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Hard time finding a niche

by Gulogomi
15 replies
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Greetings everyone!

I have been experimenting with dropshiping stores for a while with different niches, but none of them has succeeded. (Jewellery, Puzzles, and tea) I'm still trying with the tea store, and it's not a dropshipping business.

I have been trying to find a new niche with low to medium competition and with less than 50.000 impressions, but with no luck. I have a really hard time finding a profitable niche.

I have tried brainstorming a couple of times, looking at random products on ebay, Amazon, Etsy and Aliexpress, but it seems like I can't decide which niche to pick. I'm overwhelmed by the amount.

I would like to ask you guys if you have any tips finding a profitable niche?

Thanks for taking your time reading this. I'd appreciate it!
#finding #hard #niche #time
  • Profile picture of the author Mysterious Robin
    i've been having a hard time as well.

    I'm curious why Tea did not work out? It looks like a very attractive niche to start. It's even in my niche list.
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    • Profile picture of the author Gulogomi
      Originally Posted by Mysterious Robin View Post

      i've been having a hard time as well.

      I'm curious why Tea did not work out? It looks like a very attractive niche to start. It's even in my niche list.

      I think my problem is my targeting. I'm still experimenting, and I do get visitors but no sale. I get sales locally from friends and my friend's friends.(5 so far during the past 4 months).
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      • Profile picture of the author Oziboomer
        Originally Posted by Gulogomi View Post

        I think my problem is my targeting. I'm still experimenting, and I do get visitors but no sale. I get sales locally from friends and my friend's friends.(5 so far during the past 4 months).
        It sounds more like you have a problem with the design and copy related to your website.

        If you are getting sales from people you know they already trust you and are prepared to hand over money.

        When you can't sell to people who don't know you it is more likely you are missing components that build trust and confidence in the buyer.

        This is usually lack of a combination of things that work together to reassure a visitor you are trustworthy to do business with.

        Perhaps you could share one of your stores/websites here so we can take a look.

        I always remember to include, besides the ecommerce component of the website, several things.

        Trust badges from payment processors and SSL providers.

        Include physical addresses and phone numbers.

        Include business details. - add a photo of the owner and or staff

        Make sure Terms of Service and Privacy statements are clear and easy to find.

        Include reviews and testimonials from buyers.

        Have congruent domain name matching products sold.

        Have social media matching domain name and branding.

        Have a google business listing

        ...and...

        include these pages.

        1. Why choose us

        2. What we are about

        3. How to use our products

        4. Other uses for our products

        5. Contact Us

        You can then flesh out areas under those headings to build out some silos but the basics are if someone arrives on your site they can immediately feel you are a trustworthy place to visit.

        One thing I see often in drop shipping sites is a serious lack of attention to detail like product grouping and descriptions, poor cross linking etc.

        If you are just bunging things together then it doesn't matter what niche you go after you will still have the same issues.

        You would be better off sharing your domains here so they can get a rigorous critique so you can improve.

        If you are just going to kill them and investigate different niches you have nothing to lose sharing at least one of them here.

        If you prefer to share privately with the better people that frequent this place then you can do that also.

        People will tell you straight if your babies are ugly and you will shorten your learning curve rather than wasting more time creating something else that doesn't work.

        Best regards,

        Ozi
        Signature
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        • Profile picture of the author Gulogomi
          Originally Posted by Oziboomer View Post

          It sounds more like you have a problem with the design and copy related to your website.

          If you are getting sales from people you know they already trust you and are prepared to hand over money.

          When you can't sell to people who don't know you it is more likely you are missing components that build trust and confidence in the buyer.

          This is usually lack of a combination of things that work together to reassure a visitor you are trustworthy to do business with.

          Perhaps you could share one of your stores/websites here so we can take a look.

          I always remember to include, besides the ecommerce component of the website, several things.

          Trust badges from payment processors and SSL providers.

          Include physical addresses and phone numbers.

          Include business details. - add a photo of the owner and or staff

          Make sure Terms of Service and Privacy statements are clear and easy to find.

          Include reviews and testimonials from buyers.

          Have congruent domain name matching products sold.

          Have social media matching domain name and branding.

          Have a google business listing

          ...and...

          include these pages.

          1. Why choose us

          2. What we are about

          3. How to use our products

          4. Other uses for our products

          5. Contact Us

          You can then flesh out areas under those headings to build out some silos but the basics are if someone arrives on your site they can immediately feel you are a trustworthy place to visit.

          One thing I see often in drop shipping sites is a serious lack of attention to detail like product grouping and descriptions, poor cross linking etc.

          If you are just bunging things together then it doesn't matter what niche you go after you will still have the same issues.

          You would be better off sharing your domains here so they can get a rigorous critique so you can improve.

          If you are just going to kill them and investigate different niches you have nothing to lose sharing at least one of them here.

          If you prefer to share privately with the better people that frequent this place then you can do that also.

          People will tell you straight if your babies are ugly and you will shorten your learning curve rather than wasting more time creating something else that doesn't work.

          Best regards,

          Ozi
          Thanks for your reply.

