Is your SUCCESS related to your NICHE selection?

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During our training, we were all taught that when choosing a niche, it is best if it is a familiar topic/subject or a hobby or interest.

    I recently found out that it is best to research before deciding on a niche.

    I've also learned that even though we may be passionate about a topic, and yes, there may be a market for it at that time, there are no guarantees that this market will be long lasting.

    1. Do you think market research should be mandatory before choosing a niche?

    2. What are some of the criteria that we should use to select a niche?

    3. How important is an avatar or demographic when deciding on a niche?


    I do appreciate your comments, thoughts and ideas in this discussion.

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    Recent Comments

    101

    1. Mandatory for a website, no - unless (funnily enough) you want to build or complement a business, in which case it’s essential.

    2. Are there BUYERS in the niche?
    Do we really want to work within this particular niche?
    Can we find something to sell in this niche that will ADD REAL VALUE to buyers?
    How easy is it to FIND BUYERS in this niche?

    3. It helps a lot to develop an avatar because it helps to target the content of posts and sales messages. An essential part of understanding the prospect is to understand the questions they ask and be clear on their intention.

    Blimey... It feels like I’m answering a GCE A Level question (UK)!
    :-)
    Richard

    Hi Richard
    I do love to set GSCE/GCE type questions :)
    It allows members to think instead of giving a yes no response

    I love the way you break down the questions as well as expanding on your answers.

    Thank you for your participation. I always enjoy connecting with you

    Thank you Simone for your kind words.
    I would say the same to you
    But you forgot to grade my answers...
    :-)
    Richard

    Lol
    How about A*?

    I’m a happy bunny now!
    :-)
    Richard

    😁

    Come up with a great question!

    1. I think so generally. But for blogging about personal life, I don't think so.
    2. In my case, I focus on writing without spending much time researching the topic.
    3. It can be important, but followed by the niche or, the post content in my opinion.

    Thank you for giving me the chance to tell my thoughts on your questions.

    Hello James. It is lovely to connect with you.
    Thank you for responding to my questions.

    It would be lovely to start your market research before writing any article

    Market research is very important
    Please have a look at DCaribbean's response down below to learn more about market research and niches
    Let me know how you get on

    This is a great question and a very important one. I never thought of it before, but yes absolutely, market research should be mandatory before choosing a niche.

    I echo Candy's response, there are some missing links. We're often left to figure it out, ask questions, and help each other.

    I'm also struggling with the last two questions.

    Thanks for sharing Simone.

    Melanie

    Melanie, thank you for stopping by
    An avatar is used to represent what our target audience is

    The demographics research shows whether our target audience is mainly men, women or a mixture of both.
    I hope this helps

    Simone even when we understand what the avatar is, what I find is even more important is teaching members HOW TO FIND that information so their avatar will be an accurate representation.

    Candy Benn

    I was thinking the same thing
    I see a training/blog coming up ;)

    Indeed.

    Awesome :)

    Yes, of course it helps. Correction I understood demographics, but not avatar. Thanks for breaking it down.

    You're always welcome :)

    You are welcome anytime Mel. It is that same information from demographic that you use to build your avatar.

    If the average person is mid thirties, black woman you can use that to create a picture of the person you will sell to.

    After that whenever you create products in that niche she is your target.

    That research should be done even before you begin

    Candy Benn

    I now have a better understanding of the avatar and how to tie it into demographics.
    It now makes sense, every time you write an article or post something you should be looking at the avatar as if you were selling to that person.
    In my mind an avatar was a cartoon character, but it doesn't have to be, it can also be a picture of a person.

    Yes, I learnt this somewhere along the way, but the word "avatar" threw me off.

    Thanks for clarifying Candy; now I know.

    Thanks Simone for the insightful post; it's very helpful.

    Spot on Mel. You got it. I am sure we are not alone with that thought of an avatar.

    It is probably the most widely known meaning.

    Candy Benn

    That's our main reason for posting so that members will understand that their market research is important in their selection of a niche

    Yes indeed.

    Awesome ;)

    I don't know if I can answer any of these questions, Simone. I chose my niche based on something I wanted to learn more about. I was told that was fine. I gave zero thought to if it would be relevant in the future (I think it will be, though). But I also don't see my brand becoming a household name as Kyle recently blogged.

    I don't know if I would go as far as to say market research should be mandatory.

    If people are continually choosing niches that are unmarketable, maybe there could be more said about branding and how to think that way.

    I'm not sure I know what you mean by an avatar or demographic. To me demographic is your audience and an avatar is that little character I created on Reddit and I think I might have created one for WA. I definitely think knowing who your audience is can be important.

    Thanks for another great post.

    Lynn

    Lynn, thank you for your valuable responses.
    Market research is very important regarding choosing your niche.

    Please see DCaribbean's response to learn more
    I appreciate hearing from you
    Hope you're having a great day

    Hi Lynn,
    " To me demographic is your audience and an avatar is that little character I created on Reddit and I think I might have created one for WA."

    Lynn that statement made me laugh so hard. I too thought of this the first time I heard of an avatar in relation to internet marketing.

    The avatar in this instance is a representation of the demographic that is your target audience. You use it as a reminder when you are creating products or marketing other people's.

    You don't just make up an avatar however you do research to find out who are the people in your marketspace first.

    Imagine if you wanted to market baby clothes, you won't just market to everyone. Your research might tell you that your buyers typically would be 20 to maybe 35 because these are the persons of child bearing age. You may also through market research find that your buyers are typically women and not men even though there are fathers in this age group.

    So this is a small bit of the type of information you need for your avatar.

    Candy Benn

    Thanks, Candy, that is helpful. I'm not sure my niche has a demographic except probably not children. Cast iron might appeal to anyone who cooks.

    Ha, I've still got a lot to learn. I'm glad I made you laugh, though.

    Lynn

    I will say this, it doesn't seem like the a great choice for a niche. Certainly not one with a great deal of money being spent. After all how many sets of pots and pans do you need?

    If I was interested in doing this niche however, I would join groups related to cooking to do my research.

    Candy Benn

    Yes, my site talks quite a bit about cooking, but I agree, there might not be a lot of money to be had in my niche.

    Well yes and no. The biggest hurdle for many seems to be continuing on with their website after a certain period of time.

    So, if they choose a niche that they think everybody wants, then they may tire of it and stop working on it. If they choose a niche that they love, then they are unlikely to tire of it and more likely to continue to success.

    I suppose the trick is to narrow down your likes and then do market research on topics that you know you will love.

    But that will narrow down your choices.

    Avatars provide a focus for our audience, so I think they are important, especially as your site grows. You need to continually update your customer profile to maintain that focus.

    Alex

    Alex, I like your opening line
    "The biggest hurdle for many seems to be continuing on with their website after a certain period of time."

    Some of these reasons are because there is no longer any market for those niche. I believe if market research was done, it would be obvious that we should avoid a particular niche.

    Thank you for stopping by, Alex
    See DCaribbean's response to learn more

    DCaribbean has some very thoughtful insights in her comment. Yes, we are missing market research, and we are missing recurring commissions in the training.

    To be fair if we want to succeed in our business then we need to continue learning by ourselves.

    Alex

    I would agree to an extent Alex
    We are here in this community to help our business be more productive

    During my research, this was brought to my attention and that's why I am having this discussion.

    I am pleased that you found it useful.
    Please enjoy the remainder of the week ahead

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