What Is a Niche Market? If You Are Not Sure. This Article May Help You!
Published on February 2, 2020
Published on Wealthy Affiliate — a platform for building real online businesses with modern training and AI.
So... I have seen many questions where people are struggling with understanding what a niche is. There have been good answers but, in my opinion, many answers are vague and sometimes not quite correct at least based on my views. Then again... who am I? lol
Anyway, I just wanted to write a little on this in the hope it may help people. Because I believe defining a niche audience is very important. That doesn't mean I always do it "right" but still I understand what it is and why it is so important. 
What Is A Niche Market?
Do you think "boats" is a niche? Boats are things. They are products. Specifically they are a water vehicle.
How about "rc boats" (that's radio controlled boats)? Again these are things. They are products. In this case they may be considered "toys" by some and a serious hobby by others.
How about "rc boats for beginners"? Ah... we have now entered the realm of a niche. Do you know why?
Here is another example...
"The Moon"? The moon is a thing. Specifically it is celestial object that orbits our planet.
"Photos of the Moon" Photos are things. These could be products (perhaps posters even).
"Lunar Photos"? This is just rewriting the previous thing a different way. Still talking about photos of the moon. Photos are things.
"Lunar Photography"? Ah... we have now moved ever so slightly toward a niche.
Can you see what makes the difference?
What is missing from all but the last term in each of the cases?
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Niches Require People
Radio Controlled Boats for Beginners and Lunar Photography both introduce the human element in one degree or another.
And when you build a website (or create any other content) no matter what the subject is about your content is intended for humans to consume (read, watch, listen, etc).
It is very important to define your niche audience before you start building... anything.
For example, there are quite likely thousands of different niches in photography alone. If you think "I want to build a website about photography" who exactly is that for? People who love macro photography? Advanced photographers? People who are complete beginners? People who love nature photography? Aerial photography? Underwater photography? Clouds? Etc. Etc.
Examples of Niches
Fitness - far too big
Fitness->Weight Loss - still far too generic
Fitness->Weight Loss for People Over 50 - Better but still huge and vague
Fitness->Weight Loss for People With Desk Jobs -> DING! this is workable
Fitness->Weight Loss for People With Manual Labor Jobs -> DING! this is workable.
Both of these groups of people have very different work situations and needs.
Fitness->Weight Loss for People Over 50 Who Have Desk Jobs DING! DING! DING!
Fitness->Weight Loss for People Over 50 Who Have Manual Labor Jobs DING! DING! DING!
Both of these groups of people have very different work situations and needs compared to people in general who are interested in weight loss. And both of these groups of people have very different work situations and needs from each other as well.
Because of these unique factors, you can write more directly to these people in your articles. And because of that, these people will connect with you and your writing MUCH (like MUCH!) more.
Let's look at one more... this time product based... say RC Helicopters or Drones since they are the rage these days
Drones - BEEEEEEEP!
Premium Drones BEEP!
Premium Drones for Beginners DING! workable
Premium Drones for Beginners Interested in Photography DING! DING! DING!
Premium Drones for Advanced Users Interested in Photography DING! DING! DING!
Premium Drones for Beginners Interested in Photography is a niche audience. These people may be very different from First Time Drone Buyers, etc. Same is true for the Advanced Users niche.
And both of these groups are very different from each other. One day perhaps some of the people in the "Premium Drones for Beginners Interested in Photography" niche may move into the "Premium Drones for Advanced Users Interested in Photography"
When you define your niche... your target audience... this becomes your niche market definition.
Your niche consists of the THING (product, activity, etc) and the PEOPLE.
But not "people who like pizza". Maybe "Healthy Pizza Recipes for Busy Moms"
Notice how the entire feel is "styled" by filling it out more with some identifying bits of the person?
Okay... that's it. And this is just how I see it. Some may see it differently.
The advantages of niche marketing are that (1) you can write directly to those people using terminology and other bits of specific information that are known because of your niche market definition (and this applies to YT videos, etc), (2) because of this, these people will connect with you and your content much better, and (3) you are able to better identify where your niche audience hangs out or otherwise have a better idea how to reach them with your marketing efforts (if you are not relying completely on search engines referring people).
With the end goal being these people find your content (and indeed entire website) and think "WOW! This is AWESOME! It's like they made this site JUST FOR ME!" ... and you'd think "well... yeah... that's because I did!"
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