Main Lessons: 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | Course Index
Lesson 6
How to Use "Passion Marketing" to Select Your Niche
Are you having trouble nailing your niche? Maybe you have a problem with narrowing down a marketing focus from a list of possibilities. For whatever the reason, many online marketers have trouble coming up with a niche idea.
One simple way to ensure you will enjoy working on your
new business is to choose something you are passionate
about.
When your marketing efforts are focused on something you really believe in, a pastime, hobby or activity you truly care about, you enjoy working. The time you spend on your niche business is rewarding and fun.
You also come across as a unique and knowledgeable individual in a particular field. It doesn't matter what type of topic interests you either. There is a market full of individuals who are devoted to the same things you are, and they can't wait to connect with a like-minded person.
Also, when you decide to start a business dedicated to something you love, your passion is contagious. Think about it. You've probably heard someone speak about a topic that was very important to them. Their speech stimulated and excited you, if for no other reason than to find out what could make someone feel so energized and aroused!
Take a pen and a piece of paper right now, and make a quick list of the things that motivate you the most.
These are things that get you "fired up", topics you could speak about all day. In other words, if money was not an option and all of your bills were paid, what would you do for a living? Once you have that list, practice the keyword research tips we will cover in your next lesson to come up with the perfect niche market for your unique desires and talents.
Lesson 7
Nailing Your Niche With A 5 Minute Keyword Research Trick
Have you ever noticed that Google tries to finish your sentences for you? This is annoying when it happens in the "real world". You have probably run across one of those people that thinks they know what you are going to say next, and they continue to interrupt what you are saying.
Google attempts to do this too. Billions of web searches are performed on Google each and every day. Over time, this information can reveal which niche markets are more popular than others. Doesn't it just makes sense to let one of the world's largest data mining corporations do your niche market research for free?
Of course it does!
Let’s take a closer look at a 5 minute keyword research trick that can reveal several niches and microniches which contain topics that people search for each and every day.
Head over to Google.
Type in a keyword or phrase relevant to a large industry. For example, you could type in "natural remedies". That is a billion-dollar industry, but much too wide for a successful niche website or blog.
Enter your request without quotation marks surrounding it, and don't hit enter to begin your search. What do you see? Google has given you a list of likely words and phrases that combine with your search request, like …
natural remedies for constipation
natural remedies for UTI
natural remedies for ADHD
In many cases, these are actual problems people are trying to solve. In other cases, the Google auto-complete feature shows popular sub-niches and untapped markets where you could quickly become an authoritative figure. Write down these results, and repeat with another word or phrase relevant to an industry or market you are thinking about entering.
That's it.
In 5 minutes or less you have uncovered the actual search terms that are used thousands of times a day in relationship to a particular market. Now you can find out what people are saying online about those niches (which we will reveal in a later lesson), to see if there is a viable market that needs your help.
Lesson 8
How Books and Magazines Can Help You Choose Your Niche
Do you have a bookstore in your city? If you live in a major city, chances are you have several book stores. Jump in your car, grab some public transportation or call Uber and head to that bookstore. Don't forget a pen and a pad of paper.
Head straight to the magazines section. Start at one side and work your way to the other. What you are looking at is the culmination of serious market research and a lot of advertising money.
Publishing a magazine, especially a monthly periodical, is expensive. When you see magazines with glossy covers, you are looking at even more money invested. Jot down the titles of some magazines which strike your interest, or seem like they may have a passionate, niche following.
Now head over to the nonfiction area of your bookstore. Do the same thing. You probably have a special section in your bookstore reserved for bestsellers. Check that section first. Nonfiction books are routinely based on self-help and problem-solving information that people are looking for.
When you are done, and this can take some time, ask for some assistance from a salesperson. If you can grab an assistant manager or manager, all the better. Ask if there are recurring topics which customers request. A lot of times, bookstores special order products for their customers. They don't have them on their shelves, but these books are popular nonetheless.
Armed with this information, head back to your handy computer. We'll talk about more tips for verifying that you have a viable marketplace in a further lesson, and you'll be ready to start your niche business.
In our next lesson, we will reveal a couple of simple ways to "read the minds" of web surfers to help you choose a niche market.
Lesson 9
Choosing a Niche – 2 Mind-Reading Tricks the Pros Use
If you can tell what your target market is thinking, wouldn't success be guaranteed? You would know exactly what problems need to be solved, and what pleasures are being pursued in a particular market. Well, you would still have to take action, but at least you would know what actions to take.
Fortunately, "reading the minds" of any market online is
not really that difficult. It just takes a little time, and you
need to know where to go.
Type “____ forums” into your favorite search engine. Fill in the ____ with your prospective niche. The results you will get are popular forums where people hang out online to discuss that particular topic. You would be surprised at the number of forums you can find on the web for just about any topic.
Sign up to a couple of relevant forms. Start browsing. Find out exactly what people are asking about that topic or market. This is a simple mind-reading trick to see if a particular niche has enough traffic and interest to build a successful blog or web business around.
Your 2nd trick to find out what web surfers are thinking
about a particular topic is just as revealing.
Quora, Wiki.how and Yahoo Answers are well known question and answer sites. People go there to get their questions answered, and their problems solved. Search on those sites for particular keywords and phrases, and you can see how much interest there is in a particular niche. You also see the exact questions people are asking, which make excellent headlines for blog posts, and subject lines for emails.
Lesson 10
Validating Your Niche Ideas
Using the methods listed in previous lessons, you have probably found a potentially profitable niche market. But how do you validate that decision? How do you know you aren't wasting time and money on an idea that doesn't offer enough financial viability?
One way is to head back to Amazon. You may have a passion for Alaskan Husky breeding. However, a recent search in all of Amazon showed only 5 results for "Alaskan Husky breeding". This can quickly tell you if you have a viable marketplace or not. On the other hand, a search for German Shepherd breeding turned up 50 results, meaning it is probably a better market than Alaskan Husky breeding. In most cases you would prefer to see at least 1,000 results for a particular term or phrase.
Additionally, you can once again harness the incredible data mining powers of Google. Type your prospective niche phrase into Google, surrounded with quotation marks. What you will see is a list of all the web pages which contain that exact phrase, in that exact order. A recent search for "keyword search tool" return 401,000 results! You want enough results so that your market is viable, but not so many so that you are fighting a lot of competition. A good target zone is roughly 25,000 to 100,000 results.
You can also use social media to validate your idea. Creating groups on Facebook is free. The same is true on LinkedIn and other social media sites. Build a group page on the topic you are thinking about marketing. Write a few blog posts, refer to important articles or websites in that field, and see what type of response you get.
There is another way to use social media sites to find out whether your niche market is viable or not. Type your keyword phrase or niche market name into the search engines of the biggest social media websites. Is there a lot of interest? Are there conversations, groups and events taking place or being created? Social media is where people talk about things that are important to them, so this information can be invaluable in determining the possible success of your business endeavor.
If you have some money to spend, you could even set up a short free report, a landing page and some Facebook ads to get people to sign up to your mailing list in order to receive your free report. You’ll soon see whether there’s any interest in the niche and whether it’s worth delving in any deeper!
