Day 4 WHAT IS YOUR NICHE ?

If you want your marketing to work, you have to focus.

A business needs to make money. Therefore, it is also necessary to make sure that there is a market for your business and that it can be monetized.

You have to understand who your message is for, then speak to that person. And you have to craft your offers to serve that person. Present options that appeal to her, that are in line with what she’s willing to spend, and that will benefit her in ways she cares about.

One of the first things people do when thinking about building a business online is rush to identify their “niche.” And that isn’t wrong … but it’s more complicated than it might seem at first.

The word niche doesn’t just mean a focused topic. In biology, niche refers to how each type of organism interacts with all the other organisms in its ecosystem.

Your topic is part of your niche, of course. But so is your audience. And your positioning. Not to mention your potential partners. And the folks who share your content. And the content platforms you publish on.

How to Choose a Profitable eCommerce Niche

Niche Selection can make or break your business…

So, you’re ready to start an eCommerce drop ship business. Congratulations! The first step is the biggest one of all. That step is not just saying that you “want to start an online business” but actually taking action and moving towards getting your first sale. The first step of this process is called “Niche Selection”.

When it come to niche selection first you have to focus on 3 mean topics.

1 Target Market

2 Price

3 Brand Loyalty

Target Market

When it come to target market you have 3 different demographic you can choose

1 Lower class

2 Middle upper class

3 Wealthy class

When you are looking into products and trying to find your profitable niches, stay right in the middle. You want to sell to the upper middle class.

There are a few reasons why. If you sell to people who don’t have money or to people that have too much money, what you’ll find is the amount of customer service that you (or your employee) have to put into your business is going to skyrocket.

When people don’t have enough money or spend their last dollar to buy your products, you better believe they are going to have more questions. They are going to be inspecting the items more carefully. If anything is wrong or even if they think anything is wrong, you are going to hear about it non-stop.

With the wealthy, it’s the same thing. When they are investing money or buying products, they expect a certain level of customer service that requires really a different type of business owner. And there is nothing wrong with that. But, just expect that if you’re going to go that route, you are going to be more of a concierge rather than someone that makes money online.

Again, that is why when we are looking at demographics. Remember, stick with the upper middle class. I define that as having a combined household income of above $100,000 U.S. dollars. When people have that kind of money, they are very comfortable with spending online. They are used to buying items that are $200 or more. They are not going to be calling or emailing you as much. They are going to be comfortable with the order process. And from what I have experienced, they are generally happier with the products. You are going to deal with fewer returns.

So again, this demographic makes niche selection a lot easier. It makes your business run a lot smoother. It makes it a lot more profitable if you choose niches that fall into that target demographic. If that’s who the products appeal to.

Price

I am going to share with you 3 tips for profitable niche selection, how to pick niches that will actually make money. Now, here are a few pieces of criteria I look for. The first thing is always the price. That means product’s price, what you’re going to sell this product for.

When you are doing your niche selection, always look for niches that are $100 or more on average. What does that mean in practice? Well, if you sold something like a water bottle, that’s not at least $100. So that is not going to be a niche that I get involved with. Now, on the other hand, if it is something like a cell phone, that’s more than $100. That would pass the price test, but it would not pass the third test that you’ll hear about later. Something like the office chair I am sitting in, again it’s over $100, that would be a good product. It passes the first test when it comes to niche selection.

You can choose any niche but you should provide most of your product for the middle higher class. But that doesn’t mean you don’t sale anything less than 100$.

Brand Loyalty

Now, finally the last tip I want to give you out of these 3 tips. Remember, it was price, then it was the target demographic. Now, I want to talk about brand loyalty. I mentioned earlier that while cell phones fall into the price range criteria, they don’t meet one of my other criteria and that is because of the brand loyalty.

When someone is going to buy a cell phone, in general, they are going to buy an iPhone or they are going to buy Galaxy or another Android phone, Right? But they already have a brand in their head of what product they want.

Same thing with people that are going to buy headphones. There is probably four or five big headphone companies. Right? There is Sony, there is Bose, there are Beats, There are all these big companies and people already know what they are going to buy.

So the third thing that you are going to look for when trying to choose a profitable niche is to pick an industry that has no brand loyalty. It’s going to make a big difference. That’s because if you try to sell in a niche where people already know what company they want to buy from, it’s going to make it that much harder for you to get suppliers. Harder for you to actually be able to sell these products, for you to be able to compete in terms of price. It’s impossible.

