Niche marketing is a marketing strategy that has been used by businesses, both online and offline, to not only enter markets but even create them. The more you know about any kind of market, the better position you will be in to make breakthroughs.

Specific knowledge about the needs of your market is of paramount importance. We have been alluding to the presence of sub-niches within any niche, and they can unlock an entire niche for you. The only way to find out about these sub-niches is by getting to know your market in as many ways as you can. Once you identify problems and come up with solutions, then people will start paying close attention to you and what you know. When you start marketing your product to a niche market, you should aim at positioning the product in a unique way where you’re fulfilling specific needs. There are so many online businesses that it becomes necessary to get noticed, and one way to do that is be willing to go the extra mile with your particular solutions to the problems of your market. If you truly provide value and offer more, then in time people will see that and you can develop a solid reputation. People will not know until you tell them, and you should tell them but be able to back up whatever you do say. If you work to provide true value to people, and you develop positive relationships, that will take you farther than you realize.

Make sure you’re speaking their language. If you know your niche audience inside and out, then you will have a significant part of the battle won. Each niche market requires solutions to their problems that are unique to them. People will only listen to you when they can identify with you in some way; that is why it’s important to “speak their language”. It’s the basic rule of succeeding with niche marketing. Customer loyalty cannot be taken for granted anymore, so you need to believe that effective communication is crucial to your success.

Your 4 niche marketing tips for today:

1) Have specific knowledge of the market needs.
2) Position your product in a unique way.
3) Go the extra mile in providing value.
4) Speak your customers’ language.

Every product needs to have a unique selling point, and yours is no different. In today’s article I discuss 3 niche creation tips that will help your product have a USP of its own.

1) If buyers are enjoying a service or product that you offer, it just proves that there might be other people out there who are looking for the same thing but need a bigger sign that you have it to offer. A perfect example of this is the web hosting industry in which providers not only offer plans for shared hosting, they outdo each other with dedicated hosting and dedicated servers for the buyers who want them.

This is a great way to super-size your existing products and serving to a different part of the market. Besides that, people are always looking for a bigger solution if a smaller one works out. If you can offer the same thing on a larger scale then you will always find customers that are willing to pay for it. In short, it lets you create a powerful niche that lets you serve to different types of audiences easily.

2) Add something new to an existing niche, product or market to build something new. Lots of already made services, products and niches need improvements. Progress is something that doesn’t stop happening and when you focus on this, you’ll be able to build lots of new things. For example: software developers who add in tools and features to existing products have made a totally new program that they can call their own. This proves that you understand what those in your target market need and want from providers and will help keep you so far ahead of your competitors that they won’t ever be able to catch up. It’s easy to put your competition to shame when you show that you can improve on your market.

3) You can combine different parts or features from different products and add them to your own product. You need to do a bit of research for this one but you can definitely can come up with something unique, maybe even a niche that hasn’t been explored before. Find out what your target audience is really looking for and do your homework to see if a particular combination can work for you. It might take a while if you’re new to the whole thing but once you start looking into it, you’ll find many different ways to combine various features and bring them up in your own product. It’s all about thinking out of the box and you can definitely do that once you put your mind to it.

This article clearly shows how building a strong niche will help you outshine your competition and help you carve out a niche for yourself.

The most important piece of advice I ever give anyone, whether they are a copywriter, consultant, writer, Internet marketer, or retail merchant, is to specialize.

Find an under-served niche that needs what you are selling and become the leading guru in that space.

When I give this reply, the other person invariably says, “I want to specialize, but I don’t know which niche to pick.”

The possibilities are endless:

>> My friend DK specializes in showing small business owners how to rank their websites #1 in Google for local search.

>> FG teaches marketing and customer service to owners of self-storage facilities.

>> GG sells video training programs teaching optometrists how to better manage their practices.

>> Another info marketer, “Mr. Excel” teaches people how to become proficient with Excel.

>> DP shows people how to deal with and care for a relative who is bipolar.

