How to Research Internet Marketing Niches

Research a Niche Blueprint: How to Research Internet Marketing Niches

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How to Research Internet Marketing NichesUpdate:  This post was over 4,000 words….about the site of a small report.

So I’ve decided to make this information easier to access.

The entire post has been compiled into a simple-to-follow PDF; plus I’ve added a bunch of extra content.

In total, this file is over 8,000 words of content that can help you research that perfect Internet marketing niche.

You can download it here –> THE Affiliate Research Formula

Enjoy!

Take Action. Get Results.



64 thoughts on “Research a Niche Blueprint: How to Research Internet Marketing Niches”

  1. Great tips Steve. Especially using Squidoo to help find a niche. There are so many out there, and even with competition there is usually a way to leverage yourself and with time you can rank well and do very well for yourself.

  2. You always bring it Steve 🙂

    Thanks for sharing the in-depth review.

    Good advice from Gary V about brainstorming 50 plus article ideas before entering a niche. The practice sets up a framework to develop your campaign around. Dwelling on these ideas fuels blog posts, ebooks, social networking optimization and your ad copy. It also clarifies your vision. It’s easier to figure out where you’re headed with a detailed plan in mind.

    Have a powerful day!

    RB

    • Yeah having 50 is a good start, and as you say a framework. That number should be expandable over time, but if you cannot think of 50 in a couple hours of brainstorming/mindmapping, chances are you either do not know the topic well enough or there is not enough to talk about.

      Some very narrow topics have a lot to talk about.

      Have a great week Ryan!

  3. I can’t tell you how I research niche markets Steve, because I haven’t started yet. I bought Market Samurai last year for niche research and have spent a year procrastinating. 😮

    I was a bit disappointed, but not too surprised that you have rejected running as a profitable niche. I was hoping to write something on marathon training, but I did wonder about the potential demand.

    I’m reading through your 41 hot niches, and hope that this will give me an idea and the motivation to get started.

    John

    • MS is a bit expensive to let just sit there. An additional piece of info that could be helpful is market samurai itself.

      Go to “DOJO” on the MS website and watch some of the videos there. They are wonderful. They give a mixture of really good niche research ideas mixed with practical applications of how to use MS to help. It is useful even if you decide not to use MS, just for the clarity it brings to market research.

      I could of course be wrong about running, you should ultimately make your own decision, but My thinking is that in over 20 years of distance running I have maybe bought 1 product on, “how to run” and I have at times been quite competitive as a runner too placing in some fairly big races. (I could never seem to get first… always the bridesmaid)

      My example with golfers is that many I know have bough hundreds of books on how to cure slicing, chipping, increase drive distance, etc. AND most golfers have disposable income. I just don’t see that with running. Like anyone, I could of course be wrong, but I do believe my reasoning is sound.

      Hopefully one of these resources or my 41 niche book will give you some killer ideas. 🙂

  4. I like the idea of a narrow niche, it does really give a newbie a chance at growing a niche faster than competing in an already saturated niche. I use google key word tool a lot, and I would say it’s very effective indeed.

    Thanks for the in depth post.

    • Basically the narrower the better, as long as there is SOME traffic. You may not get “rich” off of a very narrow niche, but like you said you can learn the process and it is easier to get your target to rank #1 and keep it there. Even with a small income stream, you get enough of those rivulets of income and they become a stream.

  5. Hi Steve,

    What an excellent post! And timely too as the mini inteview with you Lynn, and Murray went up today at my site (thanks again, by the way).

    This is a simple, clear process, which I appreciate. It is similar to what I have been using for the past four months or so to determine where to spend my time.

    I actually have a post scheduled for Wednesday regarding the choices that I have made for my blog since coming back to blogging last week.

    For niche ideas, I tend to do very much of what you said except that I move the order of things around a bit as you may be able to find things from one angle, but not the other. That is, sometimes starting out very narrow can help you to find a niche that is related, but would not have actually been included in the broad starting point.

    I also use bookmarking sites to see if there is anything that I have not considered. Basically, just looking around and not using a process sometimes allows me to find things that I might not have seen otherwise. It is more time consuming, however.

    Have a great day!

    • Thanks for the great interview Mark!

