Over the course of the weekend I used the internet to find places most of you out there are aware of to get good stuff cheap. Most of you will know what these places/events are, but it’s how you find them that’s the important part.

Using Google Maps, with the category operator you can quickly find what you’re looking for in or near your local area.

For this example we’ll use Flea Markets, Thrift Stores and Estate Sales.

Flea Markets
(International visitors: flea market defined)

Usage: city state category:Flea Markets
Example using Tampa Florida

Thrift Stores
(International visitors: thrift store defined)

Usage: city state category:Thrift Stores
Example using Boston Massachusetts

Estate Sale
(International visitors: estate sale defined)

Usage: city state category:Estate Appraisal & Sales
Example using Dallas Texas

How do you find other categories in Google Maps?

Instead of using the category operator, just use your town/state and what you’re looking for when searching. Any category that appears in the list (there may be several) will sort by that category only.

Example: If I search for Tampa FL cars, I get a ton of listings.  But at the top left, I see the categories, and they look like this:

Note where it says Categories: Auto Repair, Auto Dealers Used Cars. Clicking one will sort by that category only.

Almost anything you search for in Google Maps will have a category for it. Use it and use it often. You will most likely discover many businesses you didn’t know existed that in turn give you more choices to shop for better deals.

You’ve heard the old Catch-22 phrase, “You need experience to get a job, you need a job to get experience.”

But if you were to pit education vs. experience, which counts more on a résumé? Which is the one more likely to get you an interview? Continued

It is the goal of anyone seeking to make money on the Internet to find a good market. Some markets are better than others. Some markets have people who are more willing to buy things than others. Some markets have more demand than others.

The goal is to find a market which has enough demand and enough of a space for you to make a niche of your own and make an offer that would be of interest to that market.

I would say that there are 4 markets that are pretty much proven to be good performers on the Internet. Those markets are:

1. Health
   There is a huge market for people looking to solutions to health problems, looking to lose weight, look better, etc.
2. Relationships
   Another huge market is teaching people how to have successful relationships, find a mate, get dates, etc.
3. Making Money
   A really huge market is that of the information product designed to show you how to make money. You see a lot of products on making money with real estate or, yes, making money online.
4. Hobbies
   Another huge market is to find a hobby that has a perhaps small, but very enthusiastic audience and offer products specifically for people with that hobby.

If you’re just getting started, and you need direction, start with one of these categories. Choose one where you have the most personal knowledge. A product where you are not really an expert will be noticed from a mile away.

We touched on this subject back on Day 8 of this series. No matter what business you are in or how you want to pursue profits from the Internet, everything hinges on finding a good market to cater to.

You can, of course, cater to multiple markets at the same time using different parts of your business, but you have to find a group of people with a particular need and want, then provide them what they ask for in exchange for money.

The rules are the same online as they are offline when it comes to these basics.

So, how do you go about finding a market niche? Here are some potential ideas for you, starting out with the ones I listed on Day 8:

• Keyword research. Using a site like WordTracker, research what keywords people are searching for on the major search engines.
• Google Trends. Google provides graphical trends on keywords so you can see if activity if increasing or decreasing over time. A great way to see what areas are getting hotter and have buzz.
• Looking For Goals. 43Things is a social network focused on goals. See what people are trying to accomplish in their lives. It can be great idea fodder for an information product to help them accomplish their goals.
• Use Forums. Yes, you need to participate in forums. See what kinds of questions are being asked.
• Run Surveys
• Investigate Other Sites. There are, many times, hidden data on other sites that can provide valuable insight. Well, it isn’t really hidden, but it might be data that you never thought of using as market research. For example, go do Download.com and look at the types of software being most often downloaded. That will give you markets where there is strong demand.
• Participate in Social Media. Building up a network on sites like Facebook and Twitter can be very valuable in market research. You obviously don’t want to spam these sites (they will revolt like crazy), but asking people questions is a great way to do informal surveying.

When looking for a niche, there are two schools of thought on how to choose:

1. Find a niche where there will be little competition.
2. Find a niche with high demand (and probably lots of competition).

Your choice is up to you. It surely is a lot easier to compete in some hidden niche with very little contenders. You can more or less write your own rules. The tradeoff, of course, is that the potential audience is typically a whole lot smaller.

On the flip side, choosing a popular niche might mean you have a lot of competition, but it also means you have proven high demand for what you’re selling. So, at that point, it isn’t about finding something that will sell. It is about out-marketing and providing better value than your competition.