>> PF creates marketing programs for hearing aid dealers.

Fortunately, I’ve developed a simple process that can help you identify and select your niche in about 20 minutes.

To begin with, here are the 10 questions you should ask yourself when determining the niche in which you will specialize.

As you think of the answers, write them down on index cards:

>> What do I like?

>> What am I interested in?

>> What am I good at?

>> What do I have an aptitude for?

>> What is my education?

>> What do I know?

>> What is my experience?

>> What have I accomplished?

>> Which of the above areas has the least competition?

>> Which of the above areas pays high rates?

For the above categories, write down as many items under each category as you possibly can on index cards, one per card.

Once you have completed your lists, look them over, and set aside in a separate stack the cards for any items that look like possible niches.

Next, pick the five most interesting potential niches. Put these cards in order of preference.

Now look at this list of your top five items. Chances are that one or two of these subjects are things people routinely pay to learn about or need help with.

Pick one and you’ve found your niche. As Aristotle said, “Where your passions intersect with the needs of the public, therein lies your vocation.”

What if none of the five items on your list is appealing to you as a niche? Pick the next best five items from your index cards and repeat the process until you have a niche you are enthusiastic about.

Your niche can be broad or narrow. Broad niches have lots of potential customers but also lots of well-established competitors. Narrow niches have far fewer potential customers, but little or no significant competition.

As a rule, the narrower the niche, the better your business. We live in an age of specialization, and people want to hire specialists. They prefer products and services that reflect knowledge of what they perceive to be their unique situations and problems.

In information marketing, the more specialized your topic, the more you can charge for your book or report. A course on “designing distillation towers” can command 100 times the price of a book on “leadership”.

The worry in a narrow niche is not enough customers to support your business. But you really don’t need that many to make a very nice living.

The desire to have a huge mailing list is a laudable goal but not necessary for success. If you have an e-list of only 10,000 subscribers who spend an average of $100 a year, you’ll gross a million dollars annually.

Most experts advise choosing a niche that you are passionate about. I think it’s more important to choose a niche you won’t become bored with. After all, you’ll be living in it for a long time, and to me there’s almost nothing worse than sitting at your PC every day to do work that bores you.

Become a more active participant in your niche. For instance, if your niche is tropical fish-keeping, join and become active in your local aquarium hobbyist club.

People buy from people who are like them—who act the same, believe the same things, live the same lifestyle, or have the same interests.

When you are an active participant in your niche, you can talk more authentically to your market—a crowd of people passionately interested in that topic.

Listen to the problems, concerns, and interests of other active participants in your niche. Then create information products that address those areas.

Bob Bly is the author of “World’s Best Copywriting Secrets” and has written copy for more than 100 companies including IBM, Boardroom, Medical Economics and AT&T. He is the author of more than 75 books and a columnist for Target Marketing, Early To Rise and The Writer. McGraw-Hill calls him “America’s top copywriter”.

Howie Schwartz has done it again.

He just put together an 85-page report detailing 25 hot niches for 2012.

What’s more, for a few days only you can have it for absolutely no cost…

You have to act fast as 2012 is fast approaching and he is taking this OFFLINE in just a few days…

I was able to grab (right before Halloween) 15 niche markets for you to dominate as an affiliate online.

Howie Schwartz is giving away a FREE 59-page PDF report containing 15 niches you can profit from now and even the details on how to monetize them…

Here it is!

Have you found the video by the “$100 million” man fruitful? I hope you did, because it is the best free education you can possibly get on how to determine the content for a highly profitable information product.

Now, before you tackle a “green energy” niche or some other up-and-coming trendy themes, you gotta watch this video about niche identification. The Man says there are only 3 niches that matter to him. They will always make big money and will continue well into the future. If you appreciate Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs, you definitely want to watch his latest video!

