Now that the preseason material is done then we begin to get into the Challenge properly. An easy lesson today, one that is familiar to veterans and Market Samurai users but some interesting questions and discussions made me change my mistaken concept of the relationship between market, niche and microniche.
I thought straight away of times where I was consciously looking at niches to find nice microniches and how flexible I was with the meanings of each so I thought I would play devil’s advocate and spark up some discussion on the forum about what people understand as being a market, niche and microniche. It made me think about it a little more and I was beginning to realise that I had a ‘keyword fixed’ definition of it in my head that was missing the point. The excellent answers and discussions in What is a microniche, niche and market? made me clear that up and I found the first day quite fulfilling.
I think it may have been a struggle herding cats for poor LisaHartwell on the forum though, there are some veterans motoring on with their Market Samurai apps which added to the diversion from the lesson. Both her and Caro had to resolve to using BIG FONTS to get their message across – scary…
The opportunities I would miss by being fixated on keywords would be says with Dog Training as a niche, I would think of this ‘Dogs -> Dog Training -> Dog Training Courses’. The common factor would always be keywords. The market however is a dynamic one, which has people in it, they have similar needs, the talk a similar language and the keywords will miss the point entirely. The site you will create is to fulfil people’s needs not a robots penchant for a string of letters sitting on a server somewhere. The terms then may change simply to things like ‘Pet Obedience Advice’Â to even ‘Barbara Woodhouse Walkies’ (check it out on YouTube if you cannot see the connection).
The important points I gained from the posts were:
- Without any quantities, like search count for example, the idea of market, niche and microniche is flexible. If you find many levels when you drill down then thinking of your original niche as a market and using niche and microniche for the two levels beneath is fine.
- Do not get fixated on keywords, they do not exactly relate to any of the markets
- Use a broad subject for markets, find a thing in the market for a niche and then drill down on a specific niche thing
- In a niche, focus on the people within it, their language, their needs that can be fulfilled, their common interests, the topics they keep up with
- Actually doing this exercise helps you move up and down, redefining them if you need to – Thanks bobster234
- With keywords you may get crossover, but you should check whether the words mean different things to people in different niches.
- The degree of crossover will affect the proportion of traffic that will be interested in what you offer. So understanding the other niches that would also use the same keyword should help you gauge how much you might lose.
- Camcorderkid had a good line – ” When it comes to finding niches, just remember to always dig an inch across and a mile deep, and NEVER an inch deep and a mile across!”
- Linsaymacvean seems to already get it, that it is by understanding people in her analogy
- Bill Thomson‘s visual analogy is a good one too – it’s like zooming in on a microscope
Doing this exercise was really helpful without looking at the number of searches and competition in each market. Now I know there is a quantitative definition that is used by the Challenge and Market Samurai team but at least I see the qualitative difference between them now. I am so glad I was the tortoise in this module, I thought I knew it all when I first saw the video.
Just a quick warning – the Language of your Niche Needs to be Understood
Please do not get your niche language confused – here is a lesson in the problems that can occur…
I forget who gave that idea – if you know tell me and I will attribute the idea to him.
Interesting Blog Journals Reading
- TC10 Day 1 – Identifying a niche
- And We’re Off – Module One – Day One
- So Here It Is! Challenge Day 1
- The Challenge Module 1 Day 1
- The Challenge: Module 1: Day 1 – What Is A Niche?
- The Challenge – The Ultimate “Get Started in Internet Marketing†Program – Prelaunch and Module 1
- Diary of a Photoholic – Day 10
- Vitaly Makarkin – Module One – Day One – What is a Niche?
- Kyle Oliveiro – Day 7: What is a Niche?
- Get Your Bows and Arrows Ready – Let’s Go to Target Practice
- Jamie Ludlow – Module 1, Day 1 Analysis
- Kerry Carron My Challenge M1D1
Good Luck to all Challengers!!!