There are thousands and thousands of niches out there and picking one to blog about can be overwhelming to a beginner.
- Do you choose a niche you’re passionate about?
- What if you’re passionate about minimalism? How will you sell anything?
- How can I be sure my niche is profitable?
These are just some of the many questions that many beginners have. Choosing a niche is not rocket science. There are just a few simple criteria to meet and you’ll be able to spot a good niche within 15 minutes or so.
It’s imperative that you pick a niche that’s profitable if you want your blog to make money. You can’t turn a donkey into a racehorse… and you can’t turn a losing niche into a winner.
1. Is There Money Being Made In Your Niche?
This is the first and most important point to consider. For example, if you’re planning to blog about model airplanes, your first step will be to do a Google search for your main keywords and see if there are other bloggers in the niche and if they’re selling/promoting products. If you see competition, that’s a good sign.
Secondly, you’ll need to check if there are products to sell in your niche. In this case, it may be model airplane sets, magazines, acrylic paints, etc. The more products you have to sell, the better – and the more variations the product has, the higher the chances it’s a profitable niche.
Look at the number of reviews and you’ll get an idea of the quantity of merchandise being sold, and you can ascertain the profitability and viability of the niche.
2. Do The Niche/Products Solve A Problem?
Generally, if the niche revolves around solving a pressing problem, you can bet that it will be profitable. The ‘make money online’ niche and sub-niches are highly profitable because millions of people have a NEED for more money in their life.
The same applies to the health niche. In fact, the health niche is the most popular niche of the lot, because when one is in discomfort, they’ll willingly pay to end their pain/discomfort. Weight loss, migraines, back pain, teeth whitening, etc. are very profitable niches because people have problems that need solving.
3. Is The Niche A Sub-Niche Of A Bigger Market?
Ideally, you should pick a niche that’s a sub-niche of a huge market. For example, picking a niche such as ‘keto diet for weight loss’ will allow you to niche down and dominate the niche… and after that, you still have room to grow.
So, your blog has room to grow in future. A micro-niche might be easy to dominate but will not have potential for growth.
4. Pricing
The price of the products you’ll be promoting and selling will indicate potential profitability.
Many people tend to be afraid of pricing products too high, but you don’t want to undervalue your products so don’t be afraid to experiment at different price points; you may be pleasantly surprised at the results.
5. Keyword Competition
When choosing a niche, it’s a good idea to do some keyword research and analyze the competition.
Using a keyword tool such as Ahrefs will give you an understanding of the lay of the land and whether you can beat the competitors.
If authority sites are dominating the search rankings, you might want to niche down further or just find another niche.
6. Trends
It would be a good idea to check on the trends of the niche. Some niches are flash in the pan trends that crash fast once the fad dies. Think Pokemon Go and fidget spinners. There was massive demand for a while… and now, it’s crickets.
Anything to do with wealth, health and attracting the opposite sex are good places to start as they are always popular and trending in the news, social media etc.
7. Can You Drive Traffic?
Last but not least, are you able to locate your target audience? This is very important because you’ll need to drive traffic to your blog. If you can’t find your audience or they don’t hang out online, you’ll have a major problem here.
Are there others advertising in your niche?
If you see other companies advertising for products in your niche, that’s a sign that you can reach an audience. Just pay attention to the longevity of the ad. Some ads are here today and gone tomorrow because the advertisers lost money. So, you’ll want to look for winning ads that stand the test of time.
These 7 criteria are easy enough to check for and will give you an excellent idea if the niche you’re looking at is worth getting into. Once you’ve determined the profitability of the niche, you’ll just need to get started and keep going. Don’t hesitate and brainstorm for too long. Action is the key to success.
“If you want to learn to swim, jump into the water.” – Bruce Lee