Don’t Fear Competition

Did you find somebody else that is already executing your business idea? Competition that is already making money in your chosen niche is a great sign! Now, you might be saying to yourself, “But if there’s competition, doesn’t that mean that my niche idea has already been taken?” Yes, but if that competition is making money, it means that the niche is marketable and profitable.

The key here is to compete by standing out. How is your product or service a little different? How is your product or service better? What is it about YOUR PERSONALITY that makes your community want to purchase from you instead of your competition?

Another business may have cheaper prices. That doesn’t mean you can’t compete. In fact, sometimes cheaper prices lead customers to believe that they’re buying a cheaper product. This is also where your personality (or your business brand) can be a huge selling factor. Does your community love your brand and what you give them? Do they trust you to always provide extraordinary quality and value?

Don’t fear competition. Think of other businesses as your allies. They push you to work a little bit harder to make sure that your community knows, loves, and trusts you and your business.

Warning: You may find that your competition ISN’T making money!

This is where you have to be careful. If you can’t find any competition, or most of your competition isn’t generating income, then you may want to choose another business idea. They may just be doing something that they love as a hobby.

Solve a Problem

Plain and simple, people are willing to pay for something that solves their problems.

Find a solution to a problem that your community is having. Create an amazing solution for that problem. People will pay for that solution. Oh, and do you think

One example could be the go pro camera. Before that people are looking a camera that feet in there pocket and still want a high resolution so when the product is advertise people buy the product with happens and love b/s it solve their mane problem.

Another 8 Strategies for Finding Your First Product

1. Find Opportunities in Keywords

It’s no secret that organic search traffic is a massive marketing channel. Looking for keyword opportunities involves strategically looking for a product or niche online based on the search queries people are using, volume and competition for those searches. This approach is fairly technical and involves a strong understanding of keyword research as well as SEO. Finding opportunities in keyword searches can be an effective strategy for capturing consistent organic traffic from Google. This strategy is particularly useful if you plan to drop ship products, as margins on drop shipped goods are thin making it difficult to use paid advertising channels effectively.

2. Build an Interesting and Unique Brand

Taking a brand building opportunity approach is very different from an SEO approach. This involves developing a superior understanding of your customers, crafting a unique brand and carving out a unique place in your customer’s mind. A brand building approach can be particularly effective at setting you apart if margins are slim or competition is fierce.

3. Identify a Customer Pain Point

Solving a customer pain point has always been a great way to get sales. Tylenol wouldn't be in business if a headache didn’t hurt. A customer pain doesn’t always have to be physical pain though, it also accounts for frustrating or poor experiences.

4. Identify Customer Passions

Almost as good, maybe even better than solving a customer pain point is catering to a customer passion. When consumers are passionate about something they will often spend more money. Golfers are notorious for spending thousands of dollars to lower their score by even one stroke. Additional benefits can include deeper interaction and loyalty with your brand as passionate consumers are generally more involved in the industry and the buying process.

5. Go With Your Passion

Some people consider choosing a niche based on your own personal passionate be a recipe for disaster but that’s not always the case, and can prove to be extremely profitable. Building an eCommerce business is a lot of hard work and you’ll likely hit some bumps in the road on your journey. Passion tends to be one thing that always helps to carry you through the hard times. For some people the passion of building a business alone can be enough to drive them but for others to succeed they need to be passionate about what they are selling and their industry. Staying motivated is key to building and carrying a business through the difficult periods. They say if you love what you do, you’ll never work another day in your life.

6. Look For an Opportunity Gap

Finding an opportunity gap involves looking at a particular product, niche or industry and identifying a problem or deficiency that can be capitalized on. What can you do different or better from what everyone else is currently doing? An opportunity gap may exist in the form of an improved product feature, an unrealized market by your competitors, or even in your marketing capability.

7. Consider Your Experience

Have you worked in a particular industry and know the in’s and out’s? Maybe you have a skill or a particular set of experiences that makes you an expert on a particular topic. Turning your expertise into your own online business is a great way to enter the market with a leg up that may not be so easy for others to duplicate.

