The Farmer - Picking my Niche
I've read some of the comments about those that have discovered DMOZ for the first time and have found DMOZ exactly what was needed to prompt my creativity. DMOZ can be overwhelming at first glance, but with time, as it seems many have done, a niche reveals itself. The Niche has come full-circle to you. In any case, DMOZ is a resource to open one's eyes to all of the possibilities in this very complex world of ours.
You can also look around your house. Make a list of what you've done in the last week. If you have kids, any passions related to them? Do you have any plans that require you to purchase something? I agree that just about any, if not every, niche can be monetized. There are certainly different thoughts about including the potential to monetize a niche in the selection of one's niche. For me, it is a factor.
Moving on, I think Kyle is absolutely right that your first niche is not likely to be your last. I have no idea if the niche I've picked is going to be a winner or not. I am trying to increase the odds that it will be by being mindful about my process. After the selection of my niche, success will be largely dependent upon how well I follow the training guidance at WA.
If you're like me, you have a number of interests. I followed the instruction in the niche module, wrote down my passions, my interests, and my hobbies. Within those areas, there were still dozens of attributes to consider.
I began to think about the last items I actually spent money upon in each category. How much I spent and where I spent it. I began to think about how the average customer at where I work engages. I asked myself questions like where is the value or what has value as it's related to my niche.?
Sometimes you just have to go with you gut. I bet there is something in your niche that will spark an idea and help you zero in. I was getting close when....
Yesterday, keeping an ear to a conversation going on in my public office space, I became aware of a niche in a related category, I was aware of the product category but had only marginal familiarity. One thing i know for sure is that I'm passionate about this market space - outdoor gear. I might have overlooked this particular micro niche category had I not been listening in on the conversation between a product representative and the owner of the small business where I hang.
As I've mentioned, the product category is not one I have direct experience with, however, I do have friends that have direct experience. And further, I have had training with a product in the category but it's not something I deal with everyday. After the Rep had completed his conversation with the owner, I asked the rep for the low-down on the product that he represents.
After my conversation with the Rep, I did my own research using Google Search to assess the average price of the products in the category. I had an idea but I wanted to verify. I know from my experience in this market that this product is emerging with strengthening demand. I needed my niche to meet the guidance recommended with the key word tool. OK, that means I skipped ahead - only a bit - in order to verify that my niche had market demand and low competition. I also needed the product to be available in Amazon or another affiliate network in which I have a relationship.
Check, check and check.
I'm pretty excited about my niche. I've got my site about 40% built. I expect to have it finished tomorrow evening., but then I'm going to stew on it for a couple of days in order to dial in my promotional plan. I want to be clear about how I'm going to roll out this site, who I'm targeting, and what kind of and frequency of engagement that I might expect, and define measurable performance metrics in order to track my efforts.
Really it comes down to tenant of my second post: does this niche meet my consumer needs.
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Hi - firstly welcome to WA and thank-you for your interesting article. Although difficult at first a niche tends to be the first stumbling block of any Newbies introduction to 'how to get going' - The mistake I first made was the focus on the money aspect and in this, Newbies are drawn to a quick fix to sell the so called hottest niche without researching simple elements like competition or even knowledge of the industry or product itself. In terms of an idea resource - Amazon is great at getting ideas, even extended options like sub-niches. Kyle is correct in saying that your first niche is not your last - a run of the mill may be be required until you establish the right niche. Colin
As I've read your comment, it made me reflect upon my process and my first article: "The Farmer - What is Marketing?" Focused on how important it is to meet a customer's needs. It's also given me some ideas for new blog posts, so stay tuned.
I'm about 70% complete with my newest blog. I've written seven pages of content. Have my theme in place, plugins loaded. I have my affiliate links integrated.
Also I commented on another post about the benefits of going through the process. As this is not my first time, I have developed my own criteria in selecting my niche that is much more complex than when I first started.
But back then, it would take me days to go through the same process that I can go through now in a couple of hours.
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As I was reading your comment on my article, it reminded me of my first article - "The Farmer - What is Marketing." I'm more confident today that my niche does meet my customer's needs. I am about 70% complete now with my blog.
As I've built up the site and have written six pages of content, found my affiliate links, etc, I'm even more confident now that I've got a good one.