Choose a Business You Love, Not What You Know.

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Lots of people have a tough time choosing a niche when they are starting a business. A niche, is simply an audience, or a group of people interested in something. Whether this is "drone racing" or "crocheting" or XYZ, you get to choose. That is the beautiful thing about creating an Internet business, you get to choose anything that you want your business to be.

The problem is that people have paralysis when choosing their niche because they either want it to be the perfect niche, or they are scared about the idea of not being an expert yet.

And that is why I wanted to spend a moment to discuss this.

Choosing a Perfect Niche.

So what does a perfect niche look like? The answer is simple, there isn't ONE particular niche that is perfect. The niche that you choose can be your perfect niche if you are passionate about it, and you are willing to work hard within that niche.

I see WAY too often men choosing niches like "ladies stilettos" based on the idea that they know their wife likes to buy shoes, so it must be a good market. They are right, it is. But that doesn't mean that it is a good niche for someone that is not passionate about it.

I see people jumping on niches like CBD or Masks simply because they view them as being "popular" right now. That is fine, but is that the perfect niche for you? Well it could be, but it will depend on your passions and interests and your interest in working hard and learning everything you can about a respective niche.

So when you sit down and choose a niche, you should be considering the following criteria:

  • Is it something that you are interested in?
  • Could you see yourself working within this niche for many years?
  • Are you interested in learning about this niche?
  • Would you enjoy discussing various aspects of this with others and doing so on a regular basis?

If you answer YES to one or more of those four points, you are heading in the right direction.

That leads me to the next point I wanted to make, and the greatest fear I see that folks have when trying to choose a niche. Their own personal expertise in that topic.

I'm Not An Expert Though...

Being an expert is relative to what you are helping someone with. Think about that. I may not be an expert in a broader sense of an entire industry, but as I create particular content on my website I can become an expert on EVERY topic that I create content about.

If I wanted to head into the sewing niche, something that I am certainly not very knowledgeable of other than [thread + material = something], I could offer an expert article. I know I could. I would simply take the topic at hand, and perform a bit of research.

Let's dive into this a little further, and let me show HOW I can become an expert in less than 15 minutes about a topic I have no current useful knowledge about (or passion). This will illustrate just how successful you can be in your given niche.

Where do I start?

First I have to find a topic to write about. I did a bit of research in Jaaxy, and here are some results that I came up with.



If I had a website in this niche and I was choosing a keyword, I would likely be look for a QSR (true competition) under 100. I decided to choose the keyword "how to sew a baby quilt". It is under 100 QSR, and being under 50 it is a keyword that I could likely rank well for even with a newer website.

So I have my keyword, now how do I go about becoming an expert in this niche? In a word, "research". So like most research, my process starts with Google but certainly is not limited to it. Here are some research platforms that I am going to use to find out more information about this niche in my research.

Then, I am going to use these resources and educate myself on this particular topic. I am also going to document all of my findings. In a matter of minutes, I was able to discover the following.

With a simple search, I was able to obtain a lot of information and ideas as to items that I could potentially discuss.


This has given me all sorts of insight. Without even having to perform a search, I know that people that come to an article about baby quilts are going to possibly want information on rag quilts, adding batting, panels, sew binding, ruffles, and also a great deal of people are looking for "beginner help".

That was only one search, and I already know a lot. I can then speak to at least some of these items within the content. Say I want to then learn how to actually sew a quilt, I could head to Youtube and get a visual. I could also leverage this content within my article.

I quickly found plenty of videos. Here is one such example.


It was a very informative video, and I learned about the entire process of putting together a quilt, from choosing the fabrics, laying out the panels, to putting it together.

Then I could head over to another excellent resource, quora.com.


I learned a great deal on Quora quickly, by doing a few searches related to "sewing quilts", "how to sew a quilt". One thing that became apparent is that the "personalization" element of sewing your own quilt is the most exciting part...so that is something that I would put emphasis on in my content.

Anyways, in a matter of minutes I was able to learn a lot about this topic, to the point where I could write about it and help others that are looking to learn "how to sew a baby quality".

So this exhibits how we can go into any niche and any topic of conversation, and become the expert on the subject matter. It just takes a little research and using the right places to come up with that research.

I Hate My Job... But Let's Make That My Niche.


