How To Spot Your Own Easy-To-Target Niche Market

Don’t treat the following tasks lightly; think seriously about them and go beyond the obvious. Many opportunities and breakthroughs lie in the final stretch. In other words, expand your mind, because the best ideas will probably be found further down the list past the first more obvious ones. You will never know until you test.

Now take the core words from your narrowed-down list of keywords and profit centres; type them into a few major search engines; investigate each item on your list.

• Do you see a pattern emerging?
• Can you find websites, newsgroups and newsletters that focus on your findings?
• Do these findings coincide with a prime niche market?
• How large and identifiable is the niche?
• Who is the competition?
• What do they do?
• What are they selling?
• What are their target markets?
• How are they positioned?
• What’s missing?
• What problem can you perceive that is not being currently addressed?
• Could you provide a solution?
• Could you come up with a product or service that the niche wants and will buy?

To achieve this latter objective, frequent the newsgroups, forums and discussion groups related to your niche. Look at the questions being posted daily. Talk to the participants. Ask questions. This is how to determine what potential niche customers want, not necessarily need.

I engaged in all of the fore going before I set about identifying the niche for my own first online product and just look where it ranks now:

Developing A Product Or Service That Provides A Solution

By now you should have identified one or two easy-to-target markets and, if you have done your research properly, you have probably also identified a problem the target market is currently experiencing. If you haven’t found one yet, keep looking. It may take a little more time. If people are asking questions on newsgroups, forums, discussion groups that you do not understand, contact them individually and request clarification. Keep going until you uncover a problem, a want, a need.

Now brainstorm again.

• What types of produce or service can you develop to help solve the identified problem?
• More importantly, determine whether your solution will sell.

Once you have defined a solution, ascertain if your identified niche market is willing to part with hard cash to own your prescribed answer to the problem. Always remember, a recognised need does not necessarily translate into sales. Just because someone apparently needs something it does not mean that they will want it badly enough to splash out cash. If your target audience is unwilling to purchase your product or service for whatever reason, or if you have identified more problems than you can solve, discard the market and move on to the next one. Never get hung up on trying to flog a dead horse.

Nonetheless, the most profitable products are those you can develop yourself, because that way you control the costs. But you may have neither the skills nor the resources to achieve this. If that is the case, look around for a joint partner who already has the solution but is not doing a very good job of marketing it. Make an offer – and be sure to put it in writing. You’ll never know if you don’t ask.

Throughout the entire process of finding a product or service that people want, bear in mind that while almost anything sells over the internet, you should focus on produce that can be digitised and easily automated. Become ‘auto-pilot’ minded. This will allow you to expand into several profitable online pursuits that combine to create multiple income streams.

Above all – think niche.