Niche marketing means that you are focusing on becoming an authority in a highly specific market. A niche is a very targeted and focused area within a general market. An example of a general market is “pets,” whereas an example of a niche market could be “tropical aquarium fish” or “Black Labrador dogs.”
There are many reasons why niche marketing is effective, with one reason being that it’s much easier to become an expert in a niche than in a market. The smaller and more focused you can go the better.
Selecting Your Niche
The absolute best piece of advice for selecting a niche is to focus on topics that you’re either interested in or knowledgeable of. Even if you choose a topic that you’re very interested in, but not necessarily very knowledgeable of right now, that’s fine too because you can learn more about it over time.
Focusing on a subject which is of great concern for you personally will not only make running your online business more enjoyable, but it’ll greatly improve the quality of your work. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is going for a niche simply because it seems to promise high income, even though you care nothing about the topic personally.
Remember, there is a way to monetize a website on almost any topic, and if you truly have an interest in a certain niche then you’ll have the motivation to succeed in that niche.
Choosing your specific niche can be a daunting task, simply because there are so many options to chose from. Don’t simply sit there and try to find the perfect niche straight out of the blue. The key is doing some research and active brainstorming.
A Tactic I Use…
For example, to help think of ideas for your niche, you can visit a website like www.Dummies.com which has books and articles on many different topics. Let’s say that you have an interest in gardening. Click on the gardening section and look further. They have an article titled “Steps for Fool-Proof Repotting” which explains how to repot plants.
If you have interest or knowledge in such a topic then this could be an idea for a niche website. You do not want to create a website that simply talks about “repotting plants” because that is still too broad. You may want to create a website that explains how to repot specific plants, and have article such as “How to Replant a Salvia Divinorum Plant.”
Here are some other good websites to check out which may help you gather ideas:
- Amazon.com
- Magazines.com
- eBay.com
- Q&A sites(i.e. Wikianswers.com
- Website Auction Sites (flippa.com)
You want to approach these sites from the perspective of trying to identify a potential problem people may have and how you could help with the solution. Think of what kind of advice, information, or products people are searching for and what kind of answers they’re currently finding. If you come across a site you like, bookmark it and think about ways that you could improve it or the information it provides.
I’ve Found My Niche Interest! Now What…?
Well, now that you have found your niche topic of interest there are two more steps we have to take to make certain that this is actually the right niche to focus on:
- We have to make sure that other people have an interest in this topic too. After all, if you are the only one interested in this subject, then who will come to your website?
- Check to see if there are too many other websites focusing on this niche already. No market is fully impenetrable, but some may simply be so saturated that the barrier for entry may be too strong.
First, let’s check out how many other people are interested in your niche topic and the kinds of things that they are searching for by doing keyword research. Click to the next section to find out more.