Should You Niche Down or Stay Broad? Here’s What I Learned After 10+ Years

You’ve heard it a million times: “Niche down as much as possible. Get super specific. Be the go-to person for one tiny thing.”

But then someone else tells you: “No, stay broad. Don’t box yourself in. Give yourself room to explore.”

So which is it?

Here’s what I’ve learned from over a decade of building online businesses: they’re both right, and they’re both wrong, because it’s not about choosing one or the other, it’s about understanding what stage you’re at and what actually makes sense for your business.

So let me share my journey with this, what I’ve learned from multiple pivots, and hopefully give you some clarity on what might work for you.

My First Attempt at Niching Down (And What It Taught Me)

Back in 2013, I started a website about parrot care. Super niche, right? Very specific, and I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought, okay, I’m going to be the parrot care expert. I’m going to help people with their parrots. There’s got to be a need for this, because I had a need for this.

By the way, I’m still super proud of my first website, and it’s still live (but inactive) if you want to check it out! (no pressure!)

But here’s what I learned: just because something is niche doesn’t mean there’s an actual market for it.

I thought there was a need, but it turned out that at that time, there really wasn’t, or at least not the way I was trying to serve it.

So that taught me something important. Niche doesn’t automatically equal success. You still need to make sure there’s actual demand for what you’re offering, but that experience also taught me that I didn’t want to stay in that tiny niche forever. I had other interests, other things I wanted to teach and talk about, and that’s when I started questioning the whole “niche down” advice.

So I tried again. I started Willowbottom.com, a completely different niche focused on eco-friendly living. My main focus when I started this blog was to help people live an eco-friendly lifestyle by way of reducing what you bring into your home, reusing what you have, and repurposing what you can. This website soon evolved into homesteading, gardening, sustainable living, and real food recipes which stuck better. It’s still active today, with a large following, though I’m not as consistent with it as I’d like to be.

Even though I’m not as active on Willowbottom, I kept it going when I started my current business, because it serves a different audience and fills a different part of who I am, and that’s when I started questioning the whole “niche down” advice. Because clearly, you can have multiple niches. You can evolve. You don’t have to pick one thing forever.

The Framework That Actually Works

Here’s what I believe now, based on over a decade of trying different things and seeing what actually works:

You can start broad, niche down to build momentum and clarity, and then expand your niche once you have an audience.

Let me break this down.

Start Broad While You’re Figuring Things Out

When you’re first starting, it’s okay to be a little broad while you’re figuring things out. You’re testing content. You’re seeing what resonates. You’re learning who your audience actually is.

You don’t have to have it all figured out on day one.

Niche Down to Get Clear on Your Messaging

At some point, you need to niche down enough to get clear on your messaging, because if you’re trying to talk to everyone, you’re really talking to no one.

You need to be able to say: “I help this type of person do this specific thing.”

That clarity makes your marketing so much easier. It makes your content more focused. It helps people understand what you’re about and whether you’re the right person for them.

Expand Once You Have an Audience

Once you build an audience, once you have people who trust you and are following you, you can expand.

You can introduce new topics. You can evolve. You can grow beyond that initial niche.

Because at that point, people aren’t just following you for the niche. They’re following you for you.

My Journey: From Web Design to Digital Products (And Everything In Between)

Let me give you a real example of how this evolution works.

When I started whitneystokes.com, I was helping businesses and bloggers create websites through web design services and coaching. That was my niche. I was the website person.

But as I worked with clients, I noticed something. They didn’t just need a website. They needed something to sell. They needed a way to create income that wasn’t tied to trading time for money.

So I evolved. I started teaching people how to create digital products. How to build an actual business, not just a pretty website, and you know what? My audience came with me. Because they trusted me and I was solving the next problem they had.

I started with digital products as my core focus. That was my niche. I help people create and sell digital products, but as I built my audience, I realized they wanted more than just tactical advice. They wanted mindset content. They wanted to hear about my journey. They wanted to know about the tools I use, how I balance work and life, and how I deal with burnout.

