PAGE 1 – What is a niche and why should it be narrow
PAGE 2 – What are popular niche markets
PAGE 3 – Popular Evergreen / Sustainable niche markets
PAGE 4 – Popular Hobby / Passion niche markets
When starting an affiliate marketing website, you will have to decide on a niche. Most times people will ask, what is a profitable niche? This is normally the question I hear asked right after the question, what is a niche? I will answer both.
WHAT IS A NICHE
People tend to take something they know nothing about and make it harder for them to understand the correct answer. I was like that at first when it came to the definition of what a niche was. But then once it was explained to me it became quite obvious.
We all partake in niches every single day. A niche is anything that pertains to a specific area of the population with a specific interest. It could be your knowledge in how a family of four can spend a week at Disneyland on a budget or how to grow vegetables.
Let us say you are into drinking beer but only the craft beer segment of the beer market. That craft beer segment is a niche because it is a sub niche of the wider beer consumption market with many different types and flavors.
HOW TO NARROW A NICHE
Staying with the niche of craft beer, you would want to think of different things that apply to craft beer. What could these be? Perhaps your favorite tastes which would narrow it down to the type such as an IPA, or you could focus on how to brew it yourself.
You could then narrow that down to specific brewing and storage equipment. It is really important to narrow down your niche as much as possible, this way you can become an authority within your respective niche. This will help you attract more traffic.
As an authority you will become the big fish in the small pond. This is why it is important to be knowledgeable in your chosen niche. Always start out narrow and focused, you can always grow your niche wider later on when you begin to run out of content ideas.
NEXT UP = What are some popular niches to get into
Join the Discussion
analida
Premium
Great information! i like your writing style. One question: I decided to choose Korean Movies/dramas as my niche. I feel it is pretty broad and I don't know how to narrow it down. Other examples of my hobbies are: photography, food, read romantic novels, speed walk, and buy custom fashion jewelry. However they are all broad. Any suggestions as to which one would profit me the most? Thanks!
Reply
boomergp08
Premium
Always go with a niche you know the most about. Never go with something strickly because it is profitable. If what you know the most happens to be profitable, go with it.
To narrow it down it could be like this.
Photography > Film or Digital > Lens
Food > Southern Style > Gluten Free
Romantic Novels > Specific Authors
Speed Walk > Running Shoes > Nike
Custom Fashion Jewelry > For Men
To narrow it down it could be like this.
Photography > Film or Digital > Lens
Food > Southern Style > Gluten Free
Romantic Novels > Specific Authors
Speed Walk > Running Shoes > Nike
Custom Fashion Jewelry > For Men
analida
Premium
Thanks for your opinion Zoeccess, well I watch plenty of Korean Dramas and youtube is good if they show like a trailer of an upcoming drama/ movie or after the episodes were played.
However, if you are very interested in the most recent or popular shows without commercial interruptions you wouldn't mind to pay without ads on Viki or Hulu and become a member =D. I am just looking how to profit from it and grasp the right target.
However, if you are very interested in the most recent or popular shows without commercial interruptions you wouldn't mind to pay without ads on Viki or Hulu and become a member =D. I am just looking how to profit from it and grasp the right target.
analida
Premium
Thank you so much for your helpful suggestions! I have a passion for all of them. It is great how you narrowed them down to very specific niches. That is an interesting one, the Custom Fashion Jewelry for "men". Usually they are not very into jewelry but I see your point. =) I will take notes on the other ones.
This might be a dumb question, but when using affiliate-based profits, you have to chose a niche that has products that you can sponsor/recommend? Otherwise it would just be a blog.
Like I was thinking about doing one on eating healthy in college, because it is something I am passionate about, but there isn't really specific products to promote, only healthy habits and such you can teach. So a better one would be camping or hiking, where you can talk about staying active but link products you recommend at the sane time?
No idea if I am making sense or not, sorry haha.
Like I was thinking about doing one on eating healthy in college, because it is something I am passionate about, but there isn't really specific products to promote, only healthy habits and such you can teach. So a better one would be camping or hiking, where you can talk about staying active but link products you recommend at the sane time?