          I would gladly show you my website but the language is Danish. Thank you very much for showing interest in helping me.

          I have included the 4 things, I have several articles with sources from real life studies, CVR number, address, and reviews from my buyers. I forgot to mention that my tea shop is not a dropshipping business, I do have all the products at home, and I'm sorry for not mentioning it. I have closed my dropshipping stores, because I only used them during the shopify trial to experiment.

          The link to my current shop:
          https://azen.dk/
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          • Profile picture of the author Oziboomer
            Originally Posted by Gulogomi View Post

            Thanks for your reply.

            I would gladly show you my website but the language is Danish. Thank you very much for showing interest in helping me.

            I have included the 4 things, I have several articles with sources from real life studies, CVR number, address, and reviews from my buyers. I forgot to mention that my tea shop is not a dropshipping business, I do have all the products at home, and I'm sorry for not mentioning it. I have closed my dropshipping stores, because I only used them during the shopify trial to experiment.

            The link to my current shop:
            https://azen.dk/
            Thanks for sharing your website.

            Matcha green tea as a pretty niche type of product.

            How many Danish people regularly eat Japanese food or Korean food?

            Is there a Korean or Japanese community in Denmark?

            One of the more popular items here in Australia is Matcha Ice cream.

            I would suggest you seek out the people who are going to eat at Japanese restaurants or Korean Restaurants and build a relationship with the physical locations. They can promote for you.

            I think you might need to broaden your range but the elegance conveyed is good.

            I would question the volume of buyers but you would have a better idea of those numbers.

            You could try to host some tea parties.

            You could try to offer some free samples. (Free + Shipping) - a great way to get names and addresses and build a list of valid buyers.

            You might want to include other teas or different qualities of tea to appeal to the person who already understands your product.

            Interestingly enough I have a few boxes left of tea presented to me as gift from CCTV in China when I was taken to film boomerang throwing with the Horsemen of Inner Mongolia as guest of the Chinese Government and their National broadcaster.

            Here's a photo of one of the last few boxes I have.



            I'm sure if you expand the range you display and create a story for each tea you sell it will be more successful in the future.

            I have a few boomerang friends in Denmark. I must visit sometime.

            Best regards,

            Ozi
            Signature
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            • Profile picture of the author Gulogomi
              Originally Posted by Oziboomer View Post

              Thanks for sharing your website.

              Matcha green tea as a pretty niche type of product.

              How many Danish people regularly eat Japanese food or Korean food?

              Is there a Korean or Japanese community in Denmark?

              One of the more popular items here in Australia is Matcha Ice cream.

              I would suggest you seek out the people who are going to eat at Japanese restaurants or Korean Restaurants and build a relationship with the physical locations. They can promote for you.

              I think you might need to broaden your range but the elegance conveyed is good.

              I would question the volume of buyers but you would have a better idea of those numbers.

              You could try to host some tea parties.

              You could try to offer some free samples. (Free + Shipping) - a great way to get names and addresses and build a list of valid buyers.

              You might want to include other teas or different qualities of tea to appeal to the person who already understands your product.

              Interestingly enough I have a few boxes left of tea presented to me as gift from CCTV in China when I was taken to film boomerang throwing with the Horsemen of Inner Mongolia as guest of the Chinese Government and their National broadcaster.

              Here's a photo of one of the last few boxes I have.



              I'm sure if you expand the range you display and create a story for each tea you sell it will be more successful in the future.

              I have a few boomerang friends in Denmark. I must visit sometime.

              Best regards,

              Ozi
              Thank you very much for the great help. I will defiantly look into that, and thanks for sharing your story
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      • Profile picture of the author yukon
        Banned
        Originally Posted by Gulogomi View Post

        Thanks everyone for the great and high-quality answers. I really appreciate it, and I have learned a lot from you.

        I have one final question. I have always learned that when finding a niche, its competition level should only be around 'low' and 'medium' in the Google keyword planner. Is that true? Some have told me that it doesn't matter if you plan to use paid ads.
        Originally Posted by Gulogomi View Post

        I think my problem is my targeting. I'm still experimenting, and I do get visitors but no sale. I get sales locally from friends and my friend's friends.(5 so far during the past 4 months).


        All you're doing is finding ways for more excuses.

        Take tea for example. Who cares what anyone else is doing, so what If someone else is selling tea. Every grocery store sells tea, big deal, they all still make sales. Guess what, people go to multiple stores. Nobody goes to one store their entire life.

        When you're done making excuses go find some traffic and sell something.
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  • Profile picture of the author dave_hermansen
    There are many different methods of brainstorming niches. Here are a few:

    1) Visit a REAL magazine stand and check out all of the various different publications. Every magazine is built around some sort of niche that contain smaller microniches.

    2) Go to Shopzilla or BizRate, scroll to the bottom and click the link for "hot products" or "top sellers". There, you will find many categories of products - all of which are niches.

    3) Download the Google Shopping Product Taxonomy list, which categorizes every type of product out there. Surely, you'll find dozens of niche ideas from those categories.