You also get to download “The Niche Intelligence Report” which lists out 29 sub-niches out of the 3 main ones. This report not only teaches you the “Secret Psychology” of how to target a niche that will work online, it also GIVES YOU the niches that are working best right now.

As you can see, there’s plenty of ideas to work on now so stop hopping around for the next big thing and get down to business!

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Finding a niche market is one of the key ingredients to really making it in online selling. Did you know that beginner sellers are much more successful when they appeal to a very small market, rather than trying to appeal to everyone?

Finding a niche isn’t always easy—it takes time and persistence to find the right product to sell. To get you thinking, and to give you a few inspiring ideas, we have researched 5 product niche ideas to share with you. While some niche ideas might seem abstract to newbie sellers that is exactly what a great niche is—very precise and seemingly difficult to source.

If you are stuck for ideas on what to sell, or want to find out whether an item will compete on eBay, visit the SaleHoo Research and Analysis Lab where you can accurately predict the success (or otherwise!) of your niche item.

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Niche Item #1: Heart Rate Monitors

These are used by athletes and gym bunnies or by people who need to keep an eye on their heart rate.

Why they are an exciting niche item:

* They have a 75% success rate on eBay (75% of all monitors listed on eBay in the last 3 months sold!)
* They are lightweight and easy to ship and store
* One size fits all

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Niche Item #2: Plus Size Shoes

Many big-foots out there find it very difficult to find shoes that will fit them comfortably from regular retail stores.

Why they are a super niche item:

* While these are commonly made by popular shoe makers, stores often order only a handful of pairs in larger sizes,
which means that more and more, our big-footed friends must turn to buying online to get what they need.
* They have a high success rate on eBay (women’s size 11 sell at 61.9% and men’s size 14 at 75%)
* Both men and women alike can require plus size shoes (Hot tip: women’s size 11+ high heels could make a great little niche)

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Niche Item #3: Plus Size Maternity Wear

Another plus-size item with huge success on eBay. It’s a profitable niche because:

* Maternity and baby gear always works because people are always going to have babies, so you’ll never run out of customers!
* Clothing items are easy to ship as they light and not fragile.

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Niche Item #4: Military Insignia

Collectibles always make great niches and you can dig really deep to find the best ones. They are also perfect for people who are interested in them—you’ll find it much easier and much more rewarding when you sell something you enjoy. To really niche it up, go for US military insignia from the Vietnam War which is big on eBay.

Why military insignia makes an excellent niche:

* It rarely dates or goes out of fashion
* There are so many sub-niches to discover like Russian war medals and World War 2 helmets.

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Niche Item #5: Antique Clocks

Another great collectible item. They are a first-rate niche because:

* You’ll appeal to both collectors and home decorators
* They have an eBay success rate of over 67%
* You can often pick these up very cheaply from flea markets and yard sales, then sell them on to make a profit

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Niche items really are the way to go for newbie sellers and there are so many out there to keep you interested and best of all, make you money!

Click here to get instant access to over 8,000 of the web’s best and most trusted product suppliers.

If you’re struggling to build and maintain a successful Internet income, you are going to be pumped for what’s to come!

Tom Ambrozewicz has perfected a system to dominate any niche market out there. It’s so easy.

I know you are skeptical…and it might sound crazy. I’m sure you’ve heard this before.

But let me quickly share some of the huge discoveries I’ve made:

- Secrets to finding Red Hot products and what to promote so that you can offer to a starving crowd of people…this happens to be the best way to make some serious money online.

- The 7 best-kept secrets for turning an average niche website into a cash pumping income producing machine.

- Ninja strategies for finding and taking advantage of the most profitable affiliate programs online.

These are only a few of the huge benefits of this system…

Once you create a profitable site…just one time, you’ll see exactly what it takes to be able to scale the process over and over again.

It IS that simple.

Go and check out Micro-Niche Ninja now!

What if I told you if there was a simple way to dominate ANY niche?

And it was laid out in a simple easy to follow step-by-step blueprint?

