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How To To Locate Locate & Domina Dominate te a Profitable Profi table Niche Niche A Step-By-Step System For Niche Selection
Jason Fladlien
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Introduction I am writing this report for one simple reason: almost daily one of my loyal customers comes to me and ask me how to locate a niche. This is a huge struggling point for most marketers, beginners and masters alike. In my own business I have developed several strategies for identifying and attacking profitable niches. Until now, I have only shared those with my higher end coaching clients. It's time to come clean. This report is of supreme value in the sense that it is the first step to your success in online business. If you do everything else right in internet marketing but screw this up, you'll have little to know money to show for your efforts. That's why it's important you master the skill of how to locate and dominate profitable niches. I am going to show you how to do that in the pages that follow.
The Best Kind of Niche !or most people, the best niche to get into is an information niche. I will cover the e"ceptions later, but for now let's discuss why information niches are #usually$ the easiest to make money from. !irst of all, information is easy to create. %ometimes it's even free to create. This report, for e"ample, costs me pretty much nothing but my time to write up. &o hard costs at all. n the other hand, it's hard to (uantify the value of information. If I showed you one thing that doubled the happiness you e"perienced in your life, what would that be worth to you) %o if you're a good marketer you can enhance the perceived value of your information through the roof. *hat's this means) It means information products are the cheapest to create and are the easiest to sell at premium prices. This means they have the largest profit margins that e"ist #usually between +-1/$. &ice. That's why I almost always urge someone to get into an information niche if they're starting out in marketing. &ow that you understand the benefits of information niches, let's delve a little deeper...
The Two Most Profitable Types of Information Niches There are only two information niches worth marketing to and they are: 1. 0esperation2 &iches . 03obby2 &iches
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ut of the two, desperation niches are by far the easiest to make money in. ere!s my definition of a "#esperation$ Niche% 5 large number of
people who share some commonality that causes them to lay awake at night staring at the ceiling in fear wanting to know how to solve 6.... 7"ample: 8our shy to the point that people don't even know you e"ist. 8ou don't get dates. 8ou're underpaid because you're afraid to ask for a raise. 9eople walk all over you and take advantage of you. 5nd if you keep it up, it looks like you'll die a sad, lonely, miserable person. %o you lie awake at night staring at the ceiling in fear wanting to know how to overcome your shyness so you can live the life you deserve. 8ou're so desperate you're willing to pay for information that will show you how to solve your problem. esperate people do desperate things. They don't make the most rational decisions when they are in a mood of desperation. Thus, it's easy to sell stuff to them, because they tend to make impulsive decisions. That's why informational desperation niches are the most profitable to be in The second most profitable niche is a hobby niche. ere!s my definition of a "obby$ Niche% 5 large number of people
who share commonalities that cause them to spend 0dumb money2 on stuff they don't really need but that somehow brings them fulfillment they can't get anywhere else. 7"ample: 8ou only make ;4, a year. 8ou drive a 1++ 9ontiac station wagon that you couldn't sell for a ;1. That's the vehicle you used to drive down to your local 0billiards < spa2 store to pick up that special ordered cue stick that costs ;,. The stick is worth more than the car *hen you get home, you're going to put in your special 0=innesota !ats2 cue stick case, and later you might break it out to play a rack on your ;>, custom pool table made out of stainless steel. !or some reason, pool gives your life a purpose. 5nd any e"tra disposable income you have is pretty much poured into that. ?
