How I confidently identify profitable niches
This post is aimed moreso towards helping the beginners here within the forum, however some of the more established members might find this post useful also. These are by no means any set guidelines to work by, this is just a simple strategy that I've begun applying myself personally within my own business and have found the results to be quite positive.
Be mindful however, that whilst this has worked for me, It may not work for you, but it should, at the very least, help answer some of those difficult questions that usually leave you staring at the monitor in the middle of the night, feeling lost and uncertain.
One of my biggest frustrations when I first got started in internet marketing was DOUBT.
What should i sell?
Will this new product Ive just created, sell?
Will I make any money?
How can I find a profitable niche?
These were some of my most common questions that seemed to bug me, every night before bed, and the continual feeling of uncertainty and doubt was just awful.
As with anything, you learn with time, and Ive learnt the hard way! I mustve created at least a DOZEN sites/products that flopped big time! Lost money, wasted time, and an overall sense of total frustration and feeling dejected.
But having said that, let me share with you, a few questions that I ask myself BEFORE i even start doing keyword research or anything like that at all.
Infact, I will spend a week or so just answering these questions (often longer) before I decide to go ahead with a particular project.
Trust me, you want to INVEST time, BEFORE you start, not WASTE it, afterwards! READ THAT AGAIN!!
Which brings me to the big question...
How can i be confident that there is money in this niche?
Whilst there is no absolute way of knowing, there are some pretty good indicators that you can use to measure the earning potential of a niche before getting started.
Here's my current questionaire/checklist.....
1. Is this a profitable industry?
Before I even think about going any further, I always ask myself this question. To best demonstrate, ask yourself ....which is a bigger, more profitable industry?
a) Computer software
b) Origami
What I always try to do is look at the OVERALL industry, not just a single product, and ask myself..."Is there any REAL money in this marketplace?" "Would someone become a multi millionaire offline selling this?" If I feel the answer is no, forget it.
2. Are there any ADWORDS ADS?
If there are a lot of Google ads, this is a positive sign. This means that people are TRADING. They're investing money towards advertising, which means a return on that investment. This means they must be making sales. Dont rush off though, if theres only 1 or 2 ads, keep researching further.
3. Whats actually selling?
Ive found the best way to find whats selling is to go through EVERY SINGLE site listed, both in the organic results AND the Google ADS, and take notes of what theyre selling. This means taking notes of the items description along with HOW MUCH THE PRODUCT IS SELLING FOR. This is important!
4. Whats my customer profile going to be like?
Chances are, If im thinking about selling a $7 ebook on how to do kick flips, im likely to have a heap of teenage skate boarders with no money browsing my site. This isnt good. Be mindful of course, that this is merely an example, and whilst it might be an over generalisation, I consider it to be EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, because your bottom line is dependant on your customers.
Some examples of ideal customer profiles are ...
...real estate investors
...stock brokers
...business professionals
...executives, managers, lecturers, trainers etc
Please, be mindful that these again are ONLY EXAMPLES to illustrate a point. Looking back over some of my failures, I gave this absolutely no consideration at all, and now I know exactly why my sites flopped -- because I gave no thought to the type of person at the other end.
5. How can I make my product better?
The answer to this is VERY easy. Lets have a look at the following examples...
Website A is selling a blue widget for $500.
Website B is selling a blue widget and a free music CD for $520.
Website C is selling a blue widget, with a bonus red widget for $600.
So how can I be confident that I can compete with these guys and STILL MAKE SALES. The answer is through value adding to the point where the person browsing my site simply cannot resist my offer!
For example ...
A blue widget, with a free red widget, and 2 music CD's for $350!
See how Ive beaten them on not only price but also on the offer. This has worked VERY well for me in the past. Infact, I HOPE to see competition and prices when I do my marketplace research because my competitors HELP me put my offer together! Its too easy.
Anyway, there's a quick checklist of a few questions and considerations you might want to use next time you're doing marketplace research.
