Have you ever wondered what a niche market is or how to find one? Sometimes it’s not so easy. Let’s go over the basics and find you a profitable market!

I didn’t know that…

I think there is a misconception out there on what exactly a niche market is and how to find one. I can tell you it’s not simply finding a search term or keyword that gets a ton of traffic but has no competition. Well, that’s some of it, but there’s much more to think about if you want to considerate your niche profitable. A niche without profit is just a waste of time. You must also take into account things like:

1. Are there any affiliate programs for this niche?
2. Can I market any products myself?
3. Would people want to buy something related to this topic?
4. Will targeted traffic convert enough to make this worth it?

Lucky for you I was born! I will go over all of these questions and make it crystal clear.

Plain and Simple

So what exactly is a niche? A niche or niche market is a set of people who are looking for something but can’t or are having a hard time finding a solution due to a lack of relevant search results. This group is typically a subset of some larger group. This is where internet marketers like yourself jump in. Once you uncover a niche you can take advantage to get low cost (Adwords) traffic that is relevant to what people are searching. This means you get targeted traffic for a low cost, which means you get paid more. It’s pretty easy to understand why having a smaller audience within a particular niche can yield better results than marketing to a broader topic. Niches also allow you to cater to your audience’s needs much easier.

Searching for Buried Treasure…Arghh!

There are two things you need to understand. First is that I’m a pirate. Second is that only 15-20% of all searched keywords are actually capitalized on. That means 80% of keywords have been untapped and are ready to be uncovered as a profitable niche (aka buried treasure) by you! With so many hidden niches out there, there’s no reason why you would even want a keyword with high traffic with little advertising. Smaller targeted niches will many times have a much higher success rate.

Unbroaden Your Horizon

Yup. Being too broad just won’t cut it if you want to make money. You must be specific because that’s what people are looking for. An avid cat lover is not just going to search “cat” if she is looking to buy the newest rave in kitty fashion. Here’s an example of finding a niche, starting from a broad term.

1. Cat
2. Cute cat/cute kittens
3. Cute kitten clothing
4. Cute yellow kitten pajamas
5. Cute yellow pajamas Cats-R-Us kitten

As you can see, each level gets more specific. I can pretty much guarantee there isn’t a huge competition for my fifth search term, but there may be a group or niche of people looking for this item (I hope not because it’s ridiculous). This example probably isn’t the best, but you get the idea. Just use your imagination and do a little research of the broader topic, each time getting more specific for things people would be searching for. Remember to check for affiliate programs once you find a niche. If there are none you better find another niche…or waste your time and money. It’s your call though.

Making a Profit

Once you find a market you feel is profitable you must then take advantage. How? Research and analysis baby. Did you know that you can make practically any niche profitable (if there are products to promote)? All you need to do is understand who the consumer is and what they really want.

Expansion

As I stated earlier, a great way to find out what people want is to search a broader term and check out what those people are really looking for. Rinse and repeat. Remember, “cats” and “cute yellow kitten pajamas” are different.

Problem Keywords

Many times keywords involving problem words will lead to a niche. When someone has a problem or question they generally search for it that way. They use words like “how to, fix, get rid of, repair, etc.” Many times these problems searches are profitable niches.

Forums, Groups and Discussion Boards, Oh My!

The most common place people will try and find solutions or express an opinion is through blogs, forums and groups. What people are talking about will many times lead to a good niche. Try looking for a common topic and research that niche. Can you make it profitable? Many times yes. You can even use what people are talking about to fuel your campaigns.

Tip: To find a forum on a particular niche search for “NICHE + forum” where NICHE is the niche you are looking for (and not in quotes)

Google, MSN, and Yahoo groups are also a good place to start.

Supply and Demand (not Wendy’s 3conomics)

If we want a profitable niche we are going to need both supply and demand to exist. If there is demand for a niche (traffic), but no supply (affiliate products), you may not be able to make money. BUT this does not mean there isn’t an opportunity here. Many internet marketers will jump on this market and develop their own information product or e-business around one of these niches.

When we try and find a niche market we first try and fulfill the demand. Without demand there is no profit, regardless of supply. But if there is high demand but low supply we can fix this. Supply can mean a new product you create or obtain. That’s right. You are the supplier! You can create one of two different types of products. A digital product such as an e-book, training course or software that the user can download, or a tangible product like kitty pajamas that can be sold through places like eBay or other ecommerce sites. If you are willing to put the time into making your own [quality] product after thorough research you will probably see a great return.

It’s Aliveeee

Are you thinking about creating your own product now? I hope so. It’s a great way to make a living as an internet marketer.

Digital

There are tons of informational niches that have almost no relevant information (if you don’t know what you’re doing). If someone can’t easily get the information they want for free or in a convenient location, they will pay. There is also great opportunity when it comes to software development that will save people time and money.

I bet your thinking “But I don’t know anything about the subject. How can I create an info product that people will find useful?” Don’t worry. It’s actually much easier than you’d think. For one, you can go to the library and do research and write everything yourself, or you can outsource all of the work. There are websites designed just for this…finding someone who will do your dirty work. These sites help you find people who will create a product for you in exchange for payment agreed upon by both parties. This is generally cheaper than hiring a professional copywriter or software developer and is relatively cheap.

• Elance (content research/copyrighting/articles/software/web applications)
• Rentacoder (application/website/software development)
• Scriptlance (application/website/articles/software)

Once you have a digital product you can put it on sites like Clickbank for whatever price you want. Remember that just because you have a product does not mean it will be profitable, but if you market and promote it right in the product-lacking niche, it will have great potential. Here are some sites that you can promote digital products:

• ClickBank.com
• Paydotcom
• RegNow

Tangible

There are many niches where people are looking for tangible products. If you find one try setting up an eBay store and selling the product through them. If you aren’t planning on making the tangible item yourself you must find a company that will (and most will even ship for you). Once you get this set up you will be on your way to starting your own retail business!

Research Techniques – Your Personal Treasure Map

A pirate needs a treasure map to find buried treasure.

Niches

Visit dmoz.org to find hundreds of thousands of potential niches, all conveniently organized for you. This site is the largest human-maintained directory out there, listing over 4.8 million sites in almost 600,000 categories.

Niche Trends

What if you could see what the top niche markets are? That would awesome. Well guess what? You can! You can thank Google for that. Every day they list the top 100 niche trends. If you’re quick enough you can jump on the bandwagon and profit with little effort.

http://www.google.com/trends/hottrends

If you want to get historical trends over longer periods visit http://www.google.com/trends

Let’s Go Shopping

Want to know what people are buying? Visit http://www.shopping.com/top_searches to further your research at one of the largest shopping and consumer review networks around. It’s owned by eBay you now.

Helpful Tools…Like a Pirate Ship

Research

www.dmoz.org
www.mooter.com
www.snap.com
www.alexa.com
www.google.com/trends
google.com/trends/hottrends
shopping.com/top_searches

Keyword Tools

• Google keyword tool
• WordTracker.com

Now you know how to be a niche marketer. It’s not hard to find the “right” niche, nor is it luck in finding it. All it takes is a little research and knowing your customer. That’s the key to niche marketing. I urge you to go out there and see for yourself. X marks the spot!