Everybody says that when you’re choosing your niche, you should go with your passion. That sounds great, but what if your passion is totally unprofitable?

Step one is to identify your passion. Step two is to decide whether or not there’s demand for it. If there isn’t, drop it and move on to your next passion. If there is, you’re ready to get started.

Here’s  my take on this: I managed to create an ebook on property investing which is my passion and I hope over time it will sell ok, take a look The Diaries of a Serial Property Investor

But most of the niches we are in are tight either “how To” solve a problem, get started in a hobby etc because those kind of subjects rank well and we know people are searching for solutions to them, So take on board these points and find profitable niches that you can satisfy.

Check out Keywords

Use a free keyword tool to do a little bit of research. Look for words, phrases and topics relevant to the niche and see how many people are searching for them. If you’ve got lots of searches, that means demand is high. If competition is low, that’s even better.

Look at ClickBank

ClickBank is an online affiliate network and it’s also a great resource for evaluating demand. Look at items related to your topic on ClickBank and you’ll see all kinds of stats that tell you whether they’re selling or not. You can also get an idea about how much the market’s paying.

Online Forums

Online forums are a great place to do some research. Get onto a forum in your niche or topic area and see what people are talking about. It may take a while reading threads, but you’ll eventually get a good idea of whether they’re buyers or not and also what they’re looking for.

Social Media Sites

Social media sites offer another great research tool. To use Facebook as an example, start by searching for terms related to the niche in the search field at the top of the screen. Look for groups and fan pages and see how much activity is going on. If there are lots of people actively involved, that’s a good sign.

Come Right out and Ask

A great way to find out if there’s demand is to simply ask. On a forum or social media site, just ask people if they’d be interested in the type of product or service you’d offer. This is the best way to get direct feedback straight from the horse’s mouth

A Few Minor Adjustments

When you’re niche-hunting, there will be times when you’ll find something that you love, but there’s too little demand; or, you might find something where the market’s already glutted. If you’re a little bit flexible, you can stick with your original idea and still find something good.

If your idea is too specific and there’s no demand, broaden it. Let’s say I want to create products about Zen meditation and I find there’s just not enough demand. What if I enlarge it to all kinds of meditation? There I might find way more buyers.

On the other hand, let’s say that you want to create products on making money online. The market’s glutted with MMO stuff, so narrow it down to something like marketing with LinkedIn.

Don’t be attached to any one idea. Remember that it’s not what YOU like or want that matters; let the market decide.

Tony