My Top 5 Niche Picks

byIveTriedThat

108.8K followers

Updated 5 years ago

I get asked one question more than most...

"What niche should I create a website in?"

And it's unfortunately one that I cannot answer for you. Your niche is something that interests you. It should be a topic that you want to write about and one that you'll be able to write about for years.

Instead of telling you what niche YOU should be doing, I'm going to show you five niches that *I* am personally interested in to demonstrate how *I* pick new topics for websites. You'll get the niche, a trend graph, related searches, an explanation, some hypothetical articles I would write for the site, and a few extra resources for each one.

I want you to try and focus on my thought process behind each niche. You'll see almost all of them come from my daily life.

To go the extra mile, make sure you read my training here titled 'Starting from Scratch: The Strategies I Use to Build & Maintain Successful Websites' It will walk you through the exact steps that I use every single day to build and maintain my business.

Niche Picking

Here are the four criteria I follow when picking a new niche...

1. The niche has to be a topic that I can update often
2. The niche has to be something that personally interests me
3. The niche can be expanded to an authority style website
4. There has to be a way to tie products into my posts.

Keep an eye on all four of these and how they can be applied to each of the niches below.

1. Crossfit

My wife and I have recently started doing Crossfit. It's an intense daily workout program designed to give you a new workout each day. You join a Crossfit gym called a 'box' and workout with the same group of people. It's a fantastic way to get in shape, meet new friends, and challenge yourself physically.

I would create a website in this niche because it's something I'm doing every day and there are a lot of ways to tie in products. Crossfit shoes, work out gear, books, equipment for the home, workout plans etc. As you can see from the related terms, people want to know more about what Crossfit is. My site would track my experiences and progress with the program.

Sample Headlines from My Hypothetical Site
"What is Crossfit and why are all my friends talking about it?"
"Hands down the best Crossfit shoes I've ever worn"
"Week 3: My progress so far."

Resources
Google Trends Page
My Competition

2. Paleo Diet/Lifestyle

This is another lifestyle change my wife and I have recently made. As you can see from the Interest graph, it's only growing in popularity. The Paleo diet is about eating more natural food and avoiding processed crap. We've both lost weight doing it and have felt great. More energy, motivation, and less of that "I just stuffed my face I need to lay down" feeling.

As for my site, it looks like most people want to know what to cook while on the Paleo diet. I'd cater to them by sharing my own Paleo recipes complete with pictures, instructions, and opinions. For product tie ins, I'd review Paleo books found at Amazon and even review some cooking utensils. I'd also cover the basics of Paleo and the importance of eating healthy. Considering 'Paleo plan' and 'Paleo diet plan' are some of the most searched for related terms, you could take it one-step further and create a paid paleo diet plan where you email 3 recipes to your list each day . People are looking for an easy to follow plan. Fill that void!

Sample Headlines from My Hypothetical Site
"What is Paleo and do you really eat like a caveman?"
"14 small changes I made to my diet to be more Paleo"
"Stop what you're doing and go make these Paleo muffins"

Resources
Google Trends Page
My Competition

3. Smart Watches

I'd have less personal experiences to draw on with this niche, but it's a topic that recently exploded on the scene. Just look at that trend graph! I am a tech junkie and like to follow the latest developments and news regarding new technology. It seems that every company is looking to get a smart watch to the market sooner rather than later.

My site would be a news resource that keeps up with the latest developments. If/when I bought a Smart Watch of my own, I'd be able to post a review. Depending on the popularity of the site, I would try and leverage my traffic in exchange for free products to review. Companies offer review models all the time. You have to offer something in exchange though. Don't have a one page site that reads like a book report on Smart Watches and expect to receive a truck load of free gear. I'd focus on becoming a respective resource that provides quality news quick before going that route.

Sample Headlines from My Hypothetical Site
"5 New Smart Watches Coming in 2013"
"Google Glass + a Smart Watch. How much is too much?"
"Talk to the Hand is no Longer an Insult" (Thanks Rich!)

Resources
Google Trends Page
My Competition

4. Home Inspiration/Renovation

Back to my personal life. (As you can see, I draw almost all of my niche ideas from my own personal experiences.) I recently bought a first house and have been making small improvements here and there. We looked through about 50 different houses and saw a lot of the same building materials. Similar light fixtures, sinks, couches, etc. After a while we could predict what we'd see before we walked into a room. My site would be a "Replace this with that" style site and would feature different home furnishings that I found interesting.

This would be harder to monetize because my readers would be more likely to head out to a local Home Depot or furniture store to make a purchase. I'd have to cover a lot of 'Web only' features items to pick up the slack. Aside from that, PPC and banner ads would likely work better here.

Sample Headlines from My Hypothetical Site
"Stop buying this chandelier. Here are 10 interesting alternatives."
"15 Ways to Spruce up your Home Office"
"Add Color to Your Kitchen"

Resources
Google Trends Page
My Competition

5. A Crossfit/Paleo/Home Lifestyle Combination Blog

Finally we have a topic that has no trend graph, competition, or related terms. Instead of building off of something existing, I'd build off of... myself. I'd brand myself as a 20-something going through big life changes. Product tie-ins would be easy because I could relate to anything in my life.

The key here is not that it would be specifically about me personally, but about similar experiences that others in my age group are also going through. If that makes sense. It would be a site that others can connect with and stories they could personally relate to. The sample headlines below will give you a clearer picture. Think those and not "Here's what I ate today and now I'm going to go watch TV."

Sample Headlines from My Hypothetical Site
"Wait, I have to make a mortgage payment every month!?"
"How Eating Healthy and Working Out Changed my Life"
"20 Reasons Why I Miss College"

The Bottom Line

Before I wrote this post out, I sat down and evaluated my own life to find a topic that I would seriously consider writing about. I had a list of about 20 or so topics and narrowed it down to the top 5 that really, truly interested me and also had respectable showings in Google's trend graphs.

All five of these sites would be what I consider "authority" style websites. None of these sites would ever be "finished." There would always be new ways to update them and to connect with my traffic. After all, forging a relationship with your readers is what Internet Marketing is really all about.

I highly, highly suggest you sit down and write up a list of 20 topics that interest you and then start narrowing it down. Enter each topic into the Google Trends search and find out what's hot online. Then look at the related searches to see what people are searching for within that topic. Build a site to cater to these searches.

If you want to learn more about the strategies I use to build my websites, be sure to check out my training on how I start a site from scratch here. It'll really put everything into perspective for you.

Hope this helps.

Steve