No idea if I am making sense or not, sorry haha.
Fadhil
Premium
My suggestion for to have ideas of what product to promote in your website in your chosen niche is to look at other similar website that in the same niche or similar niche.
You can start to browse a few websites talking about healthy eating and see what they are promoting.
May be after that you could have ideas on what product to promote in your niche.
You can start to browse a few websites talking about healthy eating and see what they are promoting.
May be after that you could have ideas on what product to promote in your niche.
boomergp08
Premium
I think the camping and hiking niche would be better because there are many more products you can promote and you could also tie them into being healthy if you craft it well enough.
samirn
Premium
Hi Robert. I have already reached Course 2 of the training. I now have doubts on my niche choice. I chose the law of attraction niche but realize that i not an authority on that niche but rather a student of it.
I also am a health freak in that I eat healthy and do sport such cycling, running and gyming.
I am a HR Manager and love motivating people and assisting them to achieve success in their jobs and careers.
Three years ago i underwent a divorce and went through lots of pains. So dont know if divorce is a niche out there too
Given the above i am confused what niche i should enter. Your thought on the above please.
I also am a health freak in that I eat healthy and do sport such cycling, running and gyming.
I am a HR Manager and love motivating people and assisting them to achieve success in their jobs and careers.
Three years ago i underwent a divorce and went through lots of pains. So dont know if divorce is a niche out there too
Given the above i am confused what niche i should enter. Your thought on the above please.
boomergp08
Premium
Picking a niche is a personal choice. Just pick the one you feel the most passionate about and know you can write a lot of content on.
I had 3 niches I wanted to do when I started. I picked the least favorable one first. I knew that my second website would be better then my first and wanted my most passionate one to be the best it could be.
I had 3 niches I wanted to do when I started. I picked the least favorable one first. I knew that my second website would be better then my first and wanted my most passionate one to be the best it could be.
samirn
Premium
Thank you so much for that :).i have been through some of your websites. Just wondering how you are making money from it? I know you mentioned the cancer one is not for money making.
boomergp08
Premium
gshep51
Premium
Hi Robert, I will try to make this short. I really enjoyed your post on choosing a niche. I am an artist so I figured something to do with the arts would be my niche.
I looked at other affiliates who are artists and they cover everything from art supplies, how to paint and draw, techniques, art books, to selling their own work on their websites.
Then they have a few art supply companies that they are affiliates with and receive commissions from. It even states that they receive a small commission from them.
You say to narrow it down as much as possible to be successful at the beginning and then add to the website as time goes on.
Should I start out blogging about Paints or brushes for example, or do you consider this different than other niches? I don't know how much I could write about on just Paint or Brushes etc.
I'm just not sure what to do. I have changed my website a few times now.
Your feedback would be greatly appreciated,
Gary
I looked at other affiliates who are artists and they cover everything from art supplies, how to paint and draw, techniques, art books, to selling their own work on their websites.
Then they have a few art supply companies that they are affiliates with and receive commissions from. It even states that they receive a small commission from them.
You say to narrow it down as much as possible to be successful at the beginning and then add to the website as time goes on.
Should I start out blogging about Paints or brushes for example, or do you consider this different than other niches? I don't know how much I could write about on just Paint or Brushes etc.
I'm just not sure what to do. I have changed my website a few times now.
Your feedback would be greatly appreciated,
Gary
boomergp08
Premium
gshep51
Premium
Hi Robert, Thanks for that idea and I will check that out.
However I would like to stay within in my expertise which is painting in oils and watercolors.
If you read my question, I have checked out other artist websites who are affiliates for art supply companies and other art institutes.
In their websites, they teach painting, drawing, talk about supplies etc.
Would Art or Paining inparticular be a narrowed down niche and everything under it is ok? Some members say I should narrow it down to paints or brushes etc. for example.
I would like your expert opinion, I'm not sure what to do.
I really enjoy your training posts and have learned a lot. Just not sure about this one.
Regard,
Gary
However I would like to stay within in my expertise which is painting in oils and watercolors.
