Niche Market Defined
PotPieGirl on July 21st, 2008
There seems to be a good bit of confusion regarding identifying a niche market when building niche websites. Is your niche a certain keyword? Is your niche market the product you are promoting? Is your niche market the topic of niche website? The answer to all of these questions is “No”. However, all of these things depend on the niche market you are working within.
When identifying your niche market, remember this: Your niche market is not WHAT you are marketing, it is WHO you are marketing TO.
Defining a Niche Market
Now that I am back from our family vacation, let’s delve into some of the finer points of creating niche websites. In Step One of the 6 Step Niche Site System, we talk about researching keywords for your niche site. As I re-read this step, I realize that I left something very important out regarding these first crucial steps of the niche site process.
Before you decide your niche product, or you research your niche keywords, you need to know WHO your niche market IS.
Who Are You Marketing To?
The answer to this question is never a general answer such as, “I am marketing to men”, or, “I am marketing to women”. Let’s take our business thinking to the brick and mortar business world for a minute.
If you want to open a store that sells all natural cosmetic products, WHO is your niche market? Women? Yes, and No. Are you trying to sell to ALL women? All women do not wear makeup. Many women could care less if their makeup consists of ‘all natural’ ingredients or not. What kind of women do you want to walk through the doors of your store? Who would be your ‘ideal’ customer? The make up you are selling is a bit on the trendy side, it is also a bit on the pricey side. In my thought process, your ‘niche market’ would be women, roughly 25-45 years of age - that have disposable income to spend on your products.
I read a wonderful blog post some where… at some time… and right now, the location of the post is escaping me. However, in this post, the author said that your niche market can be defined as:
People who ___________________.
So, for the sake of our make believe brick and mortar store, your niche market would be….
“People who… women who… like, or need, all natural make up and can afford the prices.”
While this is a rough example, I’m hoping you get my point. My brain is still a little bit on vacation mode =)
A Niche Market Is WHO, Not WHAT
When building your niche websites, take a second to step back. Stop thinking about WHAT you are marketing and HOW you are using your keywords from your research. START thinking about WHO you are selling TO - your target audience. Think about they would want. Think about WHERE you can find this niche market…and how you can get them to your niche site.
Naturally, using keywords that your niche market would use to find your information through a search engine is a GREAT start. However, there are also forums where your niche market hangs out. You can get great exposure for your site directly to your target niche market just by participating in those forums. Please don’t spam the forums or be overly promotional, but with genuine interaction, you can see great, long-lasting results.
