Getting started
Starting a business is a very brave step for many. It is both very exciting and scary because on the one hand you have finally decided to follow your dream but on the other hand, it is a new thing and there is fear of the unknown.
Many people have dreams or passions and it is these strong desire that stir many towards starting a business. Before you can start however, you need to figure out which of your dreams can be converted into a marketable niche.
What’s a niche?
A niche is a section of the market that is specific and unique. For example, a niche can be about exotic teas or American sport cars or beaches in the Bahamas. A niche can target a product or it could be about providing a service or both.
Whatever your niche is, it needs to be specific enough to aim at a target population. So, it is important to list your passion and then figure out how you can find a market niche for them.
Are you passionate about traveling the world? Ok that’s great but this is a field not a niche because it is very broad. Now ask yourself, what about traveling do I really like? Is it the hotels I stay in, the sites I visit, the different cultures I experience? Questions like this can help you narrow your passion into a niche.
You could decide after careful consideration that you love to travel because of the different cultures you encounter. This is a step closer to fine tuning your niche. The are thousands of different cultures around the world. This means you can narrow this even further.
You could after even more thinking realize that you are actually interested in middle eastern cultures. You want to learn and try to understand it and will want some of the world to understand it with you. Now you’ve arrived at your niche.
Registering a domain name
The next step is to find a name for your niche, one that is available and able to confer the reason behind your site accurately. By name that is available, I mean a domain name. It is great when your site name matches with your domain name. A domain name is a name like middleeasterncultures.com or .org,.net and so forth.
It is very important to choose a domain name that is easy to remember and is not too long. It is also important to do a keyword research to get an idea of what your target population is looking for and what your competition is.
Basics of Keyword research
Keyword research is a whole other topic we will target in another post. For now, it is basically the process of typing a sentence in the search box of a keyword analysis tool and hitting enter. Like when you do a domain search, with keyword research you get results that gives you an idea of how the market is; this includes information about search rate, the competition and more. All this information help you decide which phrases are better for business.
Registering a domain name continued
Many times you come up with a perfect domain name only to find out that it is not available for purchase. In order to own a domain name, you need to register it with a certified registrar. Once at the registrar site, you type in the name you came up with and hit search to see if it is available. You do this process over and over till you can find a suitable domain name for your niche that has not been taken.
There are many registrars you can pick from but the most prominent are Go daddy, Name cheap and Wealthy Affiliate. It can cost as little as a dollar and up to $13 to register a domain name but that is just the start.
Once you have a domain name, you can move to building a site. To build a site, you need a site building platform and the most popular is WordPress. With WordPress, it is very easy especially when you use the help of Wealthy Affiliate.
Wealthy Affiliate
You must be wondering by now what this Wealthy Affiliate I keep mentioning is. Let me elaborate; Wealthy Affiliate is like an online University that help many people who are looking to start a business. They have detailed step by step instructions on how to do it. The most amazing thing about them is they let you join for free and will not pressure you about upgrading until you are ready. With them, you can purchase your domain, build your site and start a business all in one place.
Back to our topic; once you have your site set up, you can start your research about middle eastern cultures and present them to your target population in the form of post, pictures or videos.
Good on your endeavors, don’t hesitate to ask questions in the comments section if you have any. I hope this post was helpful.
Cheers Denise.
Great information on niche finding! When I was first getting into blogging, this was the hardest step for me. It seemed like everything I thought of was either too broad, or I couldn’t think of enough articles to write about for it. Do you plan on creating many niche websites, or just sticking to one?
Hi Rob,
Currently I have two niche sites and I will stick to these two for now until I feel comfortable enough to start another one. I am passionate about many things and it will take more than two sites to fulfill my dreams.
Hi Denise,
In much greater depth compared to other articles that I have read about “what is a niche” you really did a tremendous job explaining exactly what this term would mean to a person looking to get into online marketing.
Using very easy-to-understand examples, you narrowed it down so well Denise starting out with something that is quite broad, (you mentioned vacations) and step-by-step finally arrived at what a niche would be by definition. Vacation travel down to the study of Middle Eastern culture, that being a niche.
