Let’s get down into the mechanics of niche selection here, rather than just theory. This is a step by step of what will help you choose a great niche, even if you’ve never gone through the process before.
Brainstorm Ideas
I’ve told you to brainstorm ideas already, based on your own passions, needs, and interests and of those who are close to you.
But sometimes, those juices just won’t start flowing. You feel stuck, like those profitable ideas just won’t come to you. The great news is that feeling will absolutely go away after you go through my process. This is a surefire way to come up with endless ideas for profitable niches.
They say just one idea could be worth millions. I don’t know what your niche idea will eventually be worth to you. What I do know is that this is the first step toward changing your life, so you better make it count. J
So, how do you brainstorm ideas? It’s time to gather some inspiration from all over the web.
One of the first and best places you should go is Amazon.com. Why? Because they have the widest and best variety of products, books, and otherwise. They also provide you with invaluable data about what’s selling and what’s hot right now.
Go ahead to Amazon’s front page and start browsing through their categories to get a feel for their site. You’ll soon notice that there are subcategories within categories. There are even subcategories within subcategories.
Now, concentrate on the area of Amazon you think would best point you to a niche that will work well with your business model. If you’re going to write books or info products, you should check out the Kindle section. If you plan to release info products, you might head to the magazines section on Amazon (that’s a brainstorming model we’ll dive deeper into in a bit).
Do you have your notebook handy? You’re going to jot down every niche idea you get as you browse through Amazon. You’re not limiting yourself or censoring yourself at all at this point. Every idea is a good idea, for now.
Let’s say you’re browsing through the Kindle categories. Since you’re an Internet marketer, you’re likely interested in the non-fiction categories. Do any of them strike you in particular? Click on those categories and any subcategories that draw your eye.
Now, investigate the top books or products in the category you’ve selected. Do they have lots of reviews? Is their sales ranking on Amazon low? A low Amazon product sales ranking indicates that it’s selling well. Are their lots of products or books or whatever it is in that niche? Is there obviously a lot of activity and customer interest in that niche? If so, then it’s probably a good category for you to write down on your brainstorm list for now.
You could get lost all day browsing Amazon for niche ideas. Make sure there’s a rhyme and reason for the browsing you do. For instance, you can go to the /bestsellers section for any category you’re interested in on Amazon. You can also browse the movers and shakers, the products and books that are soon-to-be released, and more. I mean it when I say that Amazon can be a rabbit hole of really excellent ideas.
In addition to using Amazon, you can also browse magazines for niche ideas. You can go right to magazines.com if you prefer. Here, you can take a look through popular magazines. If there’s a magazine about it, you can almost be sure that it’s a popular niche. You’ll be surprised to find that there are magazines out there you’ve never heard of, in niches you’ve never heard of!
Pay particularly close attention to the headlines on the covers of the magazines. These are topics that the professionals at the magazine thought would be most attractive to the people of this niche. That can be a good indicator that those topics are a good idea for you to focus on as well.
You can also browse online marketplaces where other marketers list their products for sale. Other marketers have succeeded before you, so why not emulate their success?
Some digital marketplaces include WarriorPlus.com, ClickBank.com, JVZoo.com, Zaxaa.com, Nanacast.com, cj.com, linkshare.com, and many more. These all have affiliate options as well as options for businesses and marketers to list their products.
Browse through the top products or companies on each of these sites. Do you notice any patterns? Click through the various categories, noting sales data and popularity as you go. Are you getting any ideas for great niches? You want to follow in the trail of what is already successful.
Or, maybe those kinds of niches aren’t really what you’re looking for. Maybe you prefer to cover trending niches or topics. Maybe you’re looking for something that’s so hot, right now, that you can’t go wrong. Maybe you’re looking for a niche that’s really popular but other marketers haven’t really discovered yet. That’s riskier, of course, because you won’t usually have the sales data available. But there’s no sense in turning away from what your gut and research tell you could be an extremely profitable opportunity.
You can search for trends at trends.google.com. You can visit Twitter and Facebook to take a look at their trending lists, which they make very visible on your social media accounts. You can take a look at breaking news and trending blog topics. Visit sites like Alltop.com to get a feel for the most popular trending topics and blogs on the web, within certain categories.
Popular blogs and news stories can be great for brainstorming. You’re bound to find some great ideas you can tackle for your next project.
The web is a fantastic resource for brainstorming niche ideas. Just make sure you don’t censor your thoughts and just write down anything that strikes you as you visit the various websites and resources.
Verifying Your Niche Idea Is a Good One
How do you know your ideas are any good? What if you have a list of possibilities that’s a mile long? There’s no reason to worry—I’ll tell you exactly how to narrow your list down so you can choose the niche that’s going to be the best choice for you, today.
First, circle the top three niche ideas you feel pulled toward. These should be niches you think you have a good chance of success with. They should be popular, exciting niches where there appears to be a lot of sales and activity. They should also be niches you think you’ll enjoy working in.
Next, it’s time to double check yourself and make your final decision. Please don’t feel like this decision is the end-all, be-all. It’s not! You can always go with the other niches you found and brainstormed at a later date. But, you can’t just sit there and stew over what to choose. You need to make a decision. You’re a lot more likely to make money if you take action on a so-so niche than you are if you don’t take action at all, because you’re paralyzed by thinking you’ll make the wrong choice.
Now then, circle the top niche you’re drawn to out of your list of three. It’s time to go with your gut. You need to verify that it’s a good niche by confirming its activity and sales potential. You also need to make sure that you can (fairly easily) stand out from the competition that’s already present.
Are there blogs and websites dedicated to that topic in droves? If so, confirm that the top blogs have a lot of comments and activity going on. This has to be a REALLY active niche if you want it to earn for you for the months and years to come.
Are there books out there on the topic that are selling well? Are there multiple angles and subtopics these books have covered? If so, that’s a good sign. The fact that people are releasing books on various related topics signals that this is a viable niche. You want people to snap up book after book, product after product, in the niche you choose—whether you’re selling your own books or info products or promoting them as an affiliate.
How about info products, specifically? You’re an Internet marketer, so it’s a safe bet that you will want to build a list and release your own products within your niche. In any case, you’ll want to build a list… that’s just smart marketing no matter what your niche is.
What about social media? Are there Facebook groups and fan pages surrounding the topic? Do a search for the niche you’re thinking about and see. Are there Twitter conversations about the niche? You’re probably going to make use of social media to promote yourself in your niche, so there should be a lot of traffic going on already that you can step in front of.
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