How to Choose a Niche

There is a very common misunderstanding that marketers have, which is quite likely the reason people have the most difficulty "finding a niche" or an industry to promote. Often seen as a very daunting task to new marketers, choosing an industry should not be the most complex task you deal with. More often than not, people get frustrated because they think that the industry that they choose will not be profitable for them.

The reality is that you can earn money within ANY industry online. The key is to focus on who your audience is rather than which industry you are promoting.

There are two effective ways to help you decide on an industry. You can select something that you are interested in, or you can choose something that you know is popular right now.

Let's assume you are a music buff who "lives" for music and you know a lot about the music industry. There are different markets related to music that you may be interested in promoting. For example, within this industry there are the following "niches":

how to play a musical instrument
music download sites
single track download sites
CD / DVD sales
CD burning software iPod software
instruments (guitars, drums, piano)
portable music devices
car stereo electronics
vintage music collector items.

This is just brushing the surface! From one interest you have the opportunity to promote many different products or services. You can also browse the Internet looking for products/industries that are hot right now. Whenever there is a new technology or product break-through, there is a lot of interest surrounding this.

For example, when a new technology (like the latest Apple iPhone) is released, many people are very interested and the hype will indicate that this is a very hot industry. The same goes for any new service or product and these are typically very easy "sells".

You can promote essentially anything online, so don't get too wrapped up in which product/service you select to promote first. You will learn a lot from your first campaign online and there are good chances that your first campaign will not be the one that makes you the most money. There are huge profits to be realized within any industry and it comes down to the research you put in after you have selected your industry/market/niche. Learn your industry, become your industry, and deliver the appropriate information to the correct people and you are bound to make money.

Here is a broad list of ideas:

web hosting
mp3 downloads
make money
cell phones
keyword tools
Adwords resources
internet marketing
work from home dvd downloads
tv downloads
anti-virus
anti-spyware
satellite
voice over IP
software
domain hosting dating
weight loss
men's health
women's health
cooking
gardening
eBay
internet services broadband internet
wireless internet
computer equipment
tickets (sporting/vacation)
mortgages/payday
foreclosures
auctions (auto/eBay

You can also find an industry to promote by looking through the marketplaces of larger affiliate networks (mentioned in the next section). These will give you an idea of the vast number of products that are available for you to promote.

A Quick & Dirty Way to Find Niches

If you have not heard of DMOZ, you should become familiar with it. Why? DMOZ is the largest directory on the Internet and contains over 590,000 different topics. This means that if you go to DMOZ, you have instant access to to 590,000 potential industries or sub-industries that you can promote.

The great thing about DMOZ is the fact that it breaks down different niches in the same way that you would if you were doing your own independent research. It starts broad and then narrows down your topics into much more specific areas. This is great for finding smaller niches or industries that you could cross-promote to. Go spend some time at DMOZ.org and find out a niche that fits you!

DMOZ.org

One thought that we should leave you with here is that you can make a significant sum of money within ANY ONE industry. You do not need to be promoting 20 different industries and have 20 simultaneous campaigns going to be highly successful online. It is quite possible to have a single campaign that brings in over $1000/day! You should not diversify before you are ready to expand because chances are there is still money that can be sucked out of your existing campaigns.

Looking to "master" research. Take a look at the Research Getting Started guide here at Wealthy Affiliate!

Research Getting Started