Which is more important, a niche or the process?

Hey Marvin. Good question. I think that this is said a lot to beginners because it is actually easier to create content on a subject you truly love. Your interest remains high and you enjoy what you are doing so you have a tendency to stick with it.

One of the biggest problems with newbies is they often give up too easily. If you are zoning in on something you love, you tend to have more staying power.

This does not mean every passion will make you money, however, if you do the legwork first (ie. keyword/competitive research, etc) then you will know if the passion=money. Now, if you are a particularly skillful marketer you can even turn what seems to be a slow moving niche into a very profitable one.

Regardless of all this, and regardless of the niche you pick. If beginners can't stick it out, they will fail. There are times hard work is involved.

Cool question Marvin. I think the biggest reason going into a niche you love would be the simple fact that it's easier to push through the hard or boring times when your not getting results but working your ass off...at least you get to enjoy what your doing or talking about.

Personally I don't think you have to love a niche but having a interest in it does help. I'd rather be a person who loves the process of creating things, solving problems and brining value to others.

But in reality, as someone who tries to love the process and not the niche...I can honestly say that when it comes time to handle all the little details and nuances that having a personal affinity with my target audience always makes it easier to move past the frustration points...

In order to love the process, you first have to learn the process. And for most, learning that process is tough enough without also having to learn what make a group of people (a niche) tick at the same time.

If the beginner picks a niche which he is already a member of, he can essentially apply the process to himself. If something would work on him, it would likely work on other like him.

By starting out in a niche they know, whether they love it or not, they simplify learning the process and theoretically shorten and flatten the learning curve.

Its a valid observation but here's my take, for so many its about taking action, maintaining focus and literially keeping going - so many give up, fall by wayside etc but if you do someing that you like, have knowledge of you're more likely to keep going, overcome the setbacks and plough on

It depends on whether they are trying to make money online as a hobby or to do it for a living. If you're doing it as a hobby, then by all means choose a niche that you enjoy and have fun with it.

On the other hand, if you're doing it to try and make a living, there may be better niches to explore than the ones you enjoy. I think that advising people to get into a niche they enjoy is OK advice, as long as they do a little research first and make sure there's money to be made in that niche. If they enjoy a niche that only gets a couple searches a month and only has products that sell for a few bucks, they are going to get frustrated pretty fast, especially if they are counting on income from that niche to pay the bills.

From all the answers and thoughts being given, it sounds like at least I'm still on the same planet as everyone else here .

These are some of the comments that resonated in my mind:

@djbventures - "One of the biggest problems with newbies is they often give up too easily."

@Daniel Deegan - "But in reality, as someone who tries to love the process and not the niche...I can honestly say that when it comes time to handle all the little details and nuances that having a personal affinity with my target audience always makes it easier to move past the frustration points... "

@JohnMcCabe - "In order to love the process, you first have to learn the process."

Well put! And something newbies need to realize is that there is a process!

@myob - Once the process is learned, the niche does not matter.

I think this is an extremely important point, and better put than in the OP!

@tobyR - "for so many its about taking action, maintaining focus and literially keeping going - so many give up, ..."

@miklanderson2 - "It depends on whether they are trying to make money online as a hobby or to do it for a living. If you're doing it as a hobby, then by all means choose a niche that you enjoy and have fun with it."

Many thanks for more food for thought! Oh, and action too !!!

Marvin

Good thoughts John.

However, I will say that some people never bother to learn a process at all. I think that, after some knowledge of the processes have been learned, a business plan needs to be drawn up so that a person will focus on one and only one thing - how and what they sell, instead of jumping through various methods.

Rob

The thinking behind getting into something you enjoy is that if someone starts an online business with something they already know and enjoy, they are more apt to stick with it even when things get tough. They won't get bored and it will keep them motivated to build there business.

You can take a hobby and develop it into a business. I don't think telling people to do what they love as far as having an internet business is a problem at all as long as their market is profitable. There are lots of examples of people who started a business online who have taken their hobbies, passions, and loves and made lots of money.