Before we start with the 5 ways to find the best dropshipping niche, it seems natural to define first what a dropshipping niche is.
A dropshipping niche means having products that are catered for a segment of a much larger market. This niche is characterized by consumers who are there because they share the same or similar interests and preferences. For example, a dropshipping store selling pet products is aimed at people having pets.
Moreover, there are two different types of niches: a steady dropshipping niche and a trendy one.
Table of content
Choose a niche you feel passionate about
Search for successful dropshipping stores
A steady dropshipping niche
A steady niche is also called an evergreen niche. As the name suggests, it is a niche that is constantly popular and on-demand. Just like the pet niche we’ve mentioned a few lines ago. People have pets all year through. It can help you a lot to use Google trends to check if your desired niche is steady or trendy.
A trendy dropshipping niche
As you’ve probably figured out by now, a trendy dropshipping niche is a niche that is currently super popular and hot, but that would eventually die off, people will lose interest in it.
For example, think of a typewriter. At one moment in time, they were hype, but hardly anyone uses them anymore. The largest world manufacturer shut down its business in 2011. Imagine how hard it would be for you to try to sell a typewriter now. And not only sell it but sell it in such numbers to actually make a profit. For a more contemporary example, think of a fidget spinner. Once it was hot, now not. Obviously, you can make money with trendy products but just bear in mind that the market would eventually dry out.
Now that we’ve covered the basics let’s see what the 5 ways to find the best dropshipping niche are. We’d also give you some tips on which niches you should avoid if you are a beginner in dropshipping.
Let’s go!
A word of advice: even when you find your particular niche, you still need to make sure it would be profitable.
Choose a Niche You Feel Passionate About
This is hugely important, especially if you are just a beginner. Why? If you are passionate about something it usually means that you already have at least some knowledge about it. Furthermore, that knowledge can help you select the best products and help your customers even more. At the same time, you are investing in getting more knowledge about the topic you are passionate about, which might give you additional motivation when times are tough. It will also provide much more pleasant to work on your store. It goes without saying that you need an audience for your specific niche. We’ve already mentioned using Google Trends for this. It will give you a nice indicator in which direction to move.
Hobbies and Interests
Hobbies and interests are closely linked to passions. Technically, they are a sort of passion. And same as with every passion, people tend to go to great lengths to satisfy it. In a dropshipping world, that means spending money. You’d be surprised how much people are willing to spend to fulfill their heart’s desire. Again, if you yourself have a hobby, you might want to take it from here. But don’t forget to check if there is an audience for it and how big it is. Don’t shy away from Google Trends search.
Amazon and Aliexpress Niche
You already know that you can find pretty much everything on Amazon: you name it, they have it. Just press the All button in the search box and you’ll end up with all possible categories.
Then click on a category you find interesting and see the results and what sells a lot.
Similar to Amazon, there is literally nothing you can’t find on AliExpress. Check the category you are interested in and get a subcategory of all the products related to it. What more could you ask for? It might be useful to remember to sort out the results by order so you can check what sells best. The bigger the niche, the more competitors, but also the bigger the customers’ pool.
Competitors on Facebook
Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms. It attracts a variety of people, all with different backgrounds, interests, jobs. That makes Facebook a great place to see what niches are out there. If you pay attention to Facebook Ads and see that engagement and clicks are good, you will know that these niches are working. You won’t see a running ad if it doesn’t bring money.
You can also browse through Facebook by typing some of these keywords/phrases:
- X % Off
- Get Your X Now
- Free Shipping
- Get It Here
- Get It Now
- Just Pay the Shipping fee
- Click on the Link
- Buy Now
- Limited Supply/ Only 2 days left
There is also a free Chrome extension called Turbo Ad Finder. It automatically shows all the ads on your news feed.
Search for Successful Dropshipping Stores
Learn from the best! There is nothing wrong with checking out other successful dropshipping stores and looking at the way they do it. Of course that you aren’t going to copy everything but you will get valuable insight and an example of how it should be done. You will get some inspiration. Furthermore, it would mean that that particular niche is popular.
We’ve just given you some guidelines on how to find the best dropshipping niche(s), but it would also come in handy to ‘warn’ you about some niches that might not be such a good idea, especially if you are a beginner.
Image source: itvplus.com
Niches to Avoid
Watches, electronics, clothes
We know they don’t seem related but the reason(s) why you should not choose them is pretty much the same. These niches are extremely saturated. We did mention that it also means more potential customers, but there are so many things to take into account in these niches that it might be a bit overwhelming if you are just getting started.
Both electronics and watches are tricky because they really need to be of certain quality otherwise you lose money. Customers have certain expectations, especially if the product description promises a lot. If you really want to tackle those two niches then buy a specific product and test it yourself ( especially in the electronics niche).
Image source: thenicheguru.com
Clothes have the highest return rate out of all products, which means that you will have to take care of numberless refunds and returns. That is something you definitely want to avoid as a beginner.
Fragile, heavy, or bulky items
Stay away from these types of products in the beginning. The chance that something will get broken is quite big, which will again lead to not satisfied customers, refunds, and returns. You don’t want that.
When it comes to bulky and heavy objects, they tend to take up more space and their delivery fees are usually quite high which doesn’t spell good for your profit.
Computers and IT niche
People buying computers and related equipment are extremely tech-savvy. They don’t need a middle man, so to say. They can perfectly get what they want and need on their own. This makes this niche very hard to sell to, especially if you are a beginner.
General products
As the name suggests, this niche is…well, too general. That doesn’t mean it might not pay off but it is really hard to make a profit by selling something that is available in most stores. If somebody can buy something in person, pretty much immediately, why would they wait for a few weeks to have it delivered?
Let’s quickly recap what we’ve said so far.
- Targeting a specific niche will make it much easier for you to focus and narrow down potential customers.
- Make sure your niche is profitable and viable. If you are really into some small-generating niche, then at least try promoting a different product or addressing sub audiences within that niche.
- Use online tactics ( email opt-in pages, social media campaigns, etc) to build your audience.
- Don’t first invest, but test. Start small. Get a small batch of dropshipping products and get valuable feedback from your customers. You can also send some samples to influencers and ask for their opinion. Feedback is so crucial, it will set a further course of action.
- Explore the niche
Remember that we mentioned search with keywords, online tools, etc.? That alone isn’t enough. It is more of a guideline to help you identify your niche market. Analyze blogs, posts, reviews, and other key areas relevant to your niche to get valuable insights. Perhaps you will see a recurring problem that you might be able to solve.
Furthermore, be up-to-date. You need to know what the current trends are in your niche. You should monitor what’s trending to stay on top of things.
Last but not least,
- Understand your niche market, i.e. it’s needs. What makes it different from the wider market? How can you make yourself appealing to your audience and their wants and references? Figuring out what makes your niche unique will enable you to speak directly to your audience and increase a chance of attracting a customer’s attention because you will be able to make it clear to them that this is a product they’ve been searching for.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this article provided useful and valuable information that might take your dropshipping business to a new level. Invest time and patience, narrow your search down to a specific niche, search trends and dazzle your audience with a product they can’t wait to have.
Happy dropshipping everybody!