How to Target a Specialty Niche in the Web Design Market

The word on the street is that you should know-it-all when it comes to being a web designer. This is not entirely true. When looking to hire someone to say remodel your home would you want someone that is so-so at electrical, painting, plumbing, and carpentry? Or a professional who is excellent at one of those skills? Finding a niche’ doesn’t necessarily mean only designing for a particular market, but it does mean putting more of your marketing efforts in a particular direction. Say for instance you really love designing for beauty salons or maybe you’d like to, but haven’t had the chance yet? Here are a few ways to get connected with the correct markets by blogging and networking.

Work your Blogging Magic

Read blogs that focus on the market you desire to design for. Give you two cents and comment on posts and be a regular. Get to know the authors of your favorites and network!

To be most efficient at blogging, start off by targeting smaller blogs that have less attention in the blogging world. This way the author should give more attention to your comments and it will be easier to build a relationship in this manner. The larger the blog, the less likely the writer is going to have time to connect with you.

Attend Events

Interested in designing for the automobile industry? Attend a car show and network yourself in their market. By doing this you are not only inspiring yourself, but you can learn more about the industry from an inside perspective and become more of an expert in the field. Only focusing on design conferences only allows you to see other’s work and not build your own ideas by experiencing an industry in a new perspective.

Online Networking Sites

These are a few sites I use on a daily basis for networking. They not only offer a place for you to show off your work, but also are widely focused on all types of businesses. You can stumble upon different auto websites and twitter your findings to make contact with the company.

Twitter is an easy way to make connections. For example:

This morning I was replying to a comment on my post Top 10 Designed Travel Websites and visited their camping website. After recently designing for North Bay Trading, I thought their camping focused readers might be interested in their products. So I used Twitter to send a long my thoughts. Now we both made a new connection and I helped my past client with a little bit of marketing.

Within a few minutes I had a response and sent along the information. Never hurts to help clients out even once you have finished designing for them. Once a client, always a client! This is a great technique to utilize if you have done a few projects in your niche market and would like to find a few more. Give it a try!

Create Projects

Show your targeted market what you can do, even if you haven’t had the chance yet. If you’re a young designer, like myself, you probably don’t have a lot of projects in the area you’d like to design for, if any. What are you waiting for? Make up a few of your own! There is no reason to have to tell someone “Sorry, I don’t have any examples of that specific business to show you.” Be creative, it’s what you’re supposed to do best. Give your project guidelines and stipulations to keep things interesting. Create a target market and a feeling you’d like to see that specific business portray to the world.

Self Promotion

Try creating a marketing piece specifically geared towards your targeted market. Send out postcards to businesses you know don’t have a web presence telling them about the reasons they should and how you can help them achieve their goals. Remember not everyone is design oriented when promoting yourself. Think about things that might capture their attention and integrate it into the design piece. Make sure you clearly state how to contact you and include a business card if possible to make it easy as possible.

When promoting yourself, try focusing your skills as well. Say for instance you are good at WordPress, logo, flash and book design. Focus in on what you want to do and what you do the best. Show your customers that you are in fact the expert in that area.

Brand Yourself

When promoting yourself you need to keep your brand consistent. Like your targeted market, you are your own business as well. Show your customers that you practice what you preach.

You are the most difficult client you’ll ever have. Do some soul-searching and learn about yourself and what makes you tick as a design and as a business professional. Currently I am in the process of branding my design business. It has been a tough journey thus far, but things are shaping up. I hope to have my new portfolio/blog up by late October along with all of my other marketing materials. A big goal but an important one to put in place.

I suggest you create the following and brand accordingly:

Online Portfolio
Print Portfolio
Resume (show off your typography skills!)
Business Card
Letterhead
Invoice
Design Contract (Minimal design, perhaps your logo will do)
Design Briefs
Email Signatures (Attach your one-line blurb here – Make it personal)

Marketing Resources & Tid Bits

AIGA for both businesses and designers

Art Bistro for all artists

Taste Spotting Delicious Food Resource