The Authentic Eccentric

In my ongoing discussions with Chari, we touched briefly on the topic of niche markets. More specifically, how to find and mine them.

According to Wikipedi, niche marketing is the process of finding small but potentially profitable market segments and designing custom-made products for them. How do you find a “niche”? Spot passions, for one - what you’re looking for is any group that shares an active interest in *something*. Here are some examples:

1. Power Boating
2. Sailing
3. Pinhole Photography
4. Gilbert and Sullivan Operas
5. Gardening (as well as each and all of its many subsets, like water, English, container)

I could go on, but I suspect you’ve got the idea

Niche markets can also be people oriented. Say, for example, Oprah fans. She can move books with just a positive mention - bloggers have similar opportunities, although I can safely say that you’d have better luck moving something other than books and the usual swag - be original :).

Finding these pockets of passion is easier than ever thanks to the internet. A quick scan of Google Groups popped up roughly 54,000 choices, for example. I’m sure a search for active forums would turn up thousands more.

Next I’ll cover mining your pockets of passion.