Choosing a Niche for Your Online Business: 3 Creative Models

If you want yours SEO and content marketing to work, you must first get specific when choosing a niche for your online business.

You have to understand WHO your message is yours, then talk to that person.

And you should make your own copying provision to serve that person. Offer options that appeal to him, that fit what he's willing to spend, and that will benefit him in ways he cares about.

One of the first things people do when they think about building an online business is to rush to identify their “niche”. And that's not fair…but it's more complicated than it might seem at first.

Name niche it doesn't just mean a focused topic. In biology, niche refers to how each type of organism interacts with all other organisms in its ecosystem.

It is how a plant or animal fits into the larger whole.

Your topic is part of your niche, of course. But so is your audience. And your posture. Not to mention being partners. And the people who share your content. And the content platforms you publish on.

What are some of the different ways business owners live in their neighborhoods?

Early niche sites

Back in the day, choosing a niche for your online business meant building an affiliate site around an underserved keyword phrase. Then you will learn SEO for content writers to measure it and load it with the corresponding offer.

That was neat, and some did very well with it, but it doesn't work today.

Rae Hoffman flagged it years ago, in a post that is still very relevant how to survive organizational evolution.

His post talked about the transition to richer and better content, better user experience, quality of communication (both visitors and potential partners), and establishing a credible point of difference.

The problem with the old way of thinking about nicheing is that it focuses on the search, not the searcher. The key word is the focus, rather than the person at the keyboard using that phrase to solve the problem.

Therefore, I would like to look at other models that work better.

Choosing a niche for your online business in 2023

Let's take a topic like learning art.

There is an amazing amount of free art education on the web, especially on YouTube. You can learn to draw, paint, sculpt – whatever floats your boat.

It's hard to make a living teaching art online. But there are many businesses that do just that.

How? By defining their audience clearly, focusing their messages and offerings, and differentiating themselves. Finding that point of difference.

Remember that art education i nonzero market.

In other words, people interested in learning more about art don't just watch one video, read one ebook, or join one membership site. They tend to drown themselves, especially at the beginning of their journey.

Now let's look at three examples of sites that are doing it right.

Niche #1: Mega authority

Another way to differentiate is simply to be bigger and better than anyone else.

Simply put, this time, he didn't say easily.

The site Artists Network brings a number of renowned artists and art teachers under one virtual roof, partnering with major art book publishers to provide writers with a place to teach.

If you're the type of person who has “Painting” books on your bookshelf, it's a good bet that some of those authors have tutorials on Artist Network.

The model is: find the most qualified authorities, publish the best educational content that is interesting and useful, and then use the publishing platform to provide the most advanced content for more money.

Of course, there are also individual mega authorities. We all know the name Bob Rossthe artist of “happy little trees” whose videos are strangely humbling to watch.

Ross actually modeled his painting again his patting on the “happy trees” of his mentor, Bill Alexanderwho had a PBS show that I vividly remember watching as a child. Alexander's family still runs online art courses and offers resources, books, and a free library for membership.

Authorities can compete with a large volume of “free” in this article because … authorities.

Art education as an online business has the advantage of providing engaging content that can be seen and spoken by the audience, “I want to know how to do that.”

These teachers show high skills in their subjects. They have won awards and written books, but most importantly, they know how to teach what we want to do.

Niche #2: Legitimate online business

Art of Education University focuses on professional development for a well-defined group of artists — art teachers.

It offers courses for undergraduate or graduate credit, as well as to satisfy continuing education requirements for teachers.

These courses are priced to be very competitive with courses offered at brick and mortar institutions. So while art teachers aren't known for their deep pockets, the product makes financial sense for its audience.

Like other models, The Art of Education University offers free authored content and, produces shareable, relevant materials that attract the attention of customers for their business needs.

If you can create content with the right quality, professional development is always a smart game. It's a top seller, because it's something professionals need to advance their careers – especially those who need continuing education to maintain their licenses.

When you choose a niche for your online business, you will probably use content to build your audience anyway. This can be a great model if you want to commit to helping other professionals grow.

Niche #3: Single authority category

The two sites I have mentioned so far are great. Well-known teachers, lots of content, lots of money and time to set up.

But big isn't the only way to go.

A musician Eni Oken he has put down his subject in many ways.

She is a certified teacher of Zentangle – a form of meditative painting that is its own tribe. But even within that specific niche, Eni narrows its focus to specific topics, such as shading diagrams or specific compositional methods.

Eni is smart about SEO and ranks for certain keywords for popular drawing techniques within the Zentangle format.

He focuses his audience's attention on the newsletter and keeps his eye on the promotional prize consistently. calls to action.

There's a lot of great art to look at in his content, but you can never doubt that he's in business, too.

If you are willing to make yourself the “star” of your business, differentiation becomes much easier.

Eni Oken differentiates by title and sub-title (“she is a Zentangle teacher”), but that is only an introduction to the real distinction — her unique art style, her teaching method, and her personality. Those things come together to form the “Eni brand.”

You don't have to build your entire business around your personality – that doesn't have to be your only differentiator.

But when choosing a niche for your online business, consider adding an element of individuality. A founder's newsletter, blog, podcast, vlog – or a combination of those – can make a big difference.

Resources that help you choose a niche for your online business

If you're looking to strengthen your writing skills to grow your online business, we'd love to guide you to the best resources each week.

Because when you get accurate information, you can quickly start raising your game as a writer. And that's what will get you the results you want.

The written word calls the web. It always is, and always will be.

Even if you're working with audio or video, the right words make all the difference.

Drive names:

• Marriage
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• Sales, growth, and profitability

And if you want to master the art of using words to drive business results, you've come to the perfect place. Copyblogger has helped accelerate the careers of writers like you since 2006.