Niche Market Ideas
If you write for magazines, or want to write for magazines, one of the things you should do first is find suitable niche markets within the main markets you wish to write for.
Finding Suitable Niche Markets
Any decent market list can deliver an immediate handful of niche market possibilities in the first half hour of perusal.
Each day new avenues open for novice and pro alike, for fillers or feature assignments.
The health and wellness niches, for instance, go on for pages.
If you’re into art or the sciences, sit down and prepare to study the pages.
Both market lists and a strong Google search can keep you occupied for hours.
If you haven’t chosen a possible niche, study a non-fiction market list to find areas with which you feel comfortable or which fascinate you.
That study is your beginning.
Each Niche Has Collateral Relatives
Here’s an example of how one topic can grow a series of articles, expert or not—the tiny house movement.
This is where non-fiction and its close cousin, creative-non-fiction come together.
The modern tiny house movement began over a decade ago.
The subject is fascinating, with the bonus of going down various avenues.
A writer can interview those who’ve chosen the tiny house life, or who’ve planned for minimalistic living and choose to downsize to less than 500 sq. ft. of living space.
All directions are available for the wily writer, and have created niches for many.
Let’s assume you’re a writer who discovered this niche early on.
You write about:
1. the tiny houses on trailers, their owner/builder’s needs, their satisfactions, etc..
2. the types of appliances used and reduced storage overall.
3. downsizing clothing needs.
4. moving a tiny house around the country to follow seasons and explore other opportunities.
5. people who can’t live in less than 200 sq. ft. but who opt to buy/build small bungalows from large pre-fab shed and garage kits.
6. how this experience turned you on to a different vein of the subject and you moved into other niches.
You see now how niches create themselves each day.
Consider this an exercise in creative permutations.
Extrapolation is a non-fiction writer’s mainstay at times.
It can not only “save your bacon”, it can put that bacon on your table, too.
In today’s marketing world, here’s another way to increase your sales to both online and print markets:
Make Your Own Niche
Whether you stick to only one or spread yourself into several arenas, look for the seemingly insignificant trail or clue, and follow it.
Then report it to the world.
Take a moment to answer these questions:
1. What one thing about your interests or life can be spread over several niches?
2. What’s your hobby?
3. What’s your passion?
4. Do you have a disabled family member?
Each of these questions can bring you into many arenas.
Every subject ties to dozens of others.
The non-fiction writer doesn’t have to work very hard to find something to write about.
Marketing is the issue.
Spend time looking through desired magazines from market lists to see what they’ve published in the past few years in your interest area.
This is your homework.
At this stage you only have to pull together your facts, figures, and perhaps a few expert opinions.
It depends on the subject.
Your article will write itself, fueled by your enthusiasm.
If you haven’t tried your hand at non-fiction, or haven’t ventured there recently, go back.
Look into it again.
Between online and print markets, plus eBook possibilities pleading for content, good freelance writers who can produce worthy non-fiction can add more to their coffers than credentials.
Reliable Market List Resources
There are several ways to get current market lists, which can be sorted for both non-fiction and creative non-
fiction.
The following are seven diverse sources of market lists from which to pick your contenders.
Each of them requires you to become a member, but this registration is free for the asking, and so is the list.
The Writer website has a quick link section on its front page.
In it are the market directory, contest directory, agent directory, etc.
In the Market Directory alone are hundreds of current markets checked out as legitimate. Everything the writer wants to know about a market is there.
The P&W website has many useful features.
The Tools for Writers button on the toolbar will take you to market databases that will keep any writer busy for days, if they have that kind of time.
3. Writer’s Digest
The Digest has extensive resources, as do the other two magazines.
Its market lists can also be sorted for specific needs and is updated regularly.
Also has a formidable market list to keep a writer enthralled for hours.
Brings to your inbox a free newsletter weekly with tips, tricks, and a market list.
There’s always something for the serious writer.
Does a major job for the freelance writer.
Each week its newsletter delivers loads of markets to your inbox.
Individual market links are good, fast, and complete.
7. First Writer
This website markets only to the freelance writer.
Their newsletter is also free.
This is a job brokerage.
If you can’t find something to pique your interest in one of the listed resources, you can always do a Google search on your specific desired niche.
You’ll get plenty of possibilities to sort through.
Note: Another niche market idea is trade publications.
About Claudette J. Young
Claudette J. Young has been writing and publishing since 2008. While working in multiple genres, she’s begun to concentrate on specific forms.
Short forms, such as flash fiction, short stories, and poetry clutter her work space. Find out more about her and her writing at claudettejyoung.com.
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