We should start by defining some ground rules to win the niche game. These rules can be thought of as small mantras. You might write them down and keep them somewhere you can see them every day.
- It is not about what you sell but how you market it.
- Authenticity is your best friend.
- The worst thing you can do is come across as a “phony”, or “poser”.
One wise saying I heard was “If your work feels like work, then you are in the wrong field of work.” I’ll use the words of my mentor, a teacher, who taught me a lot about money: “Do what your heart desires, and the money will follow.”
This is especially true for niche marketing. Niche markets require a combination of psychology and human nature from both the buyer and seller. You’re harnessing passion. Anyone can follow the crowd and do what everyone else does because it’s what everyone else is doing. People who are part of a niche have something special. The seller is more than just a face behind a register.
The daily grind of making money suddenly disappears for the seller and is replaced by a quest. The niche is often where the best-sellers are. Participating in a niche market that includes you will make you feel special. It’s easier to believe in something when you are involved in it. Because you have special market knowledge, you can feel more confident.
Let’s go over those rules more – they are worth knowing!
Marketing is psychology
You’ll notice a common trend in the area restaurants that offer ethnic cuisines. Each restaurant has a design to reflect the country they represent. Imagine how bizarre it would be to arrive at a Chinese buffet to find that the building has an adobe color scheme with pinatas hanging from its ceiling and staff wearing Panchos. You can turn it around and visit a Mexican restaurant. They don’t have the building designed like a pagoda with Buddha statues, Foo dogs, and Foo dogs at the front. The waitresses in Mexican restaurants are geisha girls wearing white robes, wooden sandals, and they don’t have the building designed like a pagoda.
This should not matter, logic! It’s not possible for a Chinese-decorated restaurant to make the best burritos and tacos you’ve ever had. Why shouldn’t I?
Can I decorate my restaurant Mexican-style and still make great Chinese food? My ability to make great chop suey should not be confused with my desire to decorate the restaurant like a Spanish ranchero. Customers come for the food and not the view. We, humans, are unable to rationally make decisions about where and what we should buy. If we are looking for food from a specific ethnicity, we will place our hopes on the establishment that wins the “cultural awareness contest”. This is a sign that the establishment understands what we are looking for.
We are naturally inclined to trust people who understand our thinking. If given the choice between equally appealing options, all other factors being equal we will choose the one who understands us at our deepest level.
The second rule is followed by the third. Marketing is psychology. Niche marketing is more about what you can sell than what you can sell. People will choose to do business only with people who think like them. If you appear fake or unauthentic, your business could be in serious trouble.
Let me clarify. You don’t have to be born in this niche, but that doesn’t make you a failure. You can still sell toys to five-year-olds without actually being a child. The odds are against you. You will succeed in your niche if you do your best.
You will need to spend a lot more time researching your market. You may also opt to become a niche market expert. You may find yourself in multiple markets throughout your life. Your views and preferences may change. Let’s be clear: If you market to a niche you find repelling, it won’t be impossible but it will be extremely difficult.
Remember that passion is what drives people to do what they believe in. They will be more energetic, more productive, more creative, have greater energy, and they will sleep well at night.
What’s your niche?
Everyone believes in something. Examine your background, your beliefs, you’re demographic. Take note of everything you do. You should include hobbies, television shows that you enjoy, and music you listen to. All that makes you unique is you! Do not worry about “But, I’m strange!” How can I make money serving people within my small group? You can find people just like you on the internet, no matter how bizarre or quirky.
There are many ways to find the niche that is right for you.
You can be born in one
If you are from India and are interested in cooking, you can start your own curry business. It’s easy to become an expert in any field that you are currently working in. Another key is being a part of a generation. You have a great chance of being a hit with Baby Boomers if your memories go back to the sixties. Maybe you are a member of Generation X – if you are, you can speak to them with a true voice. The same goes for financial and social class.
Adopt one
We discover new things throughout our lives. Focus on the hobby or pursuit you are interested in, and not on what you do with your money. Imagine what you could buy if someone sold it. How better to get a market share than to start one yourself? If you have a niche that nobody else serves, then cater to it! You will be found by others who are also searching for the same business.
Invent one
Look around at all the niches we find. Every interest was started by one person. Someone had to be the first one to do it. Imagine the person who was the first to put a “9/11 We will Never Forget” sticker onto their car. Their style was first called “grunge” by a Seattle teenager. The first adult to upload pictures of their Lego-sized Lego models online. Every trend and meme started with one person who shared it. Sometimes, this person creates a lifestyle.
You stumble upon one
All around us, there are niches waiting to be discovered. Here are some stories from my personal ‘computer geek’ niche to illustrate this point.
Some niches I’ve stumbled upon…
In the 90’s I used the QBasic programming language, which was standard on Microsoft Windows 3.1. I also saved some floppies of small programs that I had written. These relics were still there ten years later when I moved. I found them in a basement box and used the Internet to search for a modern compiler. I was surprised to find that QBasic fans were numerous, with many clubs and websites dedicated to the language.
