The Farmer - How I Supercharge My Niche - Part 1

A number of Wealthy Affiliate members have commented on my article “The Farmer - Picking My Niche” about wanting to know more about my niche selection process. If you’ve read my profile, you’ll know that affiliate marketing is not new to me, so I have that going for me. By no means am I an expert. I always approach the process with a beginner’s mind.

I referenced my previous experience as it’s important for me to note to you that skipping steps is not a shortcut. Going through the most basics steps is part of the process of learning the fundamentals. You have to work through your "stuckness" in order to expose your "blind-spots." In that way, you own your successes and failures.

As a prerequisite of reading further, if you haven’t already started the WA training program lesson #3, put this article aside and come back to it when you have time. So really, stop reading. Start from the beginning. Role up your sleeves and embrace lesson #3 with a beginner’s mind.

OK, now that you’re back, you should have six or plus or minus a niche ideas from your exploration of DMOZ, as mentioned in lesson #3. I understand why Kyle and Carson keep it simple and just suggest identifying your interests, passions, and hobbies. If this is your first attempt at internet marketing and picking a niche for your blog, it won’t be your last.

Clearly, DMOZ is a good but just one of many many sources to inspire your creativity in selecting a niche.

Are there other resources that might inspire me?

Look around you and consider who you, where you hang out? What you’ve accomplished? What about activity groups where you have participated? What do you own? What would you like to own? There are ten-thousand questions about your life that have inspired your life: your interests, your hobbies, and your passions.

• Go shop at Amazon. Everything at amazon is purchased online, right?
• Go look at your browser history. The sights you have visited reflect areas of interest.
• Watch the advertisements that Amazon, Facebook, and Google deliver to your browser.
• Been shopping lately?
• Listened to music or watch a video?

There are ideas everywhere.

If you’re really stuck - start making a list of questions to ask your self. If that is still hard to do, craft the questions as if they were for someone else, and then apply the questions to you.

And More.

What is going on around you? Pay attention. Did you overhear about something emerging in one of you hobby categories. For that matter, be more proactive in your research: visit your hobby shop, or read a magazine in your area of expertise. Stay current. Inevitably, something will pop out. Most importantly, learn the fundamentals.

Your list of potential niches may have expanded a bit by now. You can narrow that list down quickly by going through the niche funnel as described in Lesson #3

Cross-Reference Your Niche Research on the Fly

Remember that in Task #3 of Lesson #3, Kyle and Carson tell the student that “You are going to be choosing products to promote within your niche.” Keep that in mind with every niche idea that comes your way. Remember, at this point, you should already have six potential niche ideas, but which one to choose?

This is the part where maybe I can help the most. The keyword tool is a crude way to determine supply and demand of a niche product and market. But it’s better than nothing. If that’s all you used to determine which niche to follow, the worst thing that can happen is you learn about the process, meaning you can’t not be ahead.

Make an evolving niche list pool

In all likelihood you have a list of potential niches where you have expertise. This list is forever evolving. Sometimes a discarded niche doesn’t make the grade now, but it will in the future. Just keep track. Make note if the list item is an interest, hobby, or passion. Save the list as you’ll revisit it soon enough.

How do I pick from my niche pool?

When starting out, no one wants to make a mistake and waste time. Sorry about that, you’re going to, so get over it now. However you can create process that increases the probability of success by being methodical.

The Farmer - How I Supercharge My Niche - Part 2 explains how I uses a SWOT analysis to analyze and micro target my potential niches

To be published soon.