In case you missed it, yours truly made the front page of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Ok, well, my client Phoenix Rudner made the front page and they didn’t mention the mastermind behind the plan until the end of the article, but I’m tickled pink nonetheless.

The article, Real estate agents take dramatic turn for sales, talks about how local real estate agents, in competition with over 13,000 other agents, are turning to niche marketing in their search for an edge. You know me, I’m an impassioned evangelist for niche marketing, but in my overly-opinionated opinion, some of their strategies need help.

Don’t get me wrong, I applaud every single one of the agents in the article. Few people have the courage it takes to break away from the pack and charge off into uncharted territory. But they do and that deserves some serious respect.

These days, niche marketing can be incredibly powerful. But for it to be effective you have to do more than just “stand out” because although standing out will attract attention, it does very little to get clients. I mean, when it comes to seeking expert assistance for your most important investment, why would anybody let themselves be swayed by a gimmicky persona or a name on a house-shaped letter opener? Especially when you can spend half an hour on the internet and find the agent who is right for you.

Niche marketing is about more than attracting attention. It’s about taking control of your business, attracting the kind of people you want to work with and doing the kind of work you want to do.

That may sound all pie-in-the-sky, but it’s actually pretty straightforward. The only really challenging part is in the selection of the niche. You have to do it just right, but when you do everything else falls into place.

As I see it, there are three essential elements of a powerful niche:

1. They have shared needs that you can meet through your business
2. They have hubs of communication (websites, other professionals or individuals, magazines, etc)
3. There’s enough of them to make your business thrive.

Take Phoenix for example. He’s a real estate agent specializing in dog owners. As it turns out, dog owners have a world of unique needs when it comes to buying and selling. He can become an expert on those needs and put together some services, informational materials or write some articles. He can also cross-promote with businesses who already have relationships with his target market. And he can offer potential clients something truly valuable that no other agent can.

Finding your niche is absolutely the most important thing you can do for your business. And when you do it by those three simple criteria, you’ll find that your marketing becomes more focused, less wasteful, magnitudes more effective and a hell of a lot more fun.

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