subject: How To Find Hot Niche Markets Online [print this page] One of the most common questions asked by new marketers is, "How do I find a hot niche market?" This question is most probably a result of too many niches available. That is, most new marketers are afraid of picking the wrong market, so they are really looking for guidance to find a market in which they can make some money.
The reality, which most discover as they gain more experience and success in their online efforts, is that finding a hot niche market is easier than most of the other tasks associated with online marketing. Many marketers actually find their list of markets to test is so long that they will most likely never get to them all.
So, how do you go about finding a hot niche market online? The first step in the process is to brainstorm some ideas. You don't have to do this off the top of your head, though. Use some of the online resources available to you.
Online magazine stores are great sources for inspiration. If there is a monthly magazine on a particular topic, that is a very good sign. Publishing a magazine is an expensive proposition, and is usually paid for through advertising. If there is enough advertising with enough circulation of the magazine for it to succeed, this is a hot market with money to spend.
Once you find a magazine for a particular market, you'll need to dig deeper to find a good niche within the market. Looking at the ads within the magazine is the easiest way to do this, but if you don't have access to the magazine, or you want to keep your research efforts online, you'll need to turn to other sources.
Using the market information you found from the magazines, you can search for online discussion forums about the topic. Popular forums can be a goldmine of information regarding the niches within a market, and what those niches want. This also provides a good check on the information you've found because if you can't find any forums, or they don't seem to be active, this market may not be online.
Auction sites and marketplaces are also excellent places to look for information about niches within the markets you found above. These sites are often grouped into categories, and if you can associate a category with the market you've found, you can look at subcategories and even products to help you find hot niches.
Once you've researched and found several niches, either within one market or in several markets, your next step should be to narrow down your choices. You'll want to do this so that you don't spend all your time researching. Marketing effectively requires effort, and this research is only the beginning.
After narrowing your choices down to just a few, you are going to want to dig deeper. Find out what products seem popular within the niche. Look to see how much competition there is for popular keywords for both paid advertising and websites. The more competition there is, particularly for broad keywords within your narrow niche, the more profitable the niche probably is.
