It may seem difficult to come up with a proper niche at first.
I am sure you already heard or read somewhere, that you should follow your passion.
Many people started to build an online business around their passion, without even thinking about that.
That is the ideal case.
A person who knows what his passion is usually following that path and does not have to think too hard.
That is their niche (their audience)
But, how do I find my niche for affiliate marketing?
Let’s break it down and here are the steps we are going to cover:
- First, we will define what the niche is. For sure many of us already know, but it does not hurt to take look at the concept of niche once again.
- Then we will come up with ideas on where to find a niche and we will be looking in both online and offline worlds.
- Somebody will probably ask – is there any evergreen niche as well? – We will look at that too.
Let’s start with the definition of a niche.
What Is a Niche in Business?
I don’t like it when an article starts with some boring 10 minutes long reading a story about history.
I won’t be doing it here, but still, let me allow you to tell you my favorite definition of a niche.
Niche or niches are coming from Ancient Rome.
They were (and they are still to be found in Rome) basically alcoves used in both interior and exterior walls.
So it is a small part of a large structure. In the business, the niche is also a small segment inside of a larger structure.
For example, you have your home with a garden, and as a small niche would be – your mattress.
It could be also your pedal bike if you are passionate about cycling.
So this is the boring part, or if you will the technical definition of a niche.
Let’s take a look at the interesting part, or in other words how to find the proper niche for my business.
How Do I Find My Niche for Affiliate Marketing?
Based on what we have seen above, one might think that we should start with a
- specific niche,
- build a website around it,
- get traffic,
- and monetize the website.
Well, it probably sounds right, but a better approach would be reverse engineering.
Here is what I mean by that.
We want to check the market first.
We want to know what sells well on the Internet.
One way to check it is to go to google trends.
Depending on your location you want to change the region accordingly, or you can go worldwide, that is OK.
As our friend Neil Patel suggests, compare your chosen niche/term with “digital marketing” and make sure that your term is larger than the term “digital marketing”.
This way you know that the market you have chosen is huge.
Somebody may ask, but Mike there is too much competition.
I understand that, and I used to have the same questions.
I got to learn that competition is good. In other words, you want to get into the market where money already flows.
That is why we have followed Neil’s idea of choosing a bigger niche than “digital marketing”.
If you get a small portion let’s say 0.01% of the $5 Billion industry, your profit is much bigger comparing it with the $5 million industry.
I always like to give an example of McDonald’s and Burger King.
I used to think that the Founders of Burger King must’ve been crazy to open a very similar chain of restaurants as McD has.
But that is a wrong approach.
The founders of Burger King were very smart. They figured out what is already working and they just remodel the existing idea.
So now, when you found the market which is profitable, go and select a specific niche.
Check what others do, and do it better.
Or at least remodel it and apply your unique approach.
There will be many people who will appreciate your way of doing things. There are billions of people connected to the internet.
You only need a few thousand dedicated customers.
Many people want to start with a brand new idea – they want to start with something completely new.
This is a hard way how to make money, especially when you have no initial financial resources.
Yes, there are these examples like Facebook, Airbnb, or Uber.
It is only a small percentage of people who have done so well. But we are not aware of people/projects who tried and failed.
A safer way is to check the market where money already flows and get some portion of it as well.
Then when you grow, you can outsource the current business and you can focus on the idea you had in the first place.
Ways To Find a Niche – Ideas From Online & Offline World
The perfect way how to brainstorm ideas is to go to a book store or any store where they sell magazines.
Check the ads inside and check the cover of the magazine.
Do you see a relation there?
And also one tip.
If you go to a certain magazine and check the ads, go to the same magazine a few months later.
The ads which are still inside the magazine are most likely related to the niche which is profitable.
Otherwise, they would not have any profit run the ads anymore.
Second tip – You can check also the Headlines.
How the headlines are written, how is the content written, pictures inside to make it easier for a reader? – but I digress.
Back to the online world.
And I am guessing you are right – Amazon.
Amazon as the biggest retailer company and with thousands of categories is a perfect place to find a niche.
Go to the Amazon site and you can explore categories and subcategories.
Check any of the categories and you can get even deeper 2 or 3 levers.
Still that deep down, you can find many profitable niches.
And if you know how to become an amazon affiliate, you are on your way to generate profit.
Let’s say I am interested in furniture.
Type “Furniture” in the Amazon search bar and on the Left-Hand site you see “Department”.
You can go to any department and dig deeper until you find for example “Sofas”.
Again be more specific and let’s focus on the Casual and Classic let’s say.
The point is, the deeper you go, the higher chance is that your site will start ranking well in google.
In other words, there will be less competition.
Evergreen Niche – Profitable Regardless of Season
There are certain types of niches that can be considered as profitable for a very long period of time.
They are closely related to human primary needs, such as:
- Food – We all need to eat. Food is a very broad niche, but if you think about healthy food, or even “how to lose weight and eat what you want” is already a narrow one.
