The Chad Verticals

A few weeks ago, I was DMing my friend Wade (howdy Wade!), and he coined this phrase that clicked deep in my psyche. We talked about the industries I write in: off-road vehicles and guns.

In a moment of genius, he casually referred to these as “the Chad verticals,” and an idea was born. Hmmmm.

See, for the longest time, I have tried to figure out what to do with my niches. The off-roading niche is very compatible with the gun crowd; in fact, there is considerable overlap between the communities. However, the corporate aviation crowd is a little different. They are more politically convoluted.

The truth is that I’ve been tiptoeing this line for a couple of years now. Instead of sending a cohesive message of who I am and what I offer, my social media (Twitter) presence has remained ambiguous about what it is I really do.

Well, no more. It’s far past time to lean into the disciplines. Not only do I write about guns and trucks, but I am proud to write about them. These are The Chad Verticals.

Are the riches in the niches?

There is an adage floating around XTwitter that the riches are in the niches. The idea is that drilling down into highly refined and narrow areas where you have tremendous subject matter expertise is counterintuitive but also very wise.

I have found enough steady work to earn thousand of dollars every single month, and it shows no sign of slacking off. Looking back a few years ago, there was no way I could see this being anything more than a hobby, yet here I am.

But this isn’t a feel-good story or anything like that. This is the beginning of an analysis about whether or not it will pay dividends to lean into my suspicion that focusing all of my energy on a socially taboo niche will actually pay dividends. Fortunately, I know through experience that gun manufacturers use SEO long-form content just as much as any other market, maybe even more. So I’m not exactly going into this blind.

Embracing taboo topics

This isn’t a new idea. Shock jocks have embraced taboo topics for eons, but some are more acceptable. That’s okay; I am a man of my convictions, and it is time to put that to the test.

Lean into it!

So this is the ultimate test, and it will show me what people value and how they will react. I believe this is one of many market corners that is almost completely untouched; hundreds, maybe thousands, of brands selling firearms, firearm accessories, and so on. But most creatives take a dim view of the industry. It seems to me that there has never been a better time to lean into this and focus like a laser.

I’ll be updating my XTwitter feed with how it’s going and probably updating the newsletter as well.

SEO Tips of The Week

This week, let’s talk about text structure.

I’d been writing for about, oh, five years before I started to put together all of the important little details about writing. The structure is critical. Remember: web content is NOT writing. It is construction.

Content writing and copywriting are not the same thing, but they are similar in that they are not creative writing. The way to see results is by constructing your content methodically. I have a tried and true outline strategy that has been edited and revised to the point I know I can plug it into any project and use it. It is a method; it is an art form.

Resources & Recommended Reading