying raggedy and trying to give off luxury vibes. That's not cute at all.
Bonus Driving Lesson
This has nothing to do with my sister, but it will drive the point home. There is a reason they say the riches are in the niches. People know you to be the SHIT when it comes to that one thing. They know your brand is the best place to go for that one thing. Even those who bargain shop know it when they have the money to spend or splurge on that one thing.
Check out Danielle Leslie. This chick has made, I think $15 mil off her Course From Scratch. She don’t do shit else but that one thing. I actually bought and and couldn't make it work for me. What I can say is if you’re not a slick ass salesperson or have the next great course, you won’t make shit either, but that’s not the point.
She was on the cover of Forbes in December 2020 as the millionaire maker. She was in Black Enterprise in April 2021. She has over 155,000 followers on Instagram and 58,493 on facebook and she only posts every 2-3 months.
Are you getting the point? She niched down and blew up financially. She pimps nothing but that ONE THING. She pimped it all the way to the bank 15 million times.
It's time you learned to stop driving your brand into the ground. If you're worried it's too late, book a Brand Ego® check to see where you're at.
Ghetto Country Brandmother®
Certified Brand Strategist, Business & Life
Coach with a degree in Business. She is also a former bbq restaurant owner & certified bbq judge.
She is making it her personal mission to show entrevivalist™ how to connect the dots of their
life, brand & business one brandbaby® at a time.
