How To Be Seen As an Expert in Your Niche
As teachers, we’re used to picking a specialization. As a business owner, have you done that same thing? Of course, in the business realm, it’s called a niche. The idea is very similar, and choosing a niche is key to being seen as an expert and making more consistent sales with your TpT store. We’re going to be looking at 3 questions to help find your niche and three reasons why knowing that niche will help you be seen as an expert in that area.
Because, as teachers, we also know what it’s like to be asked to step out of the specialization. One of the reasons I love TpT is that it’s NEVER going to ask me if I’d just consider making a few resources to help cover a staffing challenge. You really do get to and should stick with your niche as a teacherpreneur, and while that might be daunting at first, it’s also going to help you out so much.
When my students are struggling to find their niche, I love asking these three questions to help them find a niche they will love.
Three Questions to Find Your Niche
What lights you up?
What do you love having any excuse to talk about? You may have taken a lot of science classes, but if it’s just biology that you want to talk about all the time, then your niche might be biology. This question is all about what gets you excited, not what you’ve taken the most classes in or had the most experience teaching!
What feels easy and inspiring when you’re creating?
Or you could look at it as what doesn’t feel like a chore when you’re creating?
As a teacher you get to, or have to, do it all. With this question I want you to think through - which things do you wish you could do more of, or which things would you love to never do again. As you grow a business, you may decide or need to create some things you don’t love, but let’s start with what is inspiring. This can be important to avoid burn-out in your business.
What do people come to you for advice about?
Does your sister ask you for grammar advice? The neighbors come to you for new book recommendations for their tweens? Are your co-workers asking how you created those amazing signs? Take a minute and think about if there’s an area that other people recognize as your special genius. If it’s something people seek out from you AND you enjoy it, that could be the perfect niche.
Use Your Niche to Be Seen As an Expert
Once you’ve identified your niche, it’s going to help you with three important things that will grow your business. And all of them revolve around enjoying what you do and talking about it..
Build Consistency
Your niche lets you (and your audience) know what you are talking about… all day, every day!
Remember that question about what lights you up? Here’s why we need that one. When you have a niche, that’s what you talk about at least 98% of the time. People need to hear things multiple times for it to actually begin to sink in and resonate. Repeating yourself makes you come off as being an expert and help people know what you are the go to person for.
Use your niche to come up with about 3-5 general topics that you will use in all of your social media. Maybe this sounds limiting if you’re just getting started, but you’ll love it soon when it starts saving you time and mental energy. You only have to think about those 3-5 topics for all of your posts. No more debating if you should throw in a quick post for that amazing thing you made for dinner last night or yet another post about a resource you just finished. You’ll post about that resource, because you know it speaks to your niche, and they are not getting tired of that.
When it comes to social media, your content only gets seen by such a small portion of your audience, so even if you’ve said it before either you’ll reach new people who have never heard it or chances are they won’t even remember.
Create Trust
Trust is the #1 thing that you need to create as part of your brand strategy. It can be hard to see the end goal on this one, but trust leads to brand loyalty.
By talking about your thing over and over, you are showing customers and potential customers that you know and love your niche. You will only create the best resources, because you care about it so much.
Once you’ve built that trust within your niche by staying focused and reliably delivering quality resource, tips and inspiration, your audience will know that they do not need to keep searching for help in your area. They’ll just look to you and your store!
Teachers who trust the brands they purchase from will reward them with loyalty, engagement, and advocacy. They’ll buy your resources, even if it isn’t the cheapest. They’re very interested in checking out and buying a new product from you. They’ll even share or repost your content, or post about their experiences with you. They’ll recommend you to others. They’ll defend you against criticism.
Trust turns into brand loyalty when teachers are so confident in your product or service that they don’t hesitate to recommend you to other teachers knowing that no one will be disappointed. You cannot buy brand loyalty like that, but it is the best!
Be Seen As an Expert
To be seen as an expert, you could have that PhD or decades of experience, but what you really need is to start thinking like an expert.
So, what DOES an expert think like?
An expert has a mindset that says, “I’m going to continue learning, be a lifetime learner! And I’m going to remember that I don’t know everything. And that’s ok! I can learn it.”
To be seen as an expert, that consistency and trust you’ve built are definitely building blocks. Then you just need to know a little more than someone else and lend your hand to those who know less. That’s where it all starts as an expert in your niche. And where you choose to take that and grow that expertise is totally up to you!
Sometimes this is where that imposter syndrome really rears its ugly head. So, let’s add in a few things that are not required to be an expert. You do not need
- A PhD
- 20 years experience
- To “know everything”
To be seen as an expert, you do have to know enough to lend a hand and be willing to be seen!
And that brings us right back to your niche… that place you love to hang out and talk about!
One last bonus tip…
You can change your niche!
If you are avoiding picking a niche because you think you might want to change it in a couple years (or longer), you are not alone!
I struggled with this for years! It showed up in so many ways- mostly shiny object syndrome. It kept me from being committed to a specific niche, and caused so much confusion and ultimately a lack of trust in the market as people watched me switch from idea to idea.
At its core, though, this narrative of having too many options or passions is really an excuse to not take messy hardcore action.
The truth is that you are not stuck in your niche!
The niche you pick today can change down the road. If you need to change it someday, be sure that your change is a specific choice for a new niche, not just a shiny object distraction. When you change your niche or business model with intention, you get to retain all the trust you’ve built.
So, what niche are you picking today? Come share it in the Thriving Teachergram Tips Facebook group.
