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NTC
Member
Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 347
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# Posted: 4 Jun 2008 16:04
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Hello Members,
If I may, I would like to ask how you go about finding new profitable niches to promote?
There are many ways, hopefully we can create some inspiration here!
I am meditaing.....
Thank you!
Victoria
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million2
Member
Joined: 2 Jun 2008
Posts: 23
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# Posted: 4 Jun 2008 21:19
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Well, I believe that you have to look at what you like to do , hobbies,interests,what is it you are passionate about? Remember when you do find your niche you have to promote it and it is best if you know something about it.
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mountainmom5
Joined: 30 Aug 2007
Posts: 1155
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# Posted: 5 Jun 2008 08:02
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It's really hard to write about something you don't know much about!
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seeyalater72
Member
Joined: 5 Mar 2008
Posts: 157
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# Posted: 5 Jun 2008 09:18
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Hello Victoria,
You have to be diligent in your search for a niche and then be just as diligent in promoting it to be successful. If you're looking for a business then just check out the signatures of your fellow members.
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pcwork
Member
Joined: 12 Aug 2006
Posts: 1627
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# Posted: 5 Jun 2008 11:14
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If you cannot find useful information online on any subject, you can create your own website
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rbwhiting
Member
Joined: 15 May 2008
Posts: 28
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# Posted: 5 Jun 2008 13:27
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You can make money with any niche out there, but from experience it is more easier to promote something that you like or know more about, because if you don't know much about it, you will have to do some research on your niche and it can be time consuming and NOT very fun.
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MyOwnBoss
Member
Joined: 16 Dec 2007
Posts: 109
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# Posted: 5 Jun 2008 17:37
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I'm going to be the voice of dissent here on this thread.
While I agree that it's easier to motivate yourself if your niche is one you find personally interesting, I hate the "Do what you love and the money will come" advice.
With apologies to any hyper-sensitive females here, I'm positive this advice was first uttered by a woman because it's a traditionally female attitude. I'm not trying to dis' women, it's just been my observation that very few women will keep working at a job they hate just because the money's better than their other options and very few men will keep wearing a pair of shoes that hurt their feet just because they look better than their other shoes.
I'm not implying a better or worse, just different. OK, gender differences aside, here's how I look at a niche.
First find a general category of people who are willing to spend money - not money they absolutely need to spend, extra money. So we're not talking people who need food, we're talking people who want a certain kind of food and are willing to pay a premium to get it.
Let's go with 'pet owners' - they qualify as people with 'extra money' because if they didn't they would be eating the pet. The problem with this is it's too broad, so it's not a niche yet. There are snake owners, dog owners, cat owners (for some reason  ), and too many other kind of 'owners' to try and target. Here's where your preference does come in.
Let's say you always had a dog growing up, so you'll go with dog owners. The problem - we're still a little broad, so it's difficult to target 'dog owners' as a whole, so we should narrow it down some more.
Let's say one of your dogs growing up was a pit bull. Now this was the sweetest, most loyal animal you'd ever met in your life and it made you mad when people assumed he was going go crazy and kill everybody in the neighborhood one day. Here's your niche - "Pit Bull owners who are sick of people thinking their pet is a monster".
Even within this niche, there are many things you can offer them: basics like premium dog food, dog toys, training programs, T-shirts that say "Pit Bulls are teddy bears" , the sky's the limit. Once you've found your niche, that's the time to let your creativity free with what you promote and how you go about it.
To recap:
Find a group of people with extra money to spend on a given cause.
Narrow that group down to a clearly defined sub-group within the group.
Further narrow that group down to a sub-group within the sub-group that's passionate about their cause. This is your niche.
Start promoting and making money.
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PMHayes
Member
Joined: 23 Apr 2008
Posts: 129
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# Posted: 7 Jun 2008 04:45
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MyOwnBoss: First find a general category of people who are willing to spend money - not money they absolutely need to spend, extra money. So we're not talking people who need food, we're talking people who want a certain kind of food and are willing to pay a premium to get it.
