Guide to Finding a Profitable Niche

Launching an ecommerce store needs more than just good product ideas. You need a profitable niche idea that puts more money in your pocket & fuels your ecommerce dreams. It can feel intimidating to pick the right type of products, but there are actually proven steps & frameworks to start your online selling journey. 
Ready to get started? Here’s how to get started finding your first profitable niche.

Harness Your Experience

Give your profitable niche a boost by harnessing the experience you already have. Whether you’re adept at staging homes or know how to scour for bargains, everyone has some kind of experience to lean on. 
You can also apply your skill set to the successful launch & operations of your online store. For example, if you’re a whiz at numbers, you can probably handle your bookkeeping or forecasting at the start of your business. Instead, outsource areas that take up your time or resources, like shipping & fulfillment. 
A print-on-demand supplier is also an easy way to start selling online fast. When someone buys a product, the supplier prints & ships it directly to your customers so you can focus on growing your business. 

Solve a Problem

Profitable niches are easier to get off the ground when you’re solving a problem for potential customers. They’re more likely to keep coming back for more & spread the word that you’re a pro at easing their pain points.
Solving a problem can be as simple as selling organizational tools to busy professionals to streamline their day-to-day. Or your niche could be about selling workbooks and educational subscription boxes to homeschool students. Whatever your product of choice, play up how it helps your audience in great detail. The more your customers feel like you understand them, the more likely they are to buy.

Consider Where You Can Add Value

Once you know how to solve a problem, you should also add value to whatever you’re selling. Offering value keeps customers engaged but also helps your ecommerce store stand out from the competition.
Adding value could be about giving your products an upgrade. For example, try selling face masks that are long-lasting, washable, or offer inserts for new filters. If you can’t brainstorm a way to improve & add value to your products, consider one of these options:

• Blog about the different ways your products can be used
• Create gift guides on who is best suited for your products
• Film videos of DIY & innovative options with your products
• Create a VIP membership site for repeat customers with coupons, sneak peeks, and exclusive products

Research What’s Trending

Why reinvent the wheel when you can see what your competition is already selling best? Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and other sites all offer filters to narrow down the most popular or best-selling items. The idea isn’t to steal someone else’s products but keep tabs on what’s trending. If you see tie-dye everywhere you look, try creating tie-dyed face masks or pet collars.
Pinterest is also a great way to see what’s popular. The more people are pinning styles and products, the more likely they will be an up & coming trend that people are eager to buy.

Tread Lightly with Fads

There’s a fine line between keeping up with what’s trending, and chasing after fads. The latter are usually short-lived & unpredictable. You can still turn a profit with fads, but think about how to tie them into more evergreen sales. If your zone of genius is creating & selling witty slogans on mugs, you can use CustomCat’s print-on-demand service to upload your new messages quickly & easily.
Over time, you’ll see which sayings & slogans are long-standing trends that can be sold again & again, and which fads should be retired after a few months. The best part is, uploading your creativity & artwork to CustomCat takes a minimal investment of time.

Think About Repeat Sales

Nurturing customers & turning them into repeat buyers is one way to drum up a consistent revenue stream. However, you can bring customers to you again & again by choosing the right niche.
Hobbyists & collectors are primed for buying from you time after time. Remember that these audiences also need supplies & tools to keep up their hobbies & collections. Beyond selling unique products, you can sell the display cases, hobby glue, and organizational resources to support their passions.

Look for Products with High-Profit Margins

Instead of only selling products with an inexpensive tag, look to the customers who are going to invest in products with higher profit margins. Selling a hundred items a month at a higher price tag could be less work than selling a thousand cheaper products.
Instead of selling plastic balls & party supplies, consider selling unique, high-end bounce houses. Your profit margins will soar without much extra work. And with the help of a dropship supplier, you don’t even have to touch the inventory you sell. 

Explore Related Products

It’s okay to just stick to a few products in your online store if that suits your interests & goals for your ecommerce store. However, you can expand your revenue potential by looking into related products that your same audience will love.
Don’t stop at selling eco-friendly cosmetics. Look to eco-friendly accessories, face wash, and home cleaners to cater to those same customers looking for a greener way to live. As you build your audience, you can also poll them to determine what types of products & services they would like to see in your shop.

Consider the Keywords

At some point, SEO will play into the marketing & strategy of your online store. Keysearch & Google Keyword Planner are two places to start your keyword journey. Or use an app like SEO King to help edit your products, photos, and pages around high-performing keywords. 
Research the keywords surrounding your niche that have a medium to low competition rating & search volume of at least a few hundred a month—the lower the competition and the higher the search volume, the better. With your keywords in hand, start integrating them into product descriptions, blog posts, and website copy.

Read Existing Reviews

Gain leverage over your competition by reading online reviews & taking action. Are customers raving about bespoke pet products but complaining about the lack of options? Solve their pain points & complaints in your own ecommerce shop to stand-out & compete. 
It’s not just about the complaints. Online reviews are also a goldmine to figure out what people love about a product. Seize on that information & then figure out a way to make it even better. 

Follow Your Passions

Following your passions still needs to include the actionable tips we laid out here to turn a profit. However, a niche with no passion behind it falls flat quickly. 
Avoid selling urban decor just because it’s trending if you’re lukewarm about the niche. Focus on something you love researching & executing on. Your passion doesn’t automatically lead to a profitable niche, but it will help fuel your momentum to keep pushing towards success.
Ready to start your own ecommerce store? Get started with CustomCat to start exploring hundreds of products to customize. We’ll produce & fulfill them while you keep growing your online empire.