8. Capitalize on Trends Early

Capitalizing on a trend early enough can be massive for a new business. It allows you to carve out a place in consumers minds and establish yourself as a leader before others have a chance to. Jumping on a trend early can also have some big impact on your SEO and allow you to climb to the top of search rankings easier and quicker.

Now you understand and select your niche in the next slide you will read about what tool and where to find a winning products in your niche.

Tools to research product

1. Start With What You Have

Before you begin searching the depths of the internet and the ends of the earth for product and niche ideas, it’s always best to start with the ideas you already have. Maybe it’s a product or idea you have had for years. Maybe it exists in a half written business plan sitting in a folder somewhere on your computer. Even if you’ve discounted it at some point prior, it’s worth taking a fresh look at it. At one point you thought it was a great idea right?

Here are a few questions to consider when making your list:

What products, niches or industry you are particularly passionate about or interested in?

What products, niches or industries are your friends passionate about?

What pain points do you have in your own life?

2. Local Community

Sometimes, you don’t need a new idea at all. Traditional brick and mortar businesses have been around much longer than their eCommerce counterparts. Paying attention to trends in brick and mortar retail and adapting them to eCommerce can be just the ticket you need to create a profitable and unique business. Look around your community and take note of what new or interesting retail concepts people are talking about. Your local newspapers can also be a great resource for this type of news and information.

3. Online Consumer Trend Publications

A great place to start your search for product ideas is to look at some top consumer product trend publications. Following trend publications is great way to begin getting a sense of the direction consumer products are going and the ideas other entrepreneurs are introducing to the market. Following these publications can also expose you to new product categories and industries that you previously didn’t know about. Following what’s trending can help you to dream up new goods, services and experiences for your online business.

There are several popular trend publications online including, but not limited to:

Trend Watching - Trend Watching is an independent trend firm that scans the globe for the most promising consumer trends and insights. Trend Watching has a team of thirty professionals in locations like London, New York, São Paulo, Singapore, Sydney and Lagos all looking for a reporting on worldwide trends.

Trend Hunter - Trend Hunter is the world's largest, most popular trend community. Fuelled by a global network of 137,000 members and 3,000,000 fans, Trend Hunter is a source of inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs and the insatiably curious.

Jeremy, the founder of Trend Hunter says, "Like many of us, I was an entrepreneur at heart, but I didn't know what idea I wanted to pursue. I chose careers that I thought would lead me to my business idea... but after years of searching, I was still hunting for inspiration. It was then that I started Trend Hunter - a place for insatiably curious people to share ideas and get inspired.“

Spring-wise - There are millions of business ideas spanning the globe that operate in a specific way, have their own style, and market in a unique fashion. It’s not always possible to travel the world searching for these ideas to bring home though. That’s where Spring-wise comes in. Sources such as Spring-wise travel the world for you, on the search for new entrepreneurial ideas, trends, and stories. Spring-wise publishes a daily and a weekly newsletter,

4. Industry Leaders

If you know the industry or niche you would like to be in you can use various tools to discover the influencers in the industry. Following the right people on social media can help inspire new ideas via a constant stream of carefully curated content from the people in the know. It’s up to you to uncover the opportunities.

There are several online tools you can use to discover the influencers online for a particular industry or niche:

Follower-wonk

Little-Bird

5. Product and Trend Discovery Review Sites

Product review and discovery sites can also be a fantastic source of ideas and inspiration. Sites like Uncrate (men’s products) and Outblush (women’s products) are great ways to see new curated product trends daily. What better way to get inspired than to get a daily glimpse into the new and interesting products other entrepreneurs are bringing to the market.

Here are just a few examples of popular consumer product blogs to get you started:
Uncrate
Outblush
Bless This Stuff
Cool Material
Gear Moose
Werd
HiConsumption
Firebox

Don’t just look at the big and popular sites but explore niche reviews sites as well. Consider what types of products and niches you're particularly interested in and search for consumer product review blogs in those niches.

6. Social Curation Sites

Pinterest and other similar image curation sites can be a goldmine for product and niche ideas. Many of the images contain interesting, new and trending consumer products. Using the built in social signals you can sometimes get a sense almost immediately of their popularity. This could be your first clue if there is a market for the product or niche.

Several of the larger social curations sites are:

Pinterest - Pinterest is the fastest growing social network with over 50 million monthly users. Don’t forget to check out the popular section for what’s trending.

