Identifying Your Niche
by
John Vonhof
It could be said, "If everyone else is writing about it... then write something else." Success will never come from being a small fish in a big pond. Become a big fish in a small pond. Certainly it is easier to write about subjects you know, especially at first. Later you can expand your writing to include new topics which require more research.
In selecting a niche to write for, consider the following points.
- The narrower your focus, the more people will identify with you and your product.
- Rather than being one of a handful of books on the subject, your book needs to be THE book on the subject.
- Find an easily targeted audience, with an easily identifiable need, for a specific product--and give them that product.
- As was said earlier, remember that there can be sub-niches with a niche.
Kathleen Meyer found a niche market and wrote a small thin book that took the outdoors backpacking and camping world by storm. Her book, How to Shit in the Woods: An Environmentally Sound Approach to a Lost Art, was released in 1989 has become a year round best seller. At last count, it had sold over 1,500,000 copies and has been translated into several foreign languages. Kathleen's book is THE book on the subject of defecating in the woods. The lesson to be learned is not to dismiss any subject just because it is an off the wall topic.
Steps in Identifying Your Niche
Your niche could be from a body of knowledge learned from a hobby or sport, specialized schooling, business experience, volunteer work, or some other favorite pastime. Everybody has a skill or knowledge of something that can be valuable to others. To identify your niche, start with two basic questions.
- What do you know a great deal about that few others do?
- Which subjects are you passionate about?
Try to come up with a few different answers to the first two questions. The answers to these questions above are important to your success. Passion for your subject will motivate you when the going gets tough. Besides, your passion and enthusiasm for the subject will be contagious. Basic knowledge about the niche will help you start writing. Now go on to the next two questions.
- Can you define your area of expertise in 25 words or less?
- Can you define your potential niche in five words or less?
You can gain more expertise from experts in the field and from other sources. Being able to define your area of expertise and your potential niche in a short and concise statement will help you stay focused.
Niche Markets and Competition
Never think that your niche idea does not have competition. Study the market. Many niche markets have books that are out of date but are still used because there is nothing better. When I wrote my book Fixing Your Feet, there were other books about foot care, but none current in today's market and none for athletes involved in extreme sports. Athletes were using other related books because they had nothing else. Did they help? Yes, to a small degree. But knowing about the competition was important because it helped me narrow the focus of my book's content.
If possible, purchase a few books related to your niche. Study them to see how the material is presented. This will help you understand the niche and see how you must be different than what is currently in the marketplace.
About The Author
John Vonhof is a freelance writer who writes for the Christian and secular markets. He teaches at writer's conferences, has self-published two niche market books, both of which were later sold to a mainstream publishers, and has been published in many magazines, newsletters and Internet sites. Writing for niche markets is his passion. As a member of the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association, Small Publishers of Association of North America, and the Publishers Marketing Association, he is the publisher of Footwork Publications, www.FootworkPub.com.