You have hit the nail squarely on the head! The operative word here is WANT. People are more motivated by "want" than by "need." As a good friend of mine once said, people are going to do what they "want" to do. Wall Street figured this one out a long time ago! They don't design ad campaigns around what people need, but around what they want, strongly. The Word desire comes to mind.
Case in point. People don't need to smoke, in fact they need to quit. But they continue to do so anyway. The "want" to. Advertiers recognize this and focus on all the reasons why people "want" to smoke, and taylor their ads accordingly.
Another example. We all need to eat more healthy, live more healthy, etc. But look at all the products and advertising campaigns built around them that promote just the opposite. Here are a few; fast foods, snacks, ice cream, candy, in the need to eat healthy department. Video games, Big Screen TV's, etc. in the need to get out of the house, exercise and be active category.
If you want to fnid a niche to exploit, oops, did i say that word? LOL! Observe what people want, and have disposable income to purchase it with, design your business around that. As a sidebar, you don't even have to worry about the disposable income part. People will sacrifice what they really need for something they really want, just drive through a trailor park and look at all the tiny barely kept up mobile homes that have expensive SUV's, Swimming Pools, Satellite Dishes, etc. outside of them.
Another way is to figure out what people will buy on impulse, or out of an emotional need. Now i have probably opened a big can of worms, but it's true. Impluse, desire, want, greed, those are the things that motivate people to buy. Always has been, always will be.
Mitch
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Newbie Shield
Joined: 22 Sep 2007
Posts: 1488
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# Posted: 7 Jun 2008 08:12
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"Looking for a profitable niche" is very mercenary and implementing such a plan is usually bound for failure.
Folks will know if you have a passion for a topic and they will also sense a lack of authority. Return visitors will likely be close to non-existent.
You may be able to squeeze a little money out of a bad idea for a while but it won't last.
Go with what you know or something you are very interested in learning about.
~Newbie Shield~
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MyOwnBoss
Member
Joined: 16 Dec 2007
Posts: 109
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# Posted: 7 Jun 2008 15:06 · Edited by: MyOwnBoss
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I still disagree with you. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying choose a subject you abhor. There are enough profitable niches that anyone can find something they find interesting to promote.
If you only stick to subjects you absolutely love or always dreamed of learning, then you're limited by your personal experiences.
On the other hand, if you learn to find potentially profitable niches, then spend the vast majority of your mental time and effort learning to make money, you can plug yourself into any niche.
I think what we're talking about here is like the difference between being a portrait artist and being a commercial painter. The portrait artist can sometimes get to the point where he or she is paid a great deal more than a commercial painter. On the other hand, a portrait artist must personally paint the portraits and is dependent on finding people willing to pay for his or her style. The commercial painter can expand because he or she can train employees to do the work and can go after clients rather than waiting to attract them.
I just think the difference is that some people plan to start a hobby they hope will make money online, while others look at it as a business and do everything they can to be sure it will make money before they bother starting a project.
Newbie Shield: "Looking for a profitable niche" is very mercenary and implementing such a plan is usually bound for failure. Folks will know if you have a passion for a topic and they will also sense a lack of authority. Return visitors will likely be close to non-existent. You may be able to squeeze a little money out of a bad idea for a while but it won't last. Go with what you know or something you are very interested in learning about. ~Newbie Shield~
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getagrip
Joined: 20 Feb 2006
Posts: 1506
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# Posted: 7 Jun 2008 15:35 · Edited by: getagrip
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Go to http://pulse.eBay.com - it shows you popular keywords people have been typing in. You can search each eBay category to refine your results, and dig deeper within each category to identify niches. Also, the more bids you see, the better that means the items sell and that there is a high demand for the item. You can then build a website around the niches you uncover.
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familymoses
Member
Joined: 15 Dec 2007
Posts: 21
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# Posted: 7 Jun 2008 17:35
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I won't give details here because I don't want to encroach on someone's niche, but a casual acquaintance made - hand made - a gift for a friend. At the party/shower (I forget which) everyone was enthralled with it and wondered if she could make something similar for them or to give as a gift.
It snowballed and now she has more to do than she can handle.
She stumbled on it by accident but it has worked really well for her.