To give you an idea of hobby niches, here are some of the hobbies my ad has gotten into over the past few years. Ma&ic' (u&&lin&' )omedy' )omic boo* creation' Blo&&in&' +ritin& a Boo*' ,tc'
These are @ust what I came up with off the top of my head that I know he has spent at least a hundred dollars in. 5piece. Everybody has a hobby that they spend 0dumb money2 in. umb money
is e"tra money that should probably be invested or at least put into something that will have a decent return on it but is instead used to purchase stuff that immediately loses half to all its value and has no 0practical2 use. Aolf probably has the greatest amount of people with 0dumb money2 in it. The reason why hobby niches are so profitable is that again, logic is suspended in terms of emotional and impulsive decisions. 5lso you can play on their sense of intangible fulfillment to increase the perception of value of your offers. %o of the two, which is better) *ell, there is no 0better2. esperation niches are easier to sell stuff in, but the customers are generally harder to deal with. It can get depressing being in a desperation niche because +B/ of your customers are in a state of turmoil. It can make you cynical if you let it. %o there is a trade off. 3obby niches are less profitable as a whole, but you get a customer who is usually 0in a state of constant e"citement2. These are fun customers to be around. %o what you miss out in profits, you make up for with positivity #generally speaking of course$C If you had absolutely Dero leverage-able resoures, I'd recommend you start in a desperation niche, and once you build a sustainable, passive business then you can move into hobby niches.
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Eut there are other factors to consider, which we will discuss later on in this report. !irst, I want to give you some further criterion for locating the precise desperation or hobby niche that is most likely to give you profitable results.
)riteria for ,nterin& a #esperation Niche Fule 1: 9eople in the niche must be dying for a solution to relieve the of a certain tremendous pain they are e"periencing #either mentally, phsyically or a combination of both$ Fule : The average person in this niche must have an 0 appetite for consumption2 Fule 4: There must be an 0online hang out2 spot where a large number of 0desperation people with an appetite for consumption2 go to congregate with each other. *e've already discussed rule number 1. Get's look at rule two.
Appetite For )onsumption !ew marketers can create business models that allow them to make money on the first sale. If they do, it's usually only by luck or some temporary circumstance that allows them to make money from 0one-off2 customers. =ost of the real money is made in the second, third and subse(uent sales. It's simple: it takes you 6 amount of dollars to find that buyer. Eut once you have found them, then it costs little to nothing to contact them again with another complimentary offer to that first offer. 5lso, the more you stay in contact with someone, the more you can build a relationship. Then you can leverage this to get people to buy stuff from you, @ust because you're the person offering it. 8ou can't do this on the first sale.
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These are @ust some of the reasons why you want to target niches where prospects in that niche have an 0appetite for consumption2. This means that the average person in that niche doesn't @ust buy one measly piece of information. They buy the ebook, the audio program, the Hideo course, the coaching, the software, the tools... and they do this for several different complimentary offers that accent the first thing they bought as well. These are the niches you want to be in. %o how can you determine if a niche satisfies rule number ) It's simple: look at the vendors. 5re there a lot of vendors selling a lot of different stuff in this niche, and doing so at a profit) If so, then the niche passes. If the only thing being sold in that niche is one or two kinds of product, then I'd be skeptical of that niche. The only reason I'd still enter a niche like that is If I could somehow easily engineer a situation to make a profit from the initial sale and I already had e"pertise or e"isting resources I could leverage in that niche. Eut for the most part, I don't want to enter a niche unless it has an e"tensive product line of different goods and services to offer, and a lot of people in that niche who purchase several different types of those goods and services.
There Must Be An nline "an&-ut$ Spot The final rule is that there must be a way that's easy for us to reach a large number of people in that niche. Instead of trying to go out and locate each person in that niche, we want to find where a ma@ority of them are already at, and then @ust go there and hang out our shingle. Ao to where they are #in masses$... don't make them come to you. %o if I do an online search for that niche and I can't find any active forums or message boards, I start to get nervous. This means that there isn't a strong online presence in this niche. 5nd if I2m going to market to them online, that's not a good sign
Ideally, besides a really active forum, it's good to be able to locate a really active blog in that niche with a lot of comments being made on it. This shows you that the forum itself is not enough. They need more They go to forums and blogs. 5nd they are responsive. %o if a niche doesn't have an active forum andor an active blogging community, I usually skip it. I'm looking to travel the path of least resistance.
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)riteria for a obby Niche Fule 1: 8our 9rospects =ust 3ave 0umb =oney2 Fule : They =ust 3ave an 05ppetite !or Konsumption2 Fule 4: The &iche =ust 3ave an nline 03ang ut2 %pot kay, so rule two and three are the same for hobby niches and for desperation niches. The only difference is rule number 1. *e've discussed this briefly, but let's take a closer look.
