Built Online Episode 102 Summary: "Niche Down to Stand Out: How To Start A Brand That Can Grow Big with Maxwell DesMarais"

In Episode 102 of Built Online, host Cody McGuffey delves into the intricacies of building a scalable brand by niching down with special guest Maxwell DesMarais, founder of Vital Design. This enlightening conversation offers actionable insights for aspiring e-commerce entrepreneurs looking to carve out a distinct space in the saturated online marketplace.

1. Introduction to Maxwell DesMarais and Vital Design

Maxwell DesMarais begins by introducing his company, Vital Design, a robust marketing agency with over 100 employees. The agency specializes in digital marketing, focusing on building websites and brands, and driving traffic, leads, and revenue through strategies like content marketing, email marketing, social media, and paid advertising.

Maxwell's Background:

“[...] I built my own website, outdoorbasecamp.com, which now attracts around 120,000 monthly organic visitors. I started by selling T-shirts, doing affiliate marketing, and selling posters, which also serves as my passion project to hone my marketing skills.”
(00:00)

2. Building an Organic Audience: The Role of Keyword Research

Maxwell attributes the success of his passion project to diligent keyword research and content quality. By consistently producing valuable content tailored to specific search queries, he was able to grow his website's traffic organically.

“For me, it was like keyword research, so topic ideation and generation based on how people are searching online and then actually taking the time to produce the best piece of content that satisfies that query online.”
(03:26)

Key Pillars:

• Keyword Research: Understanding what potential customers are searching for.
• High-Quality Content: Creating comprehensive and valuable content to satisfy those queries.
• Consistency: Regularly publishing content and scaling with hired writers over time.

3. The Importance of Niching Down

Cody presents a hypothetical scenario to Maxwell, portraying himself as Jack, an aspiring trail runner entrepreneur facing challenges with website traffic and conversions. Maxwell emphasizes the critical strategy of niching down to effectively target a specific subset of the market.

“Figure out who your target audience is and try to niche down as much as you possibly can with a reasonable market size.”
(07:24)

Maxwell advises:

• Specific Targeting: Instead of catering to all outdoorsy people, focus on a niche like trail running.
• Flexible Branding: Choose a domain that allows for future expansion without being overly restrictive.

Example Dialogue:

Cody suggests using a broader domain like outdoorjack.com with focused content on trail running to retain flexibility.
Maxwell concurs, stating, “That's exactly what I would do to avoid those exact problems and be ready to pivot and scale.”
(08:40)

4. Developing a Content Marketing Strategy

Maxwell outlines a comprehensive approach to content marketing, emphasizing the need to understand where your target audience spends their time online and engaging with them authentically.

Steps to Develop a Content Strategy:

1. Engage in Online Communities: Join relevant Facebook groups, Reddit threads, and other social platforms to understand audience needs and build exposure.
2. Content Planning: Develop an organic content marketing strategy, planning topics for the next three months to a year based on keyword opportunities.
3. Content Creation: Aim to produce at least one high-quality article per week, ensuring each piece adds substantial value and resonates with your audience.

“Whatever medium of content that you feel most comfortable to produce, consider building out the topics that you want to discuss there.”
(11:43)

Tools Recommended:

• Keywords Everywhere
• SEMrush
• Google Keyword Planner

“These search engines are content opportunities for you to pursue.”
(12:40)

5. Navigating the Future of SEO and AI

The conversation shifts to the evolving landscape of SEO amid the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT. Maxwell discusses how AI is transforming search behavior and content visibility.

Key Insights:

• AI Overviews: Google’s AI-generated summaries are becoming prevalent, potentially reducing organic clicks by 30-50%.
• Diversified Search Engines: Beyond Google, platforms like Amazon, YouTube, and TikTok are powerful search engines in their own right.
• Content Adaptation: To remain relevant, creators must align their content with natural language queries and focus on providing in-depth, conversational answers.

“There's a pretty solid correlation, meaning if you rank at the top of Google, you tend to be placed in those AI reviews at reasonably high rates.”
(27:59)

Maxwell’s Predictions:

“We're just going to see it depends upon the query that's typed into Google and if an AI overview prompt makes sense, we're going to see that happen a lot.”
(25:34)

6. Common Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

Maxwell highlights prevalent mistakes entrepreneurs make in their marketing strategies, particularly in paid advertising:

1. Spreading Too Thin: Launching multiple advertising channels simultaneously can dilute efforts and resources.
2. Lack of Focus: Failing to prioritize based on audience demand and conversion capabilities.
3. Inadequate Testing Period: Not allowing enough time (90 days) to assess the effectiveness of a chosen channel.

“Trying to launch, you know, three or four advertising channels at once is very difficult.”
(28:25)

Pivoting Strategy: Maxwell recommends maintaining patience and allowing sufficient time to gather data before switching strategies.

“If you could start to drive traffic and conversions and get some type of ROI. Not a positive ROI, but, you know, maybe it’s, you know, a 0.3 ROI or something like that in the first 90 days.”
(30:20)

7. Brand Differentiation: Standing Out in a Crowded Market

To ensure brand recognition and trust, Maxwell advises finding unique ways to differentiate your brand. He cites Outdoor Gear Lab as an exemplary brand that uses an analytical approach to gear reviews, establishing authority and trust through rigorous testing and data-driven content.

“They were like, I’m going to take an analytical approach. I’m going to get real testers on this, and I’m going to assign scores and values to each of the criteria of the gear and produce content around that.”
(35:00)

Strategies for Differentiation:

• Unique Content Approach: Whether it’s analytical reviews or storytelling, find a unique angle that resonates with your audience.
• Consistent Branding: Ensure your brand stands for something specific that appeals directly to your target niche.

8. Rapid Fire Q&A Highlights

The episode concludes with a rapid-fire segment where Max shares personal insights and recommendations.

• Favorite Business Book: Three Signs of a Miserable Job by Patrick Lencioni.

  “It’s helpful for me in making sure, like, I'm doing something that I enjoy and whatever I'm doing, I'm able to, you know, be happy.”
  (40:47)

• One Thing He Wishes He Knew Before Starting Outdoor Basecamp:

  “Pick a more niche audience, but leave yourself room to expand.”
  (41:25)

• Hours Dedicated to His Business:

  “I used to do a lot more. I used to probably do 15 to 20 hours a week at the beginning... allocating 10 plus hours a week to it.”
  (42:29)

• Defining a Creator:

  “Good creators are able to do both...[adding] entertainment while adding value.”
  (43:52)

• Who Should Be a Business Owner:

  “Everyone should create something around their passion.”
  (44:27)

9. Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Maxwell reinforces the importance of passion and persistence in building a successful brand. By niching down, creating high-quality content, leveraging the right tools, and differentiating your brand, entrepreneurs can effectively grow their online businesses.

Key Takeaways:

• Niche Down: Focus on a specific subset to build a dedicated audience while maintaining flexibility for future expansion.
• Quality Over Quantity: Prioritize producing valuable, high-quality content consistently.
• Adapt to AI and SEO Changes: Stay informed and adapt strategies to align with the evolving digital landscape.
• Differentiate Your Brand: Find unique angles to stand out and build trust with your audience.
• Stay Patient and Persistent: Allow sufficient time to test and refine your strategies before making significant pivots.

Maxwell’s practical advice and real-world examples provide a roadmap for aspiring e-commerce entrepreneurs to build and scale their brands effectively.

For more insights and to connect with Maxwell DesMarais, visit Vital Design or follow Max on social media.