In-Depth Guide: 3 ways to market to a new niche (email templates included)
This is what most people fail to tell you about niching your marketing...
To niche, or not to niche…
You'll have no doubt heard from industry coaches & experts that niching your accounting firm's marketing is a good thing to do.
It is.
It's by no means essential for success, but it can definitely help for reasons well beyond marketing (think improved internal efficiency when your entire team are working across similar clients).
But here’s something most others fail to tell you…
Niching your firm’s marketing WILL NOT give you better results.
At least not in the short term...
Here's why:
Getting started in a new niche is hard work.
Unless you already have a strong network of people you know or an existing client base to leverage for referrals, you're pretty much building from zero.
And growing an audience organically doesn't happen overnight.
It takes time. How much time? It depends on which channels you’re using but a safe rule of thumb is always 6-12 months.
So if building an audience in a new niche takes time, what can you do today to start finding new leads & clients?
The answer lies not in your own audience, but in other peoples…
You need to leverage audiences that other people have built
In every niche (and we’re talking more specifically here about sector & vertical niches e.g. dentists, hospitality, inventory businesses, professional services etc) there are people and businesses that have already built audiences.
Podcasts, events, media sites, communities, forums, social media groups etc. They exist in some way in *most* niches.
Reviewing these channels available is an important part of your target market research and something we work through with all of our clients before jumping into any new niche. If you can’t easily find and target your ideal clients, marketing is always going to be a struggle.
So whilst you’re busy building up your own audience, you need to be tapping into these existing audiences to get your name, brand, and message out in front of them.
I already know what you’re asking…
How do I do that?
In today’s newsletter, I’m going to share with you 3 proven ways.
I’ve even included some email templates and website walkthroughs to give you the full low-down on how to make it happen.
Let’s get into it…
1. Podcast Appearances
In 2023, there are over 5 million podcasts with over 70 million episodes available.
And it’s estimated that by the end of 2024, there will be over 500 million podcast listeners worldwide.
Unless your niche is middle-aged dog-whisperers that live in the Cayman Islands, my best guess is there will be a few popular podcasts in your target niche.
So how do you go about finding them?
By using podcast search engines like ListenNotes and Podchaser.
They’re fairly intuitive, but I recorded a short walkthrough of Podchaser for you below
When searching remember to filter your results by ‘date of most recent episode’ as this will allow you to find podcasts that are currently active (it’s a premium feature on ListenNotes).
You also want to make note of:
Is it a podcast with a single host or do they have different guests each time?
Does the topic of the podcast fit with what you have to say?
For example, if you were targeting dental clinics there’s no value in you trying to guest on a dentistry podcast about the latest procedures and clinic techniques
Once you’ve pulled together a list of active podcasts in your niche, it’s time for the next step…
You’re going to pitch yourself as a guest
(If speaking isn’t your thing, jump ahead to method #2 in this article…)
The #1 challenge most podcast owners face is finding a consistent source of new and insightful guests to host. They WANT you to get in touch and offer to speak, but like most things, there is a right and a wrong way to do this…
For your outreach to be successful, you need to make it all about what you can do for them and their audience.
This starts by doing a review of their existing episodes to listen out for common trends and look for possible gaps or areas where you can offer additional expertise or perspective.
Have they had any guests speaking about accounting/financial-related things before?
If so, what did those guests cover? What could you say that’s different?
Next, you need to find the email address of the host. Start by searching for them on Linkedin to see if they have their email address there, alternatively find their website and use a tool like Hunter.io to search for any email addresses online.
If you’re able to engage with this person on social media a couple of times before sending the email then your chances of success will be much higher.
Once you’ve got their details, it’s time to write and send your pitch.
The elements of a strong pitch email consist of:
Personalised intro - show you’re genuinely interested in what they’re doing
Introduce the missing topic/suggested topic
Who are you + Credibility
Suggestions for podcast episodes/titles
Other podcasts/speaking you’ve done (optional, this isn’t essential if this is new for you)
There’s no fixed formula for how to do it, but here’s a rough template that’s worked well for me. It changes slightly depending on who I’m sending it to…
Hi <name>,
I was just listening to <name of podcast> - really love what you’re doing. The episode with <name of guest> about <topic> was pretty interesting, especially the discussion around <what they were discussing>.
I couldn’t help but notice that you haven’t recorded any episodes about <topics that are missing>. As an <what you do> myself I’ve got <insert something about your experience & credibility that means they should listen to you>.
If you’re open to new guests, here are a few suggestions I had for episodes I think would work well for your audience:
<episode suggestion 1>
<episode suggestion 2>
<episode suggestion 3>
In case it’s of interest, here’s a link to a similar podcast I recorded with <optional - other podcasts you did>.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks!
Once you’ve hit send, it’s just a case of waiting. Feel free to send a follow-up email a few days later to chase them up if you don’t hear back.
