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13
Sep
2008

How to Identify Niches and Subniches (Contains Actual Examples)

I’ve previously written about the importance of choosing a niche for your site or blog. But I admit that knowing something should be done often isn’t enough. We also need to know how to do that, right? So I asked myself: what’s the best wat to teach people how to identify niches and subniches? Then it struck me: give the readers some actual examples and they will see what you mean.

As a result, I’m going to share with you a short list of broader niches and related subniches that can be found inside each of them. Hopefully, after reading this article you’ll be able to apply and/or adapt its concepts to your own needs as a webmaster.

Ready? Let’s start then:

1. Writing

Since I’m a writer, I can’t help but using this niche as my first example. “Writing,” in this case, is the broader niche. So you could build a site on general writing topics. Or you can stick to just a single or a few aspects of the writing world.

Some possible subniches: article writing; SEO writing (which could either be attached to the previous one or result in a stand-alone site); fiction writing (you may create a blog about fiction writing in general or pick only one genre, such as fantasy or romance); journaling; inspiration, creativity and/or writing prompts; grammar and punctuation.

2. Anime & Manga

This is a very popular niche among both the general audience and webmasters. I’m an anime and manga fan myself. If there’s one broad niche where it’s extremely easy to spot subniches, this is it.

Some possible subniches: specific anime and/or manga series; specific characters, couples and/or seasons within a series; fansites about an author or studio; fanworks (fanart, fanfiction etc.); parodies; games; computer stuff (icons, wallpapers, screensavers, skins and the such); site and blog templates; quizzes and memes; soundtracks; voice actors; drawing lessons.

3. Mythology

This may be a pretty unusual niche to consider, but I’ve included it here because many webmasters do deal with unusual or less commercial topics. Actually, Mythology can be seen either as a broader niche on its own, or as a subniche derived from History, or perhaps from Religion/Spirituality.

Some possible subniches: specific deities; specific types of deities (war, fertility, family, wisdom, health etc.); myths from a given country or continent; role of women in various myths; relations between myths and historical facts; beasts; Mythology in Arts; Mythology in pop culture (films, TV shows, games and the such); Paganism and Neo-Paganism.

Now it’s your turn: take your desired subject and try to divide it into derivative, related topics, until you find something that you deem to be worth using on your web projects. And don’t be afraid of mixing subniches on a same site. Taking the first niche as an example, I might say that a blog which offers grammar tips and writing prompts at once will be likely to attract a good audience.