    4) Do a search for "eCommerce shopping cart" and take note of all of the different software. Then, visit each one and look for a forum (almost all of them have one). At least a third of the people put their website in their signature. Check out what other people are selling - especially the ones who brag about how well they are doing.

    5) Think about all of the different jobs there are and the things/tools people need to do those jobs. Then, think of all of the things people like to do when they get home from work - how they relax, the sports they play, the outdoor activities they do. Those are all niche ideas.

    6) Feed any noun you can think of into a keyword research tool - dog, train, clock, boat, lawn, etc. This is the method we have used to discover niches we never even heard of.
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    • Profile picture of the author sweetcrabhoney18
      Originally Posted by dave_hermansen View Post

      There are many different methods of brainstorming niches. Here are a few:

      1) Visit a REAL magazine stand and check out all of the various different publications. Every magazine is built around some sort of niche that contain smaller microniches.

      2) Go to Shopzilla or BizRate, scroll to the bottom and click the link for "hot products" or "top sellers". There, you will find many categories of products - all of which are niches.

      3) Download the Google Shopping Product Taxonomy list, which categorizes every type of product out there. Surely, you'll find dozens of niche ideas from those categories.

      4) Do a search for "eCommerce shopping cart" and take note of all of the different software. Then, visit each one and look for a forum (almost all of them have one). At least a third of the people put their website in their signature. Check out what other people are selling - especially the ones who brag about how well they are doing.

      5) Think about all of the different jobs there are and the things/tools people need to do those jobs. Then, think of all of the things people like to do when they get home from work - how they relax, the sports they play, the outdoor activities they do. Those are all niche ideas.

      6) Feed any noun you can think of into a keyword research tool - dog, train, clock, boat, lawn, etc. This is the method we have used to discover niches we never even heard of.
      Ditto

      I'd like to add home shopping channels and specific niche forums can help as well.

      You need to consider also what kind of return you are hoping for. Aim for products that have a higher price range and that will generate a profit that is worth wild so that return on investment is good.

      Once you find a great niche/product take notes on how you are going to promote that niche BEFORE you invest any money into building the business.

      Best of luck!
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      keep moving forward

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  • Profile picture of the author Shay S
    Go over the facebook pages that you "liked", you will get plenty of niche ideas that will naturally appeal to you... See if any of them could have enough physical products to build a store around it, and if they are profitable (# orders on aliexpress / amazon, etc).

    If that doesn't work, go to aliexpress, click "see all" at categories, close your eyes, scroll the mouse for a bit, open your eyes, click on the category which is the closest to your mouse pointer. Start exploring that category.

    Profitable niches are all around us, find the niche-hunting method that works for you.
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Gulogomi View Post

    Greetings everyone!

    I have been experimenting with dropshiping stores for a while with different niches, but none of them has succeeded. (Jewellery, Puzzles, and tea). Probably because they were too popular/saturated.


    Yet those are all million dollar niches with repeat buyers.

    You're making excuses.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gulogomi
    Thanks everyone for the great and high-quality answers. I really appreciate it, and I have learned a lot from you.

    I have one final question. I have always learned that when finding a niche, its competition level should only be around 'low' and 'medium' in the Google keyword planner. Is that true? Some have told me that it doesn't matter if you plan to use paid ads.
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  • Profile picture of the author Splatterfox
    Normally its not the niche that sucks, its the execution inside that niche.

    I know that a lot of people want to think that "niche A is not profitable but niche B" is. Of course this is complete nonsense. Whether a niche works for you or not depends on a ton of factors:

    - choosing the right products IN that niche (you won't believe how many people sell absolute crap products)
    - presenting the products accordingly (this is so huge, I remember selling $500 products basically from day one just because my whole store perfectly presented them)
    - positioning (don't try to serve everyone - you can't. Stick to your niche and choose something VERY specific. "Fashion" is not a niche)
    - pricing
    - shipping
    - targeting (a lot of people go too general in their targeting)
    - store usability and speed (people don't want to wait 5 seconds for each page to load)
    - lack of trust and transparency
    - and a lot more

    Else, go with something that YOU like. This implies that you are more able to produce content marketing and work on your store persistently. Those who try a new thing every week are often those that don't make anything even after 50 tries.

    Good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author brettb
    I would say start a store in something you are passionate about.

    Tea is a great niche - I am a green tea connoisseur and have visited Guangzhou's enormous tea market but I guess with a tea store you'd have to be pretty knowledgeable and also it's hard to get people to try new teas. I have the finest quality loose leaf tea in the office but my coworkers won't switch from the rubbish stuff that comes in bags*.

    *Disclaimer: used to work for the world's 2nd largest tea company.
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  • Profile picture of the author lonlysoul
    Hi, i am from China.

    I can help you with tea dropshipping.
    I used to sell tea on Aliexpress. Unfortunately since 2017, Aliexpress launched new law, tea was no longer allowed to sell on Aliexpress. I am looking to cooperate with any online seller.

    Alternatively, i can help dropshipping any products from China. I can source any products from China and send to your customers.
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