{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"What Works","title":"Ep 217: Finding A Niche Audience With Bawdy Bookworms Founder Thien-Kim Lam","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1838,"description":"\n\n\n\n\nThe Nitty-Gritty:\n\n\n\n* What inspired Thien-Kim Lam to develop a subscription box and virtual book club for a niche audience* How she channeled her love of romance books and her experience selling adult toys into the subscription she would have loved to buy herself* How she’s connecting with the right people using a Facebook group, author partnerships, and savvy content marketing* Where she’s run into trouble with her niche\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe first business idea I ran with was a blog for makers and artists in Pennsylvania.\n\n\n\nI was smitten with the new maker movement and I figured that highlighting “made in PA” goods would be an easy way to engage with the community.\n\n\n\nI was right.\n\n\n\n“Made in PA” wasn’t just the perfect constraint on who to feature. It also served as a constraint for who the audience for the site was too. I was writing about Pennsylvanians for Pennsylvanians.\n\n\n\nI had no idea at the time just how savvy this business decision was.\n\n\n\nI immediately connected with incredible people.\n\n\n\nAnd they were immediately into what I was doing because they loved that it was just for them.\n\n\n\nSoon, the site caught the eye of people from the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, one of the largest non-profit craft associations in the country. Within a few months of launching my site, I was teaching social media workshops with the Guild’s artisans.\n\n\n\nI was invited to attend one of the largest tradeshows for handmade goods in the United States on a media pass. I spoke at Etsy headquarters. I hosted meet-ups.\n\n\n\nThe site never got huge, of course.\n\n\n\nBut that didn’t matter because people were connecting with it and with me because they knew I made it for them.\n\n\n\nToday, we’re talking about building a niche audience—just like I did with my very first website.\n\n\n\nThere has never been a better time to have a niche business. In fact, I would list not specializing in a niche as one of the top 3 business mistakes I’ve personally made over the last 8 or so years.\n\n\n\nThien-Kim...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/AmfGeDL96-fhMaeOcqmX7TK_eWrvTLco6OJj2QpZtZI/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS80NGUx/OWY5ZDg1M2E5MmU3/ZjEwOWVmNDM3MWVh/ZjZlOS5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}