#umb Money ,.plained Further I have a year old brother. *henever he gets money, he immediately goes out and spends it on a video game. 3e can't even save it up to buy the video game system he wants the most #a *ii$. 3e @ust can't resist taking all of his available income and disposing of it right away. To him it's 0dumb money2. It has no other purpose but to go toward his hobby, which is video games. =ost people act like my year old brother when they get caught up in a hobby. The only difference is he doesn't have bills to pay. 9eople who have bills to pay take whatever money they have left over, and instead of saving it, go out and blow it on their hobbyhobbies. To them, it's @ust 0dumb money2 that has no other purpose but to be disposed of immediately. *hen I was 1>, I wanted to be a really good chess player. I was obsessed. %o for my 1 th birthday, I had everybody buy me chess books. That's all I got. 3a I don't think I even read half of them. I still have them on my bookshelf though J years later Think about your hobbies. &ow ask yourself... do you consume information to help you get more en@oyment out of this hobby) o you consume it in many different forms) +
If you answered yes to both these (uestions, you've identified a perfect hobby market to e"amine. Then it's @ust a matter of answering the final (uestion: do you hang out with other hobbyists online in a forum or visit an active blog) 5nd if not, could you if you wanted to) If you answered yes, then you have absolutely uncovered a hot niche. The key here though is information. There are some niches where only physical goods can be sold. %o we want to avoid those. 5nd there are some niches where only magazines or books can be sold. Eut that doesn't pass rule two then, because people in that niche don't have an appetite to consume several mediums of information.
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Niches That +ill Always Be Profitable *ithin both the hobby and desperation sectors, there are certain niches that will always be profitable to a savvy marketer. I call these 0evergreen niches2 because as long as you know what you're doing marketing wise, you'll make money in these niches. The problem is that these niches are not much of a secret. %o there is going to be competition. Eut competition is good when you're starting out because it demonstrates that the niche is profitable. therwise, no one would be spending time, money and resources to target that niche. Get me share @ust some of the 0evergreen2 niches with you.
,/er&reen #esperation Niches 1. *eight Goss . =ake =oney 4. ebt Felief ?. Aain =uscle%trength B. 9ick Up *omen >. 5strology . 9arenting J. Eeating 9eople Up%elf efense
,/er&reen obby Niches 1. Gearning a 9opular Instrument . 9laying To 9lay a %port Eetter 4. Kooking ?. Auns 11
B. Hideo Aames >. KarsHehicles . utdoors J. 3ome Improvement +. 9ets5nimals 1. Technology
&otice how all of these niches satisfy the criterion laid out in the pages above) Taking a look at these niches should really bring everything together for you for what a profitable niche looks like. &ow that you know how to identify a profitable niche, let's discuss how you choose the one that's best for you.
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)hoosin& 0our Niche *henever I do coaching with people @ust starting out in internet marketing, I always ask start with this: #o you ha/e any e.pertise that you can le/era&e1
The idea here is that when you're new to internet marketing, or you still haven't made any money with it, it means you haven't yet created a marketing system. That's hard enough. It's even harder when you also need to create e"pert status and start from ground Dero in your niche, too.
2e/era&e 0our ,.pertise %o let's talk about e"pertise. Get me share a little bit of my own. If I had to start over again, there are three niches I could enter immediately and start marketing in. !irst, chess. I know how to contact several grandmasters, could interview them and have an instant product created. Then I could @ust focus on the marketing. %econd, music. *hen I was a musician, I figured out a way to get high paying college gigs. I could write that report off the top of my head with no research, and I know there's a demand for it. Instant product. Then I could @ust focus on the marketing. Third, cooking. I know several natural, vegetarian health dishes that you can prepare el cheapo and in under 4 minutes. Instant product. Then I could @ust focus on the marketing. These are just some of the things I have e"pertise in. I'm a recovering panic attack sufferer. !rom 1 to 1 I had bad panic attacks. Then I cured them. !or ? years, I stayed panic attack free. Then I (uit following my own schedule, and they returned. I have now defeated them once again. %o I could create an instant product on that. Then I could @ust focus on the marketing.