If you read my question, I have checked out other artist websites who are affiliates for art supply companies and other art institutes.
In their websites, they teach painting, drawing, talk about supplies etc.
Would Art or Paining inparticular be a narrowed down niche and everything under it is ok? Some members say I should narrow it down to paints or brushes etc. for example.
I would like your expert opinion, I'm not sure what to do.
I really enjoy your training posts and have learned a lot. Just not sure about this one.
Regard,
Gary
boomergp08
Premium
gshep51
Premium
Hi Robert, I don't mean to be a pest but the other artists websites write about many things that have to do with art and painting. I will give you their sites if you'd like to take a look at them. This is where I get confused.
http://guidetooilpainting.com/
http://www.art-is-fun.com/
I really do appreciate the help,
Regards,
Gary
http://guidetooilpainting.com/
http://www.art-is-fun.com/
I really do appreciate the help,
Regards,
Gary
boomergp08
Premium
There is plenty of things you can write about on your website but you need to start as narrow as possible. Then when you run out of things to say about the chosen sub niche, then add another relevant sub niche to your website.
An affiliate website starts out narrow with a focused sub niche and ends up full of different sub niches. The websites you are looking at are websites that are well past the starting phase. This is why they have many sub niche articles. Your website will eventually be like that but not when you start.
Now if you want to do a website about watercolor and oil painting you could narrow that down to giving lessons and promote the paint and brushes used for such paintings. Then you could promote canvas, framing or even online art classes.
The point is start focused and build board.
An affiliate website starts out narrow with a focused sub niche and ends up full of different sub niches. The websites you are looking at are websites that are well past the starting phase. This is why they have many sub niche articles. Your website will eventually be like that but not when you start.
Now if you want to do a website about watercolor and oil painting you could narrow that down to giving lessons and promote the paint and brushes used for such paintings. Then you could promote canvas, framing or even online art classes.
The point is start focused and build board.
gshep51
Premium
Hi Robert,
Thanks so much for your help. I really do appreciate it. I have been battling with this since I started but keep getting different opinions and was confused when I saw those websites.
I started using them as examples to give me ideas of how to go about building a website.
You have made it clear now and I feel I can finally move on and get my website going in the right direction.
I just can't believe how many people there are here at WA like you who go out of there way to help. I didn't mean to be a pain but I've been reading your training posts and I knew you were someone I could turn to to get this right.
Thanks again for your help and I won't bother you again unless I really run into a snag. I will keep reading your training posts.
Much Regards,
Gary:)
Thanks so much for your help. I really do appreciate it. I have been battling with this since I started but keep getting different opinions and was confused when I saw those websites.
I started using them as examples to give me ideas of how to go about building a website.
You have made it clear now and I feel I can finally move on and get my website going in the right direction.
I just can't believe how many people there are here at WA like you who go out of there way to help. I didn't mean to be a pain but I've been reading your training posts and I knew you were someone I could turn to to get this right.
Thanks again for your help and I won't bother you again unless I really run into a snag. I will keep reading your training posts.
Much Regards,
Gary:)
Marcus1978
Premium
I wonder whether it's possible to have a website about a broader topic and still be successful. For example, my website, EarnMoneyWithMarcus.com, is quite broad, but I seem to be doing well on Google Page 1, and I've got some referrals (4 premium referrals in total, 3 remaining at the moment).
For me, I think it is good to have a broad website like this, because I can cover multiple sub-niches within it. I think this is fine if I'm planning to develop the website long-term, which I am. Eventually I can have subsections on my website about the different ways to make money. Whereas if I had a website just about blogging, for example, I might get tired of writing about blogging. I might exhaust that topic quite quickly. I think I would prefer to have a single website covering all money making topics rather than 10 or 20 different smaller websites about all the different methods.
But a few years ago I used to have a website called "Health & Happiness Tips". I have since realised that this was far too broad. But I wonder whether it is possible to get too narrow as well. For example, if I had a website just about vitamin supplements, would that look like I was too much into trying to push supplements onto people? Whereas if it was about nutrition in general, people would trust that I know a lot about nutrition and would therefore trust me if I recommend a particular supplement.
