Step 1. Choose a niche

You have decided to start your own e-commerce business – that’s great! And you have already found out that dropshipping is the easiest and most convenient way of running online stores. Savvy you are! But where to start?

If you’re going to choose your niche yourself, read on (or watch this video). If you need professional help with it – go here. 

Psst! You can scroll down to a time-saving tip at the bottom

Step 1. You should make a list of some ideas for niches. It means that it is time to:

• Start with yourself and brainstorm what you, your friends and family have recently bought online. Imagine what you would like to buy. Think about your hobbies and the things that you love and know.
• Visit some popular dropshipping directories and study the markets, categories, and products. Big retail platforms like AliExpress and Amazon are also useful. Examine the sections with popular products and interesting finds.
• Go to Google AdWords and choose the Keyword Planner tool. In the section “Search for new keywords using a phrase, website or category” enter your request, for example, “women clothing”. Then push the button “Get ideas” and study the results.

• Now cross out those niches that can be seen as illegal or unethical and bring you problems with the payment system and other obstacles.

Step 2. After you have shortlisted the niches a bit, you should evaluate niche potential. 

• Visit AliExpress and filter the products of your niche by rating, free shipping availability and the number of orders. It will show how popular the chosen product is.

• Enter the name of the chosen niche in the search field of Google Trends and check out the result. An ascending line of the trend for the region that you target is a good sign.

• Check search volume in Keyword Planner. The best results for you range from 5000 to 50000.If the figure is less than 5000, the niche is not popular enough; and if the search volume is more than 50000, it will be too hard to compete with other sellers.
• Search on Facebook and Instagram or other popular social media if you can find at least 10 groups with 30K+ followers devoted to your dropshipping niche. If you can, it is a positive sign.

Step 3. Now see that niches left on your list are quite popular, but not too competitive and you can make your choice.

Congrats! Now you are ready for the next step that will help find your place in the dropshipping market. 

If you’re still uncertain about what niche to choose – check out this service. Our specialists will thoroughly analyze your interests, hobbies, experience. According to the current trends and demand, we will provide you with the three most profitable niches. You’ll also get some tips on the best selling products and useful recommendations for each of the niches.

The Time-saving Tip

We have done most of the work above for you and collected and analyzed lots of profitable niches and newest demand trends on Dropship Insights: sign up for free and discover promising niches with trends, gender preferences and regions where each niche is most popular. 

We also have a large collection of articles in the AliDropship blog on niche research waiting for you to read them.