How to know if your niche has enough 'demand' for the kind of products or services you plan to offer?

One of the powerful lessons I've learned from Jay Abraham is this:

"The only risk you ever have to take in business is an inexpensive test"

There is no way to be absolutely, 100% sure before you begin. But there are some ways you can test to get a fair idea about a niche's profitability.

1. Test out your idea on a small scale.

Promote your new product to a small, targeted list. Run a short ad campaign. Conduct a survey. You can even do this BEFORE you create your product - just make sure to make it clear that you are not yet ready with one.

If you get your desired response, you're probably on the track of something hot. And while even this is not foolproof, you can proceed with far more certainty than guessing.

2. Follow the numbers.

See who is making a ton of money in your niche. Look at what they're doing. For instance, look at the ads in magazines in your niche. If you see the same kind of ads being repeated, it's probably because they are making money - which means there's demand for the product or service they are advertising.

In general, people who buy a certain kind of product, a solution, a guide, a membership, will be inclined to try others in the same genre. If you read detective novels, you'll probably like many different authors. If you watch horror movies, you likely see more than one. If you love shoes, I'll bet you own many pairs.

Once you know what people in your niche are spending money on, you can drill down and try and identify ways to come up with a better, cheaper, more extensive, more valuable, recent, or frequently updated solution that will catch their attention.

3. Conduct a formal market survey.

Research the demand for what you plan to offer. User surveys, polls, questionnaires, focus groups and more can be done - online or off.

Keep in mind the 3 criteria for a profitable market - they must want what you're offering, they must be easily reachable, and they must have a proven history of paying for what you're offering.

By carrying out these informal, moderately reliable 'inexpensive tests', you can minimize your risk in creating brand new products or services to untested niche markets. That's the 'smart' way to niche marketing riches!