On Niching Down (And Why We Didn’t) (…or Didn’t We?)

As we’re stepping into a new year, I’ve been doing a bit of looking back.

2025 was a year where our own brand quietly but firmly solidified. We overhauled the Almostronaut website and started blogging regularly. We sent out public service announcements to clients alongside the usual year-end newsletter. And physical Christmas cards! Marleen finally got her car wrapped (more on that soon). Our team donated to and volunteered for causes we care about, and we adopted a hero rat.

None of this was part of a grand master plan, but it paints a picture of who we are, what we value, and how we show up. Which, in hindsight, makes this a good moment to revisit a topic I’ve been side-eyeing for years.

In this industry, there’s one piece of advice that smaller agencies and solo freelancers hear constantly:

You should niche down.

It’s good advice, honestly. Focusing on a specific industry or audience makes a lot of things easier:

• Your branding and messaging can be more specific, more resonant.
  (The old “if you advertise to everyone, you advertise to no one”, but in reverse.)
• You can design your look and feel to appeal to your target audience on a deeper level.
• And when you work with multiple clients in the same field, you naturally become more experienced and efficient: you learn the language, you get familiar with their target audience, you know what questions to ask, what pitfalls to avoid…

And unlike industries like law or accounting, there’s no real expectation of exclusivity, so it’s totally fair to serve a bunch of clients within the same niche.

I know this works, from experience.

If I knew what’s good for me…

Many of our clients happen to be in the self-improvement space – from counsellors and life coaches to massage therapists and sound healers. And I’ve picked up a lot of specialized knowledge over the years. Enough that I feel extra-prepared for the next client in the same space. If I knew what was good for me, I’d rebrand this agency from Almostronaut to something else, catering specifically to coaches.

The problem is: I really, really don’t want to.

One of my absolute favourite things about this job is learning about a new profession, industry, or service – especially the weird ones!

When I first met Marga and Erik from Trailside Masonry, one of the first things they said to me was:

“Would you like to try out a jackhammer?”

And hell yes. Of course I would. Who wouldn’t? I also learned about resin crack injections to fix big concrete structures. Previously, I had given zero thought to big concrete structures and they they may have a need to be fixed, and I didn’t know that resin crack injection existed. Delicious.

The joy of entering someone else’s world (even briefly) is what keeps my work interesting. I’m not ready to give that up for the sake of “positioning.” So for years, I’ve been a firm “no thanks” to the whole niche discussion.

… only to turn around a few years later and realize:

Surprise! That’s a niche.

Just not a niche by industry; more so by energy, tone, approach and world view.

• Everyone on our crew is relentlessly creative and especially good at thinking outside the box.
• We love crafting inventive solutions to catch the right people’s attention.
• We have a soft spot for business cards with a memorable gimmick.
• We take great joy in puns, wordplay, and finding just the right turn of phrase.
• We will find the playful or whimsical element in what you are trying to sell, and make it look really good.

So that’s the niche: Whimsy… spark… story-driven branding and marketing that’s playful, fun, and approachable, without being sloppy or unserious. We’re a team of people who geek out over old graphic design styles, who casually build movie props for fun, and who believe that joy is a perfectly valid marketing strategy.

That love of play shows up in our work all the time.

Looking back, what we accidentally did right was this: instead of defining ourselves by an industry, we consistently showed up with a recognizable voice and way of thinking. Clients don’t just hire us for services, they hire us for judgment, taste, and perspective.

The Right Fit isn’t always about services

There are quite a few different marketing agencies in our area. We all have overlapping services for sure, but we also have different strengths, priorities and unique offerings. The marketing industry, in that way, is way less competitive than you would think, and you already know that I don’t believe in competition.

Over time, we noticed certain clients finding us again and again: local nonprofits, mental health and personal growth practitioners, and tradespeople who don’t want to look like everyone else in their field.

We’re not the right marketing agency for everyone. Our own brand doesn’t speak to everybody, and that’s okay. In fact, that’s the point. We’re at a point now where tools, templates, and even content itself are increasingly easy to replicate, so now the things that matter most are voice, values, and how it feels to work together. But I can tell you with 100%  certainty that there is a right agency out there for everyone. And if it’s not us, we’re happy to help you find the one that is.