Make Marketing Suck Less

Michelle Mazur [00:00:00]: Do you freak out a little bit at the idea of narrowing your focus to speak to one specific client? Because if you do that, wouldn't that mean you're losing out on other potential clients? So today, we are talking about a word that you've heard a lot about that probably makes you roll your eyes. But in 2025, this word is more important than ever. And I'm talking about niching. Through my many years in business, I've seen clients flat out reject the idea of getting radically specific about who they serve. Because what if? What if I'm missing out on potential clients, but I love working with so many different types of people? Me too, my friend. Me too. But here's the deal. There's a truth about niching down and the clients you're actually losing by trying to talk to everyone. And that's what we're gonna talk about on today's show. So let's dive in.

Michelle Mazur [00:01:23]: Welcome to Make Marketing Suck Less. The podcast that knows marketing is freaking hard, especially when you're a solo business owner trying to juggle it all. I'm your host, Dr. Michelle Mazur, author of the 3 Word Rebellion and founder of the Expert Up Club. Forget the latest marketing fads and tactics promising social media stardom. I'm here with research-backed strategies to help you clarify your message and get twice as effective with your marketing. And while I can't promise you'll ever love marketing, I'm here. to make you hate it a tiny bit less.

Michelle Mazur [00:02:12]: Let me tell you something I hear all the time. If I niche down, I'm gonna rule out all of these people. And I like working with different types of people, and there are so many different ways that I can serve them. And if I rule them out, then my business won't be successful. But here's what happens inside the Expert Up Club. People come in with that idea, and then there's always this epiphany moment when people realize that by not having a niche, they're losing clarity. Their message isn't resonating. People don't know how to refer them. And when we try to talk to everyone, we end up connecting with no one.

Michelle Mazur [00:03:01]: But before we dive into how to think about niching in a more strategic way, let's talk about why it's so hard for us to niche, why it's so hard for us to narrow our focus. And here's the deal. It's not you, my friend. You are not the problem. It's not that you're indecisive. It's that your brain is hardwired not to niche. We are hardwired not to narrow things down. There is this fascinating book called Subtract that proves when a human being is presented with a problem, their brain automatically thinks, what do I need to add to solve this? So when we're not getting enough clients, we think, oh, who else can I market to? Instead of, how can I get radically more specific about who I am talking to? So here is why we need to niche.

Michelle Mazur [00:04:08]: Number one, it gives people one clear door to walk through. It gives people a way to refer us. It gives us something to be known for. And number two, people need to see themselves in your message. So when we're too general, when we're trying to talk to business owners and moms and corporate executives, the message gets watered down. It becomes generic, and then people don't see themselves. And when they don't feel like you understand them, they bounce and find someone who will. Let me share a couple of real world examples of what niching can look like, because it's not necessarily just about an industry.

Michelle Mazur [00:04:56]: Right? It's not just about saying, like, I only work with accountants. I only work with chiropractors. There are different ways to niche that allow you to be known for something, that allow you to be referable, and still give you the freedom and flexibility to bring all of your gifts and to invite different types of industries into your work. So first up is a friend of mine and a client of mine, Jeff Felton, who I recently had a Bold Messaging Session with. When I was first referred to Jeff, I knew him as the welcome sequence guy. And what I loved about this is that welcome sequences are the bane of my existence. I hate writing welcome sequences. They suck.

Michelle Mazur [00:05:50]: And when someone told me about Jeff, I was like, ah, cool. There is a guy who specializes in this. So what did I do? I immediately followed him on Threads. I signed up for his email list. And a few months later, I bought his welcome sequence product. Now Jeff, Jeff is so much more than welcome sequences. He is strategic as fuck. Like, he's so he has this brilliant, he has this brilliant, amazing brain that he can apply to email marketing, to launches, to, post purchase sequences.