      Mark Did a wonderful interview with Murray, Lynn and me. anyone interested should head on over to the link (fortuitously linked above) check it out and RT.

      Thanks Mark!

      Knowledge is power. using bookmarkeing sites or any method that allows you to keep on top of trending and new topics within you niche will provide powerful returns that cannot be overrated.

      Thanks for the comment Mark and thanks (once again) for including me in your interview

  6. Hi Steve:

    Wow what a post you have today! How to search, It is a very long topic as you are supposed to do so many searches for selecting the niche, that typical method is too long, but it really gives you the insight to select your product. I skimmed your post, right now, it is for night reading for me, when I really learn, it is calm and the only thing I have is my reader, and after full brain exercise I can sleep.

    Thanks for an Ultimate guide, and that is free too WOW.
    Have you noticed almost every one on blogs is talking affiliate marketing, some want to teach and others want to learn. Or is it me feeling that way.

    Talk again
    fran A

    • It is a lot to take in a in a sitting I know. Took me a bit’ o time to write too! LOL

      I do try to make the big posts skimmable for those with limited time, so they can get the “gist” and highlight any topics they may specifically want to know more about.

      Hope you get some great info from it when you have the time to read the whole thing.

      Thanks for the comment Fran and I hope that you have a wonderful and productive day

  7. Hey Steve,

    Wow, now that is what I call a comprehensive guide. You have done more than awesome job here! Finding the perfect niche for an internet-based business is definitely a tough one. Things are even harder if you place yourself in the position of a novice, who doesn’t know anything about different markets, niches, trends, etc., but wants to make that quick buck.

    I agree on your advice about choosing a niche. Although being led by your passion is a great thing, if you are in search of a way to make money, following you passion blindly may not be the answer. There’s just no point in putting tons of time and efforts into something that is not going the get you the money, you are hoping for.

    You have provided some great resources. Never thought of actually using Ezine as a way to get niche ideas. The other methods are also worth giving a shot. Great job!

    • Hopefully with the past 7-8 days of topics i have pretty completely discussed the idea of niches and people can have at least the same level of knowledge available as I have.

      I do think that sometimes positioning yourself as a novice can be beneficial. Taking blogging as an example, if you write about it from a viewpoint of discovering and conquering issues as they occur, you can give a lot of insight to newer bloggers that someone who has been established a long time might not remember.

      It is not an “easy” way to position yourself, though, I think.

      Picking a niche is a delicate balancing act. Passion is important. It makes success a lot more likely and easy, but viability of your passion is just as important. Perfect world you are passionate about something that has viable economic applications.

  8. Brilliant comprehensive guide!! You’re definitely sharing quality information; anyone who wants to get a good blueprint on being successful online should read it.

    Having done everything you’ve mentioned in the past, I’m now focusing on doing, well, me – ie, building up my audience and teaching and making money via my products/affiliate links. It’s much easier on my sanity….

    • Thanks Barbara,

      I appreciate your kind words. I know you know more than well enough what it takes to make a niche work!

      I am actually doing similar to you know. Working my way out of my other niches and working my way into this one and of course trying to build that personal brand.

      there is still so much to do though….

  9. Hi Steve,

    This is an awesome article! Given all the information and step by step guide that you have listed, I am sure that it will one day become the ultimate guide to researching an internet marketing niche. One thing is for sure, people will keep on coming back to refer to it as there is so much to learn. I know I will.

    I agree that a lot has been written and that only leads to information overload as we try to discern what is useful and what is not. In the end, we get overwhelmed and give up. But now that you have done all the legwork for us and distilled all our wisdom in one source in a manner that is clear and easy to read, I think you have done many of us a great service. This is my favourite post of your website! I don’t have anything to add since you have largely covered all that I know and more.

    Thank you for sharing this wonderful article! 🙂

    Irving aka the Vizier

    • Thanks Irving,

      I am glad you enjoyed the post. I really do hope that people get some really good information from this post, my ebook on niches and my email marketing niche guide post from last week. I think that I have hopefully givena lot of information for people to get started and hopefully some people will come back eventually with some success stories. That would be really awesome.

      Thanks for some really nice words about the post. I appreciate it!. I hope you ahve a wonderful week!

