What’s an e-commerce niche? Why do you need an e-commerce niche? Small business owners can find tons more success by starting with one, highly sought-after product. Why should you start with a niche instead of a product? Then, once you’ve selected a product to sell, make your brand the most attractive option for your target audience. If you’re not passionate about your e-commerce niche, you’ll likely fail. The keyword “dogs” could relate to dog training, dog breeding, or something else entirely. Plus, when you start selling your e-commerce product, this keyword research will come in handy for content marketing. You need a passion for the product you’re selling as well as for the market you’ll serve. A niche is a narrow category in which you sell your products.
One of the questions I often get asked on social media revolves around e-commerce — specifically, e-commerce niches.
How do you choose the e-commerce niche that’s right for you?
That’s a tough question for me to answer because I’m not you. My experiences, goals, and knowledge base aren’t the same as yours.
Everyone has to choose the e-commerce niche that’s right for them. If you don’t, you’ll likely fail.
Many people ask me about popular, expensive products. Doesn’t everyone want a new 60-inch television? Or the latest iPhone?
So that’s the best place to start in e-commerce, right? People see dollar signs.
But that’s the wrong place to start.
Just because everyone wants a new iPhone doesn’t mean you should sell iPhones. In fact, that’s a good reason to avoid the niche. There’s a ton of competition.
Instead, I urge you to follow these 10 foolproof strategies for choosing an e-commerce niche that’s right for you.
First, though, let’s define the term “niche” and figure out why you need one.
What’s an e-commerce niche?
Your e-commerce niche represents the narrow category into which your products fall. For instance, fashion is a fairly broad niche. High-heeled shoes are much narrower.
When you choose an e-commerce niche, your brand will revolve around it.
You’ll build a target audience based on the niche’s qualities and the pain points your product solves.
Don’t be afraid to narrow down your niche.
Sure, you might eliminate a few potential customers, but you’ll also create more demand among people who really want what you sell.
In fact, micro-niche marketing has become extremely popular. It’s finding the narrowest possible niche while still enjoying a sufficiently large audience.
When you choose a micro-niche, you can rank your content for related keywords more easily. Plus, you have less competition and a more targeted audience.
Even if your niche is broad, though, you need to select one that will permit years of commercial success.
That’s not something you accomplish in an afternoon.
Why do you need an e-commerce niche?
Some companies are able to sell everything — and do it well. They’re the exception, though, instead of the rule.
Amazon, for instance, has departments and categories for just about anything you might want.
The same goes for eBay. In other countries, huge marketplaces like Alibaba have enjoyed tremendous success.
These companies shouldn’t provide inspiration, though, unless you’re looking at specific categories.
Small business owners can find tons more success by starting with one, highly sought-after product.
You can add more later if you want, such as upsells and downsells. But don’t bite off more than you can chew.
Why should you start with a niche instead of a product?
I talk to a lot of startup entrepreneurs who don’t really know what they want to do.
I’ll say, “What is your goal?”
The answer might look something like this: “I want to start a really big e-commerce business.”
Unfortunately, that’s not specific enough. Not even close.
If you look at the numbers, it’s easy to see that e-commerce spend continues to grow year after year.
By 2021, Shopify estimates that total e-commerce spend will climb to $4.5 billion. That’s a ton of cash.
While many e-commerce dollars go to those big marketplaces like Amazon and eBay, a lot of them also get spent in smaller, niche-oriented online stores.
Additionally, the market itself is global.
When your target audience can be found in every country around the globe, lots of opportunities present themselves.
To capitalize on these trends, though, you have to get very specific.
Build your brand around what you’re passionate about and what you can do well.
Me? I’m a marketing guy.
That’s what I do. And I’ve built my entire brand around it.
If you’re interested in e-commerce, you need to figure out what you do best.
Then, once you’ve selected a product to sell, make your brand the most attractive option for your target audience.
First, of course, you need to settle on a niche.
Sometimes, it’s harder than it looks, but I’ve come up with 10 foolproof strategies to help you find your personal niche for the e-commerce market.
1. Follow your passion
It sounds really simple, right? It’s also essential.
If you’re not passionate about your e-commerce niche, you’ll likely fail.
Entrepreneurship means devoting significant time, resources, and energy to the business.
When you have no passion for the product you’re selling, your motivation goes straight out the window.
Conversely, when you feel a strong sense of passion and purpose, you get fulfilled by your work.
I’m a prime example of how starting a business without passion can cause an entrepreneur to crash and burn.
Back in the old days, I started a Monster.com knock-off called Advice Monkey. It never gained traction.
Why? Because I lacked the two primary qualifications for starting a business:
- Knowledge
- Passion
If you have those two, you invariably find success. They’re all pieces of the same pie.
I didn’t know how to spread the word about my site, so I failed to attract potential revenue.
And I didn’t have a passion for job search, so the project never really got off the ground.
I don’t want that to happen to your e-commerce business.
Brainstorm a list of things you’re passionate about. That list will help you throughout the rest of the process.
2. Conduct some keyword research
You’ve made your “passion list,” right?
Now it’s time to dig into some data.
Passion alone can fuel an e-commerce business. If nobody wants what you’re selling, you won’t drive revenue.
Start with a free keyword research tool like Ubersuggest.
Enter a keyword or phrase in the box provided, then click “LOOK UP.”
For this example, let’s say you’re passionate about dogs. Type in “dogs.”
You’ll instantly get some very valuable data about the keyword:
That’s great, but we’re looking at a very broad category.
The keyword “dogs” could relate to dog training,…
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