We’ve talked in the past about finding a “niche” for your business and the reason for building a niche business – either online or offline. If you have products that are very unique that you just “happened” to come up with because of a need in your own life, you can be assured that other people have needs for the same type item and, like you, can’t find it. This is what niche marketing or building a niche website is all about — unique products or services that hundreds of other websites don’t already have.
Once you have chosen an area of sewing, crafting or expertise that you can claim as YOUR niche, you can start to build a craft business or website around that idea. From the point of selecting products and ideas of products for your niche, you need to remain focused on items and products that are specific and appropriate. Don’t start “rambling” in your additions of products to include in the website.
Select a few items or products that you want to start off with and promote them on your website, or highlight them at your booth at the craft festivals. Perhaps there are some variations of a single product that you can use as “add ons” for your niche business. A perfect example of a single product “niche” website is the CouponClutch.com site — here you’ll see a wide variety of “designs” of the same product, and some “add ons” such as offering the pattern for an individual to use as well as the plastic binder pages for inserts into the coupon clutch.
If your craft idea is making pine cone decorations, for example – you could set up your website for “seasonal” pine cone decorations. With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up perhaps you could devise a dozen or more variations of centerpieces, wall hangings and door hangings that are specific to the particular season approaching. Maybe you are creative enough that you could write down some instructions on how to make some of those elaborate pine cone decorations, then use those instructions as an add on to your site as an additional product to sell. Whatever your area of expertise is, the examples I’m providing are just to give you some ideas on what can be done for your niche.
An important aspect of niche website marketing is in the selection of your name. Don’t confuse the visitor with an “off the wall” fancy dancy name that nobody can remember or maybe doesn’t even apply to what it is that you’re wanting to sell. The name you select, whether it’s a website or brick and mortor shop, should make it obvious to all who stop by to visit what it is you are selling.
As an example of another “niche” marketing website to show you the importance of making it obvious what you are selling is the PlusSizeChildren.com website. If you’re a first time visitor to this site, what would be your best guess as to what the website contains? Obviously the content is all about plus size children, and the biggest issue for plus size children is not being able to find clothing that fits right. You guessed it – that particular site is full of patterns and pattern making items for those hard to fit plus size children.
If you are into the niche of writing books or booklets of instructions or “how to” books, such as those pine cone decorations, or home decor instructional books, or maybe you’ve put together some of your favorite stuffed animal patterns into a book to sell. “How To” niche marketing websites can also be very valuable to you as well as a niche that you can expand as you put together an assortment of how to books. There’s really no limit to what you can do. Check out the SewMachineRepair.com website as a example of a “how to” niche and how an “information” website could be done.
Building a niche business MUST be something that you enjoy doing and where you feel comfortable. Trying to force yourself into doing something that you really don’t enjoy just because you think there might be a little money to be made will never work out because you’ll end up regretting that you ever started the project. The entire process of building a niche business is NOT an easy “snap your fingers and it’s done” type deal. You must make a commitment to follow through on your decision and be able to work through the down times as well as the good times. A few years down the road you can look back and wonder why it took you so long to start the process.
Good luck and happy “niche” building!
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