Polyvore - Polyvore is a new way to discover and shop for things you love. Polyvore's global community has created over 80 million collage-like “sets” that are shared across the web.

Fancy - Fancy describes themselves as part store, magazine and wish list. Use Fancy to find a gift for any occasion and share your favorite discoveries with all your friends.

Wanelo - Wanelo (Want - Need - Love) describes itself as a community for all of the worlds shopping, bringing together products and stores in a Pinterest like product posting format. You can start by checkout outtrending people.

7. B2B Wholesale Marketplaces

What better way to get product ideas than right from the source. This has been a popular option amongst ecommerce entrepreneurs for a while and this list wouldn’t be complete without it. Wholesale and manufacturer sourcing sites like Alibaba exposes you to thousands of potential products and ideas. It can be easy to get overwhelmed with the sheer amount of product available so take it slow.

Some of the more popular B2B wholesale product sites are:

Alibaba - You’ve likely heard of Alibaba. They are one of the biggest ecommerce companies in the world, up there with Amazon and eBay. Alibaba connects consumers all over the world with wholesalers and manufacturers from Asia. With hundreds of thousands of products, there’s not much you can’t find on Alibaba.

Although it’s generally accepted that Alibaba is the largest online wholesale and manufacturer database, there are many other sites similar to Alibaba you can use for inspiration and to find product ideas.

Some of the largest competitors of Alibaba include:

Trade Key

Global Sources

Made-in-China

8. Online Consumer Marketplaces

Another rich source for product ideas are online consumer marketplaces. Million of products is probably an understatement so you may want to begin your search with some of the popular and trending items and branch out into other interesting categories that catch your eye from there:

eBay - eBay is the largest online consumer auction site.
eBay Market Research - A way to find some of the most popular product categories on eBay.

Amazon - Amazon is the largest internet retailer.
Amazon Bestsellers - Amazon's most popular products based on sales. Updated hourly.
Amazon Movers and Shakers - Amazon's biggest gainers in sales rank over the past 24 hours. Updated hourly.

Kickstarter - Kickstarter is the largest crowd-funding website.
Kickstarter Discover - Browse all projects by popularity, funding, staff picks, as well as many other options.

Etsy - Etsy is a marketplace for handmade items.
Etsy Trending Items - Check out the current trending items and listings on Etsy.

AliExpress - AliExpress is a new consumer wholesale marketplace from Alibaba that allows you to order in small quantities.
AliExpress Popular - The most popular products being bought on AliExpress.

9. Social Forum Communities

Reddit is the largest social media news aggregator. It describes itself as the front page of the internet and is enormously influential. Reddit has thousands of “subreddits” which are sub-sections or niches that cater to different topics and and areas of interest. It’s within these subreddits that you can find lots of inspiration for your next product or business idea.
If you have an idea for a particular industry, niche or product category, it’s worth doing a search and finding a suitable subreddit community to join and actively become a part of.
There are also many product focused subreddits that are packed with ideas.
Here are a few examples:

Buy It For Life - For practical, durable and quality made products that are built to last.
Shut Up And Take My Money - Interesting, clever, useful products that that people want… badly.
There are also several subreddits for curated Amazon products, make sure to check out the following:

The Best of Amazon
The Best of Amazon Canada
The Best of Amazon UK
Find It On Amazon
If you're active on Reddit and pay close attention, occasionally you have come across interesting posts like these:
Reddit, What is One Product Under $20 That You Recommend Everyone To Buy?
What $100 Item Has The Single Greatest Ability to Increase Quality of Life?

10. Instagram

Instagram isn’t just pictures of food and dogs, it is also an interesting option for inspiring product ideas. Because it’s photo based, it makes it easy to scan through many ideas and photos quickly.

There are a few ways you can use Instagram to search for product and niche ideas:
Hashtag - Once again, if you have a particular interest in a product category or industry, you can try searching for applicable hashtags. Another great option is to do a search on Instagram for applicable hashtags that insinuate buyer interest and intent like #want and #buy.

Product Curation Accounts - There are many accounts on Instagram that post curated product content. Like many other examples above, you'll likely want to search for and find accounts within the niches you are particularly interested in. As an example, Shopify curates interesting and unique products from Shopify’s 90,000+ online stores. It might just provide the idea or spark for your next product.