Picking A Niche
[private].[/private]
Tim Knox is an author, marketer, coach, mentor, and speaker who has enjoyed unbelievable success in the internet marketing industry. Tim has helped thousands of people start & grow small businesses across the country. In this interview Tim talks about how to brand your business powerfully, so that it won’t soon be forgotten. Tim also speaks in depth about some simple ways to establish yourself as an “instant expert” in your niche.
Tim Knox - Building Trust, Branding, and Positioning Yoursef As An Expert Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadPicking a Niche = RESEARCH!
Brief Intro
One of the most important decisions you will ever make regarding your new online business is deciding what niche you are going to invade. I’ve read, heard, and seen several methods for niche research, yet it always seems that the most effective methods are also very simple.
Take a moment to look around you and analyze some of the artifacts in the room you’re currently sitting in. Chances are there is a computer, furniture, various electronics, perhaps other people wearing multiple brands of clothing. The possibilities are endless and these are all niches. Upon further examination you can narrow it down to some pretty specific sub-niches.
When you are doing your niche research be sure to throw in a dash of common sense. Anytime you see a congregation of people or posts online (or offline for that matter) with a collective interest you may have stumbled upon a nice niche. Just keep that in the back of your mind as you’re surfing the net and going through your daily routines from now on!
Also, be sure to choose a niche you have at least somewhat of a personal interest in so as to make your work fun and interesting! The last thing you want to do is start a business you will find a chore to run.
Getting into the science of it all…
The suggested methods of niche research here at ProFromGo may very well be information you have heard before…but with a slight twist. Niche research is a science and the more time and effort you spend on your research the more effective you and your business will become.
Everyone has their own “system” for collecting information regarding potential niches. Just be sure to stay highly organized (brief sidenote: organization is key to your success; staying organized and systematic in everything you do will allow your business to grow more rapidly!!) and document your findings in a systematic and “scientific-like” manner.
We will cover some of the most basic niche research techniques and will prey upon little to zero cost methods of niche research. We will start off with the “Big G”…you may very well already know who I mean:
Many marketers underestimate the power that Google offers to your niche research. This is not to say that marketers don’t know that Google is powerful. It’s simply a matter of not realizing how to take FULL advantage of all Google has to offer.
You most certainly can start by typing keyword searches into Google for the niche you might have in mind, but don’t stop there because that’s just the beginning! Carefully analyze the search results by looking at the number of results found and take a few minutes to browse through some of the results and see what is already out there.
In addition to seeing what comes up in the Google search results, you can also use the following little known tip to find free .pdf files on your potential niche. Enter the following exactly as is for your respective niche:
+niche +free +filetype:pdf
Example:
+cat grooming +free +filetype:pdf
When I did this exact search for free .pdf files on cat grooming, I got over 130,000 results. Talk about a nice starting point to see what kind of competition is out there regarding digital information products in a potential niche!
Now that we got a little up close and personal with the market and potential competitors in a niche we are assessing, let’s take a deeper look and see what enthusiasts in your potential niche are really talking about.
It’s now time to pull a little trick out of our sleeves that most marketers forget about when researching with Google:
Behold… Google Groups
Visit this link to see the Google groups homepage (bookmark this one):
Once at the Google Groups homepage type in your desired niches in the “Search for a group” box. For our example, I typed in “cat grooming” and found several interest groups focused on cats and grooming their furry little tails 
.
The Google Groups search results will return directory results sorted by: topic, region, language, activity, and members.
I suggest exploring the “High” activity groups and the ones with large amounts of members. These groups will be the easiest to waltz into and start eavesdropping a bit. Don’t hesitate to actually join the group as well. Ask questions regarding what sorts of information people are looking for on this topic, but don’t be too pushy or overbearing.
Now that we’ve discussed how to begin your research and identify what people are currently longing for, we’re going to move forward by discussing a clever method for jumping right to the cutting edge of your potential niche. Go on to the next page to continue!
