"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."

“I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.”

–Bill Cosby

When people find out about what I do for a living, I get one of two reactions:

Skepticism. “You’re one of those ‘make money online’ types? Hmm.” (Backs away slowly, hand on wallet)
Enthusiasm. Just about everyone who spends a decent amount of time on the web has an Idea for a Website. Either to market their own services/products “I’d love to put my artwork online” or a broader-based concept “Why isn’t there a website for (insert personal interest here) that does (insert feature here) really well?!?”

If he/she falls into category 2, they may take it a step further and expound on how they have thought seriously about launching such a website, especially if they have a technology or marketing background. These discussions are exciting to me; I love to brainstorm and give input based on what I’ve learned through trial and error over the years (lots of trials. a lot more errors.). Site design, content ideas, technology recommends.

But when the discussion comes round to targeting an audience, the most important piece of advice I try to pass on is usually the one they like the least: Don’t try to target everyone. In fact, you should purposely exclude some folks.

Intuitively, I guess this doesn’t make a lot of sense. The World Wide Web represents the unprecented ability to touch virtually everyone around the globe with an internet connection, 24/7. With that kind of reach, it seems odd to limit your focus to a select few. But here’s a few reasons why you should do precisely that:

1) Competition. The broader your scope, the more competitive the space is, and the more likely it is already dominated by a entrenched player that is going to be hard to dislodge.

2) The scattergun approach, that is aiming a lot of bullets in a general direction, has a terrible hit ratio. Laser focusing on a smaller but well-qualified audience is going to be more fruitful than going after the masses.

3) Expense and time. Diluting your efforts in order to go after a broader audience takes more resources, more bodies and generally takes a lot longer to do it well and to see results.

Last year I talked to an aspiring show business writer based in Chicago who was creating an entertainment blog to showcase his and his friends’ work. He hoped to get exposure and maybe even make money on the side to support the site. He was shooting for the stars, envisioning the next Break.com. Instead, I suggested he take a geo-local approach, at least to start– articles that played on regional tastes or themes, spotlighting local improv venues, interviewing local talent.

Because while it would be great to be a FunnyOrDie.com or The Onion which enjoy huge followings and mainstream media recognition, it takes funding, professional staff and/or big name backing to go after those spaces in an impactful way, and he was operating with a shoestring budget and volunteers. I felt he would get more traction by taking a grass-roots approach, as a smaller audience is easier to connect to and touch. There was also no competition at the time, which was surprising as Chicago is a well-known launching pad for many famous and successful writers and comedians (hi Second City, Tina Fey). Lastly, he hoped to support the site with advertising, and a community-focused approach would make it an easier sell to local businesses.

Fast Company’s Expert Blog published an article a few days ago about this phenomenon of focusing on the few in order to win big. I dug it so much I stole the above Bill Cosby quote from it :). The author sums the premise better than I can:

As counter-intuitive as it may seem, the narrower you target, the broader you may catch. This is because brands that target narrow generally stand for something, while brands that target too broadly generally don’t.

Polarization is good. Traveling the middle road, as broad and tempting as it may be, is always and unequivocally bad. Like people, brands are defined by the company they keep. But they’re also defined by the company they don’t keep.

Austin McGhie, “Why Your Brand should Piss Someone Off”, Fast Company

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Jenise Uehara Henrikson

CEO, Partner at Alpha Brand media

As CEO, Jenise manages Alpha Brand Media's long-term strategy while overseeing workflow performance and operations. She also manages select Alpha Brand Media ("ABM") properties and contributes content to ABM publications such as SearchEngineJournal.com.

Jenise graduated from Cal State Los Angeles (BA Sociology). In 1996 she joined Pointcast, a push technology startup where she was promoted to program manager for sponsored channels.

In 1999, Jenise joined Phone.com, a pre-IPO mobile Internet startup. After merging with Software.com in 2001, Phone.com changed its name to Openwave Systems. In 2005 she was promoted to Director, reported to the CFO and managed the Deals Desk, a sales and business ops team that manages a complex sales contracting process.

In 2007 she became CEO of Henrikson Media, a web publisher that was acquired by Alpha Brand Media in 2010.

Jenise has been quoted in ABC News Online, Investors.com, and internet marketing blog Shoemoney.com.