Niche Research Bonanza!By Michael Ullman

The idea behind niche research is to find a topic or need that you can exploit by offering a product or solution. There are as many methods of niche research are there are niches, some better than others. The objective of good niche research is to find a group that has a common need or desire, big enough to support reasonable sales, yet small enough that there aren't too many 'big guns' going after the same group.I recently came across what has to be one of the greatest 'niche finders' I have ever seen: 43 Things.43 Things is a Web 2.0 Social Networking site with a twist: it's based on people making a list of things they want to do ("43 things I'd like to do...")The site uses a Tag Cloud to represent these 'things' - the more people who list the same thing, the bigger the tag for that thing. In other words, this site gives you a graphical representation of demonstrated niche ideas! This is one big site of people saying in effect: "Here's something I want, or want to do"!Niche idea's on a Silver Platter!What's very cool is that you can refresh the page over and over, and watch tags grow and shrink. When I was on the site recently, "Get a Tattoo", "Learn to Play Guitar", and "Learn Massage Therapy" were particularly prominent.Guess what? Clickbank has Tattoo, Guitar, and Message Therapy products! Not sure what people are looking for? 43 Things will tell you, complete with a relative indicator of just how many people might want the same thing...Michael Ullman is President of Analogy Marketing, a leading NY-based Internet Marketing firm, and a Google Certified Professional. You can visit their blog Improve Your Internet Marketing for proven strategies from over 5 years of Internet Marketing success, or subscribe to their widely acclaimed free newsletter Melane's Tips!