In your pursuit of making millions online, the most important decision you will have to make is choosing the correct niche as your target audience. Do not fall into the trap of playing the “it’s for everyone” game, because it never is, and even if it was, you would never be able to afford it.

(Note: This is part three of the Online Millions series. The previous two posts were “How to make millions online” and “Online millions: the advertising model“.)

Remember, for the purpose of this discussion we are trying to build a platform on a tight budget, based on community building and not on technological features.

Bearing this in mind, it is most likely that your initial audience will be South African. That presents some unfortunate limitations when choosing your target audience. Some niches that would work brilliantly overseas would just be too expensive to target here (see my “senior citizens” example below). South Africa’s low internet penetration and high bandwidth costs have resulted in a general audience that is not as savvy or “clued in” as in the US, and you have to bear that in mind when choosing your niche.

My recommended checklist for choosing the correct niche:

  • It must be easy to define.
    No abstract, convoluted descriptions allowed. You should be able to define your target in no more than 10 words. Use phrases such as “People who are passionate about …” or “People who are …” or “People who need …”. The clearer you define the target, the easier it will be to recognise and target it.
  • The niche must be easy (for you) to talk to.
    It is no use finding an ideal niche to which you have no access or with which you have very little experience. It would be ideal if your present job or experience has given you access to a group of people that is not easily reachable by a layperson. For example, it would be difficult to build a community for helicopter pilots if you are not immersed in that niche yourself.
  • The niche must not be under-represented online.
    This goes back to the classic “senior citizen” example. As lucrative as it would be to build a community of 65-plus-year-olds, it would be overwhelmingly difficult given their low internet usage in South Africa.
  • The niche should have clear common goals or problems worth solving.
    It boils down to cohesion. Targeting an audience based simply on age group (say, people in their 30s) will not easily work because the goals are too disparate. Ditto for car drivers (but not 4×4 drivers).
  • The niche must have a multitude of potential advertisers.
    You are in the game to make money and, as discussed previously, your niche must be a community with which others want to communicate. It would be a bonus if the advertisers are already present online, or if the advertisers find it very difficult to reach their niche elsewhere.
  • The niche must have a global reach.
    If your community takes off in South Africa, it would be great if you could expand it, or replicate it, to other regions.
  • The niche must be able to grow.
    You will have to start small, so you can focus on your project, but once it proves itself it would be a pity if your niche was so tightly defined that it limited your growth. Facebook started off as a social network for Harvard students only, then expanded to more colleges across the US, and then to all adults across the globe.

    • Remember, if you can get the right people together, and if you can get them to interact with each other and with your advertisers, you are going to have a winning formula on your hands.

    Some examples of niches, and how they stand up next to my checklist:

  • People who love animated movies: Weak niche. People who love animated movies do not have a common goal or problem worth solving and are difficult to isolate and reach, and the prospective advertisers are scarce and present in other media.
  • People who love movies in general: An equally weak niche, unless you are going to be selling DVDs on the platform. Even then, the reach is too broad and the advertisers have a strong presence elsewhere. The biggest obstacle, however, would be content generation.
  • Doctors: In theory, great niche. Easily defined, have common goals and there is no lack of advertisers wanting to whisper in their ear. In practice, not so great because doctors are very, very difficult to reach, and it would be an expensive exercise to try. But if you got it right, you would have a sure winner on your hands.
  • Matric students: Very good niche. Easily defined, relatively easy to get to (viral marketing is strong in this genre), definite common goals (think exams, matric dance, university choice), good advertisers (universities and colleges, educational aids), easy to convert. No global reach, however, and you would have to re-find your audience every year.
  • People who love gardening: Very good niche, if yourself have a passion for it. Good advertisers, common goals, under-represented online. Would make for an excellent interactive community because gardeners love to show off gardens and give advice. Might be difficult to get to them at first, but with clever marketing it can be done.

    • How would you define these niches?

    • People who are building a house
    • People who are getting married
    • People who are getting divorced
    • Diabetics

    Once your niche is defined, you must choose a platform. In other words, how are you going to create the online environment in which you want this niche to thrive? There are many options, plenty of them free, and they will be the subject of the next post in this series.

    Comments, and other niche suggestions, are — as always — welcome!

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    Eve Dmochowska

    Eve Dmochowska

    Eve Dmochowska spends her day playing on and with the Internet, and thinks it is a rather fun way to make money. She is the founder of Crowdfund,...

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