Once you’re successful, here are some quick tips for turning your podcast appearance into exposure for your firm:
Ask for a link back to your website & social profiles to be included in the show notes (most will do this anyway)
Share the episode on your social media channels and tag the host - they will likely do the same on theirs
If you have a lead-generating asset - remember to include this link in these posts (even better, try to mention it in the episode if you can. It can be very informal e.g. “yeah I’ve got a guide on my website that runs through these 3 ideas in more detail”)
2. Guest posting and writing
In the same vein that your chosen niche likely has popular podcasts, it’s also likely there are a number of popular websites & blogs that you could contribute some content to.
Finding these is also relatively straightforward, and the best place to start is Google.
If you search for terms like “news for <niche>” or “blog for <niche>” you’ll uncover a list of popular sites that already have the audience you’re looking to target.
Here’s an example for marketing agencies…
Some of the editors for these sites can be a little tricky to get past when it comes to contributing content so another way to find popular websites & blogs your ideal client use is by using a tool called SparkToro.
This also helps to identify social media accounts they interact with, keywords they use online, and some other juicy insights that can help with your marketing.
I recorded a quick walkthrough for you below.
Once you’ve identified a list of suitable sites and blogs, it’s time to create an outreach campaign not too dissimilar to the one we recommended for podcasts.
Here’s an amended version of the email template I would use…
Hi <name>,
I was just reading some of the content on <name of blog/site> and really love the article about <article topic and what you found interesting>.
I couldn’t help but notice that you published any recent content about <topics that are missing>. As an <what you do> myself I’ve got <insert something about your experience & credibility that means they should listen to you>.
If you’re open to new content submissions, here are a few suggestions I had for articles that I think would work well for your audience:
<blog suggestion 1>
<blog suggestion 2>
<blog suggestion 3>
In case it’s of interest, here’s a <optional> link to another blog I recently wrote for <other blog>.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks!
Once you’re successful, here are some quick tips for turning your guest blog into a source of new traffic:
Ask for a link back to your website (good for your SEO) & social profiles to be included in the author bio
Share the blog on your social media channels and tag the site owner/editor - they will likely do the same on theirs
If you have a lead-generating asset - remember to include this link in the blog as well - this way you’ll hopefully generate some leads directly from their site
3. Attending events & conferences
In accounting we’re blessed with many events across the globe: Xerocon, Accountex, Digital Accountancy Show, and Scaling New Heights to name a few.
But we’re not alone in this. Lots of other niches also have very popular events and conference calendars all year round that are prime opportunities for you to get in front of a new audience.
The easiest way to start looking for these would be Google. A search like “events for <niche> in <your country>” should get the ball rolling and give you a few of the more popular ones to start with.
There are 3 ways you can get value from these events & conferences…
1. Offer to speak/be a panellist
Events are always on the lookout for new and interesting speakers.
Some events advertise ‘speaker submissions’ on their websites which makes it really easy for you to apply. If they don’t, then the approach I’d take here is no different to the ones we’ve already shared for podcasts and blogs.
Identify relevant ones
Find content gaps you can fill
Get contact details of the organiser
Send an email to pitch your ideas
2. Network with other exhibitors
If the event has an exhibition space then these people are great potential partners for your firm. You’re both targeting the same audience, so why not look for ways to work together?
This could consist of:
Co-marketing e.g. guest blogging for each other
Co-hosting an event
Referral agreement
Who knows, maybe some of these exhibitors also have podcasts and you can pitch for an episode in person!
3. Network with attendees
The conversations you have with other people at events are often the most valuable bit.
This is a prime opportunity for you to meet and network with people in your target market in the flesh. If the event has networking zones, go spend some time there.
Have an ‘elevator pitch’ ready to reel off for when you get into a conversation. Don’t just say “I’m an accountant”. Tell them who you work with and how you help them.
A simple formula to follow is: “I work with X to help them with Y so that they can Z”
“I’m an accountant that works with construction firms to help them manage and stay on top of their cash flow to help them grow without worrying about running out of cash”
It’s always good to collect people’s details so that you can follow up with them afterwards with a simple “great to meet you” email or message. Don’t rely on them taking yours and hoping they get in touch.
Putting yourself out there
We’ve gone through 3 ideas so far for how you can leverage other people’s audiences when trying to grow your firm in a new niche:
Podcast appearances
Guest blogs
Events & conferences
This list isn’t exhaustive, but it gives you an idea of where to get started.
Something you’ve probably noticed as a running theme between these 3 is that starting in a niche is about getting yourself out there.
You can’t underestimate the power of networking and building relationships.
A book I’d strongly recommend reading if you want to learn more about this is Daniel Priestley’s “Key Person of Influence”.
Hope you’ve found this week’s newsletter helpful.
Until next time,
Jordan
P.S. We’d love to know your feedback on these longer-form newsletters…