Now here's the part that I find really crazy. Often times people come to Wealthy Affiliate, seeking out a way to earn an income online and build a business. That is great. Then, when it comes to choosing a niche (that is, a direction for their business), they decide on something related to their current job WHICH THEY DESPISE, which is the reason for them coming to WA in the first place. Not such a great idea. LOL

Just because you know something and you do it on a daily basis, does not mean that this needs to be the direction that you head with your niche. They say, do something you love and never work a day in your life. THAT should be your approach when choosing a niche.

In all reality, any passion..or interest...or something that you simply want to learn about can be your niche. You can be involved in many passions and niches as time goes on and you can also change your niche as time goes on.

But for the sake of your own sanity, do not choose your existing job as your niche if you don't enjoy it. If you hate everything about accounting and you are an accountant, it probably is not a good idea to make that a niche. If you are a line cook and despise going into work each and every day because you don't love your work, don't make your niche related to "cooking".

Choose a Future for Yourself.


The Internet affords us all the opportunity to choose whatever future you want for yourself. You choose the audience you want to work with and help. You choose the direction you head. And you get to choose how much enjoyment you get out of your business by deciding on a direction that you will enjoy.

I just wanted to emphasize this point. Some of you reading this will be able to evoke passion in any industry or niche simply because you are passionate about the process of building a business. Others will be able to evoke passion by choosing a niche that you have always wanted to learn about. Some of you will choose a direction for your business that is in complete parallel with a hobby or a passion that you have.

Whatever the case, view your niche and your business as a long term future that you are creating for yourself. You can be successful in any niche that you want. If you can HELP people within that niche and you can give yourself adequate time and effort to build a successful brand in that niche, it WILL happen.

Now get out there and have fun, build success, and do something you love!


And as always, if you have any questions about niches or the direction that you are wanting to take (or currently taking) in your business, you have lots of help here. We are a community of niche experts and people building authority websites in across 10,000's of different niches. Leave your comments below, would love to hear from ya!

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Recent Comments

278

Kyle,
Many thanks for putting the spotlight on this very interesting subject of choosing a niche. I have been in marketing for the greater part of my life albeit the old fashioned way. from cold calling on customers to standing behind a counter or opening a new route for potential representatives of huge international companies to follow. And yes even Multi-Level Marketing(MLM) campaigns selling/marketing various products......those were the days and we thought they would never end, but, alas they are gone forever. Even the Marketing diploma I worked so hard for at night school is outdated although the basics still do remain.
Enter the digital age and it all changed drastically. Wealthy Affiliate affords us the key to this new and amazing new age of marketing. There are three evergreens in the marketing world and they are Finance, Romance and health......go figure!
All three of the above are mind-boggling and should affiliate marketing be implemented the results can be awesome. With the leverage and power of multiplication of the internet, provided the correct digital tools are fully utilised, success is a definite result.........side effects could lead to an insane amount of riches!
The niches out there are in the millions.
The world population is estimated at approx 7.5Billion therefore WA Bootcamp is where I would like to be..........No way will this particular niche market become saturated, not in our lifetime anyway.
Of course, I shall always be open to other niches.

Many thanks, Kyle and Carson you guys are awesome.

Take care...................... Johan

Absolutely Johan, it sounds like you have a good grasp of the "new world" that we are operating within. In all reality though, everything is an evergreen market within the online world with 4.75 BILLION potential customers now.

This is growing every day, and the % of people's budgets they are pushing online and what they are buying online is shifting every day.

I never thought a day would come where my parents would buy groceries and just about everything they buy, online. This time is here and the pandemic has sped it up drastically, as many were forced into this (and then realized they loved it).

Fun times ahead, and I feel that the fun is just starting to begin!

Spot on Kyle, it only gets better from this point onwards.

Let's kick the tyres and light the fires.

Johan.

I had to read this again as I've decided to move away from the affiliate marketing niche. The reason - I hate it with a passion. Kyle is absolutely right about passion and your niche have to match or you will lose interest quickly.

So I've setup a second website that will focus on my passion and what gets me excited. The affiliate marksite will continue but my main focus is moving to what I love to do.

Thanks again Kyle for your wise words.

Nice one Larry, I'm exactly the same. Was unsure about what niche to choose and ended up doing the affiliate marketing/MMO niche, but it's so saturated. Even with low-hanging fruit keywords. I've now setup a brand new website that is something I am really interested in and already I feel my motivation is better; I'm actually looking forward to building my site and creating content. Like you, my other site is still going to continue, but I've adapted it slightly away from just MMO and will be my secondary objective.
All the best! :)

We should get together and collaborate on strategies, learnings etc. If your open to it let me know.

That is a good move, Gareth.

