I’m scared of niching! Can I have more than one niche?

One of the first things I teach and talk about with yoga teachers I work with, is the importance of “niching.” In the 7 step process I use to help yoga teachers build the foundations for their yoga teacher career, niching is step 2 – and we spend quite a bit of time on it.

Niching really IS the key to developing your yoga teacher career.

The trouble is, it seems almost counter-intuitive doesn’t it?

When you’re scrabbling to get enough students to your classes, or you’re facing lots of competition from other yoga teachers in your area, it’s easy to start trying to grab any-one you can to come to your classes…

But in my experience , that’s a path to nowhere.

It’s easy to think if we narrow down who we’re trying to attract we’ll restrict the numbers of students who come to us: but the truth is, when a prospective student is considering taking up yoga there are a few things they will consider – and one of them is whether what you offer sounds appealing to them.

Have a lot of competition in your area?

Niching offers you an opportunity to allow you to stand out from the other yoga teachers.

Want your posters, social media posts or other advertising to bring in more enquiries?

Niching will ensure those adverts work harder for you and bring in more enquiries.

Now if you want to learn more about niching and how to go about it, plus get access to other free resources to help you with the process, you’ll find loads more here on my blog section dealing specifically with developing your niche: Developing your niche

But this article is about whether you can have more than one niche – and the simple answer is “Yes.!”

BUT……….

Exercise caution here.

Want more than one niche?
Be prepared to do the work more than once!

The whole point of niching is to narrow your focus to a VERY specific type of student so you can tailor your message JUST for them. There is a process to go through, in terms of gaining real clarity about who that ideal student is in that niche, right down to the experience they are looking for as well as the practical things like the likely times they are going to want to attend class and what they are willing to pay. From every niche you decide to teach, you should build a “Student Avatar”, which outlines in lots of detail the ideal student for that niche – and any marketing you do – including your website, needs to “speak” to that specific ideal student; every enquiry you answer will use language which is designed to resonate with that specific student, and the experience you offer when they attend will meet the needs you know your idea student in that niche is looking for.

It’s a process. And its VERY SPECIFIC.

3 tips if you’re thinking about offering classes for 2 niches:

1. Recognise every niche needs to have a different “student avatar” you have clearly worked through and understand.
   The work you do to gain clarity on your first niche, and to establish your student avatar in that area - you are going to have to do that work all over again.
2. One website – or two?
   This depends! There are some situations where you can keep the same website, but just ensure there are VERY CLEAR sections on your site which lead people to the SPECIFIC page which is likely to resonate for them.
   So say you start out with your main niche, as I do, with yoga for those in mid- life or later years. You could add a niche for yoga for golfers (many of my students play golf!!) or yoga for older runners/athletes. You’re still targeting a similar base, but appealing to almost a niche within a niche! Offering a specific course for such sub-sets of a niche can be a really successful way to fill a course, and even get them interested in other classes you run!
   But you need to have a specific section of your website which speaks SPECIFICALLY to this audience; outlines the BENEFITS of your course and encourages a commitment to that course so they have a chance to feel those benefits.
   What if I got a lot of enquiries for yoga from pregnant women? Would I keep the same website? NO!
   My target market is over 45 – and most of my students are either experiencing or have gone through the menopause!! Sticking information on my website about yoga for pre or post natal, or mum and baby yoga classes is not only going to jar and look completely incongruent, it’s going to confuse anyone who visits my site!
   So think through carefully whether the second niche could fit as a sub-set of your existing niche, or whether it really is so different from your existing niche you need to develop a whole new area/approach for them.
   Honestly? I’d avoid this latter approach – at least in the beginning, or unless you’re hankering after running a studio – where you will offer a whole variety of classes for different niches. But honestly – do you want to actually teach all those yourself? How authentic would that be? My experience is teach what you know and love – and leave the other niches to teachers who know and love that niche! 
3. May be better to start with one niche; test, then move on if you wish.
   As I’ve already mentioned, getting real clarity on your niche can take time and reflection. I have developed resources to help yoga teachers work through this process – but you do need to know it IS a process, and it takes time! But this is NOT time wasted. It not only saves you time in the long run – it will fill your classes and make you more successful more quickly.
   Generally speaking I’d advise you work on one niche first. Get it clear in your head. Do the research. Plan your advertising and any work you do on a website around that niche – and then test!!! If it works, then you can move on to another niche.
   If you’re determined to try more than one – do two at most – do the work for each – test and see which brings in the best response in terms of filling your classes and gaining enquiries/interest and loyal students willing to commit to more than drop ins. If they both fly – great! If one does well and the other flops – well…you know what to do!