So, you’ve heard that sub niches win the day in affiliate marketing.
“Niches are hyper saturated these days,” they say. “You’re better off going into a sub niche.”
And you want to, except you don’t know how.
What are sub niches, anyway?
Why are they essential to your affiliate marketing success?
And most importantly, how do you find the best ones?
Not to worry.
In this blog, I’ve got all the answers for you.
I’ll show you:
- A super-simple definition of the sub niche, and why you should get into one
- 5 fool-proof ways to find the perfect sub niche
- Great example sub niches to inspire you
- And much more
Ready?
Let’s jump right in.
What Is a Sub Niche, Anyway?
To put things simply, a sub niche is a niche within a niche.
It’s a smaller branch of that niche, and a more specific one.
Ok, let’s get into definitions.
Here’s one by Merriam-Webster:
Source: merriam-webster.com
And one by Wikipedia:
Source: wikipedia.com
So, what is a sub niche in affiliate marketing?
The same thing, really.
For example, take fitness.
Fitness is a broad niche, with sub niches within it such as:
- The keto diet
- Weight loss
- Vegan recipes
- Yoga
- Crossfit
Or take money. Sub niches ideas could go like:
- Investing
- Budgeting
- Bitcoin
- Mortgage
- Credit card
And so on.
So basically, a sub niche is a smaller, more specific area of focus within a broader niche.
Why Are Sub Niches Important? (Why You Should Care)
Let’s imagine you’re a fitness expert.
Your goal is to get your followers to the level where they’re healthier and feel better about themselves (and to cash in on it on the side).
But let’s take a look at the fitness niche.
Source: ahrefs.com
The keyword “fitness” has a KD score of 91, which means you should probably try to rank for it in the next 100 years.
Kidding.
Maybe 10 would be enough, given you’re a blogging goddess and have a secret strategy for collecting bucketloads of backlinks.
If you’re a regular dude like the rest of us, you’ll be better off staying away from keywords labelled “super hard.”
Also, check out your competitors for this keyword.
Source: ahrefs.com
All these players have DRs of no less than 70.
If you’re a new blogger, it’ll take you forever to beat them.
Which is why you should go into a sub niche.
For example, let’s say you decide to go for the sub niche “south beach diet recipes” instead.
Take a look:
Source: ahrefs.com
Easier, right?
Now, check out your competitors in this niche:
Source: ahrefs.com
See what I mean?
These sites have DRs of 50 or 60, making them easier to contend against.
PLUS…here’s the best part.
There are sub niches within sub niches.
Like this: Fitness > Diet > South Beach Diet > South Beach Diet Recipes > Easy South Beach Diet Recipes
The more “niched in” you get, the less competitors you’ll have (and the easier it’ll be for you to rank for keywords).
So sure, going after huge niches like “fitness” or “money” has its advantages. (Tens of thousands of monthly searches, for instance.)
But if you aren’t yet a successful site with a skyhigh DR, you’ll have higher odds of making it by going into a sub niche.
Ok, on to the fun part.
How Do I Find My Sub Niche? (5 Easy Hacks Every Affiliate Marketer Should Know)
Before you start to panic, know this.
Finding the perfect sub niche is easy.
And it’s (almost) scientific.
Which means you won’t need to set aside brainstorming sessions where you’re knocking your head on your desk, begging it to come up with a list of sub niches you can go into.
Yup.
You don’t have to “make up” side niches.
Because there are easy-as-pie ways to find the best ones.
Here are five I recommend.
1. Mining Amazon for Buyer Niches You’ve Overlooked
Amazon is a goldmine, and I don’t only mean for finding any product you can dream up.
It’s also a treasure trove of information.
Surprise, surprise.
It’s great for finding viable sub niche ideas too.
For example, let’s say you want to find a sub niche for “dog food.”
Type your keyword into Amazon’s search field, and check out the suggestions.
Like this:
Source: amazon.com
You can choose one of the sub niches and use it to find even smaller sub niches.
Like this:
Source: amazon.com
And so on.
2. Using Google to Dig Out Treasures You’re Missing
Ah, Google.
Who can imagine their existence without you?
But Google isn’t only there for finding out all the information you’ll ever need in life (such as how to do a Celtic braid or how to be a good friend).
It’s also there in case you’re out of sub niche ideas.
Yup!
All you need to do is use the same process you used with Amazon.
Simply type in your mainstream niche, and see the suggestions it comes up with.
Like this:
Source: google.com
Another thing you can do is click “enter,” then scroll to the very bottom of the page.