I wonder if a narrow niche can be a double edged sword. For example, if I searched for information on how to lose weight, and I came across a website all about weight loss, would I trust that information more than an article about weight loss on a broader health website? For example, millions of people in the UK trust information on the NHS website. Now that's REALLY broad.
On the one hand, a website all about weight loss could give the reassurance that it's all about weight loss so it's exactly what I'm looking for. On the other hand, another person might view it the opposite way and think "Oh, this site is only about weight loss, so they are clearly trying to sell weight loss pills to people".
It's a tricky one I think, and I think the decision is probably largely down to how much time and work you want to put into a particular site.
For example, you could say that a website about tablets is a wonderfully narrow niche. But what about a slightly broader niche website such as mobiletechreview.com, which covers phones and laptops as well? Or what about a website about technology in general? I mean, if you are a total tech geek you could just have that one website and no other websites for the rest of your internet marketing career. You could spend all your time just constantly writing about all different types of technology.
But going back to the nutrition topic, that could be narrowed down to diet types. For example vegetarian, vegan, paleo, low carb, etc. Some people might come across a specific website like this and think "Great! Exactly what I was looking for, it's totally about the topic I want to know about!" Other people might view it as biased, and therefore unreliable information. A vegan website written by someone committed to the vegan lifestyle might not actually be a reliable unbiased source of information on the latest research into the best food to eat to stay healthy. If there's a news story that vegan diets are actually dangerous, of course that won't be reported on a pro vegan website.
Shit, how many words have I written? If you received one this long through SiteComments, you'd fall off your chair wouldn't you?
For me, I think it is good to have a broad website like this, because I can cover multiple sub-niches within it. I think this is fine if I'm planning to develop the website long-term, which I am. Eventually I can have subsections on my website about the different ways to make money. Whereas if I had a website just about blogging, for example, I might get tired of writing about blogging. I might exhaust that topic quite quickly. I think I would prefer to have a single website covering all money making topics rather than 10 or 20 different smaller websites about all the different methods.
But a few years ago I used to have a website called "Health & Happiness Tips". I have since realised that this was far too broad. But I wonder whether it is possible to get too narrow as well. For example, if I had a website just about vitamin supplements, would that look like I was too much into trying to push supplements onto people? Whereas if it was about nutrition in general, people would trust that I know a lot about nutrition and would therefore trust me if I recommend a particular supplement.
I wonder if a narrow niche can be a double edged sword. For example, if I searched for information on how to lose weight, and I came across a website all about weight loss, would I trust that information more than an article about weight loss on a broader health website? For example, millions of people in the UK trust information on the NHS website. Now that's REALLY broad.
On the one hand, a website all about weight loss could give the reassurance that it's all about weight loss so it's exactly what I'm looking for. On the other hand, another person might view it the opposite way and think "Oh, this site is only about weight loss, so they are clearly trying to sell weight loss pills to people".
It's a tricky one I think, and I think the decision is probably largely down to how much time and work you want to put into a particular site.
For example, you could say that a website about tablets is a wonderfully narrow niche. But what about a slightly broader niche website such as mobiletechreview.com, which covers phones and laptops as well? Or what about a website about technology in general? I mean, if you are a total tech geek you could just have that one website and no other websites for the rest of your internet marketing career. You could spend all your time just constantly writing about all different types of technology.
But going back to the nutrition topic, that could be narrowed down to diet types. For example vegetarian, vegan, paleo, low carb, etc. Some people might come across a specific website like this and think "Great! Exactly what I was looking for, it's totally about the topic I want to know about!" Other people might view it as biased, and therefore unreliable information. A vegan website written by someone committed to the vegan lifestyle might not actually be a reliable unbiased source of information on the latest research into the best food to eat to stay healthy. If there's a news story that vegan diets are actually dangerous, of course that won't be reported on a pro vegan website.