  10. Hi Scott,

    I love this post (actually posted earlier, but it seems to have been caught by Akismet). Its a very straight forward plan for discovery.

    I especially like the problem keywords (nice list) and the ‘big 4’ ideas.

    Good timing with the interview linked to below.

    Have a good day!

  11. Wow Steve… what an outstanding article. Thank you so much. How to articles are insanely time consuming even when you’re passionate about a topic! Thanks for all of the amazing research tools (and your free downloads!). I’m completely intrigued by your “Internet Lifestyle” concept… I think I’m going to love watching you develop this one!

    Thanks for passing on what you’ve learned Steve. You are incredibly generous… I am grateful to you for your hard work. You rock! 🙂

    ~Theresa

    • I am still working out how to narrow my focus some with, “internet lifestyle” I have done some of course. I stopped doing fitness etc. a while ago to narrow my focus. but I am still too scattershot and I know it.

      I preach to have a narrow focus all the time to others, but haven’t done enough on my own to make that happen.

      Anyway,

      Thanks for some Great comment Theresa, I appreciate your kind words since I know you know what you are talking about.

      Have a wonderful and productive week!

  12. Hi Steve

    Wow and wow again. You have really come up trumps with this one Steve. Sooooo much information. Have to bookmark and go through it thoroughly.

    I know with my small niche blog there are things I can do better. Heaps still to learn and this will really assist my blogging journey. Thanks again Steve for such quality information. You sure do rock 🙂

    Patricia perth Australia

  13. Steve!

    Very comprehensive guide here. I think I need a bit of time to go through the information you have. I’ve downloaded your 41 niches to look. Will use that as a guide to help me with starting m niche sites.

    I like the fact that you’ve mentioned “problem keywords”. I think a lot of people come online to search for answers for a problem. I’m definitely going through this article again. Hmm, I also like the 50 article guide that you mentioned. Will take note of that.

    • Ya, the 50 article thing was not MY idea. But it made great sense. I DO think it is an awesome rule of thumb.

      Thanks for your comment and I hope you do find some information here that is useful to you!

  14. Well, I can’t tell you how I am doing my keyword research because I haven’t started doing any:).
    Although I read a lot of how to do one, the fact is that I never had any idea of how to find a niche (all the articles I read were about checking the competition, monthly searches, examene the first 10 website etc), now after reading your niche finding tehnique I can see there are heaps of ways to get ideas for niches.

    By the way, did you used some of the others posts in some of the subpoints, the Big 4 and Narrow your niche seem very familiar.

    Thank you for taking your time and sharing this great posts with us, have a nice week!

    • All of those other things you read ARE definitely important. but hopefully.

      Sharp eye. Yes some of the pieces are certainly going to the “same well” again. For instance When talking about niches I think it is important to know the 4 general areas to drill down FROM. These areas are all money and will likely always be money. Particularly for info products. Something written to sell a piece of technology will be dated within a year. Something done with dating, weight loss, health etc. will be true and viable for years to come.

      Thanks for the great comment (as usual) Alex

  15. Steve,

    What can I say? This is a massive post!

    I would like to say a lot of things, but right now my brain is so heavy from the information overload that I don’t know what to say and what not to. LOL!

    So many tools, so many things to do, and all that is now in this one massive post! I’m afraid I might just get indigestion if I try to gobble all of it in one go. Saved the PDF (I liked that new feature) for proper chewing 😉

    Thanks for the wealth of information. Appreciate it very much!

    Cheers,
    Mark

    • I think I have certainly overloaded with information. But hopefully it really is some stuff that people can make a lot of use of and give actual ideas and leads to people.

      The PDF idea was given to me by Karen. I agree it was a great idea. Particularly since I am making an attempt at 1-2 long posts a week now that I am back, so this should be good for these mammoth posts.

  16. Great post. One quibble….. blogging is not a separate Model, it is merely a content site. Content is content. I see this false separation all the time.