- Clothing – Again we can break it down to for example shoes for hiking
- Shelter – Everything that you need for a house. People move from one place to another, they need to sleep somewhere – You see it even in the offline world, stores dedicated to mattresses only, or kitchen appliances, etc.
To give a better perspective, on the other hand, what is not an evergreen niche is, for example, ski shoes.
Here we are touching a bit on the Clothing subject we have mentioned above, where shoes for hiking might be considered as a seasonal niche as well.
But many people go hiking throughout the entire year so it is not the same as ski stuff.
Also what you want to be careful about are certain specific niches like for example these fidget spinners.
This is an extreme example of a niche where competition is just too huge and there is no point in going that road anymore.
Sure at the beginning, companies who came up with these spinners made a profit.
This would be considered as a seasonal niche as well, although it is not related to a year seasonal, right? 😉
Conclusion
Hopefully, this has given you a better overview of the niches.
Now you will find your niche quite easily.
If you still have some doubts about the niche, I recommend reading this review.
It is about how to start a business online and the emphasis is on niche selection.
If you decide that in about 2 or 3 weeks you want to change your niche that is perfectly OK. But do not change the niche every 2 months.
A year might pass and you still be where you started.
So try maybe 2 or 3 niches, but eventually, stick with one and build your business around it. That is why those who build their business about passion, they will never get tired of it.
I have a feeling that I have not covered everything here since the niche subject is so huge. I might come up with a similar article in the future.
Hopefully, this covers the topic of finding a proper niche for you.
In case you have further questions, let me know in the comment section below.
I’ll be more than happy to help you out.
Thank you for reading
Cheers,
Mike
I love what you’ve written about choosing a niche in an established sector even if there’s big competition. You’re right that you may only need or want a few thousand loyal followers and many people don’t want to follow the big guys. Choosing a niche came easily to me but this is an interesting topic as I start to train others in affiliate marketing. Thanks for sharing.
Awesome.
Glad you have had no problems in choosing the right niche.
Training people is a great thing to do and I am sure you provide lots of value.
Wishing you all the best
Mike
What I’m taking from this article – a niche is a smaller part of a large one, so I can do my best to achieve in my chosen role. Secondly, remodeling an existing role because one of the things that always boggle my mind is ‘many other people are doing it already’. Will be thinking long and hard about that one. Thank you for this informative article.
Glad you like the article.
Wishing you all the best in your future endeavors.
Cheers
Mike
Hello there, Great niche ideas are the key to the success of any affiliate marketing campaign. But the thing with niches is that there are way too many of them. So choosing is really a very big task that why I think this article would definitely be of help to a lot of persons looking to get an affiliate marketing niche.
That is right.
Choosing the niche is essential.
It took me almost a year until I have decided what niche I should pick.
Thank you for stopping by and leaving the comment
Have a good one
Mike
Setting up a niche for your online affiliate business is essential if you are going to be successful. Wealthy Affiliates is the best way to do this. You will learn how to find a niche, build a website, find products and get traffic. A full money-making system, with the tools, training and support you need to be a success.
You are absolutely right – Choosing ap roper niche is the first important thing when it comes to affiliate marketing.
Thanks a lot for the comment.
Mike
This is a very detailed post with tons of great information on how to choose a niche for your affiliate website/blog. My niche is on Airstream and I write blogs about travel trailers and its related contents as well as accessories. You are absolutely right, you cannot do everything and compete with everyone but finding your own niche definitely is crucial in your online business. I really learned a lot from you post. Thx so much!
You are welcome. I am glad you find the article helpful.
Wishing you a lot of success with your blog,
Thanks for the comment
Cheers
Mike
The Amazon store trick is brilliant Mike,
why have I never thought of that? It’s great because whatever things that people are selling there have been researched carefully because these sellers would need to prepare the stocks beforehand so as Affiliate Marketers, it is actually making our job easier since we can just choose from there and research ourselves. Once again Amazon has never disappointed me 😀
Glad you like it.
You are absolutely right.
Thanks for leaving the comment
Have a good one
Mike
Fantastic article! This is super important for anyone deciding to make a venture into marketing. Knowing how to zero in on your niche is key to getting you feet moving in the marketplace.
Once an individual knows their niche… Then its off to having something to sell and someone to sell it to. Then lock in that offer.
Thank yo for this insightful article.
Best Regards,
Jordan
That is exaclty right.
Glad you like the article.
Wishing you all the best
Cheers
Mike
Thank you very much for this niche selection idea. A lot of people have failed because they find it difficult to select a niche. Several books have dealt with this essential part of online business but still it is quite challenging. But I love the way you used magazines and Amazon. And if one is careful enough, one will be able to select point of interest, that is profitable and where you can write good content.
That is exactly right.
I was struggling with selecting the niche myself, so I decided to write this article and I believe it will help others with a proper niche selection.