So I expanded even further. I still talk about digital products, but I also talk about entrepreneurship, mindset, sustainable business building, all of it, and my audience is okay with that because they’re not just here for the niche. They’re here for the perspective, the values, the way I approach things.

That’s the journey: Start broad enough to explore. Niche down to build. Expand once you have an audience.

The Common Fears (And Why They’re Holding You Back)

Let’s talk about the fears around this because I know they’re real.

Fear #1: “If I Niche Down, I’ll Lose Potential Customers”

I get this one. You think, if I only talk to moms who want to start a digital product business, I’m excluding everyone else.

Here’s the reality: when you try to talk to everyone, you don’t connect deeply with anyone.

The people who are most likely to buy from you are the people who feel like you’re speaking directly to them, and you can only do that if you’re specific.

So yes, you might exclude some people by niching down, but the people you do attract will be way more engaged, way more loyal, and way more likely to buy.

Fear #2: “If I Stay Broad, I Won’t Stand Out”

This one is also true. If you’re too broad, you blend in with everyone else.

If your messaging is just “I help people make money online,” okay, so does everyone else. What makes you different? Here’s what I’ve learned: you can be broad in your topics but specific in your voice and perspective.

You can talk about a lot of different things, but the way you talk about them, the values you bring, the lens you look through? That’s what makes you stand out.

You’re a niche of one because no one else is you.

Fear #3: “What If I Choose the Wrong Niche?”

This is the fear that keeps people stuck forever. They’re so afraid of picking the wrong thing that they don’t pick anything.

Here’s what you need to know: you’re not married to your niche. You can change it. You can evolve. You can pivot.

I’ve pivoted multiple times, and every time, I learned something that made the next iteration better.

So don’t put so much pressure on getting it perfect right away. Just pick something and start. You’ll figure it out as you go.

A 5-Step Framework for Finding Your Niche

Let me give you a practical framework for thinking about this.

Step 1: Identify a Problem You Can Solve

Not just any problem. A problem that you’ve actually solved for yourself or that you have real experience with.

That’s your starting point.

Step 2: Get Specific About Who Has This Problem

Not everyone. A specific type of person. What stage are they at? What are they struggling with? What do they want?

The more specific you can be here, the easier your marketing will be.

Step 3: Test Your Messaging

Start creating content for that specific person. Talk about that specific problem. See what resonates.

You’ll know pretty quickly if you’re on the right track because people will engage. They’ll comment. They’ll say, “This is exactly what I needed to hear.”

Step 4: Once You Have Traction, You Can Expand

But don’t expand too fast. Make sure you’ve built a solid foundation first.

You want to be known for something before you start being known for everything.

Step 5: Stay True to Your Values and Perspective

That’s what keeps your audience with you. Not the niche itself, but the way you show up, the things you stand for, the lens you bring.

My Honest Take on the Niche Debate

You need enough focus to build momentum and clarity, but you also need enough flexibility to grow and evolve.

Don’t niche so far down that you feel trapped, but don’t stay so broad that no one knows what you’re actually about. Find that sweet spot. Specific enough to stand out. Broad enough to grow.

For me, my niche isn’t just digital products. It’s helping people build sustainable, authentic businesses that give them freedom without the hustle culture BS.

That’s broad enough to cover a lot of topics, but it’s specific enough that you know what I’m about.

If you’re stuck on this question, here’s what I want you to do:

Pick a starting point. Get specific enough to create clear, focused content. Build your audience, and then give yourself permission to evolve.

You don’t have to have your entire business figured out right now. You just need to know your next step, and remember, your niche can change. Your business can grow. You can pivot.

The only thing you can’t do is stay stuck in indecision forever.

So pick something. Start, and trust that you’ll figure it out as you go.

That’s what I learned from over a decade of trying different things. Start broad enough to explore. Niche down to build. Expand once you have an audience, and always stay true to yourself, no matter how your niche evolves.