    • I would disagree, blogging is (in my opinion) a very separate model from content.
      here is why I think that:

      1) interaction ( in comments etc.)
      2) Personality. You can have personality in content too, but blogging tends to be MORE about personality and opinion than content where for some sites like ezinearticles is slightly minimized.
      3) Personality (part 2) Besides ezine/squidoo sites where some personality is ok there are many other content sites with much stricter requirements. IE: AP style third person

      So I see your point, you can have your own website and make it very personable and blog-like. Many aspects will be nearly exactly the same in such a case.

      -BUT-
      Though the dividing line bteween “content” and “blog” can sometimes be razor thin and much of it works for both, I do think of them as seperate and distinct models.

      Thanks for the comment Michael!

  17. Great lesson, Steve.
    It’s an injustice to call this a post. 🙂

    This is a great resource for my plans of creating info products and building a niche site(s) to sell physical products.

    I read this yesterday while dog tired but knew I would swing back for another good read. I have a copy of Market Samurai but I haven’t used it to it’s full potential. Just updated it to latest version. So I am now ell armed, just need to get dangerous. LOL

    Thanks for the huge effort that went into this one, bud.

    • Thanks Jimi,

      I appreciate it! I have been putting a lot of energy into making my Monday posts really be “standout”. I am glad you appreciated it!

      To be honest I need to use MS more often too. It is one of those things that when you use it is is awesome, but when it sits unused for a couple of weeks I feel bad…lol.

  18. Hi Steve,

    This is a fantastic post. Thank-you so much for writing it. You’ve included so many great resources in this very comprehensive guide. It’s going to make life so much easier.

    Now I just need to spend a few days and work my way through the whole post. I’m currently building some niche sites so this is very relevant to me, right now.

    Thanks again. Also, I love the new look. 🙂

    • Jazz I am glad i was able to get this too you in timely fashion while you are working on some niche sites yourself! 🙂

      I am glad you like the new look. I am not keeping it though…lol. It is a semi- temporary thing while I figure out a really kick ass model. I do think some aspects are definitely improved already, but still a definite work in progress.

  19. Steve,

    What a post!! Seriously you could have packaged this up as an awesome info product. But thanks for not : ) A lot, I mean A LOT! to think about there and get started with. I think the key is to just get started, and do a little bit every day to build up data bases and subscriber lists.

    bLAZE yOUR tRAIL

    • You nailed a very important factor. Theory is great but getting in there and DOING IT is the most important thing there is that you do.

      Many of the things are best learned and refined as you go, so worrying TOO much about the right thing can just make a person indecisive.

  20. Steve – you’ve really outdone yourself on this one – it’s literally like a 100 page ebook condensed into a single post – this is quality man! Like, I don’t even know what to comment because it’s just so there haha. Dammit, Steve.

  21. Hey there Steve, great blueprint! Thank goodness you have implemented the print or PDF option. I have tons of PDFs from you I take on the go with me so far. In fact, I haven’t finish the 41 niche report yet. Hehe, there’s tons of info which you go into depth in and that’s what I like about your content. Great work!

    Anyways, I’ll be downloading this to my hard drive, try some of the ideas and definitely will try creating a niche site after this mailing list is out! 😛

    Talk soon Steve,
    Thu

    • Good deal Thu,

      Yeah, that print to pdf thing seems to be a resounding hit. particularly sice I am getting more in depth with my Monday posts. Thank Karen Ruby for that, it was her idea and a great one I think.

      Thanks for the comment Thu and I am glad you liked the post. 🙂

  22. Wow, Steve, this is a really amazing post you have here. I don’t care if it is massive, it presents everything in the right way. If we could tell everything there is in 500 words there would be no need for long posts and ebooks, but that is impossible, so again, great job with this post.

    I actually do the research very similar to your blueprint, I very much use stumbleupon and technorati for ideas, the only difference is that I take the SEO analytic that sleeps within and do a comprehensive competition check before I join a niche. That is the only way I can be satisfied with my findings, but that is just me. i know that most of the times I passed a good opportunity just because I thought that competitors are not to be messed with, even though there weren’t that many of them, but I felt they were too strong to conquer.

    • Thanks Zarko,

      Personally I am happy with my 1 day a week massive post. I try to make them chocked full of good and actionable items, so it is not just people reading platitudes.

      You make a good point about going a step further. Knowing your competition before entering a niche is important. It could be there is only one person who holds a hammer lock on the #1 spot. It could be worth it to go for #2 in such a case, but if traffic is borderline it is better to move onto other ideas, as you said.