It is true that for any person they must have a passion as well as educational knowledge of a specific niche. In that way only then could the person provide a level of service/guidance/advice to a visitor at his/her website.
I agree as you also discussed the need for finding and registering a domain once a person is ready to start his/her marketing business that through Wealthy Affiliate they provide the tools, (domain registration, website tools, hosting) as well as the educational training and community support that would allow a person to slowly build a lucrative online business for him/herself.
That was an extremely informative article, Denise!
Jeff
Hi Jeff,
Thanks for the encouraging words. I use to struggle with the term niche just like many people today. I am happy to be able to explain to others.
Hi there. Thanks for this post! I always wanted to start a blog and make money online but I have no idea where to start. It does seem finding the right niche is essential and I didn’t know there are so much to know before diving in and start blogging. I am interested in photography and I know this niche is popular and very common. After reading this, I think I gotta really narrow it down to target specific audience! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Alex,
You’re are very welcome. Finding the right niche is the key to a successful business.
Very helpful article Denise on finding a market niche. When I was trying to find niches to go into I knew I had to find something that I had at least a little bit of interest in, but for me finding something that worked was a little more difficult than I thought it would be. Regardless, I have more or less learned all the things you talk about in this article in Wealthy Affiliate — yes, I’m a member there. It’s a great opportunity!
Hi Paul,
Wealthy affiliate is truely a great place to go when you are learning how to start a business or already have one. I have gone through so many of their lessons on how to find a niche too and everyday I learn. It is really a great opportunity
This is what I always say to people when they mention that they have a desire to go into business for themselves but don’t know what type of business they should get into. My motto is if you have a passion for something, you will be great at that something, whatever it may be. When you love doing something it never really feels like work and 9 out of 10 times you will be successful at it.
Very true Reneea, as long as you stick to it, you will succeed 9 out of 10 times. Passion is very important because it will keep you from giving up especially during the times when things look very bleak.
Hello,
I’m also a blogger. It was a tough decision to start my own business, but now I’m really happy about it. In the beginning, I actually was really confused and lost, but now it’s alright. I’ve also noticed that it’s really difficult to find suitable domain name these days. Almost all short and memorable names are unavailable…
Julius
Very true Julius, It is very difficult to find a short and nice domain name these days. My confidence in my business has also grown with time and it has taken a lot of work to get where I am now. I have gained a lot of focus and have learned to be patient in it all.
In my opinion, a market niche should have an upward trend if you want to make profit for the long term. By combining Google Trend and keyword research, one should be able to narrow down on a good niche.
Another place that I would look into is Amazon. If you look at the best sellers, you can more or less tell what kind of product is trending and what is not.
Great ideas Cathy,
I’ve been hearing a lot lately about the amazing value of the Amazon bestseller list for niche selection. Very true, a niche with an upward trend will almost always guarantee that you make profit for a long time.
Hi Denise,
Can’t agree more with you about choosing a niche more. Being passionate about something is great, but it’s equally important to be able to narrow down your passion. It is very easy to make a mistake of allowing your passion to blind you and end up trying to do a lot of things that aren’t really necessary.
Hi Dmitriy ,
Taking control of your life is a big step for many and the excitement can make people take the wrong path when it comes to finding a market niche. With some patience and plenty of research, one can end up finding a very rewarding niche.
And like you said, this will help them avoid doing things that aren’t really necessary.
Hey Denise,
Really helpful information when it comes to deciding a niche to embark on your affiliate marketing journey. Through this article i think you have made it really simple and basic to understand. From keyword research to even registering a domain name. Very helpful for new affiliate marketers out there.
Keep up the helpful content, all the best 🙂
Vinnie
Hi Vinnie,
Very true that new affiliate marketers need all the help they can get. Some of the information I have provided in this post, I learned after making a few marketing mistakes. I have learn a lot from my mistakes and think than believe in helping fellow budding entrepreneurs. Finding a good market niche is a very great step towards financial independence for any aspiring business person.