One of the many benefits of consulting for a niche is you get to develop a one-of-a-kind Swipe File full of in-the-wild marketing examples in your niche.
Instead of generic examples of ad copy, landing pages, or whatever else you might consult on, you can have a series of niche-specific samples that nobody else in the world will have.
This level of specificity makes it both rare and valuable—where else will you find such niche-specific examples? It also becomes part of your Methodology if you build it right.
I have a small one for my coworking consultancy and it regularly comes in handy. I keep the examples in Airtable—though I could move it to Trello to keep everything in one place.
I link to it from my membership as a perk and from within my Methodology concepts stored in Trello.
Whenever a client wants to start something new, I can point them to several examples with my notes on what I like about each so they can get inspired and create something of their own.
Over time, it becomes a great asset to have on hand. You can even store non-niche-specific content into it as long as you tie back the relevancy in your notes.
If you don’t have a swipe file, it might be a good time to start creating one—even if you’re not yet focused on a niche.
You can use it in your consulting work as proof-of-concept starting points, add it as a perk to your memberships, or even use it as a lead generation resource to drive subscribers to your list.
It’s also a good habit to get into as you build the discipline to create and maintain your own Methodology.
Your Methodology becomes leverage for everything you do in your marketing practice, so you might as well start small and build from there.
If you need help creating a Methodology or Swipe File, join Mindshare. You’ll get access to resources like this and personalized coaching to help you grow a more profitable marketing advisory practice.