      It is all about knowing your competition and knowing how much traffic the “position” you CAN get in serp results will get you.

  23. Hi Steve Scot!
    A very interesting article. You have given valuable information about research in the internet about niche market.
    Keep writing and pass on your knowledge to the general public.

  24. Hey Steve,

    I enjoyed this article as much as I’m enjoying your Income Trilogy Report. I never dreamed there could be so many places to research niche markets and find new ideas!

    Something I wanted to check with you; the link to your 41 hot internet marketing niches brings up a blank page for me, I’ve tried several of the links in different places including the Income Trilogy Report. Thought I’d mention it to you.

    Steve, seriously thanks a million for all the great advice and tips you give here and all the free reports you so lovingly put together. You are spreading so much good Karma!

    • Gabi,

      Glad you liked it. I have a few things on my plate now. I will check into what I di wrong on that link in little bit. Likely I messed something up when I added the new report.

      For now you can use a “backdoor” of sort and go the the dedicated site I made for that eBook. http://www.profitableniches.net

      Hopefully that will work for ya…if not let me know

      Glad you liked all the free reports!! 🙂 I try to pack em’ full of good info.

  25. Steve

    Thanks for the detailed report. Like many here, I’m struggling with identifying “my” niche market! I’ve been searching for something like this post for a while. Keep up the great work!

    • Yup! It is all about the numbers. You have to get on page one google results to make niche really worthwhile. MS will tell you the amount of effort that it will take. At least in a ballpark way. This can be huge and is the difference between 100’s of (semi) wasted hours and 50 hours of work that produces the results desired.

  28. While I would generally agree that choosing a broad niche is the best way to go, I also think that this varies…if there’s a lot of competition in one niche, there may be a smaller, more specialized section of the niche that would be more profitable.

    In addition, many people’s definition of “broad” may be different. It can be hard to determine what is broad and what is narrow.

  29. Now this is an article that everyone in the industry can truly appreciate. I sure did. So much so, that I printed it, and put it in my files. I printed the hot niches book too. I am doing the research for one of your suggestions right now. It looks like a real winner.

    Thanks and God bless

    • Awesome Randy! glad you enjoyed the post and the information. I hope you will drop by again and keep up on the articles as well as letting me know how your niche work goes along for you

  30. This post was one of the most informative I have come across.
    With so much hype out there it is REAL easy to get distracted.
    This post has gotten me back to center.
    THANKS

  31. hi steve,

    thanks for this fantastic post. i´m a fan of yours since i´ve read your article on problogger. i jump over here and read regularly, your posts are always very informative.
    i´d love to know – which plugin do you use for the vote on the top and the print / pdf button – i have a site about mac tutorials and i thought it would be helpful for the users to be able to print the tutorials. thanks in advance and keep up the great work!

  32. Thank you so much for writing this article! There are so many things in it that I’ve never read before and I feel so confident that I can find a niche market that will work for me. Thanks for all the great information and tools.

    <3, Bonnie

  33. Thanks for the insightful post on the topic that I’m currently digging. I love the gems planted here and there.

    Read a lot about Market Samurai and almost everybody is referring to it. The app must be great and I guess it has a learning curve.

    • Suresh,

      Glad you liked it

      MS is an awesome tool. Really one of the “must haves”. Even though I say that, though of course I would love an affiliate commission, I also say to wait til you are ready. It is expensive and great as it is you need to “use” it to make it worthwhile. The Google keywords tool will work for you for a while. Then when you are ready get MS (there should still be a 30 day free trial) and you can see how good it is.

      It does take the same data as Google keyword tool and other free methods…it is just the way it compiles all this info that make it one of the few “no-brainer” tools of any serious affiliate marketer.

      My point is you can get by without it for a while, but chances are you ultimately will use it. 🙂

  34. Hi Steve,
    Great info. Thank you for the resource

    In the beginning when it came to niche’ marketing research
    my headed felt like it was going to explode. Of course it goes to
    say, almost anything new adventure I started online seemed the
    same
    I always appreciate someone giving great content to help others

    Thank you for your contribution,
    Jeff

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