There may be something you can create or a service that you can offer. Put your thinking cap on! 
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PMHayes
Member
Joined: 23 Apr 2008
Posts: 129
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# Posted: 8 Jun 2008 02:30
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Newbie Shield: "Looking for a profitable niche" is very mercenary and implementing such a plan is usually bound for failure.
How can you say that? I doubt everyone in a franchised business like i mentioned above, truly loves their product. Sure, it's better if you do, but it's not necessary. Do you think people are going to go to a McDonalds just once and never come back because the owner of the franchise is a vegetarian who happens to have the means to buy into one of the most profitable business ventures on the planet? I don't think so.
I'm not trying to be rude, here, or disrespectful, but there is nothing wrong with seeing a profitable venture and buying in, even if you don't particularly like the product. Mercenary is a pretty harsh word to use for simply recognizing profitablity and capitalizing on it.
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lethalboom
Member
Joined: 7 Jun 2008
Posts: 50
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# Posted: 8 Jun 2008 07:13
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in my opinion, stick to what you know. if you try and write about something you dont know then you'll probably do it badly (no offense) and make no money, where as even if its a small niche you are writing for and know about it, you will get money for quality content.
as my old IT teacher used to say: 'CONTENT IS KING'
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NTC
Member
Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 347
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# Posted: 8 Jun 2008 12:53
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These are all great posts!
I don't watch the news because of the huge amount of negativity, but know magazines are a great place to find niches also.
And, the editors have had research done.
Thank all of you for responding!
I do agree it is easier to "get into" somethign you love..if possible.
The readers can "feel" between the lines.
Victoria
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Newbie Shield
Joined: 22 Sep 2007
Posts: 1488
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# Posted: 9 Jun 2008 19:17
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NTC: I'm glad that you found everyone's comments to be helpful and I wish you the best of luck. Always feel free to ask any questions you have and I for one will be more than happy to share my knowledge and experiences with you.
MyOwnBoss: It would be best to be a commercial painter in regards to repeatable processes (methodologies or templates) for the sake of the tried and true as well as for the sake of efficiency. However, it is best to be a portrait artist in regards to the details (what the visitors see) of each individual project.
PMHayes:
I don't feel that you were trying to be rude and I am glad that you've given your opinion on the matter. Below is my response to your comments:
Ethics above all else.
No, it's not ethically acceptable to make money just because you can.
If you were a visitor, would you rather learn that a person was partaking of an endeavor as an opportunist or because they were an expert who had something of value to offer and was confident that it was profitable as well?
I would argue that it is an ethical requirement to provide reasonable value to your visitors. I would also argue that to do so would mean that you would need to be something of an authority on the subject.
Let me point out that a mercenary merely works for money. Ethics do not come into play in a mercenary's line of work. Yes, I strongly object to this sort of thing and I wouldn't do it for any amount of money.
Your expertise on a niche matters quite a bit. Franchises and MLMs (I know you didn't cite MLMs) are a poor and unrelated analogy. That's like comparing apples to oranges.
In my world there is more to making money than "...simply recognizing profitability and capitalizing on it". I see far too much of that sort of thing on various forums and I am often disgusted.
It pains me that you said that. My advice is to avoid trying to make money at the expense of [what should be] your ethics or at the expense of your trusting visitors.
~Newbie Shield~
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Jubie33
Member
Joined: 6 Jun 2008
Posts: 32
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# Posted: 10 Jun 2008 03:26
Reply
MyOwnBoss: I still disagree with you. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying choose a subject you abhor. There are enough profitable niches that anyone can find something they find interesting to promote. If you only stick to subjects you absolutely love or always dreamed of learning, then you're limited by your personal experiences. On the other hand, if you learn to find potentially profitable niches, then spend the vast majority of your mental time and effort learning to make money, you can plug yourself into any niche. I think what we're talking about here is like the difference between being a portrait artist and being a commercial painter. The portrait artist can sometimes get to the point where he or she is paid a great deal more than a commercial painter. On the other hand, a portrait artist must personally paint the portraits and is dependent on finding people willing to pay for his or her style. The commercial painter can expand because he or she can train employees to do the work and can go after clients rather than waiting to attract them. I just think the difference is that some people plan to start a hobby they hope will make money online, while others look at it as a business and do everything they can to be sure it will make money before they bother starting a project.
