Vertical focus is the most common type of niche.
It is a client-driven focus. If you target an industry, all your potential clients will sell the same type of product or service. Sometimes, they will be competing for the same customers too.
After some projects you would know all the ins and outs of designing or developing for that group of clients.
A graphic designer specializing in wargaming is an example. All your clients would be wargaming businesses.
After a while you would know everything about wargaming design, be it packaging, rulebooks, point-of-sale, or logo design.
Business Example
Jennie Lakenan: Freelance web designer
Jennie Lakenan helps life coaches grow their businesses via amazing websites.
She's an excellent example of a web designer with a vertical focus. Most of her clients are life coaches certified by The Life Coach School.
She started her business in 2015. For long Jennie had two conflicting goals: to be a life coach, and to be a web consultant But juggling both goals did not move her forward. She was torn between them. Finally, she realized she needed to practice constraint and go all in on one thing (you can her full story here.)
Since 2019 Jennie is 100% committed to web consulting.
Her primary service is custom website design. She also offers website care plans and strategic marketing consulting.
Check out some of Jennie's best work in her portfolio.
How Jennie Positions Her Web Design Business
Market positioning refers to the manner in which you present and market yourself to potential clients.
You create a positioning statement as inspiration for persuasive language in all your marketing. The positioning statement is the DNA of your brand. It's invisible but controls how you appear to the world.
When you're consistent in your messaging, it makes it possible for your potential clients to perceive the qualities (or identity) of your brand or services correctly.
Jennie could have written a positioning statement sounding something like this (write your own statement using this template):
My name is |
Jennie Lakenan |
I am the |
founder and principal web designer |
of |
Jennie Lakenan Web Consulting |
My firm creates |
websites and automated sales processes |
for |
life coaches (with big goals and a ton of resolve to get it done) |
that allows them to |
get their mind off their website, convert website visitors into leads, and grow their coaching businesses |
Unlike |
other web designers / web developers |
I have |
systems in place that guide the clients every step on the way, and I partner with a professional graphic designer that does the client's brand design. |
I am |
a certified business consultant, a certified life coach, and I have already built 24 sites for coaching businesses |
I am |
structured, professional |
"Build a website that matches the caliber of your coaching" (hero image)
"I build beautiful, highly targeted websites for life coaches so they can get their mind off their website and onto becoming an example of what’s possible."
"As a certified digital business consultant and certified life coach, I aim to get more coaching into the world by helping other coaches to promote and grow their businesses via amazing websites and strategic marketing."
"My clients are coaches with big goals and a ton of resolve to get it done."
Did Jennie's marketing pique your interest? Follow her on social media:
More Examples of Vertically Focused Web Designers
Kate McMillan at Outbox Online Design Studio is "your one stop shop for a great author website"
Alex Vita at ForegroundWeb helps professional photographers "differentiate your website from the world of photo hobbyists & sell more images."
If you are a dog breeder, you call Irina Sammut at Breeder Web Design: "Breeder web design, dog adverts, kennel logo design."