Shit, how many words have I written? If you received one this long through SiteComments, you'd fall off your chair wouldn't you?
jvranjes
Premium
Hi Marcus, when I started at WA I had a similar question: Rationale and science of niche At that time I even derived some formula which was showing me that narrow niche with say 'N' posts is the same as a broad super-niche which can be divided into M mini-niches and with a total number of N posts.
I still have it somewhere, not sure if it was correct or not. But the difference seems to be in 'authority'. I think I was told that you are more likely to be accepted as authority if you go narrow. But I am not completely convinced about it.
Going narrow is the present doctrine.
I still have it somewhere, not sure if it was correct or not. But the difference seems to be in 'authority'. I think I was told that you are more likely to be accepted as authority if you go narrow. But I am not completely convinced about it.
Going narrow is the present doctrine.
Marcus1978
Premium
There are some extremely broad successful websites. Wikihow.com being one. I seem to remember several years ago also coming across a website called something like "How to do..." or something like that. It was filled with helpful topics on many areas, and it seemed really successful. But I suppose sites like that would have multiple authors, each with their unique areas of expertise.
Also, I wonder if another good way to look at niches is not the topic, but the PEOPLE. For example, rather than have a website about losing weight, or a website about clothes, you could have a website all to do with weddings. That way, you could write about the best ways to lose weight to fit into a wedding dress, and you could also talk about wedding dresses.
I also think "make money online" is in itself a niche, because it can include a certain type of person who is sick of their job and wants to earn money at home. There is a common thread there that you can tap into. It's certainly more narrow than just a website all about money. But then look at moneysavingexpert.com. The guy that started that sold it a few years ago for a HUGE sum of money. But it became such a popular site because he is such a big expert in the whole area of money and genuinely loves talking about it.
Also, I wonder if another good way to look at niches is not the topic, but the PEOPLE. For example, rather than have a website about losing weight, or a website about clothes, you could have a website all to do with weddings. That way, you could write about the best ways to lose weight to fit into a wedding dress, and you could also talk about wedding dresses.
I also think "make money online" is in itself a niche, because it can include a certain type of person who is sick of their job and wants to earn money at home. There is a common thread there that you can tap into. It's certainly more narrow than just a website all about money. But then look at moneysavingexpert.com. The guy that started that sold it a few years ago for a HUGE sum of money. But it became such a popular site because he is such a big expert in the whole area of money and genuinely loves talking about it.
boomergp08
Premium
I never said to start narrow and stay narrow. Depending on the niche, staying narrow does not work. What I said is that you should start narrow, become an autthority in it but also grow broader as time moves on. Many of these well established websites started out narrow and grew broader over time. That is what I have been doing.
Marcus you raise some good points. So what is the answer,the best way forward?
I was thinking about the Health and wellness niche,esp for the over 50s who had not thought about these issues till they get this age or sick. I was part of a company that promoted a health product range and also a weight loss package. I was very satisfied. Then I became seriously ill and needed bypass surgery and it has taken me 9 months to get back up and running (well slowly walking really).
Now I feel like a hypocrite to write, promote health etc when I obviously am not a great example or 'expert'. I could always use my negative experience to put forth a positive message, but then what products etc could I promote?
That's my dilemma and I was wondering what your take is on this?
I was thinking about the Health and wellness niche,esp for the over 50s who had not thought about these issues till they get this age or sick. I was part of a company that promoted a health product range and also a weight loss package. I was very satisfied. Then I became seriously ill and needed bypass surgery and it has taken me 9 months to get back up and running (well slowly walking really).
Now I feel like a hypocrite to write, promote health etc when I obviously am not a great example or 'expert'. I could always use my negative experience to put forth a positive message, but then what products etc could I promote?
That's my dilemma and I was wondering what your take is on this?
Marcus1978
Premium
If I was in your situation, I think I would make it my #1 goal to get as healthy as possible following the surgery. Read as many health books as you can. Document your journey through blogging. Any books that really help you, you can recommend.
Maybe you could even set up a forum on your site for people to share and discuss all the related issues?
Maybe you could even set up a forum on your site for people to share and discuss all the related issues?