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5lso, right before I turned 1, I weighed > pounds. ver the ne"t year and a half I lost + pounds and at my skinniest, and L years later I weighed 1B4 pounds. I could create a product on that. Then I could @ust focus on the marketing. =usic production. &ot only did I know how to be a performer, but I also knew how to mi", produce and even master music. This is a whole different niche. I know ways to create hi-fi radio (uality mi"es on a budget of less than ;1 with little to know learning curve involved. I even had a write up in Fecording =agaDine about one of my mi"es. I could turn that knowledge into a product. Then I could @ust focus on the marketing. That's not including all of the marketing skills that I have turned into products, services, coaching programs, etc. on't think I'm some sort of wunderkind. 5lmost everybody has some sort of e"pertise that they could leverage to instantly enter a profitable information niche. ne of my coaching clients has e"tensive e"perience in the carpet cleaning business and also with search engine optimiDation. I told him to use this information to generate leads online and sell them to local carpet cleaners. Then, once he got a system up and running to turn around and package it and sell the opportunity to biD op seekers. Then, if that worked really good, he could even sell a package to carpet cleaners direct 5nd so on. If you look hard enough, you'll find that you have a hidden area of e"pertise that you can leverage to enter an information niche almost overnight.
2e/era&in& 0our 3esources 7ven if you don't have e"pertise, chances are you have resources. Get me give you an e"ample. 5 lady I know used to work for a very successful corporation that sold high ticket software platforms to fortune B companies. %he now wants to get into internet marketing.
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I asked her: 0where you friends with any of the sales people)2 %he was. I asked her: 0where you friends with the really good sales people)2 %he was. I asked her: 0could you contact them and ask them if you could interview them for a product you're putting together)2 she could. 5nd when she is finished she'll have something perfect to market to anybody who is looking to increase their powers of persuasion #like sales people, marketers, public speakers, etc., etc. -- pick your niche$. Khances are if you don't have any e"pertise you can identify, then there is someone you know who does. Then it's @ust a matter of dovetailing that e"pertise into a profitable information niche. Fesources are not @ust people. %ometimes it's places. r things. o you have access to a certain location M online or offline M that other people wish they could access, because the information at that location could benefit them in some way) o you know where to go to find the best service, deals, satisfaction, etc. related to a certain niche) That's a resource If you can leverage both your areas of e"pertise and your resources you can hit the ground running in whatever niche you decide would be easiest to apply those levers to. nce you've had a list of all your potential e"pertise levers and resource levers, then it's time to complete the final step.
)reate a )ate&ory to Be First In id you know I'm the world leader in servicing internet marketers looking for low cost time management systems related to their online business) 8ep, I'm the leader all right. I'm also the only one in the category!
