What is a Niche - Part 1 - Your Job
If you are just starting or are new to Wealthy Affiliate, I'm pretty sure you asked yourself, what is a niche? We in America pronounce "niche" like the word "witch" whereas Kyle pronounces it like "leash" both beginning with an N. Regardless of how it sounds, it's the same exact thing.
WHAT IS A NICHE?
A niche is simply a product, service, activity and experience that others need or enjoy. Look at the blog image above. This is relevant to what I do for a job in healthcare, except I'm not the one pushing the wheelchair. I'm the transport driver in the vehicle and I wear masks and gloves too.
When I started at WA in 2013, I had a good grasp of what a niche was after going through Kyle's lesson. I had so many ideas and started looking at niches that would bring high commission payouts. I'm not saying that it's wrong to think that way, but I wish I had looked at my job first.
Many times I see new members having questions about what niche they should start with. If they have a detailed WA Bio with stuff like what they do for a living and the things they enjoy, I always ask, why don't you pick a niche from the things you mention in your member bio?
GO WITH WHAT YOU KNOW
I am very BIG into natural holistic health and I had just retired from the Video Game Development industry. Naturally those were the two niches I chose for my first two websites. I had a ton of knowledge in both. When you have an understanding of your niche, content isn't a problem.
It is important that you either know your niche inside and out or you do a lot of research and learn your niche. You cannot effectively promote a product without at least trying it out for yourself. You could get lucky and pull it off, but it's always better to go with what you know.
In my absence and spotty showing here within the WA community, I started a new niche that is directly linked to what I do. There is money to be made in tragic situations. The only thing COVID-19 gave me, was a way to make money off of it, I've never tested positive for COVID.
My target audience for making this income were mainly my coworkers and even some of my patients. Everyone in healthcare wears some form of PPE, Personal Protective Equipment. Even patients have to wear at least a mask when going into an area of a hospital with sick people.
So I found a company that sells all kinds of PPE and it had an affiliate program. Even though I know much about this niche, because I use it, the best part of having this niche is that most PPE is a disposable product. A person wears the PPE for the moment and throws it out for a new one.
AN EVERGREEN NICHE ON STEROIDS
What is an Evergreen Niche? It's the type of niche where the product or service is always in demand. It's the type of niche that doesn't rely on timing, seasons, holidays or gimmicks to make a sale. Personal care products like soaps or consumables like vitamins are all evergreen niches.
However the PPE niche is an evergreen niche on steroids, especially when those consuming it are healthcare workers. During the height of COVID-19 I was going through a dozen pairs of gloves and about 7 masks per day. That's a huge amount of potential sales I knew were available.
You might be wondering, doesn't the medical establishment provide this PPE for people like me? They do if the medical company is directly associated with a hospital or medical facility. However the bulk of all non-emergency transportation providers are private companies.
This means that though we do the bulk of the work, we don't get the most from the PPE supply. So I've convinced many in my area of healthcare to use my affiliate link as a backup supply for those times when their employers are stingy on providing adequate amounts of PPE.
I really lucked out with this niche. Though this PPE company, like most others with an affiliate program requires people to have a website, they also will take an affiliate who can prove they are in healthcare. When your target audience are your coworkers, it was good enough for them.
CONSIDER YOUR CURRENT OR PAST JOB FOR YOUR NICHE
The point of this post is for you to look at what you do for a living or something you used to do, and see if there is an indispensable need for a certain product or service. Sometimes the perfect niche is right there in front of us. Don't just focus on what you think will have the highest payout.
Oftentimes a low cost disposable or consumable product, can earn you more income over time than something like a video game or LED lighting that don't need quick replacement. I'll be doing a Part 2 What is a Niche blog, using mainly images showing different niches. If you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
Recent Comments
11
Great read Robert and being from the UK I certainly prefer the "leash" pronunciation of the word "niche" !!!
Enjoy the rest of your weekend my friend! :-)
Thank you Nick. I realize the "leash" sounding word of "niche" is the more Old English way of saying things. We here in America always seem to put our own spin on things of vocabulary and grammar. - Enjoy your week.
As an English teacher I am certainly aware about that Robert!
Some of the classes I teach are actually comparing the differences between UK and US pronunciation!
Have a wonderful start to the new week as well my friend! :-)
I totally get this, Robert.
Picking a niche can feel overwhelming at first, but looking at what we already know makes so much sense.
Your experience really shows how everyday jobs can turn into great business opportunities.
All the best,
Boris
Thank you Boris. When we start here it is very easy to become overwhelmed at the prospect of making money online from something we love. Many times we are in a rush to make money and don't focus.
Sometimes taking a step back and examining what you already know as a possible business idea, is always the best first step, in my opinion. We can always create another niche idea if the first one doesn't pan out.
After I graduated from high school, I was performing magic at a restaurant. I went up to a table of a couple of gentlemen, and they asked me, a weird question.
“What is the perfect product?”
I said… something that is used by everybody, used often, and used up.
And that will always be the perfect product for generating income. People purchase it, use it up and request to buy more.
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I have experienced the same thing. I tapped into my expertise of a previous career, for my first blog. That was 2006. I was astounded when I made some money! I had never heard of keywords, or traffic counts or anything. I just wrote a lot. The product was a Clickbank product, until it wasn't.
It was transferred to amazon, at 1/5th the commission. Disappointing, but I went with the flow, updated my links and expanded the variety of related products.
And years later, it is my highest authority blog, still. A few new ones never gained the authority this old blog has.
This n.e.e.s.h is athletic, and has been taken over by youtubers. I'm no longer young enough to compete with today's In Their Prime demonstrators, but now I have a new blog, with a writing partner, and the essential topic is the same. Athletic, creative.
So I have decided to go back to my old blog, and republish updated versions of the best material, on the newer blog, in relation to the new blog's content.
I can link back to the old blog posts for shoppers.
It's an experiment, but right now is the path of least resistance and I'll know within a few months if it's worth it.
The point is I can write the material in my sleep, so why not try it?
Thanks for this!