The Doula Dilemma: Should Birthworkers Niche Down?
Have you been debating whether or not to “niche down” and serve a specific subset of pregnant women rather than trying to serve everyone?
If you’ve been wondering why so many business coaches are talking about “niching down”, but you’re not quite on board, then get out a pen and paper, this blog post is for you.
Things you’ll learn in this blog post:
Why so many birthworkers feel “stuck” with no social media growth or sales (and how to fix it)…
The single best way to cut through the noise and get attention on social media…
How to attract ONLY your dream doula clients…
… and a whole lot more!
There comes a time for every new entrepreneur when they just feel like they’re stuck. Maybe you've been a doula for a while, or maybe you're totally new to this whole doula thing, but regardless, almost everyone hits this wall. They feel like their offer isn't selling and their audience online isn't growing.
So here’s the question…What got them to that place? And more importantly, what can you do to avoid ever getting to that place as a new doula?
When doulas come to me with issues like they aren't getting doula clients, or they aren't growing their social media following, or they can't grow their email list, or maybe no one's clicking on their website… the first thing I ask is, “Have you identified your superpower? Have you identified what makes you different than the other thousands of doulas on Instagram?”
You have to get very clear about who it is that you actually serve. In the business world, this is called niching down.
The whole purpose of a niche is that you don't want to serve everyone, because if you're trying to serve everyone, you're seen as bland and boring. And if that’s you, I can guarantee that you're not going to be perceived as the expert in any one topic. You're going to be *okay* at a lot of things, but not an expert at one specific thing.
Niching down as a doula is the thing that will cut through the noise. It's going to get you the attention.
When you’re too general, your messaging becomes confusing to pregnant women. But when you niche down…that's when you become known in the birth community as an expert.
By niching down, and choosing NOT to serve every pregnant woman that every lived, you’re creating three things with your messaging:
1. Clarity on who you are, what you do, and who you serve.
2. A connection with your followers. This is where pregnant women start saying, "This doula knows what she's talking about. This doula knows what I want. And this doula knows how to help me reach my birth goals. I want to hire her.”
3. Specialization. Think of this…if you had a heart condition, would you rather go to the general practitioner, or would you rather go to the country's best heart surgeon? It's a no-brainer, right? You go to the specialist!
If you’re trying to be the pregnancy, birth, postpartum, abortion, and bereavement doula that serves everyone at every stage of motherhood for every reason… you’re going to end up serving nobody because all of your potential clients will look right over you and go to the other doulas who “niched down.”
PS: I know a lot of new birthworkers get caught up thinking, "I'm not an expert because I don't know everything there is to know about birth."
But here’s the thing… The point isn't to know every little thing about birth…
…but what if you knew every little thing about that one specific topic in birth? What if you knew everything about miscarriage? What if you knew everything about freebirth or about VBACs?
So as a new doula, how do you actually choose your niche? How do you know the niche you choose is “niche” enough?
Envision this with me.
The widest niche possible is the “pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and bereavement doula” who serves everyone at every stage of motherhood for every reason.
What I want you to do, is to narrow it down at least 2-3 levels.
Ask yourself, “What would it look like to create an offer just for pregnancy, and NOT for all of the other stages of motherhood?”
And then don’t stop there! Go down another level.
What if you served just moms pregnant with twins? Or maybe you want to be a doula for VBAC moms or freebirth moms…. Make sense?
The final tip I want to leave you with as you choose your niche as a doula is this: Be authentic!
Don’t choose your niche based on what you think is going to make money, make other people happy, or be easy. None of that! Ask yourself, "What makes me different than the other doulas out there?" And when you come up with an answer, start to envision how you can tune into that to serve the pregnant women in your community better.
PS: Of course, being authentic is way easier said than done, especially when it comes to early entrepreneurship because most new doulas (and new business owners in general) want to mimic other doulas' work.
But here's what I really believe: you are not going to find success until you're truly authentic. The more you are your raw self (without a filter), the easier it's going to be to find your dream doula clients, to create a successful business, and to change the birth world for the better.
And throughout this whole process, always remember that this is a lifetime journey. Your messaging, your branding, your offers, your brand colors, etc., are all ever-changing.
But you just have to start somewhere.
So here’s your homework for today:
Choose your niche… and then niche down a couple of levels deeper.
And if you are ready to grow your doula business and to build a legacy bigger than you ever dreamed possible, DM me the word “sustainable” on Instagram, and let's chat about how I can help you get there way faster and with a whole lot less stress.
Building a business (especially as a doula) can feel really lonely, but I promise you that you do not have to walk that path alone. You can walk it with a mentor by your side and a community supporting you every single step of the way.
I cannot wait to chat with you, hear your dreams, and help you get there in 2023.
thank you for listening
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Meet your host, Kyleigh Banks, a side-gig doula turned CEO of a multi-six-figure birth-focused business. Her passion? Teaching birth nerds, like you, how to build an incredibly successful doula business that allows you to quit your day job, stay home with your kids, and most importantly, make a lasting impact on the world.