Last week, I jumped on a call with a member of Founder OS who was feeling overwhelmed trying to compete in an oversaturated market.
They had a solid offer and a great strategy, but they just couldn't seem to gain any traction.
It felt like no matter what angle they tried, someone else had already carved out that niche.
I could relate all too well to their struggle and frustration...because in 2014, I faced the exact same challenge with my company Herb.
I had just exited my previous business, and while it had been a good run, I was left feeling unfulfilled.
The “cost” to my health and personal relationships was too high.
I knew I wanted to build something different this time around—a business more aligned with my values and strengths.
Because of my interest in cannabis, I acquired a small site called The Stoner's Cookbook with a modest following of weed-enjoyers.
At first I wasn’t sure where things would go, but I got to work doing what I do best - building communities.
The modest following quickly blossomed into a community of millions of cannabis lovers.
Along the way, I realized that due to advertising restrictions, cannabis brands had an extremely difficult time connecting with potential customers.
A massive unmet need.
I knew I could be the solution.
Since I already had a massive cannabis community, I just needed a way to connect them with awesome brands.
That’s when we rebranded to Herb and pioneered Cannabis Marketing as a Service.
With over 14 million passionate members, we became the undisputed leader in cannabis marketing.
I was able to create my own niche that no one could touch.
Herb became the go-to for connecting cannabis brands with cannabis lovers and #1 in our niche.
By narrowing in on a specific gap in the market and matching it with my unique strengths, I had eliminated the competition and defined my own category.
Today, I want to equip you with the Category Champion System - your blueprint to escaping the rat race and owning the niche you deserve.
I’ve also included a template you can use to start designing your own competition-less category.
Implement this strategy and your brand will transform from just another competitor into the go-to leader that customers instinctively turn to.
Introducing:
As a founder, AI has the potential to be your biggest competitive advantage — but only if you use it right.
I've been busy implementing prompts into my content creation systems, and today I'm releasing them into the wild for the first time ever.
>>> Get access to the exact 59 (and counting) prompts I use to save 8+ hours a week here.
Creating a niche isn’t about randomly selecting any underserved market.
It’s about finding the intersection between your innate talents and interests and fulfilling an unmet audience need.
The Japanese concept of Ikigai perfectly embodies this overlap:
Your reason for being, found where your gifts and passions meet a market need.
Start by completing the Ikigai exercise (available in the Category Champion template below).
This will reveal where you’re naturally positioned to create a niche.
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Trust me — trying to dominate a category misaligned with your Ikigai will be an uphill battle.
Instead, build your niche on your existing strengths and you’re destined to excel.
For inspiration, here’s my own personal Ikigai:
You need a sticky name that clearly defines the category you’re championing — and also associates your brand with owning that niche.
For example:
A strong niche name is:
Once you have a name, claim it across all platforms.
Your website URL, social handles, etc.
This establishes your brand as the category owner.
As the self-proclaimed category champion, you need to back it up by providing unmatched value.
Create invaluable resources like how-to guides, case studies, templates, and courses that empower your niche audience.
Distill your hard-won knowledge into frameworks and strategies.
Share stories and insights from your experiences.
Foster a community.
When you establish yourself as the go-to expert by showcasing all your valuable knowledge for free, you make it impossible for any competitors to match your authority and credibility.
Expanding your reach and visibility is essential to dominate your niche.
Guest post on industry blogs, get featured on podcasts, host live events, run webinars, speak at conferences.
Strategically leverage partnerships and collaborations to expose your brand to new audiences.
Welcome any buzz or controversy — it all fuels your domination of the conversation.
The more people you get talking about you, the more your brand becomes the “automatic” leader in your category.
Categories evolve, new technologies emerge, consumer behaviors shift...
As the champion, you need to stay ahead of trends and changes relevant to your niche.
Experiment with new platforms and community-building strategies. Release product updates and features that match audience needs.
Keep your finger on the pulse of your industry.
If you created the category, you should shape its future.
Ruthlessly listen to your customers and community. Let their feedback inform your brand’s path.
The category champion spot belongs to those bold enough to constantly reinvent themselves.
By implementing this blueprint, you can construct a niche empire others can only dream of toppling.
The competition won't know what hit them — because you've exited the competition altogether.
To start uncovering your ideal niche of one, reflect on these key questions:
Today we explored my Category Champion System for monopolizing your niche and rocketing past competitors.
To help you seamlessly create your own category of one, I’ve created a plug-and-play template for you.
Click here to access the Category Champion System Template.
Use it as your blueprint to identify and conquer your profitable niche.
I can’t wait to see your category-leading brands!
As always, share your niche insights with me on Twitter.
Let's win together 🥇
Matt
P.S. Whenever you're ready, there are 4 ways I can help you:
#1: Ready to grow your personal brand to $5 million or more? Let's chat. >>> Click here to schedule your Founder Clarity Call with my team
#2: Have you seen my YouTube Channel? I'm putting a ton of energy into creating heaps of valuable content that I think you'll like. Come check out my latest stuff, and give me a like and subscribe.
#3: Promote your brand to over 65,000 subscribers by sponsoring this newsletter (booking into November 2023).
#4: Follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn for more operating systems, marketing tips, and community-building systems.
How To Make $100,000/Month Doing What You Love
Chris Do was one of the most requested speakers for the Matt Gray Show.
For those who do not know Chris, he is a Director, Chief Strategist, and CEO at Blind and the founder of The Futur — an online education platform that aims to teach 1 billion people how to make a living.
Here, we discuss:
Our conversation was incredible, and I hope you'll gain as much value as I did.
Check it out here:
This week’s newsletter is brought to you by Skool.
Skool is the community platform designed specifically for creators.
I personally love it because:
The proof is in the pudding. Matt's approach has helped grow Herb into a major media company with a massive community, and his personal brand continues to grow impressively.
Investor | Entrepreneur | Creator
Matt’s advice is super on point because it’s practical. He’s gone through and done everything that he preaches. If you don’t want to spend hours digging up frameworks on content, growth, marketing, and general startup advice - talk to Matt, read his newsletter, or sign up for his course.
Founder, Zarta
Matt is an absolute beast when it comes to audience and community growth. He goes above and beyond to help founders - you can tell he genuinely cares. Would highly recommend working with him.
Founder, Figure, Archer, Vettery
