What Is A Niche?
If you've read any internet marketing books or reports, you know that they all talk about niches, and finding your niche. And they're all correct, finding a good, paying niche is vital to your online business. But what do you do if you're not even sure you know what a niche is?
First, let's define what is meant by the term "niche." A niche is a small segment of a larger market. Here's an example -- "eBay" is a large market and "selling antique lace on eBay" is a sub-market, also known as a niche. "Selling Books on eBay" is a sub-market of the larger eBay market, but "Selling Cookbooks on eBay" is a niche. And a smaller sub-niche example would be "Selling Italian Cookbooks on eBay."
Are you still confused? Here's another example -- "Dogs" is a large market, and "Dog Training" is a sub-market in the larger Dogs market, and "How to Potty Train Your Dog" is a niche in the Dog Training market. Do you see? Dog Training is not a niche, it's too large. To get to a niche you have to drill down into the subject.
So why does this apply to you? Well, if you're starting an internet marketing business, you need to decide what market you're going to target, and what product or service are you going to sell. In most cases, you'll have more success starting out if you specialize in one small area in a broad market -- a niche.
You can't compete with Amazon.com or eBay or any other large, established online business or service provider - and you don't want to try. You want to provide something that these mega sites can't, you want to be the person who fills the more individualized need. It's all about focusing, so you can build a paying, targeted customer base and list.
Start your online business doing or selling one or two things, do them well and make your customers happy. Find out what other related things your customers want, and expand to these areas later. Get started, and as you work you'll learn and get better at everything you do. When you feel like you know what you're doing, then expand and add something new. Find the need, and fill it. Start small and grow. That's why you need a niche.
First, let's define what is meant by the term "niche." A niche is a small segment of a larger market. Here's an example -- "eBay" is a large market and "selling antique lace on eBay" is a sub-market, also known as a niche. "Selling Books on eBay" is a sub-market of the larger eBay market, but "Selling Cookbooks on eBay" is a niche. And a smaller sub-niche example would be "Selling Italian Cookbooks on eBay."
Are you still confused? Here's another example -- "Dogs" is a large market, and "Dog Training" is a sub-market in the larger Dogs market, and "How to Potty Train Your Dog" is a niche in the Dog Training market. Do you see? Dog Training is not a niche, it's too large. To get to a niche you have to drill down into the subject.
So why does this apply to you? Well, if you're starting an internet marketing business, you need to decide what market you're going to target, and what product or service are you going to sell. In most cases, you'll have more success starting out if you specialize in one small area in a broad market -- a niche.
You can't compete with Amazon.com or eBay or any other large, established online business or service provider - and you don't want to try. You want to provide something that these mega sites can't, you want to be the person who fills the more individualized need. It's all about focusing, so you can build a paying, targeted customer base and list.
Start your online business doing or selling one or two things, do them well and make your customers happy. Find out what other related things your customers want, and expand to these areas later. Get started, and as you work you'll learn and get better at everything you do. When you feel like you know what you're doing, then expand and add something new. Find the need, and fill it. Start small and grow. That's why you need a niche.