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Time management is an evergreen desperation subniche. 9eople are staring at the ceilings wide awake in fear wondering how they are going to get the time in their life to do NNNNNNN #insert unfulfilled dream here$. Eut how does one enter that niche) 8ou're up against some competition. %o what you do is break off a small, manageable portion of that niche, and that's where you enter. Think of the broad niche of time management as an ocean, and the narrow niche of 0low ticket time management systems of internet marketers2 as a puddle. 8ou can't @ump up and down in the ocean and make waves. 8ou're not big enough. Eut anybody can @ump up in down in a puddle and have an impact. The good news is that there are a lot of puddles out there! %o start with a broad niche to apply your e"pertise and resources in. Then, if it doesn't look like you can gain any presence in that niche because it's too crowded or too competitive, look for smaller segments of that niche that you can e"ploit. Get's look again at our J e"amples of 0evergreen desperation niches2 1. *eight Goss . =ake =oney 4. ebt Felief ?. Aain =uscle%trength B. 9ick Up *omen >. 5strology . 9arenting J. Eeating 9eople Up%elf efense *hat are some 0puddles2 we can @ump up in down with in the weight loss niche) Get's say you were an 5sian women over BB who discovered some 1>
simple diet and e"ercise routines that allowed you to lose 4B pounds in 4 months. *ell, here's your puddle: 0weight loss for middle age 5sian women2. That's a good start 3ere's an ad@acent puddle to also go for: 0weigh loss for women over BB2. Get's say the way you lost weight was in direct contradiction to the atkin's diet. &ow your puddle could be: 0weight loss for women who hate the atkin's diet2. 7tc. 7tc. The downside about going narrow is that you won't get million dollar results. The upside is you can get some results. In the broad niches, it's either all or nothing. *hen you go for puddles, you make money and you get momentum. %o if a narrow niche works, you can either go horiDontal or vertical. The information is not much different from weight loss for middle aged 5sian women or for women over BB who use your method. The only difference is the target. %o if it works in one puddle, it is easy to work it in another. That's how you leverage your time and assets. 5lso, if it works on a small scale, you now have proof, a track record and some recognition. That makes you more competitive. 8ou can use that to break off a larger chunk of the niche. =ake money is second on our list. %ections of that niche include: make money gambling, make money in investment markets, and through business opportunities. %ub niches of gambling are horse race betting, black @ack and poker. %ub niches of financial trading are day traders, fore" traders and rare coins or hard money. %ub niches of business opportunities are making money on the internet, make money buying a franchise or make money stuffing envelopes. 7ven sub niches have sub niches. 8ou can make money trading stocks. r you can make money day trading. %elling short. Kalls. ptions. 9uts. 7tc. 5nd so on with all of the J listed above.
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*hatever the case my be, if you start broad, go up at least two levels. In really competitive markets, consider three level or even four. !or e"ample. in the make money niche, you might go make money online #level 1$ with free advertising #level $ in days or less #level 4$. If you wanted to make money teaching guys how to pick up women, you might want to show them how to do this by making women chase them instead of them approaching women #1 level$ without using mind games or manipulation #level $ all for under ;B #level 4$. %ee) 3obby niches are the same way. %ay you knew a way to teach someone how to play drums that was really killer. Gearn to play drums is the level 1. Gevel may be without boring rhythm e"ercises. Gevel 4 may be in 1B days or less to become a 0competent drummer2. Onow a method for training dogs) Training dogs is level 1. Gevel would be training dogs to obey commands. Gevel 4 would be commands that an average dog could learn in 1 day. 5nd so on.
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Turnin& Niche Mar*etin& Into a System *hat I have given you above is a lot of general #albeit straight to the point$ advice to prepare you for the ne"t step. I like to think of myself more or a 0systems2 man than an advice giver. %o now I'm going to give you my system for niche marketing and selecting a profitable niche. 3ere's how it works.
Niche Selection System Step 4: Take out a list and right down every single bit of e"pertise you
possess, regardless of whether or not you think you could leverage it when entering either a 0desperation information niche2 or a 0hobby information niche2. Step 5% =ake another list of all the resources, people, places and things
you have that you think you might be able to leverage to help you enter a niche. Step 6: Gook at the list of 1J 0evergreen information niches2 I have
given in this report, and see what areas of e"pertise and resources you possess that could help you enter any one of those niches. %et a timer and give yourself five minutes to choose. Step 7: 9ick your niche. &ow take it up either or 4 levels so you can
start in a 0puddle niche2 instead of in an 0ocean niche2. Step 8: %pend 4 weeks testing the responsiveness of that niche. Use
whatever traffic and monetiDation strategies you know of to see what kind of results you get in that niche. If the niche shows promise keep at it. If it doesn't, throw it away and use the niche selection system to pick another niche. Fegardless of whether it works or not, you still benefit because you gain 0insight through e"perience2. This is the best way to become an e"pert at niche marketing and internet marketing in general. 1+
nce you find a hot niche, then you can either use my system for creating an information products in under ?J hours #?Jhourreport.com$ to sell to that niche or you can use my affiliate system called internet millionaire recipe #internetmillionairerecipe.com$ to monetiDe that niche to the furthest degree.
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