Niche research and publishing are best done when you start with your strengths and begin researching niches where you personally have some knowledge, experience, passion, or professional training.
Picking niches where you have a leg up on the next publisher who is merely a hobbyist in the same niche is going to take you a long way toward bankrolling your larger publishing business.
You'll have unique insights into your niche, and intuitive understanding of the content your targeted audience wants or needs. You're already an authority on this topic, so why not build an authority site on it?
One site in an area of your passion and experience is likely to be more successful than a dozen non-passion sites put together!
So far you’ve done a good job of looking around outside for trends and niche topics, and you’ve probably got a great list of broad topics.
You’ve probably also got a developing sense of those that could work and those that are bucking a trend or – even worse – on a downward trend of demand.
But how many of these topics inspire you?
It’s not essential that you have a strong interest in your niche topic – but it certainly helps. If you know and like a topic you are going to find it a whole lot easier to design a site, find and write content, comment on what’s happening in the niche, and select affiliates or come up with products for the niche.
Even if you don’t know the topic now – can you say that you would like to get to know more about it? Does it somehow connect with other areas of interest for you?
And when we say “everything” – we mean everything.
This is not just about your hobbies and what you like to do when you’re not working. Many of us lead quite boring lives although we may not like to admit it. Our range of activities and apparent interests outside of work can be fairly limited.
Most of us aren’t modern day versions of Leonardo da Vinci – we can get stuck when asked to brainstorm our activities and interests. It can be a bit depressing when you come up with a list of two things. Don’t be depressed – that’s probably about average. You need to go wider.
Here’s a quick checklist of areas to think about when you’re brainstorming. And remember the first rule of brainstorming – write everything down just as it comes. Don’t judge, criticize, exclude, or qualify anything that occurs to you.
Another tip – get family or friends involved. (If you do, you'd best to write up that rule about not criticizing - somewhere in big letters so everyone can see it.)
Even better, use a big plain flip chart pad and some felt tip pens and write up the ideas as they come so you can all see them. And hand around a few drinks (seriously) to get their creative juices flowing.
But remember this is about you – the topics that connect with you, not anyone else.
Start with a list like this and get brainstorming.
You should end up with quite a big list – or at least more than two items!
Once you’ve brainstormed, give the items a bit of consideration pull out anything you could use as a niche.
That’s it - a list of possible topics based on your own interests and experiences.