NicheCraft
If I could only teach one thing to budding filmpreneurs, it would be NicheCraft.
That’s my term for the process of finding, researching, and deeply serving your niche.
Sure, there are thousands of marketing and business tactics out there.
But in our competitive media climate, they’re mostly moot without a niche.
You could master facebook ads, influencer marketing, micro content, chatbots, and any other “flavor of the month” tactic.
But if you haven’t put your film into a niche context, Hollywood will destroy you in the Attention Game.
Like Lebron James taking on a middle schooler in a game of 1-on-1, it’s just not a fair fight.
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Most of us are familiar with the 80/20 rule—where 20% of efforts drive 80% of results.
Niching down is like the 80/20 rule on steroids.
For indie filmmakers, NicheCraft is the 2% of activity that drives 98% of results.
When you identify, then relentlessly focus on a niche, you’ll find that you don’t need to be a world class marketer or business mind.
The simple act of creating work that deeply resonates with a small group of people is often more than enough to earn—and sustain—their attention.
Niching down really is that powerful.
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Of course, it’s one thing to say “you need a niche,” and it’s another to actually do it.
As much as I wish I could tell you that it’s easy and quick, I just can't.
In my experience working 1-on-1 with filmmakers these past few years, I’ve seen the vast majority struggle to identify a niche.
The process itself is messy and uncertain. It often comes with false starts and self-doubt.
But as you’ve seen, on the other side of that work lies a world of creative and financial possibility.
So I want to do my part to get you through to the other side.
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I’d like to present you with two options for learning the nuts and bolts of NicheCraft.
The first option is the DIY route.
I’ve produced three of the most comprehensive pieces of content on this topic anywhere on the web.
They get into the messiness and nuance, leaving no stone unturned.
And because I believe that information should be free, these pieces really do amount to the best of my thinking.
You can read those pieces here, here, and here. (Also, an updated and newer piece here.)
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The second option is the accelerated route.
I have a small, bite-sized course called Find Your Niche.
It’s the ideal option for people who don’t want to wade through hours of free content, but instead want to do the work and get results quickly.
In Find Your Niche, I’ll guide you through the two most crucial phases of this process.
How to brainstorm dozens of niche ideas, and identify the ones with the most potential.
How to research these ideas, so you know ahead of time if a niche can support you financially and creatively.
You can go through all of the content and exercises in a day or two.
And by the end of the week, you could have found the ideal niche for your creative work, and move on to the next stage of the filmpreneur journey.
If you’re ready to get started, you can grab access to Find Your Niche here, and dive in right away.
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Regardless of which path you take, please know that I’m here to help.
My goal is to arm the indie film community with new tools, and get people legit results, regardless of whether they’re paying me or not.
So, you can email me at any time, or better yet, ask in the Ungated community.
That way, all of us can share our experience and benefit from the open conversation.
If you’re not a member of the Ungated Collective yet, here’s the link to learn more.
Tomorrow, we'll be wrapping up Indie Film: Upgraded with a manifesto.
It'll dig into even more of the mindsets and strategies that make Andre so successful.
But for now, please know that NicheCraft is the name of the game.
Get this one essential piece of the puzzle right, and everything else will fall into place later.
And you now have the resources you need to find your niche and start earning attention with your films.
Go get ‘em tiger.
-Rob “#NicheLife” Hardy