The Fear of Specialization - Why Does It Plague Us?
Hey everyone 
Here's a pop quiz to see how in tune you are with the IM scene.
For 100 points and the game, which terrifies IM'ers the most:
a) The shower scene in Psycho
b) The suggestion that they must specialize into a single niche or a single type of buyer
If you answered b, collect your winnings at the door.
Why do we fear specialization? Because being specialized in one thing means you can't be specialized in something else. You'd have to... sacrifice.
"But I still have to try article marketing / PPC / Facebook / CPA / Clickbank / Adsense / membership sites / PLR / butterfly marketing / boomerang marketing / viral marketing / this / that / everything else! I'd be passing up on so many opportunities... Not gonna happen."
But you know what? Being specialized in one thing, far from sacrificing your opportunities, often opens you up to create more opportunities for yourself... the type of opportunities that were never an option when you were trying to do everything. Coaching. Speaking. Mentoring. Writing for actual publications instead of the web.
For a real-world example, consider Scandinavian Airlines, who in 1980 made the decision to position themselves exclusively as "the business traveler's airline". Yeah, that's right... an airline that made the conscious decision to forget about pleasing tourists. Because of that decision, Scandinavian Airlines created the EuroClass exclusively for business travelers, complete with martinis, phones, newspapers, business magazines, etc.
What happened? Not only did flocks of businesspeople come calling to EuroClass... but... the larger rates they paid for their service let the airline drastically drop the prices on their tourist class seats. Tourists who were looking for bargains knew to go to the business airline to get them, and the airline ended up attracting more tourists than they ever had.
The lesson? Define yourself. Choose what your specialty is and stick to it. Even if it's scary, even if another shiny awesome opportunity is calling you from that email that your guru sent you this morning.
By closing off most of the general roads you have before you today, you will not only get further down the road you choose to walk down, but you will find that it opens itself up in ways you didn't think was even possible.
Here's a pop quiz to see how in tune you are with the IM scene.For 100 points and the game, which terrifies IM'ers the most:
a) The shower scene in Psycho
b) The suggestion that they must specialize into a single niche or a single type of buyer
If you answered b, collect your winnings at the door.
Why do we fear specialization? Because being specialized in one thing means you can't be specialized in something else. You'd have to... sacrifice.
"But I still have to try article marketing / PPC / Facebook / CPA / Clickbank / Adsense / membership sites / PLR / butterfly marketing / boomerang marketing / viral marketing / this / that / everything else! I'd be passing up on so many opportunities... Not gonna happen."
But you know what? Being specialized in one thing, far from sacrificing your opportunities, often opens you up to create more opportunities for yourself... the type of opportunities that were never an option when you were trying to do everything. Coaching. Speaking. Mentoring. Writing for actual publications instead of the web.
For a real-world example, consider Scandinavian Airlines, who in 1980 made the decision to position themselves exclusively as "the business traveler's airline". Yeah, that's right... an airline that made the conscious decision to forget about pleasing tourists. Because of that decision, Scandinavian Airlines created the EuroClass exclusively for business travelers, complete with martinis, phones, newspapers, business magazines, etc.
What happened? Not only did flocks of businesspeople come calling to EuroClass... but... the larger rates they paid for their service let the airline drastically drop the prices on their tourist class seats. Tourists who were looking for bargains knew to go to the business airline to get them, and the airline ended up attracting more tourists than they ever had.
The lesson? Define yourself. Choose what your specialty is and stick to it. Even if it's scary, even if another shiny awesome opportunity is calling you from that email that your guru sent you this morning.
By closing off most of the general roads you have before you today, you will not only get further down the road you choose to walk down, but you will find that it opens itself up in ways you didn't think was even possible.
- Harry Behrens