Keep building out the MMO site and adapt.
It really does not have to be just MMO focused.

And remember to connect your websites with backlinks.
That strategy will help you to grow horizontally on the internet and get your name out there.

I have 3 websites - my niche, my WA brand and an inter-linking niche/MMO site.
All work in tandem.

Cassi

Definitely Larry, always keen to pool knowledge! My diary is pretty flexible, I'm UK based - you?

Thanks Cassi, appreciate the powerful advice :)

If I may ask, how do your WA brand and the MMO site differ, I have lumped those into the same site/MMO bucket - or am I missing a trick here? :)

Cheers,
G.

I'm in western Canada in Mountain Standard Time. Let me know what might work for early next week and we can setup a Zoom call I have a premium account.

Gareth,

I built my WA Brand, Cassi Of Troy, here at WA.
I now have almost 200 blog posts that are ranking highly on the Search Engines, especially Google.

That was used for my WA/Jaaxy website.

My MMO website is about all the other ways to make money online such as blogging, dropshipping, e-commerce, domain flipping, etc.

Hope this helps.

Cassi

Wow, thanks Cassi. I guess I do still have a lot to learn - I didn't realise that our WA blogs could be found by Google and become part of our actual affiliate business model - I just assumed they were within the "bubble" of WA.

Appreciate the overview :) Have a fantastic weekend.

G.

Yes, all your WA posts can be found in the public WWW space, Gareth.
In addition, you have the opportunity to rank on Google.
See the attached.

Cassi

Hahahaha, I ranked 1st for something! ;)
You were very smart to align your WA profile and brand (or choose a WA name that could become a brand)!

I guess working within an IT structure for many years helped me, Gareth.

User names can come in very handy.

I am sure you will rank #1 on Google for many others.

Cassi

Great ideas! I was not sure how to monetise my hobby (genealogy) but tying it to a MMO website would be productive.

Thank you, Earl.

That would be a good strategy.

Cassi

I really like these 4 questions to ask yourself when trying to determine your niche...

Is it something that you are interested in?
Could you see yourself working within this niche for many years?
Are you interested in learning about this niche?
Would you enjoy discussing various aspects of this with others and doing so on a regular basis?

Great reminder, thank you Kyle!
I started doubting I had enough to write about and compete in my passion niche - kitesurfing. But the more I write, the more inspiration I find for sub-niches - I've just become an "expert" in watersports sunglasses and been offered a distributor deal with one of the brands I'm reviewing/promoting. 50% profit margins instead of 15% affiliate commission (I'll be doing both).

The opportunities are amazing if we open our minds and don't be afraid to reach out to our peers in the niche we enjoy.

And let's not forget that most of us here are passionate about making money online and/or achieving financial freedom (my second website subject) so there's always the option to help people do what every member of WA is aspiring to.

Endless possibilities!

WoW! That was the best ever blog I have read about Choosing a niche.You just managed to dissolve all the complexities around this important and decisive step. I had some uncertainty when it comes to choosing a niche that I am passionate about. I know for example that I am passionate about a niche, and I love to live in it,
but when I look outside of me, I wonder if the Niche I love has a place in the market. The struggle between these thoughts inside me,( niche I love and the market), that made it difficult to decide on choosing a niche. But after reading this blog, the clouds of confusion about this matter dispersed. You made it so easy to decide on ones niche with confidence. After all, you delivered the solution to how you can become expert in your niche by just doing some research about that niche on internet, and after a short time, suddenly you know so much about that niche.
That means that I should focus on choosing the niche I love, and
if I am not an expert in my niche, I should become one by researching information about that Niche. Thank you for that.
I also want to comment on a passage in you blog :

(The Internet affords us all the opportunity to choose whatever future you want for yourself. You choose the audience you want to work with and help. You choose the direction you head. And you get to choose how much enjoyment you get out of your business by deciding on a direction that you will enjoy.)

I think there is a big gap between the type of freedom expressed in this words, and the limitations we have imposed on ourselves.
I am sure that most of the students at WA are here exactly for this freedom. They chose to join Wealthy Affiliate to teach them and lead them to experience This awesome Freedom.
Thank you very much for this very interesting blog.

Exactly right Ahmed. You become an expert with "time" and as you research and communicate about your niche. But the "expertise" in a niche is an evolutionary process. I have been at this industry for 18 years and I am still learning new stuff each and every day.

That can be the case within any niche. Really glad you enjoyed this post and I certainly have a lot more I could discuss about niches and establishing expertise within any niche.

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