12 Mistakes To Avoid When Choosing a Niche in 2024

What is a Niche?

A niche is a collection of topics focusing on a specific problem or community, with a wide scope range.

Understanding niches involves the concepts of “niching up” (expanding your niche) and “niching down” (concentrating within a broader niche).

For example, “cooking” is a broad niche. “Cooking for a keto diet” is a form of niching down.

Delving deeper, “cooking for a keto diet for busy moms” targets a more specific audience.

Defining a niche could be based on addressing a problem, like “cooking,” or focusing on a community, such as “off-roading,” and then getting more specific, like “off-roading in Southern California.”

The specificity level is tailored to the community size you’re targeting.

Remember, selecting a sub-niche doesn’t confine you forever. Moving within a niche is common.

For instance, you might start with “off-roading in Southern California” and gradually expand to cover broader regions as your authority grows.

However, beginning with a broad niche, such as “off-roading” generally, means contending with significant competition.

You need to be careful about your niche choice, as it’s challenging to stand out with limited resources against industry giants.

This brings us to a key point: the common mistakes people make when choosing a niche.

1. Not Following Your Interests

Choose the right niche that aligns with your interests or passions.

While not everyone has discovered their passion, it’s important to explore different areas to find what truly engages you.

Avoid committing to a niche you have no interest in, as this often leads to lackluster effort and poor results.

Passionate individuals tend to work harder and enjoy the process, which is crucial for success.

Aim to pick a niche that sparks your curiosity and enthusiasm, as this can sustain your interest and effort over time.

2. Not niching down enough

Let’s take the cooking niche as an example.

The world is full of countless cuisines and recipes, isn’t it?

Aiming too broad, like tackling the entire cooking niche, is an impractical endeavor for one person.

You’d find yourself competing with leading cooking authority sites.

Wouldn’t that drastically reduce your chances of success?

Imagine trying to stand out, only to be overshadowed by renowned chefs like Gordon Ramsay.

Your content might struggle to gain traction in search results, making it challenging to establish yourself as an authority.

And in today’s world, being seen as an authority is crucial for ranking well in Google’s increasingly sophisticated algorithm.

To not get lost in the vastness of broad niches, it’s smarter to start small.

For instance, if you’re familiar with Eastern European cuisine through family recipes, why not focus there?

You’ll encounter less competition, giving your content a better chance to get noticed.

Remember, it’s okay to expand your niche later on as you grow.

3. Niching Down Too Much

Continuing with our example of Eastern European cuisine, which is quite delicious, by the way.

Niching down excessively might mean focusing on just one dish, like Goulash.

Sure, there are numerous variations of this stew, but imagine dedicating an entire cooking blog solely to Goulash.

This approach is unlikely to be effective as a long-term strategy.

You might become the foremost expert on Goulash, but is that your ultimate goal?

I doubt that’s where you’d want to draw the line.

Remember, there’s a difference between starting with Goulash and then broadening your scope, as opposed to restricting your blog to just that.

Is anyone else feeling hungry now?

Moving on…

If you want more info on how to recognize if your niche is too small or too broad, check out my article on that topic.

4. Second-Guessing and Doubting Yourself

This is a common issue.

Often, we say, “I’m interested in so many things, I can’t decide.”

But the key is to just take that leap and decide on a niche.

Ever heard of “paralysis by analysis”? It’s real.

It can trap you in a cycle of doubt, preventing you from taking action.

Remember, every moment spent deliberating over your niche is time not spent on creating content.

Creating and sharing content is what it’s all about.

Consider a new blogger aiming to write 50 posts in the first 90 days. That’s a solid goal.

Spending weeks deciding on a niche means losing time that could produce 7-10 blog articles.

If you’re stuck here, don’t be too hard on yourself. Many have been in your shoes.

The important thing is to choose a niche, make a decision, and focus on content creation.

The first 90 days are crucial.

Many experts suggest working intensely in these months to build a significant portfolio, which is key for gaining traction with Google’s algorithm.

But don’t think you can slow down drastically afterwards.

Consistent effort is essential even beyond the initial phase.

However, a strong start can provide a significant boost in various ways.

5. Thinking You Need to Be an Industry-Leading Expert

You don’t need to be the top expert in your niche to launch an online business.

Being above average, with a keen interest and a readiness to learn and grow, is sufficient.

Remember, experts aren’t magically experts from the start; they develop over time.

Every niche has its own complexity.

It’s okay to not delve into topics you’re not yet familiar with.

Start by creating beginner-friendly content and progress from there.

If you’re committed to the long haul, you’ll have ample time to enhance your expertise.

Just ensure you know slightly more than your audience and accurately verify the information you share.

6. Not Tailoring Content to Niche Interests

This mistake revolves around knowing your niche and understanding the problems and community it involves.