This strategy has definitely helped me remove a large amount of doubt from my mind ahead of starting new projects.
I hope this information has helped. Any questions, Id be happy to answer them.
Be mindful however, that whilst this has worked for me, It may not work for you, but it should, at the very least, help answer some of those difficult questions that usually leave you staring at the monitor in the middle of the night, feeling lost and uncertain.
One of my biggest frustrations when I first got started in internet marketing was DOUBT.
What should i sell?
Will this new product Ive just created, sell?
Will I make any money?
How can I find a profitable niche?
These were some of my most common questions that seemed to bug me, every night before bed, and the continual feeling of uncertainty and doubt was just awful.
As with anything, you learn with time, and Ive learnt the hard way! I mustve created at least a DOZEN sites/products that flopped big time! Lost money, wasted time, and an overall sense of total frustration and feeling dejected.
But having said that, let me share with you, a few questions that I ask myself BEFORE i even start doing keyword research or anything like that at all.
Infact, I will spend a week or so just answering these questions (often longer) before I decide to go ahead with a particular project.
Trust me, you want to INVEST time, BEFORE you start, not WASTE it, afterwards! READ THAT AGAIN!!
Which brings me to the big question...
How can i be confident that there is money in this niche?
Whilst there is no absolute way of knowing, there are some pretty good indicators that you can use to measure the earning potential of a niche before getting started.
Here's my current questionaire/checklist.....
1. Is this a profitable industry?
Before I even think about going any further, I always ask myself this question. To best demonstrate, ask yourself ....which is a bigger, more profitable industry?
a) Computer software
b) Origami
What I always try to do is look at the OVERALL industry, not just a single product, and ask myself..."Is there any REAL money in this marketplace?" "Would someone become a multi millionaire offline selling this?" If I feel the answer is no, forget it.
2. Are there any ADWORDS ADS?
If there are a lot of Google ads, this is a positive sign. This means that people are TRADING. They're investing money towards advertising, which means a return on that investment. This means they must be making sales. Dont rush off though, if theres only 1 or 2 ads, keep researching further.
3. Whats actually selling?
Ive found the best way to find whats selling is to go through EVERY SINGLE site listed, both in the organic results AND the Google ADS, and take notes of what theyre selling. This means taking notes of the items description along with HOW MUCH THE PRODUCT IS SELLING FOR. This is important!
4. Whats my customer profile going to be like?
Chances are, If im thinking about selling a $7 ebook on how to do kick flips, im likely to have a heap of teenage skate boarders with no money browsing my site. This isnt good. Be mindful of course, that this is merely an example, and whilst it might be an over generalisation, I consider it to be EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, because your bottom line is dependant on your customers.
Some examples of ideal customer profiles are ...
...real estate investors
...stock brokers
...business professionals
...executives, managers, lecturers, trainers etc
Please, be mindful that these again are ONLY EXAMPLES to illustrate a point. Looking back over some of my failures, I gave this absolutely no consideration at all, and now I know exactly why my sites flopped -- because I gave no thought to the type of person at the other end.
5. How can I make my product better?
The answer to this is VERY easy. Lets have a look at the following examples...
Website A is selling a blue widget for $500.
Website B is selling a blue widget and a free music CD for $520.
Website C is selling a blue widget, with a bonus red widget for $600.
So how can I be confident that I can compete with these guys and STILL MAKE SALES. The answer is through value adding to the point where the person browsing my site simply cannot resist my offer!
For example ...
A blue widget, with a free red widget, and 2 music CD's for $350!
See how Ive beaten them on not only price but also on the offer. This has worked VERY well for me in the past. Infact, I HOPE to see competition and prices when I do my marketplace research because my competitors HELP me put my offer together! Its too easy.
Anyway, there's a quick checklist of a few questions and considerations you might want to use next time you're doing marketplace research.
This strategy has definitely helped me remove a large amount of doubt from my mind ahead of starting new projects.
I hope this information has helped. Any questions, Id be happy to answer them.
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