What if i told you there were people earning over $20,000 using these exact techniques…

…and it teaches you not just WHAT to do but HOW to do it AND it even includes an easy-to-use software…

Sounds great right? Check out this FREE video for more info.

Over the years, I’ve met dozens of people who want to become speakers, consultants, coaches, TV or radio show hosts, or best-selling book authors.

9 out of 10 have told me the areas in which they want to speak, write, or coach people is “leadership”, “success”, “motivation” or some similarly broad topic.

These people are thinking big—pursuing broad areas where millions of potential readers, clients, and customers are seeking advice.

And I can virtually guarantee you that most of these wanna-be speakers, coaches, and gurus are going to fail miserably.

The problem is that they are thinking big—when they should be “thinking small”.

What do I mean by “thinking small”?

“Micro-niching.”

My colleague, speaker Wally Bock, defines a micro-niche as “the intersection of a skill or discipline with an industry”.

So “customer service” is not a niche.

“Banking” is not a niche.

But “customer service skills for bank tellers” IS a micro-niche.

Why should you narrow the focus of your business—and target a small micro-niche—rather than offer a big idea, service, or product that everyone wants?

There are 2 reasons why micro-niching is a smart business strategy.

The first is competition.

If you want to position yourself as a “customer service guru”, there’s a lot of competition.

Everybody and his brother are trying to cash in on the need for customer service training.

And the barriers to entry are low.

On the other hand, if you want to become known as the customer service guru in the banking industry, there’s a lot less competition—because it’s a narrow niche.

The second reason why micro-niching is a good strategy is credibility.

If you proclaim yourself to be an expert in customer service, I’m going to be skeptical.

And more than likely, you’ll have a difficult time proving your claim to me, your skeptical prospect.

Example: say you have worked as a bank teller for the last 11 years.

If you proclaim yourself to be an expert in customer service for the banking industry and tell me that you have over a decade of experience in retail banking…well, you’re instantly credible and believable.

Generalists are going the way of the dodo and the dinosaur. Customers want to deal with vendors who are perceived as experts in their field.

A few years ago, I opened the newspaper and saw that, in the “Dear Abby” column, a reader had written to express his disapproval of the way Abby had answered a particular question.

His letter began with the most wonderfully sarcastic line: “Dear Abby: How nice it must be to know everything about everything!”

Your customers are smart. They realize that no one can possibly know everything about everything, or even about most things.

The broader the areas of expertise you claim for yourself, the less believable you are.

By micro-niching, you become the “credible expert”.

People believe you more readily and want to do business with you because you’re a specialist in exactly the service they need.

It’s a win-win situation.

They get more accurate advice, better service, and confidence in you, their expert advisor.

You get more business, at higher fees, with clients who respect you and listen to what you tell them.

By the way, the narrower and more specialized your micro-niche, the higher the fees you will command—and the easier it will be to get leads and close sales.

For instance, offering your services as a “marketing consultant” is a tough field to break into, because so many people peddle marketing advice.

Positioning yourself as a “software marketing consultant” is a great micro-niche, except more and more people are doing it, and the field is getting crowded.

My friend Fred Gleeck positions himself as a marketing consultant for the self-storage industry.

There is little or no competition and Fred owns most of that market.

After all, how many marketing advisors are interested in self-storage, or even know anything about marketing self-storage services?

Precious few, of course.

So the demand for self-storage marketing advice greatly outweighs the supply—and Fred can pretty much name his own price.

Now, maybe micro-niching won’t bring you the fame of a Dr. Phil or a Dr. Ruth.

But other than that, what’s not to like?

So take my advice: find yourself a micro-niche today.

It will do your business good.

Bob Bly is the author of “World’s Best Copywriting Secrets” and has written copy for more than 100 companies including IBM, Boardroom, Medical Economics and AT&T. He is the author of more than 75 books and a columnist for Target Marketing, Early To Rise and The Writer. McGraw-Hill calls him “America’s top copywriter”.