When You Speak to Everyone. Why narrowing your focus is the most counterintuitive growth strategy available to you.
It feels wrong, the first time you hear it.
Narrow the focus #
Surely the goal of marketing is to reach as many people as possible? Surely a wider net catches more fish? Surely narrowing your focus means leaving opportunity on the table?
Seth Godin dismantled that assumption in a single sentence: when you speak to everyone, you speak to no one.
Niche down: optimise your message #
The logic, once you sit with it, is undeniable. A message designed for everyone is a message optimised for no one in particular. It softens every edge, hedges every claim, avoids every specific detail that might resonate powerfully with one person but not another. The result is content that feels generic, marketing that feels impersonal, and communication that slides past its intended audience without leaving a mark.
The alternative is to get specific. Deliberately, unapologetically specific.
Who exactly are you trying to reach? Not “business owners” — which business owners? Not “decision makers” — which decisions, in which industries, at which stage of growth? The tighter your definition of your ideal reader, client, or customer, the more powerfully your message can speak to their actual situation.
Intelligent, open-minded people with genuine buying capacity are out there. But they won’t recognise themselves in a message written for everyone. They’ll recognise themselves in a message written specifically for them — one that speaks their language, addresses their real challenges, and makes it easy to respond.
Speak to someone #
Narrow the focus. Sharpen the message. Speak to someone.
The right someone, reached clearly and consistently, is worth infinitely more than everyone, reached vaguely and forgotten immediately.
“When you speak to everyone, you speak to no one.” — Seth Godin
Thank you for reading.
PS: I create small, digestible guides on Gumroad for business owners who hate aggressive tactics and prefer relationship-led approaches. New resources are added regularly. For longer reads on lead generation and the human side of sales, follow me on Medium and join the daily conversation on LinkedIn.
Please see the links below:
Gumroad: https://richardbulldomican.gumroad.com/
Medium: https://medium.com/@richard-bulldomican
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardbulldomican/
