Hello there
This is the #28 Issue of Weekly Dan.
Ready to become a better Maker?
Every Tuesday, I share an actionable essay for Indie Entrepreneurs.
Today let’s talk about personal stories.
Niche down dilemma
Last Saturday, I was on a call with my close friend.
He is running 3 different projects right now. Non-stop hustle.
But he wanted to focus on just one project. And finally, start building an audience around it.
Of course, he was struggling with this decision.
Everything looks interesting.
And I don’t feel connected to any topic in particular.
How can I chose just one niche?
I had this exact problem 6 months ago.
Hundreds of product ideas in different niches: productivity, marketing, education, people management, and relationships. And each one sounds so promising I want to build it right away.
But I resisted this temptation. And that’s how my 4-step system was born.
Define your big idea
Build an audience around it
Launch MVPs to test different pain points
Find the sweet spot to focus on
Today I will cover how the first step works.
Start with an idea
Before writing a single line of code or tweeting anything, you need to define your big idea. Something you strongly believe in now and will continue for at least 3 years.
This idea will define what audience you need to build, what type of product you need to launch, and what messages you will deliver throughout this journey.
Without this idea, you are just another Entrepreneur with another productivity / marketing / development tool. Ignorable and forgettable.
Here is my idea.
The cost of poor marketing
I co-founded an EdTech startup 2 years ago.
I spent the first year “improving the product” to have word of mouth and free marketing. It was a waste of time.
In the second year, I understood we needed to focus on marketing and sales to hit growth milestones. But I didn’t know how to do it.
That’s why I hired the CMO and Head of Sales. It was a disaster. I didn’t know to manage them, and they spent 3 months doing nothing.
Then I decided to do sales and marketing myself. It was hard, but I immediately saw the results. We finally had a clear roadmap to profitability.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. We burned all the funding and had to shut down the startup. As a result, 50 people were laid off.
Our journey could be different if I had focused on marketing from day 1.
This what my big idea is about.
Too many Entrepreneurs shut down good products because of poor marketing.
That’s why I want to help first-time founders with growing their product.
Especially if they don’t have previous marketing experience (as I did).
This way, more and more Founders will both work on the products they love and enjoy profits.
Good story symptoms
My story has three critical qualities:
It’s unique. I share my personal experience as a foundation for my idea. Nobody can’t compete with me in being me.
It’s about other people. Readers can connect with this story because it’s about them. I define my goal as helping other people. It’s better than “I just want to earn a buck online”
It’s simple. Failure, Consequences, Learnings, Goal. And any Startup Founder can relate to it because we all have been there.
Here are more ideas to get inspired. You can create a touching story in any niche:
I spent 5 years learning AI to make it easier for non-technical Entrepreneurs to leverage its power.
I lost my high-paying job due to ADHD and procrastination. That’s why I made a productivity tool for people with the same issues.
I’ve tried tens of diets, but only after getting a Ph.D. in Nutrition, I understood how to improve my health. That’s why I only share scientific-based fitness tips
These stories grab the attention. They make readers pause and learn more about the person behind the story. This is precisely what your product needs.
Be different genuine
You can’t win the competition if you are just like everyone else.
Find the story that sets you apart. Start with these 4 questions:
What huge pain point are you solving?
But why do you bother solving it?
What is your unique perspective on this problem?
How can you summarize your story in 1 sentence?
Having a unique and touching idea makes growing your audience and product easier. Because now you have a foundation to rely on.
That’s it!
Mind to give me some feedback?
And see you on Friday with the usual 5 golden nuggets for Indie Makers.
Absolutely not a CTA 🙃
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