Finding Your Ecommerce Cranny on the Web
When it comes to ecommerce, there is no shortage of products. However, one thing that is often lacking are niche-specific solutions. Because of this, you may feel overwhelmed by the prospect of starting your own online store. But don't worry! We're here to help you find your perfect ecommerce niche and make the process as painless as possible with these three tips:
- remember what your interests are
- identify what you know about those topics
- keep in mind how much time you have to dedicate each day (or week)
1) What do I know? Finding a topic that interests you can be difficult when faced with so many possibilities. However, if you can relate to a quality about it (e.g. an interest in the subject, experience with it, or something that is similar to your life), you are in your target niche. Doing some research and finding out how people go about doing certain things may help in narrowing down your choices. For instance, if you love to sew but have no idea where to turn for patterns and supplies, searching for ecommerce sites that specialize in sewing may be a good way of finding what you need. It's also a good idea to watch videos on whatever topic you are interested in. You can learn a lot from how-to videos. (Trust us: you will never look at a banana peel in the same way again after this TED talk on "how to peel a banana like a monkey.")
2) What do I know? Now that you have your topic, take some time to identify what you know about it. For example, if you love to sew but have no idea where to turn for patterns and supplies, search for ecommerce sites that specialize in sewing. Find out which sites appeal the most to your tastes and interests by writing down each site's pros and cons. Since some people have a limited amount of time they can devote to their online stores, you will need to evaluate how much time it would take for you to get each site up and running the way you want it.
3) How much time? Lastly, find out how much time you are willing to spend getting your store up and running. Obviously, starting an online store requires a dedication of your time to research products and set up your store. It's also a good idea to find out what kind of technical skills are needed for running the site in question (e.g., do you need to install plugins or use specific coding language?). If you're not sure what kind of ecommerce site you want to run, you will need to consider how much time you're willing to spend researching products and setting up your store.
Remember, finding your niche can be a difficult process, but if done properly it can be extremely rewarding. Keep these three tips in mind when exploring your options for an ecommerce niche and we are confident that you will find something that fits both your interests and time commitment. Good luck!
By Tiffany Falker
This guest post is brought to you by Topic5. Topic5 helps you to find your niche on the Web by automatically scanning millions of online stores for repetitive words and phrases. Topics identified are sorted by popularity (number of mentions) and offer a list of key benefits to each topic.
TAGS: ecommerce, Finding Your, niche, Web
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Comments
I'm an aircraft technician working at one of the biggest airline (EK) in the world. A few month ago I started my own online store at ebay selling airplane parts http://stores.ebay.com/OEM-Parts-Electrical-Accessories_Aircraft_Maintenance_Tools?refid=store_saleslots01 . I'm not a computer expert or marketer, so I need help to do promotion and also support. If you are interested please visit my store. Thanks.
Hi Carl! Love your blog. I am very interested in starting an online store of some kind, but have no idea where to start or what would be a profitable niche for me! Any suggestions or advice you can offer? Thanks!
Hi Backlinko fans - thanks for dropping by. This is my first post on this blog and I thought it would be useful to share some tips about how my team and I choose our niche market each year. Our main business is selling private label products on Amazon, so we have to choose a niche that will be profitable and continue to sell year after year. I've researched a lot of different niches before making my choice and hopefully these tips will help you find your way too. Let's start with some great tips from Brian Dean of Backlinko:
1) Stick with something that you are passionate about. Do not start a business just because it seems like it would be profitable or easy - you will need to work hard at your new business and it is best if you are excited by the product and what it can bring to the world.
2) Make sure the market size is big enough. A lot of people think they have discovered a niche market, but when you really dig into it, the number of potential customers is much smaller than they expected. If the market size is too small, your business will fail and you will be out of luck.
3) Find something that you can sell year after year. It is very risky to start an online business with the plan to exit after 1 or 2 years. Do your research and find something that you believe will continue to grow and be profitable for years to come so that you do not need to worry about your business every 6 months.
4) Find a niche that can be profitable for you no matter when you start and exit. If you like the idea of starting something, but if you exit in a few months due to poor performance, then it is not much of a business opportunity after all. If you find something that can continue to grow even if you do not stay involved, then it is probably worth doing.
5) Find a niche with low competition. Often times people will search "online store ideas" and see what the listings say about which products are selling best.
Conclusion: If I were just starting out, I would avoid the "online store" route and find something that is already making money online. You see, the problem with e-commerce is that the barrier to entry is quite low. There are thousands of courses teaching people how to start an Amazon business and there are thousands of new stores starting every day.
The best way to get started and actually make money online consistently is through affiliate marketing, where you do not have to sell your own products or worry about inventory or customer service. The product is sold by someone else and you get paid a commission for driving traffic and sales through your site.