How to choose a niche -Think like a marketer
Hi everybody I have decided to do a blog on this all important question as it seems to be the most asked question on this forum and seems to cause the most confusion
So lets get started
Many people will say you need to choose something you are passionate about or knowledgeable about I am going to challenge that wisdom here
What you really need to be passionate about is delivering the solutions to the problems your readers have, you need to be a delivery expert not a niche expert
So lets take a look at what a niche is or more important what is a profitable niche and how do you tell if it is profitable
A profitable niche is a group of people that have a problem and are willing to pay for the solution the more desperate they are to solve the problem the more they will pay for the solution
I have chosen the iPhone niche but I do not know anything about the niche so why did I choose it, here is why
apples users spent $10 billion on apps
iPhone sales reach £100 billion
iPhone repair bills reach $6 billion
iPhone units sold in 2013 100 million
So here we have a group of people who have a problem and are willing to pay for the solution
I know someone who went into affiliate marketing and he chose the "how to make the pickles and jams niche" he makes about £100.0 per month with his site
So how do I build a iPhone site without the knowledge, that's easy because I have access to the greatest information highway in the history of mankind, its called Google
I am not going to copy anybody just use it as research and write in my own words
All the information I need is already there, all I am going to do is put it it one place, its the same at WA, all the information on affiliate marketing is already there but we are paying to have it in one place so we are paying for the solution of our problem
So here is a great tip for helping you choose a profitable niche - go down to you local supermarket or mall and go to the magazine section
Every magazine is a profitable niche because no one would spend money to produce a magazine unless their was profit in the niche, as it cost $50,000 just to set one up
So now you can buy the magazine and use it as inspiration for you site and get to know the problems of you future readers and then solve them and make money
You can get a ton of ideas this way and you will be sure that the niche is profitable
I am here to build a profitable business not a create a new hobby, so learn to think like a marketer, here is an example of this
How most people think - "I am going to build a website around my passion" and hope that people click on my links"
How marketers think - "I am going to build a website around other peoples passions and make a fortune by solving all their problems"
Supermarkets don't know anything about baked beans but they know how to sell them to you
I am sure this post will be controversial but here it is anyway
Think like a marketer !!!!!!!!
Recent Comments
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Very good points you make here and I'd have to agree that certain niches are not very profitable, while others may make a ton of sales. It's something we should consider before putting all the time and effort into a niche that we aren't sure is going to be profitable. Best wishes :) -Sherry
Great Post, Barry! You won't get any back talk from this corner, my good friend. I do think that one has to be very careful when one promotes NICHE stuff, alleging that most of one needs is to be "passionate" about the Niche and to create "solutions" those within such Niche. Passionate or not ...Niche selection is highly critical if one wants to earn MONEY. Some Niches, no matter who says it, are NOT generator of great amounts of money .SO NICHE SELECTION AND KNOWING A LOT ABOUT Demand, marketing strategies, channels of communications, and you know much more yourself BEFORE SELECTING A NICHE is critical ...provided that the objective of the Marketer is EARNING MONEY ...if it is just to inform as many writers appear to tell it ...than any niche would suffice ...That would NOT be for me and from your Post, I seem to sense not for you either. Great Post ...if it is 'contraversial', the 'contravertors' state their case and then you and I can look at their facts and compare with ours. Take care my good friend and keep going, you are in the right path!
Was a Wal-Mart today looking at magazine rack to help with a new niche. Read this blog when I got home. Found two different magazines with the topic I had in mind. Great Idea.
It is not the passion that drives me alone it is about bringing something together that is important to every bride worldwide, a wedding to remember but I can see the angle your coming from and sometimes we need to think outside the box, enjoyed the post
It is controversial Barry, But what the heck.
Anyway I agree with you 100% I'm not passionate about any of my niches,where ever there is a Problem,Need or Want I'm there,follow the money. That's what a Affiliate marketer does.!!
Barry, I really like how you put this so simply and straight to the point. I agree with you. Love your jams and pickles example vs. the technical toys of the world. I had thought before when I was choosing my niche how that would draw more folks in, but I was afraid of my lack of knowledge. I just got my first iPhone and broke it before I could make my first call, so I'm a bit technically retarded. But you are right: Google has everything you need. Great blog post. Inspiring.
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Excellent post Barry!
You present a solid argument. The way i see it is there's only two ways to make a decent profitable income:
1) supply a demand
2) create a demand for something (Apple is very good at this)
The only thing i will add to your argument is this..
You still need to be "passionate" even if your not choosing a niche that you're passionate about. Kind of an irony really.. you need to be passionate about marketing the products and services in that profitable niche otherwise the guy in the "how to make pickles and jams" niche will probably make more money...