A few years ago, Wired editor Chris Anderson coined the term “Long Tail” with a book by the same name. The book is all about niche marketing – not a new concept in and of itself, but explained with a metaphor that makes a lot of sense.

The long tail approach to marketing is based on uniqueness, and the idea that by finding a niche where your uniqueness is needed or appreciated, your product will sell. By focusing on this niche, you can avoid focusing on the wider spectrum where you can waste a lot of time, money, and energy on a market that doesn’t need you, or maybe even have any interest in you. There's a lot less competition in a creek (your niche) than in the ocean (the entire job market).

The long tail approach is a brilliant and effective way of finding a job. By figuring out where you really belong, your unique strengths will make you the uniquely appropriate candidate. With this approach, you're no longer wasting your time applying to all the same jobs in all the same ways as everyone else. You're maximizing your strength as a candidate by positioning yourself in the right place. Since you're focusing on what makes you unique, you're no longer trying to fit yourself to the same mold that all the other candidates are trying to fill – you're creating your own.

This concept is illustrated below: if you’re looking for a generic job in “marketing or advertising”, then you’re facing a lot of competition, but there isn’t a lot of demand because you can’t be much of an expert on something so general. As you refine your target job description through “marketing”, to “marketing communications”, to “marketing communications for non-profit organizations”, and all the way to “social marketing communication strategies for NPOs”, the competition for that job decreases, but the demand on the part of the hiring companies increases.



Once you’ve got your long-tail niche ironed out, the next step is to be ready to communicate that value to the right employer. You’ve got to see everything you send to a prospective employer as communications material – this applies to your emails, phone messages and cover letters, and perhaps most importantly, your CV.

I’ll go into lots of detail on how to find and communicate the value of your niche in later posts. The next one, though, is about finding those jobs by accessing the Hidden Job Market. In other words, by networking.

Note: This post is extracted and adapted from the post by the same name on Tough Economy Jobs. In addition to being the creator of the Tough Economy Jobs blog and HuntingToHired, Danny is also co-founder of Firepole Marketing, the definitive marketing training program for entrepreneurs, small businesses and non-marketers.