Thank you for your comment
Wishing you al the best
Cheers
Mike
As an affiliate marketer, this is another interesting article for me. I took a lot of details on how to choose a proper niche from its definition to the various ways of selecting it. Also, you emphasize here the combination of affiliate marketing and a niche web site. So choosing a proper niche is a foundation for a good beginning of our affiliate journey, you proved this in your article very well.
Glad you find the article helpful.
That is correct – choosing a proper niche is essential.
If a person is not sure about his or her passion, it may take several days to come up with a proper one.
Wishing you all the best
Mike
I think that the best niche is the niche that you are passionate in. Because it will take time for you to come up with a related content for that niche and if that niche is something that you don’t link, writing can be tough. You are right about choosing the one that is already there for us to make the money though. I guess it is just all about the research and just stick to your niche that you love and keep going from there.
That is absolutely right.
Thanks a lot for your comment
Mike
This is a very practical, well put together article on selecting a niche. I have been an affiliate marketer for awhile and always felt that choosing a niche quickly was a mistake. For example, my niche is very popular…. fishing equipment. What I did not consider is that I don’t and others don’t usually buy their equipment online. We like to handle what we are going to fish with. So, the practical advice that you offer is really great. I hope that lots of people becoming affiliate marketers will see it.
I agree. To choose a proper niche – it sometimes takes days, even weeks.
And it is a good thing – I mean one must think in the long run.
Thank you for your comment
Mike
I like that google trends tool. I’ll definitely use it as part of my internet marketing strategy. I disagree just a little bit about what you said about choosing a niche though. I don’t think it really matters how the niche ranks on google trends. I think it’s more important to look at the keywords within that niche.
Choosing proper Keywords is an essential thing.
When it comes to niche, you are right it is not that important, but when a person is going to choose a niche this can be very helpful.
But I do agree, that proper keyword research is very important.
I am so glad to chance upon this post because you have touched on Google Trends. I have not been looking at Google Trends for a long time and this is a good reminder that I should. I would like to seek your thoughts, how often should we be using Google Trends? Is it only when we are searching for what niche we want to go for? Thank you so much.
Hello and thanks a lot for your comment.
Regarding google trends – Yes it is always recommended when you searching for a niche.
You can also take a look at the trends when you are about to create a new article.
Compare the results with your keyword research tool – but in major cases, the Keyword research tool should be a master for you.
Hope it helps
If you have any more questions let me know
Mike
Hello there! this is an amazing review you have got here. I am very sure the quality informations here will be of great help to anyone who come across it. Your small business can’t do everything and compete with everyone. That’s why finding a niche is so crucial to your online success.
Thanks for sharing this with me, I have really learnt a lot today!
Absolutely – choosing the proper niche is the first thing one must do right at the beginning.
It happens that in 2 or 3 weeks one realizes that it is not the right one and therefore he or she is going to change the direction.
That is OK as well – but it is important to choose the 2nd niche carefully. It may take even several days to decide the right one.
Glad you find the article helpful
Cheers,
Mike
I didn’t know that the concept of niche actually originated from alcoves. I first heard of it in a management class, so the definition offered was a surprise, but useful nonetheless. Can I just say that Neil Patel is such a pro, regardless of where I read him, all of his insights are so useful! Also, thank you for the magazine ads tip, I have just subscribed to one and I’m building on my website, so I would follow your tip right there!
I would have to agree with you about food and clothing as timeless niches. Learning more about niche is something I take interest in too, and these were the top-of-mind topics I was thinking about before. Unfortunately, I don’t consider myself as passionate and authoritative with regard to those (I only wish to be!)
Lastly, yes, you have “not covered everything” but I think your explanation is simple but very understandable, not to mention very cohesive. Thank you for letting me learn more about niches and how I can rethink my niche choice too! Cheers, A
I am glad you find this article helpful 🙂
A few years ago, I was not sure what the niche in online marketing meant. As I was working on my site and finally understood what is this all about so decided to write an article about how to choose a Niche, including the definition which is easy to understand.
Thank you for your comment
Really appreciate it
cheers,
Mike
I love this discussion of niches and how to pick the best one. When I first started, I had no idea what to choose. I thought, “I have no special talents or special education. I don’t know enough about any one subject to build a website around it.” Then someone told me that I didn’t have to be an expert. All I had to do was to have an interest in something and I could learn as I go! I love to cook, I have been trying to eat healthier and I am a single person who has to pair down large recipes and/or inventively use leftovers. And there was my niche. Easy-peasy, right?
I agree with you that a person would have to research the niche and make sure it’s popular using Google and just looking what’s around you, in papers and magazines or what is being sold in stores. And to make sure it’s a long-lasting niche and not just a fad or flash in the pan.
Your suggestions are very well researched and make complete sense! Thank you for your attention to detail!
That is exactly right.
Even that you thought you did not have any passion, you came up with a great niche!
Awesome.
I am glad you like the article
Wishing you all the best
Cheers
Mike
Very well explained !!!!
Thank you.
I am glad it helps.
Cheers, Mike