Creating a Creative Business in an Over-Saturated World
In this post, I will talk to you about how you can create a creative business in an oversaturated online world. And specifically when it comes to location-specific and city-specific blogs.
One concern that I often hear from my audience is along the lines of… “doesn’t the tourism board already do this?” or “won’t I be competing with the tourism board which has so much more budget than me?”
I completely understand this concern. I knew that when I launched Laguna Beach Living I would be competing with the Laguna Beach Tourism board for traffic, ad placements, and sometimes even brand work.
But as it turns out, and as Laguna Beach Living has shown me, being a local in the area, I have much more pull than the tourism board. People want to hear from locals. They want to know the insider secrets and that’s something I can do so much better than the tourism board.
Creating a creative business in an over-saturated world
The first point I want to make in this post is that ‘over-saturated’ shouldn’t automatically be taken as a bad thing. There’s a lot you can do to compete, stand out and grow in your niche. And having a specific niche is a big part of that - something we’ll get into later.
But in most cases, a competitive marketplace can be a good thing. For one, it’s a sign that there’s demand. It’s a sign that you aren’t in an obscure industry. This can benefit you in that there’s a good chance your prospective readers have already heard about your city, and it’s on their radar to visit!
Additionally, being in a saturated market forces you to keep growing and stay creative. Yup, this is a good thing! It saves you from becoming complacent, and it keeps you on top of your game and therefore, on top of your competition. Overall this will give your brand staying power and help keep you in business for a long time.
If you’ve been on the fence about starting a location-specific blog and business for your city, here are a few things that you can do to help differentiate your brand and grow in your city! In other words, here’s how you can grow a creative business for your city, in a market that already feels overshadowed by your local tourism board.
Pay attention to your story
It’s obvious that we’re living in a much more saturated and edited world than before. That’s why you’re here after all, isn’t it?
When we scroll through Instagram we see the edited, perfect versions of people’s lives. And one thing that’s changing with the rise of short-form videos like TikTok is that people are tired of the highlight reel. People want to see real life and know the real person behind the business.
If you want your city-specific blog to stand out from your local tourism board, then you need to give it a face and a story. Specifically, your face and your story. Show up on social media talking about your city. Talk about the restaurants, businesses, and brands in your city that you love.
Don’t be afraid to post unedited photos and real videos that show you enjoying everything that your city or town has to offer. Being real with your audience is one of the fastest and best ways to stand out from the crowd and more specifically stand out from the tourism board.
No one else can be YOU. You are unique and you need to use that as your selling point.
No one knows your city better than you. And no one can be you. So make sure you’re sharing your story and your real-lived experiences for your city-specific blog.
Your niche is everything
I recently spoke with a City Living Network client who wanted to start her own site for London. I immediately told her that niche was way too big. London is a city with many cities nestled within it. If you want to compete and stand out in an oversaturated world, you need to be even more niched down than that.
Instead of focusing on London, I told her to pick her neighborhood, and then if she wanted to share spots outside of her neighborhood she easily could.
With Laguna Beach Living, my entire focus is obviously, Laguna Beach. But when I want to go outside of Laguna and share something else, I can still do that. I simply share posts like this one: How to Spend a Day in Newport Beach. And I make sure to tie the focus of the post back to Laguna Beach with tips like how to get to Newport, how long to spend there, and some quick comparisons of Newport to Laguna Beach.
To stand out with a creative business in an oversaturated world, you’ll want to get even more specific with your target audience.
There are plenty of good examples of blogs out there that made it big by niching down. Take a look at Brooke from the World of Wanderlust. She wanted to create a travel blog in a world overly saturated by Lonely Planet and worldwide tourism boards. So she niched down to specifically talk about solo female travel. Something that none of these businesses were talking about. And now she’s one of the biggest travel bloggers in the world.
Nowadays the travel industry feels oversaturated with travel bloggers. But how many of those bloggers are focusing on your specific city? I’m guessing not many! Niching down to a city-specific blog is a great way to stand out in 2022.
Add value
One of my favorite books ever written is Steal Like an Artist.
“You don’t need to be a genius, you just need to be yourself. That’s the message from Austin Kleon, a young writer and artist who knows that creativity is everywhere, creativity is for everyone.”
His book is centered around the idea that bad artists copy while great artists steal.
How does this apply to creating a creative business in 2022? Well, avoid the temptation to copy your competition too closely. Your audience is looking for something fresh, so make sure to carve out your own brand and identity.
But also don’t forget what I said at the beginning of this post. Competition doesn’t = bad. It means that there is a demand for your blog. So one way to differentiate yourself without copying is to add more value.
You can do this by creating more high-quality content than your local tourism board.
