Ultimate Niche Brainstorming

The other day I was contemplating all the great sites online that have been HUGE. These include sites like Ebay, Fiverr, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Amazon and the list goes on and on.

I started to think about all the various platforms behind them and figured out a way to take a niche, any niche, and run it through one of the models below (or even combine them) to come up with some viable ideas that may work well.

I thought maybe since it is helping me brainstorm ideas for products, tools, etc. that it might help you.

When looking at a niche or market, run it through one of these models and see what is missing, what might be useful to people, etc. Some of them may apply, and some of them may not. And in some cases, you may be able to COMBINE them to come up with a great idea.

Here are the 9 categories...

1. ORGANIZATION
2. SOCIALIZATION
3. PROBLEM SOLVING
4. MARKETPLACE
5. AGGREGATOR
6. PRODUCT (Info or Physical)
7. INFORMATION PORTAL
8. ENTERTAINMENT
9. TOOL(S)

Let me break these down a bit more...

1. ORGANIZATION

How can you take your niche or market and help them get organized? Maybe you can create a tool to do this? A good example is Pinterest.

2. SOCIALIZATION

Does your market have a place where they can socialize with others besides Facebook? Maybe create a new social network tailored to them? Maybe create a forum? A good example is Twitter and Facebook or even the Warrior Forum.

3. PROBLEM SOLVING

What are some of the biggest problems or "how to" info your market wants or keeps asking about? Are there any products on the market that fill these needs? If so, do they sell and how can you make it better?

4. MARKETPLACE

Does your market have a "product" within it that can be bought or sold or exchanged? Do they have a centralized place where they can go to do this? Maybe you can make a marketplace tailored to them. A good example is Etsy.

5. AGGREGATOR

Maybe your market would like one central location online where they can get the latest news on their interests? Maybe you can "aggregate" feeds online with worthy news to display to them and also have THEM post good info as well? A good example is Metafilter.

6. PRODUCT

This can be a product that fills a need in the market. It can be a "how to" niche product, or a product that simplifies things for them or solves a problem.

7. INFORMATION PORTAL

Does your market have one place online that has loads of free information? This could be in the form of a basic website with articles or a simple blog. If the market is large, what about market segregation and focusing on one area only and do it better than anyone online?

8. ENTERTAINMENT

Is there a way to take your market and do something entertaining with it? Maybe make a cool iPhone app that they will love to play and enjoy? What about making videos?

9. TOOLS

When looking at your market or niche, could you come up with a unique online site with a tool that will help them? Almost every niche or market has opportunities for really cool and simple tools that people can use. A good example is Fuelly.

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Hopefully this will help some of you. Thanks!