I was researching a new product to sell online and it dawned on me that you guys might want to know how to find a product to sell online as well. So, let me share with you a few things to consider when looking for a new niche product. Keep in mind, there are always exceptions to everything but I have tested a bunch of niche markets over the last year and the rules below stood out the most.
#1 – Is it trending???
I always start out with an idea. Either I saw the item while walking the mall, or heard about it, or read about it online. It doesn’t matter where I received the inspiration, it just matters if it is a hot and trending niche. You can make a lot of money with less popular niches, but I find the profits are better when you sell stuff people actually want. Imagine that. For example, in the spirit of Halloween you should stay away from the “clown costumes for monkeys” niche. It is not large enough in size, and the vast majority of people don’t think it is “cool” to own a monkey, so this market is not “hot” at this point in time.
#2 – Is there anyone searching for it???
You can use to see if folks are actually looking for the stuff you had in mind.
See the screen shot below… (Yes, I did just search “clown costumes monkeys”)
As you can see, nobody is searching for it. This is an indicator that the product is not viable. However, the keyword tool pulls back other keywords that people are searching for. You might start looking into “scary clown costumes”.
#3 – Established Markets
I’ve found older markets that have been around for awhile tend to do better than newly established ones. The market for “costumes” is already anchored to society; the market for “social media based costumes” is not. So you need to weigh the benefits of being a pioneer. I like to play in resurging markets. For instance, 80s retro sunglasses were huge during the summer. So, I dedicated a site totally devoted to this niche of an already established sunglasses market. Also, there is less competition because it takes a while for your competitors to catch on. By the time the big guys (Amazon, WalMart) figure out what is hot, it officially isn’t hot anymore and there is waayyy too many people selling the same stuff which dilutes market share and makes the product not profitable anymore.
#4 – Highly Passionate
Look for markets that people are highly passionate about. Let’s take Guitars for example. I know guys that have dozens of guitars, follow the latest guitar news, download guitar tabs off the net, and spend almost every ounce of free time playing their guitars. This is the type of market you want! Another example is 24 hour plumbers. The people looking for these companies are really passionate to use the bathroom again! They are at the mercy of the plumber because water/sewage is most certainly spewing everywhere and they need it to stop ASAP. So, think about what market you know emits this passionate fever and what products they buy so you can cater to their needs.
#5 – Easily Reached.
The last rule to keep in mind is your target customers must be reachable. If your market is stuck on a deserted island with no internet or UPS trucks; it’s not a good market. So, we focus on the online customer when selecting a niche product. The product must be delivered to the consumer digitally or shippable via the post office/ups/fedex. For instance, at the shop we sell a sea shell figurine that breaks every time we ship it, it does sell like gangbusters online and people love it and want it, but the customer service hassles and cost to replace far outweighs the $15 price tag. I love digital products and affiliate products. Those are a good place to start if you are beginning you online ventures. However, I do sell a lot of regular merchandise, but you must be able to staff and maintain a customer service and shipping center. To be honest, there are more efficient ways to do business on the internet if you are just starting.
In conclusion, the world has an endless number of niches for us to play in. However, some are just not worth our time and effort to grab a handful of sales. Please use the above as some rules to think about the next time you go searching for a niche product.
Thanks for reading, and talk soon,
Mark
P.S. I’d love to hear from you! Drop me a comment below.
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