Are you having trouble narrowing down the right business niche? As a new entrepreneur coming up with business niche ideas can be tough. But your business niche is something you will always need to work on throughout your business journey, so you could be 18 months in or 5 years in but still need to tweak your business niche.
The thing is business niche ideas are all around you. The winning formula for your perfect niche is to find something that you’re passionate about and that your audience is interested in. Figure out the problems your audience is suffering from and offer them a solution through your content and products.
The best way to do this is through objective data from your target market. See what they’re discussing online and find out how you can help them.
Where do you go for this information? Here are 10 places to conduct business niche ideas research and see what your audience is talking about so you can choose the perfect business niche.
Find Business Niche Ideas
#1: Keyword Search
Use Google’s free Keyword Planner tool or ubersuggest to see which keywords are popular. You can find out if your ideas are popular but also get suggested terms to consider.
#2: Trends
Once you have your keywords you can use Google trends and Pinterest trends to see if your idea is a passing trend or if it has longevity. You want to build a business in a niche that has longevity, not a fly-by-night trend that will be gone in a few months.
#3: Social Media
Social media offers a wealth of information. See what people are discussing related to your topic. See who people are following and what content they’re liking, sharing, or engaging with. Facebook groups full of your ideal target market are a goldmine of information.
#4: Blog
Look for blogs in your topic area and see what people are writing about. Read the comments of popular blogs to see what readers are saying and asking.
#5: YouTube Videos
Search for your topic area on YouTube and see what you can find there. You’ll find videos on your topic with comments you can read but also sub-topics that can be business niche ideas for you.
#6: Online Reviews
Product reviews offer a great place to get ideas. Look at review blogs and customer reviews in online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. Look at what people love about the product but the real gold is in the negative reviews that can give you ideas of the things people are looking for but was missing from the product they bought.
#7: Community Forums
Sites like Reddit and Quora offer a great place for you to be a fly on the wall and listen to people ask questions and discuss issues they’re facing. It’s a great way to get business niche ideas.
#8: Look at Products
Look at online marketplaces for products you might sell. If you find something your audience needs, you can choose a niche based on that product or product type.
#9: The Competition
Look around online to see who else is in the niche, what content they’re producing, and what they’re selling. You’ll get ideas on what’s popular, but also learn about what’s already out there so you can set yourself apart.
#10: Turn on the TV
See what’s on TV and watch the news for trending topics. You might find something timely or a problem many people are facing that you could tackle.
#11: Check the Calendar
What big holidays or events are coming up? Sometimes you can find a highly timely niche that’s related to a time of year or seasonal event.
Conclusion
Your business niche is a mix of 3 things:
- The PEOPLE you serve [WHO]
- The situationally-specific PROBLEM you help them solve [WHAT]
- Your special branded SIGNATURE SYSTEM [HOW]
The best practice is to start with the things you’re passionate about. Conduct the above research to assess the interests and needs of your target market. Then, assess whether your niche ideas are potentially profitable or not. Brainstorm a big list and narrow it down until you’ve found the right one.
And remember it’s OK to date a niche for a few months, you don’t have to marry one straight away.
If you’re looking to get started with any of these steps, check out the Build Your Business Vault – where you’ll find templates, worksheets and checklists that will help you with discovering your niche!
