A hot niche is one where there is more demand than supply. That is, there are lots of people looking for a solution and ready to pay money for that solution, and not enough marketers out there offering the solution that buyers are looking for.
Seeing what is selling, or doing keyword research, or haunting the best seller lists of Amazon are all great ways to uncover niches. But oftentimes the very best niches are right under our noses. These are the niches were people are truly desperate for a solution and you can be the hero who steps in, saves the day and makes a healthy affiliate commission for your effort.
Just to be clear: There are niches and there are keywords, and these two things work together but are NOT the same.
Your focus should be on finding a hot niche and only then do you look for the keywords you’re going to target.
And finding hot niches can be as easy as paying attention to what’s happening around you.
Look for the problems in your everyday life. Your computer is running just about as fast as molasses in winter and it’s driving you bonkers. Cheer up, you’ve just found a niche, because you can BET you’re not the only one with this problem.
You do a Google search and sure enough, there are forums everywhere full of people looking for ways to speed up their computer or laptop.
You do a second search and find there are several products out there, with affiliate programs, that address this specific problem.
Congrats, you just found your first hot niche. You can now create your own WordPress site addressing the issue and offer the products as your solutions. In fact, if you purchase one of the products and then use some of their tips as your content (rewrite it!) you’ll come across as the authority. Then when you recommend they get the product to get the other 90% of the info they need, sales will be easy.
Another example: A young lady was taking self-defense classes but found the entire experience to be frustrating. The instructor would rush through a dozen or more examples of different moves in each class, and by the end of each class she couldn’t remember more than one or two. She said, “If only I had this stuff on video, I could actually LEARN it.” Bingo! If you overheard this comment, within minutes you could find a self-defense program for women online, and within a week you could be making profits from it by addressing the exact problem stated by the lady in class. Keep your ears open and opportunities will abound!
Promote a best selling product to an entirely different niche. Speaking of getting the product, here’s a backdoor method of finding niches: Buy a HOT selling product, one with tons of competition. See how everyone else is promoting this product, then do it differently. Look inside the product, find out who else it applies to, how else it can be used, what niches would benefit from this product who aren’t being marketed to, and market the product to those niches.
Instead of meeting stiff competition, you’ll be in a league (and a niche) of your own promoting a hot seller to people who otherwise would never have heard of the product.
Watch the news for things that are about to catch on. For example, if you were at the forefront of the Paleo diet or the Keto diet or any of these special diets, you could have cleaned up. Guarantee, there is a new diet on the way.
Or maybe there’s a really hot star who is bragging about her workout or her exotic pet or her accessories. Watch to see what’s going to catch on, and if there is an affiliate program tied to it, you can do really well if you’re a first mover.
Look for what drives people to distraction. That is, what is it that invades their thoughts at all times of the day? What keeps them awake at night? What would they pay money to solve RIGHT NOW?
Weight loss is a big one, and so are most health issues. A bad relationship is at the top of this list. Pregnant women are continually thinking about their baby and whether or not they’ll be a good mother. Men are continually thinking about sex. The key here is to get really specific and not try to go after the entire niche. A fellow marketer knew a pregnant woman who had a particular health issue. He found a product that addressed this issue, made a website on this and because it was so keyword specific, he got it ranked easily and still makes several sales from this a week, passively.
Look for the fears. All around you, people are afraid. The woman next to you in the check out line is afraid she’s going to lose her husband. The person behind her is afraid he’s going to lose out on the promotion. In the next aisle is someone who is afraid they won’t get the job they want, or any job at all.
Next to them is someone who is afraid she’s going to have to pay thousands to get her car or her home fixed. And next to her is someone who fears their tax problem will never be solved. Look for the fears and you’ll find people who will leap at the chance to get their problem fixed so they can start relaxing again and not be so worried every moment of the day.
The next time someone looks worried, or your friend complains about a problem, or you find yourself frustrated – realize you may have just found your next hot, profitable niche.
