Whether you are looking for a topic for a
subscription web site or trying to find the right niche for your future
products, this one minute guide will show you the way.
Choosing the right niche market
If you want to succeed as a product developer, the first and most important rule is, define your target market
before you define the product.
 Define your target market before you define the product . . . 
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For example, if I know my target market are those people who want to own
their own restaurants, it makes it relatively easy for me to come up
with the perfect product for them.
I can tailor the product to meet their exact wants and desires, package
it in a manner that suits them best, and price it in a range that meets
their 'comfort zone'. And I can work out a marketing plan - before I
create the product - and then tailor the product to fit the marketing
plan and the customer.
Creating products after defining the target market significantly
increases the chances of coming up with a real winner, and reduces the
chances of developing a product no one wants.
My one minute guide to choosing perfect niche markets
I've found the easiest way to come up with the perfect niche market is to 'fill in the blanks' of the following statements:
- The 'who are you' question. Most people
define themselves by what they do - this is particularly true of men.
If you ask a group of men, to define 'who' they are or what they want to
'be', you'll find that most will include what they do for a living or
what they want to do for a living in the answer.
Those kinds of answers define niche markets. Answers to the 'who are you' question, could include:
- Restaurant manager
- Bed and breakfast owner
- Real estate investor
- Art gallery owner
- Band member
- Freelance writer
- Civil War re-enactor
Avoid answers that define physical or personal financial conditions - as these answers are usually negative.
The best niches in the 'who are you' category are those that give pride to those answering the question.
When you think you have a good answer to the 'who are you' question, use your answer to fill in the blanks below.
"This product is for those people who are _______________ ________________ "
Note that I've only provided two blanks for the answer to the above
question. The reason is simple - the fewer words it takes to answer
'who are you', the tighter the niche. (ie Restaurant Owner, Cave Diver,
Art Collector).
If you can't define 'who they are' in 5 words or less, then you really don't know who they are.
- The 'what do you want to be or do' question -
Most people have dreams or passions involving something they either want
to do, or something they want to be. And most people are happy to buy
products that get them closer to these dreams or passions.
The dream or passion could be things like:
- Living on an island
- Being in a band
- Learning to paint
- Moving to a specific place (New Zealand, Australia)
- Starting a specific kind of business
- Mastering a sport
The best niches in the 'who do you want to be' category are those that are long term interests.
When you think you have a good answer, fill in the blanks below.
"This product is for those people who want to become _______________ ________________ "
Note that I've only provided space for two words for the answer to the
above question. The reason is simple - the fewer words it takes to
answer the 'what do you want to be', the tighter the niche. (ie
Restaurant Owner, Cave Divers, Art Collector).
If you can't define 'what they want to be' in 5 words or less, then you're not focused tightly enough.
- The 'what do you want to learn?' question
- Most people invest in products and information that help them learn
something. If you can define what it is they want they want to learn,
you can probably come up with the right product for them.
Answers to the 'what do you want to learn' question, could include:
- Learn to use Visual Communicator to make a living
- Learn to use the VX2000 Camcorder
- Learn to produce how to videos
- Learn to buy and sell real estate
- Learn to sell items on eBay
When you think you have a good answer to the 'what do you
want to learn or do' question, use your answer to fill in the blanks
below.
"This product is for those people who want to learn to _______ __________ ________ _______ _______ "
Be careful when answering the 'what do you want to learn' questions. Be
sure you understand that the desire to do that 'something' needs to be
strong and compelling, not just a temporary issue that can be quickly
resolved.
Using these three questions effectively
In most cases, unless you have a large audience of people willing to
answer the above questions, it will be up to you to ask the questions of
the markets you are considering. For example, if your general target
market is 'stay at home moms', you have to find out what these people
really want to be, what they really want to do, what their dreams are,
and what lies between them and reaching (or getting closer) to the
dreams.
If you can define all this, you can probably come up with a good niche
market topic. (I'd concentrate on getting good answers to the first two
questions . . . those are the most important.)
Notes
- All the questions use the word
'want' rather than 'need'. That's because people spend money on things
they want, and not necessarily on things they need.
- The questions are designed to help you define the audience, not the product. By defining the audience we get a better idea what the product should be.
- Learn
to throw out answers that are too generic. For example, if someone
says they want to be 'successful', that is not a real answer. The next
question should be, 'what do you want to be successful at?'
- Learn
to throw out 'politically correct' answers. If the answer is 'I want
to learn to be good with people', throw the answer out. Follow up with
the question, 'why do you want to learn to be good with people? What do
you hope to accomplish by learning this?'
- Keep a list of
your answer ideas. If you think of 40 different answers to the first
question, write all those down. Most will represent a niche market.
- Fine
tune your answers - learn to look for very specific answers. For
example, if the answer to 'what do you want to do' is 'own my own
business', the answer is not enough. You want to know what kind of
business, and probably what niche within that business category.
- The more defined the answer, the tighter the focus. And the tighter the focus, the easier it is to define the niche market.
Understanding how to use the above questions to help you
define your own desires is a major step toward finding the niche market
you should be involved with.