Very good point.
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Jubie33
Member
Joined: 6 Jun 2008
Posts: 32
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# Posted: 10 Jun 2008 03:28
Reply
I also agree with you Newbie shield. Wow. Good point. Something to think about.
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MyOwnBoss
Member
Joined: 16 Dec 2007
Posts: 109
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# Posted: 10 Jun 2008 07:21 · Edited by: MyOwnBoss
Reply
My portrait artist/commercial painter analogy wasn't just about the scalability of your business (though that becomes a big factor when you want to free your time up to actually enjoy your income). It was more the methodology of what you're doing. If you consider yourself an artist, you have your own style and you hope what you have to offer is something people will be willing to pay for. If that hope is fulfilled, sometimes you'll make monster money doing whatever you feel like. The commercial painter is someone who plans to make money. Instead of saying, "Here's what I'll paint, let's see if someone will buy it." the commercial painter says "Let's find out what people want to spend money having painted, that's what I'll paint."
I think you're reading too much into what we're saying as regards profitability. I think PMHayes and I are both just saying that the reason someone starts a business is to make money. We're not saying lie, cheat, steal, and scam your way to profitability.
We're just saying when you approach a new niche from a business perspective, your #1 criteria is whether there is potential profit there. If there isn't, you're wasting your resources. As a hobby, it doesn't matter - as a business, that profitability is your reason for being.
That said, your business can (maybe even should) be fun, but if I hated every profitable niche around, I'd still go after them because the money I make would be spent doing what I love (maybe an unprofitable hobby site).
Bottom line - you don't tell someone they should be a housekeeper instead of an engineer just because they prefer dusting to verifying code compliance. Unless you can think of a way to make being a maid as profitable as being an engineer (by starting a housekeeping business or something), then someone should use their personal resources that are earmarked for making a living to making the best living possible.
Newbie Shield: MyOwnBoss: It would be best to be a commercial painter in regards to repeatable processes (methodologies or templates) for the sake of the tried and true as well as for the sake of efficiency. However, it is best to be a portrait artist in regards to the details (what the visitors see) of each individual project. PMHayes: If you were a visitor, would you rather learn that a person was partaking of an endeavor as an opportunist or because they were an expert who had something of value to offer and was confident that it was profitable as well? I would argue that it is an ethical requirement to provide reasonable value to your visitors. I would also argue that to do so would mean that you would need to be something of an authority on the subject.
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Sonni
Member
Joined: 10 Jun 2008
Posts: 330
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# Posted: 15 Jun 2008 21:51
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As a newbie I have learned more from YouTube on Niche's that anywhere the bad part is I don't know what to do with what I'm learning so I take notes as I watch the video to use when I get to the point that I need that info. I do the same thing with several other topics that I am interested in. You have to weed through the junk and pick out the good ones, it's a little time consuming but worth it. If you get 1 or 2 or maybe more really good ideas that will pay for time spent. My 2 cents.
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HiAchiever
Member
Joined: 21 Apr 2008
Posts: 19
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# Posted: 29 Jun 2008 18:43
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There has been a lot of discussion about being passionate for your niche.
But, the first question I would ask is, "What is your intent for the niche?"
If you want to build a site where you will continuously be adding content, then it is important you have a passion for your niche. Otherwise, you'll find yourself doing other things.
If, however, you want to write an ebook that solves a specific problem, then your enduring attention is not necessary (other than keeping people coming to your site). You can even farm the writing of the book out.
In either case, you want to look for a topic that has a relatively high number of searches compared to the number of sites. The sites should have relative low PR values. And, you would like few competing PPC ads.
This way you can get pretty good positions in search results for your keywords and can have inexpensive PPC campaigns.
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NTC
Member
Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 347
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# Posted: 29 Jun 2008 21:39
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Hi Everyone!
Another good place to look for crowds are Social Sites!
Have a great Sunday Dinner!
Victoria
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