There, you’ll get even more ideas.
Like these:
Source: google.com
Easy enough, right?
3. Making Wikipedia Useful (At Last)
If you’re like me, you hate Wikipedia.
It’s unreliable and boring.
But guess what?
It can (finally) be useful to you…
…especially if you’re looking for extra sub niches you may have overlooked.
Here’s how to do it.
First, type your mainstream niche into the search bar.
Let’s use the dog food example.
Scroll down to the “Contents” box, and you’ll get this.
Source: wikipedia.org
See all those awesome sub niche ideas?
To go even deeper, type one of the sub niche ideas into Wikipedia’s search field again.
For instance, if you type in “dog food raw,” you’ll get this:
Source: wikipedia.com
Awesome stuff, huh?
4. Spying on Your Competitors
Here’s something all online writers should know.
We need to be spies.
That’s right!
As a blogger, you can’t be a pioneer, forging your way on your own to unknown lands.
If you want to rank (and rank well), you need to keep sticking your nose into other people’s blogs.
And here’s great news: you’ll learn a ton from them.
Want even better news?
You can use your competitors’ blogs for almost anything.
Including digging out awesome sub niche ideas.
It’s not hard.
All you have to do is visit their blogs and do some sleuthing.
What you’re looking for?
How their blog is divided, and if any of these divisions can become a sub niche on its own.
For instance, let’s say you’re thinking of starting a blog about dogs.
But you don’t want to be too general and target all kinds of dog topics.
You want to niche down.
So to do that, you visit a dog blog like Dogtopia.
You read the categories they deal with in their blog.
Like this:
Source: dogtopia.com
See how some of these can be turned into sub niches?
You can now start your own blog about:
- Dog education
- Dog quality care
- Dog safety
- Dog socialization
- Dog training
That’s five awesome ideas for sub niches, in only one competitor blog!
Yup: the internet is a goldmine.
It really is.
5. Spending Time on Forums
Spending time on forums is fun…
…and not only because you can sit back unobserved and watch people slit each others’ throats.
But also because you can use your time there to find cool sub niche ideas.
All you have to do is type your mainstream niche into the search bar.
When you do, you’ll see related searches under that topic.
Like this:
Source: quora.com
See how each one of these related topics can become an individual sub niche?
Sub Niche Examples (Time to Be Inspired!)
Ok, now you know how to find thousands and thousands of great sub niches.
But you want inspiration.
You want to know exactly what these sub niches will look like.
So I thought, why not?
Here are a few awesome niches and their sub niches:
Sub Niches in Health and Fitness
- Digestive health
- Swimming
- Bodybuilding
- Yoga
- The keto diet
- Clean eating
- Mud runs
- Spartan races
- Running
- Biking
Sub Niches in Finance
- Financial planning
- Retirement
- Investing
- The Stock market
- Getting out of debt
- Saving
- Money management
- Budgeting
- Residual income
- Interest education
Sub Niches for Relationships
- Dating
- Weddings
- Courtship
- Family planning
- Divorce
- Parenting
- Adoption
- Family budgeting
- Kids
- Teens
Sub Niches in Technology
- Drones
- Smart watches
- Programming
- Laptop reviews
- Smartphone reviews
- App reviews
- DIY technology
- Virtual reality
- Software
- Artificial intelligence
Sub Niches in Education
- Online learning platforms
- Online courses
- Adult education
- Learning apps
- Study guides
- Tests and quizzes
- Revision tools
- Language learning
- Life skills
- Homeschooling
Now, your turn!
Continue the list with sub niches in wealth, sports, blogging, travel, and fashion.
Use the steps I mentioned above.
In no time, you’ll have a huge list of sub niche ideas of your own.
Sub Niches (Why the Riches are in the Niches)
Ok, so you’ve probably already heard this cheesy phrase.
“The riches are in the niches.”
Maybe you’ve heard it hundreds of times.
But is it true?
My answer: it sure is!
Because as I said earlier, most mainstream niches are already up to their necks in saturation.
Go into them, and you’ll need years and incredible genius to beat your established competitors out.
But sub niches?
They’re still good game.
So, go ahead.
While the time is right, pick your sub niche and become the authority in that space.
As you’ve seen, it’s not hard.
Simply choose one of the five methods for finding sub niches I mention in this blog.
It’s all you need when it comes to finding a sub niche that’ll make you nod your head and say,
“It’s true. The riches are in the niches.”
Image credits: all screenshots taken by the author, August 2022.
