who's on your sign?
He yells it. We post it. Neither one works. Here's what does.
Most of us market our business like Michael Scott.
You know the scene. He stands up in the middle of the office and yells, "I DECLARE BANKRUPTCY!" And he thinks that's all it takes. (Oscar's face. Every time.)
We do the same thing. We stand up and say "I'm a videographer!" or "I'm a photographer!" and hope people come running. (Spoiler. They don't. Don't by Dunder Mifflin's assistant to the assistant manager...)
Now picture the top of an airport escalator.
Hundreds of people walk past the guy holding the sign with somebody's name on it. But every single time, the one person whose name is on that sign walks straight to him. (Nobody else even slows down. That's fine. They weren't his.)
Nobody has ever walked up to a sign that says "ANYONE WHO NEEDS A RIDE" and thought, that's me!
That's what choosing your client does.
I learned this the hard way. When I first started my business, my niche was "service based businesses."
I failed miserably. Turns out "service based businesses" describes about half the planet. And not one of them knew I meant them.
Then I zeroed in on my exact person. Creatives. That one cut is what led me out of two months of no sales. It wasn't luck. It was a system built around an ideal client.
So why am I telling you this?
Because creatives fight me on this one more than anything else I teach. Choosing feels like turning everybody else away. (I get it, my friend. When you need the work, every "no" feels expensive.)
But choosing clearly does the OPPOSITE. It makes the right person recognize themselves in your work and in your messaging.
Here's the simplest way I know to think about it. A niche is where one person and one problem meet.
Maybe you work with a very specific person and solve a couple of problems for them. Or you solve one very specific problem, and quite a few people have it. Both work.
"I help small businesses become more profitable" doesn't. Both halves are fuzzy, so nobody sees their name on the sign. That's not a niche. That's a fortune cookie.
Pick one person and one problem, and make at least one of them sharp.
So would you rate yourself?
Two questions. And grade yourself like a traffic light.
First, can you say in one sentence who you serve and the problem you solve for them? If it takes you longer than 10 seconds, you're yellow. (If you just said "well, it depends"... also yellow.)
Second, look at your last 10 inquiries. Were most of them that exact person? Yes is green. Kind of is yellow. No is red.
If I had to guess, you're probably yellow. (I end up guessing a lot.) That's where most of the creatives I talk to start. And yellow is fine. It just means there's a decision to make.
Here's the easy fix.
Stop for a minute and write it down. "I help one kind of person with one problem." Rough is enough. The simpler the better.
Then hit reply and send me your sentence. I'd love to read it. Rough drafts welcome. Napkin photos welcome too.
Jonathan "hold the sign" Ray
PS. My first sign said "service based businesses." For two months, not one person walked over. Crickets. Very noisy crickets.
