Actually, there ARE some people out there who don’t have sex… ;o)

If we will not Position our product or service for a specific market or group who will come to buy…? I believe that it’s important to get position (for a specific target market) of any product or service. Let customers decide how they view & utilize our product or service. If it’s spreading in mass…let them….if not let’s enjoy on that target market. What do you think?

You know? When we introduce our product range we focused only on Bakers. So that they can use of our raw materials or ingredients. We did not focus types of food makers. E.g. our product Tutti-Frutti is niche products being made for Ice-cream, Cake and Pastry makers….not for Burger or any other fast foods market. We are succeed with our niche position…..You are wel-come to visit to my site.

Raj.

I’d be happy to test against him anytime to prove the point.

So I’m working on two levels: providing valuable information to the core customer base with back-end sales from a wedding accessories site and persuading the secondary audiences to incorporate my flagship product into their wedding ceremonies. In addition, I am expanding my product line by developing information products that cater to the needs of this unique market and I’m very excited about the potential for growth. While this niche is not my only source of income, it is certainly going to be a major contributor in the months to come. I want to thank Michel Fortin for his posts on the importance of copy testing. Even with his free information on this blog, I have used these tools to guide me in tweaking my content. As a result, I have seen dramatic sales increases in such a short period. I am all for creating micro sites built on WordPress that provide valuable information to a specific niche. These grow up into super achiever sites that pull in a high level of traffic, build trust and most importantly, convert into sales. Long live niche websites!

Even with my limited target market (you’ll note some sarcasm there), ROI is very difficult. So, I thought I would listen to the recommendations of those “lousy gurus” who tell newbies to focus on tiny niche markets. Following their plan, I made immediate sales in what will NOT be a long term market, but at least I got to see some desperately-needed green stuff.

Now I’m not giving up on my initial marketplace, but I have learned that I’m in for the “long haul” there.

Perhaps the mass market needs are more lucrative in the long run, but I’m grateful for a fast way to make money in small niche markets while I learn to be the next Bill Gates or Warren Buffet.

What I have learned in my very first internet marketing affiliate venture in the German market was that it also means very low traffic volume. I mean traffic that is that low in volume that you cannot even split test your Ads in a reasonable time frame. This example might not be a representative one, because the German market as such has additional shortcomings that diminish your potential earnings. Anyway, I have learned my lesson and abandoned that market altogether after three month and have not written any “German language” on the Internet since.

A “niche” in that sense might be profitable, but you could starve, while you are watching the dimes rolling in. — Yours John W. Furst and greeting from the Canary Islands/Spain.

P.S.: Forgive me for the long comments, but I was kind of in a flow. Good night.

Much misunderstanding in this whole debate stems from the fact that many talk, preach, praise, or condemn targeting “niche markets” down to a very emotional level, but who actually defines the term objectively?Almost nobody.

My favorite definition of the term “niche market” is a market sector (a part of the main market) with demand that is currently not covered to its full capacity by mainstream providers. Period. There are solid opportunities that comply with this definition. It does not imply that the demand, the market in this “niche”, is small nor does it imply that it is easy to go for. I’d say that’s the more academic definition, which I prefer. Those kind of niche markets might have the full potential to grow beyond our wildest dreams.

Marketing via SMS once was such a “niche market”. The small text messages that you can send with your GMS/UTMS mobile phone. Probably still more popular in Europe than in the US. The big telcos did not care, did not envision its potential, left it out. They thought the revenue potential is not worth it. A couple of years later small companies with proactive CEOs are controlling that portion of what has become a major market.

Well, that’s my understanding. How does this relate to the Internet Marketing Discussion? Stay tuned. I’ll write a second comment in a couple of minutes. — Yours John W. Furst

You see, what I’m taking from James’ post above is that he is mostly referring to the size of the niche. And the debate of the size of a niche is no different than the one about the size of a salesletter (i.e., short versus long copy).

It’s highly controversial if not misunderstood.

What James seems to have an aversion for is the “micro-niche,” the small ones that are great for snake oil salesman and one-hit wonders (people who come in, make enough sales to saturate the niche, and stagnate, close down or move on to the next one).

In fact, James says it specifically in the post:

“I’ve long been a hater of the word ‘niche’ and how many in the industry teach folks to try out tiny little niche markets.”

The goal, for example, of the whole underachiever method made popular by Frank Kern and Ed Dale was not to create underachiever sites. It was to create many of them. (And as James said, they are tackling the larger “how to make money” market with their approach.)

Plus, keep in mind, the product was the result of Frank trying to make money under the radar after his recent FTC debacle. He did it because he felt he had to. But after launching product after product in tiny, ultra-targeted niches, his “business” (and a business is much bigger than simply targeting a niche) is the sum total of applying this system.

However, the problem that arose from this is the same as the pervasiveness and wrongly applied processes, such as long copy, among others.

In this case, it’s that people who have bought into the whole micro-niche and underachiever system is they are now going after one or two tiny little niches and expect to make a fortune with them… and only them.

And that’s what I think James is referring to.

Bill Gates doesn’t specialize in Windows OS only. Microsoft has a ton of products, ie- Office, Visual Studio, Foxpro, etc, all within the software market. Diversification within a market just makes more sense period, if you really want to make a civilized income.

The same applies to the Internet Opportunities market. Play with all the areas within that market if that’s your thing. Whether its weight loss, life extension, or whatever, there’s no need to focus on such a narrow piece of the pie.

It’s all about perspective, and from mine, I’m fairly well convinced that trying to get people to discover “niches” is simply an effort to distract people from where the “markets” are. Do we want to target a “niche” or target a “market”? After purchasing a set of asbestos underwear, I think I’ve finally discovered that the whole “niche” thing is simply another attempt to throw nascent (and some not-so-nascent) marketers off the trail of true profits.

In other words, the whole “niche” thing seems to simply be an intimidation tactic designed to get newcomers to stay out of the large markets, where their ability to innovate and introduce some uniqueness to the market might just take enough market share from the “niche prophets” to hurt. Just throw the “noobs” a crumb while you feast on steak, in other words (and that seems to be the attitude sometimes, doesn’t it?).

Of course, you won’t have the market position of a Bill Gates or a Warren Buffet when starting out, but as a friend of mine in the promotional specialties business once said, how much of a multi-billion dollar market do you need to live well? The key is go get out there and get your market one person at a time — and let the market decide if your product is what you need. Do that in some artificial “niche” and you’ve effectively put a glass ceiling on your business.

Hasta luego,
Tom