Michelle Mazur [00:06:30]: He has all of this amazingness. And because he has all of this amazingness, he thought, you know what? I'm gonna niche up. And a lot of experts do this. And he thought, okay, I can serve more people by talking about email marketing in general. But here's the thing, email marketing is huge. Like, what does it even mean? How do I know I even have a problem with it? Is it about automations? Am I talking about launch emails, newsletter content? And it just became too watered down, and people didn't actually know what he could do versus, like, hey, welcome sequences. Cool. I need that.

Michelle Mazur [00:07:12]: And then, oh, my gosh. I'm amazed at how much Jeff can actually help me with email. So after our Bold Messaging Session, he went back to being the welcome sequence guy, and he created that clear door for people to walk through. So what Jeff isn't doing, he isn't focusing on a specific industry or a specific type of person. He is being the guy for a thing that people have a problem with. Or in my case, it's the bane of my existence. So that's one way to do it. Another great example about niching is from Tracy Warren from Ignite Your Champions, and she's one of our Expert Up Club members.

Michelle Mazur [00:07:59]: Now when I have known Tracy, she's done a lot of things. She's had a coworking space, and right now, she works with all small businesses to help you build relationships on social media. Yeah. Okay. That's pretty vague. There's a lot of people who do what she does. But recently, she had the epiphany that her passion was helping nonprofits retain their donors and build relationships with the people who donate to them throughout the year. Now think about it.

Michelle Mazur [00:08:33]: If you've ever given to a charity or gone to a fundraiser, what happens after you donate? Nothing. You don't hear from them. You don't know where the money goes, and, literally, you probably won't hear a peep until the next fundraiser. And Tracy's helping nonprofits solve that problem. And this is great because she doesn't just have to talk to nonprofits. She can talk to someone like me who's like, oh, there's this charity that I love, and I wish they would do more to keep me top of mind, to keep me in the loop about what's happening. And then I can make an introduction for Tracy because she's so specific on who it is she serves and the problem she is solving for them. So Tracy has this nice dose of hyper specificity.

Michelle Mazur [00:09:35]: She does have this industry, but then it's relatable to people who are outside of the industry. So it's easier for people to refer her because she's so specific about the problem. So how do you start getting hyper specific? First, realize that I know you're gonna feel like you're missing out on clients, but you don't know how many clients you're actually missing out on right now because they don't feel like you're talking to them, because they feel ignored, and they're going to find someone else who does talk to them. And the other part of this is this is exactly the work we do inside the Expert Up Club. And as I've mentioned before, we are I'm opening back up for private tours on March 25. One of the things we do is with the Grow, Engage, Offer framework, in that Grow phase, we talk about how can you speak your client's language through creating empathy maps, micro stories, driving belief statements, and all of that helps you get specific. So if you are interested, if this resonates with you at all, please get on the interest list at drmichellemazur.com/interest so I can reach out to you and invite you on a private tour. And by the way, I reach out to you personally.

Michelle Mazur [00:11:11]: So finally, here's a crucial tip. You've gotta listen loudly to your clients. When you're thinking about how do I niche down, how do I reach people who could most benefit from this offer, 80% of your content needs to be about that potential client's lived experience. It shouldn't be about you or not about how you solve problems, not about your offer, because 80% needs to speak their language to them, to their experience. And at this point, just 20% really should be about you and your business. So the bottom line, don't be afraid of niching down, because right now, you are losing out on clients. You just aren't aware of it.

Michelle Mazur [00:12:05]: If the Make Marketing Suck Less pod is making your marketing more effective so that your clients can find and hire you, please share the show with a friend. The easiest way to do that is through pod link. You can find the show at pod.link/rebel, and that page will allow anyone you share the show with to subscribe and start listening in their favorite podcast player.

That's pod.link/rebel.

The Make Marketing Suck Less podcast is a production of Communication Rebel. Our production coordinator is Jessica Gulley-Ward. The podcast is edited by Steven Mills, our executive producer is me, Dr. Michelle Mazur.

The make marketing suck less podcast is recorded on the unseated traditional lands of the coast salish peoples, specifically the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish people, original stewards of the land, past, and present.