steps to start a small business (Chapter-4)
Chapter 4 – Choosing Your Niche
As you start your journey into your online niche business, you want to start by jotting down your ideas for a niche that you would like to work in and the reasons behind your interest. There are many reasons that you could have for wanting to work in a particular niche. Many people decide on their niche because it’s a hot and trending market. While that is okay if you’re going to jump into new and emerging markets, you have to be prepared to be nimble and put in the hard work to stay ahead of the curve.
However, some trends can be quick moving, while others aren’t that exciting or interesting, or even sustainable. Prestigious events like the presidential election or Olympics can generate a ton of buzz and demand for memorabilia, but the excitement will quickly dissipate as soon as the event is over. These kinds of niche markets will only allow you to be in business for a short period before you have to find another niche that will be profitable.
Choosing an Evergreen Niche
Niches that don’t quickly dissipate are known as evergreen niches. While these niches might not draw the same excitement as the latest gadget or event, they are much more sustainable and can keep your business running for years. Being evergreen means that the products and services that you are selling should be able to keep you earning a profit year after year. Along with finding a niche that is evergreen, you should try to find a niche that is interesting enough to make it fun and enjoyable for you to work with it every day.
Choosing a Niche Based on Your Interests
Choosing a niche is easy for many because they base their business on their own personal interests and expertise. Being an expert in what people are looking for in that niche can be a good thing. Having knowledge and expertise in the niche that you choose will also provide you with a good idea as to whether or not it will be profitable. In other words, if you, yourself buy products in the niche, chances are there are other people out there that will buy them as well.
However, it is essential that you keep in mind that people won’t always behave in the manner that you expect. While you may think that your idea is a terrific one, without doing the proper research into the niche, it could bomb, leaving you with the realization that there is no paying market for it at all.
A common mistake that is made by new niche marketers is creating a product, website, and more for a niche that is worth little to nothing because it isn’t a paying market or because you’re targeting the wrong audience. You need to listen to what people are saying and figure out what problems and challenges they have, then offer a solution to those challenges. By conducting thorough research and getting to know your potential clients better, you can determine what actions they are willing to take to achieve their own goals. Taking the time to do an in-depth analysis before you start working on your product will save you months of hard work for zero profit.
Selling as an Affiliate
The easiest way to make money when you first start your business is marketing as an affiliate. Becoming an affiliate of top companies like Amazon provides you with access to millions of products that you already know are in demand. Depending on the reward system you choose and the products that you are selling in specific niches, you can start earning commissions as high as 15 percent. Many of the top companies, like Amazon and eBay, have their own affiliate programs that are administered in-house. Other companies run their affiliate programs through a marketplace that operates the program for them.
While the most lucrative way to make a profit in your niche is to create your own products and services to sell, there are several reasons why you might want to think about starting out with affiliate marketing. First and foremost, affiliate marketing is a way that you can become profitable soon after you start an online business. Plus, it takes less time and energy to get started. The products that you can sell through an affiliate program are a good indicator that the niche is a paying one.
Affiliate marketplaces can also be a valuable place to conduct your research. They allow you to see precisely what people are buying, as well as how much they are willing to pay for the products and services. This can give you a good idea of how your own products and services will fit into the paying marketplace. Starting out as an affiliate marketer can help you avoid some of the common mistakes made in niche marketing, like setting a price point that is too high or too low or creating products that no one wants.
Doing research will also help you identify gaps in your product and service offerings so that when you are ready to develop your own products or services, your final decision will be based on the research that you conducted as an affiliate marketer.
Another great reason to start off as an affiliate marketer is that you can learn a great deal about marketing, which can come in handy when you start to sell your own products and services. The affiliate marketing programs are usually run by a manager who is an expert in coming up with exciting offers, ideas, and graphics for their offers. Often, they will provide affiliate marketers with useful tips and hints that can help them later down the road when they are selling their own products.
Finally, the more streams of income that you can get for your business, the more profit you can make. Your commission checks may not be much to start with each month, but increasing your income will be up to you and how many products you can promote.