My techie blog almost accidentally mentioned “Nethack”, a mysterious computer role-playing game. Although it is similar to Dungeons and Dragons and Blizzard’s Diablo, it is thousand times more difficult and much deeper than those. A few days later, the first search results for this extremely esoteric game started to trickle in. The search queries revealed that people were searching for answers to dungeon-related problems. As I continued to write about it, more people came forward. Nethack is not as popular in the videogame world as Half-Life or the Sims. However, since virtually nopublishes information about the game, 100% search traffic is coming to my site. My website Traffic may fluctuate, but Nethack hits remain constant every day.
The site textfiles.com, which is dedicated to files from the days of bulletin boards systems (also known as BBSs), was visited by me. This site was created in the late 80’s/early ’90s, before the World Wide Web. It is a website that contains files from the old days of bulletin board systems, also known as BBSs. I found a lot of log-in screens in ANSI art in the archives. No one on God’s vast Earth messes around with ANSI character’s art anymore. And programs that can render it accurately are disappearing. So I decided to render some and save it in an image format that is more modern.
These were, at best, a curiosity to me. My little gallery of about 80 BBS login screens quickly became an Internet phenomenon. Many people left comments and offered advice about how to render the format. They also provided links from social bookmarking websites. It brings back fond memories for those who were there during the BBS years. Now, I’m a recognized authority on the topic. They are tempting me to print them and take them on tour.
Some Others that I am not interested in:
Are you a Disneyland visitor and have you ever taken “The Haunted Mansion” on your trip? You might be surprised to learn that the entire web is dedicated to the geekiest obsession with this one ride. The “Ghost Relations Department”, a Blogspot.com blog, covers everything at the ride – if the riders replace a sheet wallpaper, they report it. Diagrams. Screenshots. Wallpapers with themes. There is a fan base. It is linked all the time via sites such as Boing Boing. One ride only!
Here’s an interesting one: Have you heard of glamour bombing? This was something I discovered while browsing Wikipedia incessantly. A glamour bomb is a prank or mischief that attempts to change or challenge perceptions. It aims to expand the target’s (i.e. It aims to expand the target’s (i.e., stranger) perception of reality in order to encourage belief in magic and/or magical beings like fairies and nature spirits. You can Google it and you will find that there is an alternative culture called the “Otherkin”, which are fantasy tales equivalent to Star Trekkies. You had no idea that Otherkin existed until a few minutes ago.
But now you may be wondering: An online store! High fantasy novels by Piers Antony, Terry Pratchett, and JK Rowling are available for sale. Glamourbomb supplies such as glitter, feathers and magic props can be sold. Start a club. Assist the Renaissance lifestyle and part of the science fiction community. Your site should also feature a Javascript “Hobbit Name Generator”. It’s absurd, but I find it ridiculous. It’s still a niche market that is waiting for it to develop. If you have found this niche, it is a great opportunity for you to make a living. Okay, don’t make me a newt to discredit your clan.
What is the point?
To show that niche markets exist everywhere, even in places you wouldn’t think of. This is why niche markets are called such! Sometimes they are obsessions or hobbies or fanatical followers of an art type of subculture. The niche marketer can find rich hunting grounds in movies that are “cult classics”, lifestyles at the fringe, and subcultures within the culture. Niche markets are different from mainstream markets in that they have a high number of passionate fans. They will be passionate customers if you market to them.
Let’s now take steps to put that market to work.
Use the Internet to find your niche
The Internet is an amazing place that allows users to access a lot of information. Many people don’t realize that the Internet can also be a place where savvy entrepreneurs can find lucrative business opportunities. Internet niche marketing is one example of how hard work and dedication can bring in profits. While Internet marketing isn’t a field that is easy to succeed in, there are still opportunities for those who are determined to work hard.
Learning Internet Marketing Online
It is possible to learn about niche markets online, believe it or not. While it helps to be successful in this industry, it is not essential to have a basic understanding of marketing and business before you start an Internet niche marketing campaign. Online information is abundant on how to organize and execute a niche marketing campaign. This information can be found on a variety of websites, including informative articles, industry-specific message boards, and ebooks that are free or for a nominal fee.
Let’s start by learning more about Internet marketing via websites. You will most likely get millions of search results if you type “Internet niche marketing” in your favorite search engine. It would take a lot of time to go through all the search results and most of them wouldn’t be relevant. The search engines do a lot of work for you, and they provide the best results.
Websites will most likely be found on the first few pages of search results. You will still have a lot of information to go through, but niche marketing is likely to become a career.
Take the time to review the search results and save the most helpful websites. Take as much time as you need to go through these websites in order to find the most relevant information. To create a complete resource for yourself, take notes. Review your notes and go over any questions. This research could include offline resources like books and phone calls to industry experts.
Search Engines Are Your Friend
You probably already know that the Internet is a great resource for learning about Internet marketing. A niche is basically a particular area of interest. You will likely already be an expert on the subject, and there will be many websites that focus on this topic. You can again turn to the Internet to find this niche.
You might already have some ideas for niches. These may be subjects that you are passionate about or are very familiar with. The popularity of keywords related to your niche can be analyzed using statistical data from search engines.
This is a great indicator of how interested Internet users are in your niche. It is obvious that there is an audience for keywords in your niche if they are frequently searched on search engines. Next, you need to search for keywords related to your niche and then evaluate the results. If the results are strong, then the niche is considered saturated. It is best to search for a new niche if there are too many strong results. You may find your niche if you don’t get many quality results.
