“ Move fast and break things. Unless you are breaking stuff, you are not moving fast enough ” – Mark Zuckerberg
The first thing I want to make clear is that if you spend too much time on this step, you’ll never make it to step 2. Most people REALLY over-analyze picking a niche, but it doesn’t have to be very difficult.
Just like list building as a whole, simpler is better.
All you really need to do is look for people that are desperate for help. Like the saying goes, you can’t sell ice to an Eskimo, but you can certainly sell water to a man in the desert!
The point is that you want to get into a market with people who are DESPERATE for help.
For some people, they may need to make a little more money each month to cover the bills.
Others may have some marriage issues, and are facing a possible divorce if things don’t change.
Tens of millions of people are struggling with their weight, and despite trying every diet under the sun they just can’t keep the pounds off.
These are very different situations than someone who (for example) likes model trains. Not only will this market be fairly small, but these people aren’t going to be as passionate as someone facing a divorce.
To make it easy on you, there are really only three massively huge and desperate markets you should choose from. Those three are health, wealth, and relationships.
There are three main reasons why we want to get into these markets:
- They’re HUGE (millions and millions of people)
- They’re desperate (as we discussed earlier)
- There are dozens of possible solutions (meaning more products you can make and promote)
A good example is weight loss for women under 30. Your free gift can be report explaining a few fat-burning spices and herbs to help kick-start their metabolism. Then you might promote a product that gives them a complete diet program to follow. Finally, you may offer higher-priced coaching or mentorship programs for implementing exercise and stress relief into their busy lives.
But there’s just a little bit more to choosing a niche than picking something in one of these markets. To be successful, you can’t be a small fish in a big ocean. Instead, try to be the big fish in a small pond.
Niche it Down
How many generic weight loss products and programs are out there?
If I had to guess, I’d say it’s in the THOUSANDS.
Think about all of the products out there:
- Exercise programs (calisthenics, kettlebells, circuit training, etc.)
- Diets (low-carb, low-calorie, based on your blood type, etc.)
- Fat burning pills
And that’s not even counting the combinations, where a product uses both exercise and nutrition to help the person lose weight.
Because there is so much noise out there, you need to do something that makes you stand out in the marketplace. The best way to do that- especially when you’re first starting out, is to specialize in a certain area.
One of my favorite markets says to “niche it down” three times. So it’d look like this:
- Weight loss
- Weight loss for men
- Weight loss for men with kettlebells
- Weight loss for men over 40 with kettlebells
Do you see how that worked? So instead of just trying to reach everyone who wants to lose weight, you’re trying to just help the men over 40 who want to burn fat by implementing kettlebell workouts.
If you’re a guy over 40 who loves the idea of kettlebells, this will be PERFECT for you!
That is how you pick a niche. You want the audience to feel like the product or service you’re promoting is 100%, without a doubt, designed to help them with their problems. Only then will you be able to establish yourself as an expert and build a trusting, loyal audience.
Granted- you can’t take this to the extreme. Don’t expect to have a big market if you’re trying to reach men between 40 and 42 who want to lose weight with kettlebells and live in Nowheresville, Michigan. You want to be specific, but don’t get so specific that nobody fits the bill!
So to sum it up:
- Pick a major market (health, wealth or relationships)
- “Niche it down” three times
- Confirm that there is a sizable market (a.k.a. you’re not too specific)
Once you’ve picked a niche, it’s time to get all of the tools you’ll need for building a list.
