Thread by @JustinSaaS

The most compelling creators online are "a niche of one."

I've broken that down into 6 steps.

Let's do a deep dive. 👇🏻

A niche of one is a unique combination of skills & interests rolled into one idea and distributed through highly creative or technical content.

You become the category creator. The best in show. The only.

Here are the six building blocks behind a Niche of One.

Let's break them down and then put them back together to help you get started.

No 1: Skill

Most skills, by themselves, are not unique. Lots of people can write, speak English and Portuguese, or do financial analysis.

Too often, people make the mistake of choosing a skill when deciding to create online.

I’m a writer, so I’ll write.
I’m a painter, so I’ll paint.
I know how to do X, so I’ll teach people how to do X.

You get the point.

The difficulty arises when the inevitable question comes up:

“What do I write about today?”
“What do I paint today?"
"What do I teach today?”

When the brain faces a creative block, people either quit creating or create something subpar. Two poor outcomes.

Let’s introduce interests into the equation and see what happens.

No 2: Interests

This article is not meant to be cliche: “Do something you love and you’ll never work a day in your life!”

Nonsense.

But, interests are important. They keep us...well…interested.

Maybe you're fluent in English & Portuguese and you’re extremely well-versed in marketing. Maybe you understand financial analysis and your hobby is high-end wine.

So, now what?

Let’s put one of them together to start formulating an interesting idea.

No. 3: Idea

The idea block of a niche of one is where most people get it wrong.

They let a lack of creativity keep them from building something unique.

For example, we’ve all had ideas before, but they end up as:

- Unfinished blog posts
- Abandoned podcasts
- Dwindling YouTube channels

That’s because the creation must be forced.

You’re starting from a blank canvas every morning.

We’re back to the same old questions:

“What do I write about today?”
“What do I paint today?"
“What do I teach today?”

In a niche of one, you create one idea, and then learn how to say it, do it, or package it 1,000+ different ways.

Let’s use an example from above.

Example: You’re a financial analyst & your interest is in wine.

Unique idea: Use your financial knowledge to project the value of one high-end wine bottle each morning.

You could easily argue that this idea is not interesting, but you’d be missing the larger point.

It's one single idea that can be produced and reproduced 1000x over.

The game of “what do I do today?” is now over.

These ideas, when shared broadly through proper distribution, attract a natural audience of interested people.

No. 4 & 5: Distribution & Audience

In order for people to discover your unique and interesting idea, they have to be able to find it. This is where distribution comes into play.

Your audience is an OUTCOME of good distribution.

Having a niche of one gives you an advantage bc you’ve increased the number of places you can distribute.

For example, if you’re our financial whiz/wine lover, you can distribute on sites centered around wine, the wine exchange, but also finance sites, market sites, etc.

Here's where I'd recommend focusing and how I set up my own distribution (h/t to @GoodMarketingHQ for the structure idea, which I've changed a bit)

- Personal blog or newsletter
- One social site to start
- Industry sites
- Private Slack Channels
- Facebook groups

By distributing routinely, a natural audience will grow.

Remember, you don’t pick your audience, they pick you.

You simply set up a system where more people are likely to find you.

If you’re our finance/wine person from above, you will naturally attract an audience of people who love wine, sommeliers, and collectors.

But, you’re also likely to attract people who have an interest in data analysis, financial trends, the market, the exchanges, and so on.

No. 6: Product

Now comes the easiest part. Asking and listening.

With an audience built around a specific, unique idea, you can simply start to ask them what would be most helpful, and listen to their answers.

It’s amazing how many people skip this critical step.

Ask on social or send out a survey via email. What would they like to learn? What would they be happy to spend some money on?

For example, people might enjoy a digital course teaching them your method behind wine price projections.

Others might want a Zoom call where you apply your formula to bottles in their collection together.

Some would just want to purchase a financial analysis of multiple bottles, without the call.

All of this can be placed on a value ladder that people can move up over time:

Summary:

In summary, the internet is getting crowded.

Picking your passion and then trying to write or record from scratch each day can be a very daunting task.

Most of the compelling creators you see online have a system.

So, to get started, do the following:

Step 1: Pick something you excel at.
Step 2: Choose something you're interested in.
Step 3: Combine them creatively.
Step 4: Weave a distribution system.
Step 5: Allow an audience to form.
Step 6: Ask them what they need.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this long thread.

If you found this helpful, I'd be honored if you checked out my newsletter.

justinwelsh.me

I write once a week about processes and systems that work for my solopreneur journey.

Cheers.