In order to become an influencer that people want to work with, you need to first choose a profitable niche.
Companies and brands want to work with influencers who have secured a foothold in their market, and who have demonstrated that they’re able to connect with a large audience.
So, while it may be tempting to venture into multiple niches, if you want to position yourself as a reputable influencer, you’ll want to choose one main market, especially when just starting out.
If you’re unsure what niche market is the best one for you, consider your own personal experiences and skills. What are you knowledgeable about? What skills do you possess that others would find useful or helpful ins one way?
Drawing from existing skills is the easiest way to find a niche that you’ll be able to move in quickly with little, if any learning curve involved.
It’s also a great idea to choose a niche that you’re passionate about. If you know a lot about a specific topic, chances are people will be interested in learning from you and hearing your own personal stories.
If you’re personally interested in a specific subject matter, it’ll also come across in your marketing and communications and people will return to you again and again because your marketing message will resonate with them.
So, choose a niche that you want to be known as the go-to person for. Your entire brand will focus around this niche so you’ll want to choose carefully.
Once you’ve determined what niche market you’re interested in, you’ll want to survey the competition. Analyze the top blogs in that market so you can identify key topics and gauge what people are most interested in, as well as what they’re struggling with.
This will help you determine a unique angle for your own brand, so that you’re able to connect with a larger audience of people who are looking for specific information. It will also help you create your own website or blog so that it’s providing content that people are hungry for.
Then, take it to social media. Follow the top influencers in your market on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Look at what they’re doing, what kind of topics they’re covering, as well as the type of responses they’re receiving from their existing audience.
Write everything down!
Market research is an integral part of being able to build a strong foundation for your brand, but it also sets the tone for your marketing style and voice.
You should also keep an eye out for what topics the competition hasn’t covered yet because this is a great entry point for your own website or social media account.
What next?
It’s time to gauge the profitability of the niche!
Validating a niche is an important step because you don’t want to venture into a market that’s not profitable. You can easily research the profit potential of a niche by evaluating the number of existing products and services being offered in that market.
For example, if your niche caters primarily to those who are looking for digital products, such as courses, books or videos, go to the top marketplaces and search for that particular content.
Amazon is a great place to start, especially if you’re interested in a niche that’s information-heavy, such as training programs or guides.
YouTube is also an invaluable place in which to conduct quick niche research because you can easily gauge the popularity of a niche just by the number of videos published daily, as well as the number of people subscribed to channels in that market.
You’ll also want to research potential keywords in your niche market by using a tool such as the WordStream.
When you use a keyword tool to uncover keywords, you’ll be able to determine how many searches are being conducted by active buyers and consumers who use those same keyword strings.
This is a great way to evaluate a market’s overall popularity quickly and easily.
If you discover that targeted keywords in any potential niche market are receiving thousands of searches a month, it’s a clear indicator that the market is a profitable one with an ongoing demand for products and services.
Tip: Make sure that your keyword research focuses on highly targeted search terms and not broad ones.
For example, if your niche is weight loss, searching for a broad term like “weight loss” isn’t going to give you the information you need. It’s far too wide of an outreach.
Instead, you’d want to drill down into a specific segment of the weight loss market, like “low carb diets”.
Becoming an influencer in a niche isn’t that difficult to do. It all begins by defining your brand, choosing a specific segment of a niche, and then building a foundation that allows you to connect and engage with that audience.
It will take time to build that platform, but once you do, you’ll be able to make money from your efforts for years to come.