Work with the up-and-coming local photographers to showcase your city
Promote small businesses that aren’t on the tourism boards radar
Get out and interview local business owners and allow them to promote their own businesses on your city-specific blog
Publish content more frequently than the tourism board
Share your local recommendations v.s. What everyone else is already recommending
You can steal the general idea of ‘promoting your city’ that the tourism industry is doing. But add more value and make it better by going out into your local community and showing visitors exactly what they’re missing.
Step into the spotlight
I’ve already talked about this a bit with your story, but honestly, it’s one of the best ways that you can stand out in 2022. Own your unique self when it comes to your blog or your city. You don’t have to share what you think everyone else is sharing. You’ll stand out more by sharing the things, places, and businesses in your community that YOU love.
When traveling, people want to connect with locals.
Hands down. End of story.
People want to do what the locals recommend. Of course, they want to see the sites, but they want to do it the way the locals do. We’re emotional people, meaning we want to connect with others on a deeper level.
If you show up as your authentic self and help people connect with your city on a deeper level, you’ll stand out from the competition immediately.
This will also be a huge selling point when it comes to working with local brands in your community and making more money through your city-specific blog. When you start showing up as you, brands will want to connect and work with you more and more. They’ll want your opinion on their restaurant opening or new happy hour deals. They’ll want your insights into what tourists are looking for when they come to your city. And guess what, you can always charge more for that expertise.
You might feel like there are hundreds of thousands of other people talking about your city, but no one has your unique approach or personality.
What’s that quote? “You are your superpower.” Hint, hint—start using it.
Double Down on Relationships
Just like how stepping into the spotlight can help you make more money with your city-specific blog, making relationships your priority will also help you grow exponentially. What’s one thing tourism boards aren’t doing? Connecting with the community.
Most tourism boards care about one thing… how many people are coming to their city.
What do you care about?
What they do when they get there.
If you haven’t started to make relationships the top priority of your business strategy, then yesterday was the day to start.
With everyone being online, we are craving real personal connections in both life and business. By focusing on building strong relationships with your local community and engaging with your audience online (your blog readers), you build a roster of referrals and brands to promote as well as a community of support that benefits YOU and your readers.
One of the best things that I teach in City Living Network is how to go about building and cultivating relationships within your community. Show up to your local grocer or local jewelry maker and talk to them about your ideas for promoting their business through your city-specific blog.
Invest in your business
Finally one of the best ways to stand out in an oversaturated market is to make sure your website looks both professional and beautiful.
I bet that if you visit the tourism board website for your local city… it looks clunky and outdated. And I would bet that their branding doesn’t speak to the travelers and tourists of today.
That’s definitely one way that I think social media has changed the online world. Branding matters.
In order to stand out online, you need to invest in professional and beautiful branding and an easy-to-use, mobile-friendly website. And I’m not just saying that because this is what I do for a living.
In fact, it’s quite the opposite. I do this for a living because I believe that having a modern and professional look is so important to standing out in an oversaturated market and building a successful business.
Trust me, custom branding is not just a logo. It’s taking your purpose, messaging, ideal clients, and personality, and translating all of that into beautiful, strategic visuals that connect you with your people.
Your branding is what draws people in, then your marketing strategy, copywriting, and social media presence are what build your community.
Your branding is also what’s going to make local brands and businesses want to work with you. Small businesses these days are all about making their brand stand out. When your brand matches the quality and style of the brands you want to work with, it’s a no-brainer!
And with a professional look, you’ll be a lot more likely to land the high-paying ad placements and brand deals that you’re looking for with your city-specific blog.
Also important: once you’ve established your branding, have a high-converting website in place. With all of the businesses that are online, if you don’t have a website that conveys your personality, is beautifully designed, and connects with your ideal client, they will move on to your competitor.
This last point is exactly what led me to start City Living Network. I was tired of doing my travel research and learning about the place I was going to visit from an outdated website of a tourism board. I quickly realized that’s not what people want anymore. Nowadays, when we’re traveling we want to connect with locals and we want brands that speak to us.
Starting your own city-specific blog & business
Having your own City Living Network can help you stand out from the crowd. Working with us here at City Living Network, we have all the steps in place to help you create a city-specific blog that you love. And a city-specific blog that stands out and excels past your local tourism board or competitors.
Remember, just because it feels oversaturated, that doesn’t that there isn’t room for you, or that you shouldn’t start.
Being a wedding photographer may feel oversaturated, but more and more people keep getting married every year. And there are only so many Saturdays that one wedding photographer can work. That means every time a wedding photographer gets fully booked, there’s a need for another photographer to launch their business.
With that in mind, just because your local city already has a tourism board doing promotions, doesn’t mean there isn’t room for you. It just means there’s a demand!
At City Living Network, we make sure that you do yours better.
Learn more about launching your own city-specific blog with City Living Networks here.
