Before you start making a show for your business, you need to figure out who you're making your content for. Who makes up your existing audience? What niche groups can you pull from there? The more you understand your audience, the better. Go find your nerds!

Dave Mizzoni

Nametag dave@2x

Actor & Producer 

Liz Cohen

Nametag cohen@2x

VP of Development

Brooke Van Poppelen

Nametag van poppelen@2x

Comic, Writer, Actor

Rand Fishkin

Nametag rand@2x

CEO & Co-Founder

Jenny Coppola

Nametag jenny@2x

Director of Content and Creative

Dan Mills

Nametag dan@2x

Head of Wistia Studios

Kristen Bryant

Nametag kristen@2x

Strategic Partnerships Manager

Colin Rosenblum & Samir Chaudry

Nametag colin and samir@2x

Co-Creators

Kibi Anderson

Nametag anderson@2x

Digital Content & Strategy Executive

Jeff Ayers

Nametag ayers@2x

Digital Media & Broadcasting Manager

Illustration of notepad, pen, and magnifying glass inspecting the word: niche

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Finding Your Niche Worksheet

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Why Your Content Strategy Should Target a Niche Audience

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Finding Your Niche


NARRATOR: Before you jump in to make some seriously bingeable content, you've got to figure out who you're making it for. Nowadays, there's a ton of great content out there. So, you need to make the best show for a community that your brand is uniquely positioned to talk to. Yup, it's time to find your niche.

ELENA BESSER: "Nitch" or "neesh"?

BROOKE VAN POPPELEN: "Neesh."

JEFF AYERS: "Nitch."

SAMIR CHAUDRY: Did you say "nitch"? You said "nitch."

LIZ COHEN: "Neesh."

KIBI ANDERSON: I say "neesh." I don't know why.

RAND FISHKIN: I don't care. Both are good. I probably say both.

NARRATOR: All right, we're going to go with "neesh." Everywhere you search, all kinds of shows are building passionate, engaged niche audiences.

DAVE MIZZONI: People will watch videos of any kind. I watch food videos about brownies being pulled apart all the time.

LIZ COHEN: Even if you think your company is boring or your idea is boring, the exciting thing about so many platforms now is that there really is an audience for every little thing.

NARRATOR: We're talking podcasts about fly fishing, documentaries about antique video games, and video series about folks who hang hammocks in tall trees.

BROOKE VAN POPPELEN: It is OK to be niche, OK? Audio is where it's at for gathering your listeners from all over the globe to talk about your weird, tiny little idea. I swear to God, the listeners are out there for it. [MIMICKING SHOOTING] [HORSES NEIGHING] [BLOWING]

RAND FISHKIN: You can make a great show with just a few dozen to a few hundred passionate subscribers who religiously follow everything that you do. I love true fans over big audiences.

NARRATOR: That's Rand Fishkin. Rand is kind of a video marketing superstar. But if you're not a marketing nerd, then Rand Fishkin is pretty much a nobody.

RAND FISHKIN: Hey, man.

NARRATOR: I mean this guy is a total unknown.

RAND FISHKIN: What?

NARRATOR: But if you are, Rand Fishkin is Oprah.

RAND FISHKIN: Whoa. Oprah?

I created a series called Whiteboard Friday. Initially, it was just me holding up a whiteboard with a marker in front of a cheap camera in our offices, explaining nerdy SEO concepts like 301 redirects. But eventually, it became the most successful content series in the company's history.

NARRATOR: So how do you find your niche? Let's talk to some folks here at Wistia to find out.

JENNY COPPOLA: To identify your niche, start by understanding your existing audience. Who are they? Why do they care about your brand? And why do they want your product? Chances are, you've already figured this out on your marketing team when you came up with your buyer personas.

DAN MILLS: And next, think about what else your brand has permission to talk about outside of your product, because a show all about your product, that's called an infomercial. So if you sell vegetables, why not do a whole show about homemade salad dressing recipes? Or if you build HR software, why not make a podcast about working remotely?

KRISTEN BRYANT: The key to engaging a niche audience is making content that adds value to a subculture. So make sure you deeply understand and connect with that audience.

NARRATOR: Filmmakers Colin and Samir.

SAMIR CHAUDRY: I wish you guys could taste this mango.

COLIN ROSENBLUM: It is phenomenal.

SAMIR CHAUDRY: It's really good.

The most important is to really identify the person you're making it for. And so instead of taking it from let's make something that everyone will enjoy, really hone it down to let's make something that this one person will enjoy. And that person should be an identity that you connect with, that your product connects with, that your story connects with.

COLIN ROSENBLUM: We shape our series in terms of how that one person would perceive it. And then, most likely if it gets to that one person, they will share it with like-minded people.

NARRATOR: Once you visualize the audiences you want to reach, write down your insights about those communities. It could be things like age, location, what they do for a living, or their hobbies and interests. But it's deeper than thinking about a target customer for your product. You want to have a sense of what this community cares about. What other shows do they watch? What sorts of things do they hate? And what are their big opinions about your industry or about the topics you want to cover on your show?

The more you understand your niche, the easier it will be to make ridiculously engaging binge-worthy content for them. You'll know the topics that will mean the most to your audience, which will help you create affinity for your brand.

KIBI ANDERSON: You want your audience to feel like when they come to your show, they are getting information that they can't get anywhere else.

NARRATOR: Say hi to digital content and strategy executive Kibi Anderson.

KIBI ANDERSON: Hey, everyone.

They're getting information that is really specific to an interest that they have, a passion that they have. And that's what makes them sticky. That's what makes them excited. That's what makes them want to bring other people. And then you have the recipe for a really great show.

JEFF AYERS: Look, nerds rule the world. Your superfans are the most important.

NARRATOR: That's podcast-turned-show-host Jeff Ayers from Deathwish Coffee.

JEFF AYERS: Hello.

We have done a lot in the science community. And I've met multiple people who have used our coffee in science experiments in their schools. And it really sparked this love of science just because of the shows that we create, and have gotten their entire schools loving on Deathwish Coffee, which is a bonus as well.

NARRATOR: So go ahead. Find your nerds and build them a clubhouse. And if you need help along the way, make sure you download our Finding Your Niche workbook to help you identify and describe your audience so you can make a show that they won't be able to turn off.