Take the cooking niche, for instance. You would prepare dishes, create recipes, and discuss ingredients and cooking tools.

However, you wouldn’t delve into the chemical reactions in a pizza oven while making pizza.

That’s just not what your audience is looking for.

Sure, cooking is a straightforward example, but other niches can be more complex.

Failing to properly research can lead to wasting time and effort on content that your niche audience doesn’t find appealing.

7. Thinking a Product is a Niche

A common misconception is that a product can be the main focus of a niche.

In reality, the spotlight should be on the problem and its solutions.

While discussing and recommending products is part of the process, their role is to aid in solving your audience’s problems.

Focusing too much on the product can make your content appear overly sales-driven and pushy.

Your role is to inform and guide, not to sell – that’s the manufacturer’s job.

You should help your audience envision using the product and understand how it solves their specific issues.

Take, for instance, the fitness niche.

If you’re recommending an exercise program for lower-back pain, it’s less about the program’s technicalities and more about how it benefits your targeted audience.

Content that merely lists exercises, sets, and reps can be tedious.

Instead, focus on the causes of lower back pain, the reasons to try the program, and the positive outcomes people have experienced.

This approach is not only more engaging but also provides greater value to your audience.

8. Thinking of Monetization Before the Content

Certainly, assess the monetization potential of a niche before diving in.

If you aim for your online business to become a main income source, it needs viable earning potential.

This means finding a niche with an audience willing to spend money and relevant products to recommend.

Be aware, though, some ad networks shy away from controversial topics, like guns or politics, which can limit ad revenue.

However, if such a niche is your passion, it might still be worth pursuing. After all, passion often outweighs ad revenue.

A viable niche also requires a sufficiently large audience.

Remember, it’s more common to choose a niche that’s too broad than too narrow.

You can always broaden your niche later as your content grows.

But remember, choosing a niche solely for its earning potential can be a grave mistake.

Personal satisfaction and enjoyment in what you do is far more valuable.

So, do your research and choose a niche that aligns with your interests.

9. Thinking There’s Such a Thing as “Easy Money” Niche

Fast and easy money is a myth.

If you’re pursuing it, I recommend reconsidering.

Many spend a decade chasing these illusions, only to face repeated failures.

In that time, they could have built something substantial and successful with solid foundations.

Yes, there are occasional “unicorn” niches – low competition with high earning potential.

But these opportunities are fleeting.

They don’t remain hidden or uncompetitive for long.

Typically, by the time you hear about them, the chance has already passed.

But don’t lose heart.

The realm of viable niches is vast and ever-growing.

Even today, the internet is akin to an expansive, undeveloped landscape, brimming with possibilities.

10. Not Researching Your Niche Before Committing

Research is always crucial, no matter the project.

Your main objectives should be to identify niche problems you can solve within your chosen area and determine if it’s over-saturated with competition.

Identifying problems is relatively straightforward. The more issues present, the more content ideas you’ll have.

Assessing competition depends on the niche’s breadth. Excessive competition often signals a too broad niche.

Remember, the internet is flooded with content.

However, if you find your blogging niche too competitive, consider alternative mediums like audio and video.

The written word isn’t the only way to establish an online presence.

Platforms like YouTube and podcasts often have less competition in the same niches.

With video and audio consumption growing annually, these platforms might offer great opportunities in niches that are blog-saturated.

However, not everyone is comfortable being on camera or behind a microphone.

It’s important to know your strengths and limits.

Yet, stepping out of your comfort zone can be beneficial.

Consider your options carefully.

11. Being Prone to “Shiny Object Syndrome”

Some of us struggle with commitment, and if that sounds like you, it’s essential to be aware of this tendency.

Hopping from one niche or project to another is a roadblock to success.

Building an online presence and establishing yourself as an authority in a niche requires significant effort.

Typically, you need hundreds of articles or videos to see noticeable growth in your audience or any key metrics.

However, if you stay committed to your online venture, this effort can lead to unimaginable success.

Remember, we’re talking about a multi-year journey here.

There are no shortcuts. Easy money is a myth.

This realization is actually freeing. It confirms that there are no secret formulas or shortcuts you’re missing out on.

Success boils down to the consistent effort of delivering value to your audience without giving up.

12. Not Thinking Long-Term

When it comes to your online business, thinking long-term is essential.

Understand that success often takes years to materialize.

Equally important is having a mid to long-term content strategy.

Be strategic and precise in your content creation.

Remember, it often takes time for content to achieve its optimal ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs).

Gaining expertise in this area requires practice and experience.

Make time to enhance your skills and fill in any knowledge gaps.

Nobody starts out knowing everything.

Advance planning and understanding your next steps are crucial for success.