What are the best ways to test if a journalistic niche is viable?

1 Identify your audience

The first step is to define who your target audience is and what their needs, interests, and pain points are. You can use tools like Google Trends, Keyword Planner, and BuzzSumo to research what topics and keywords are popular and relevant to your niche. You can also look at existing publications, blogs, podcasts, and social media accounts that cover similar or related topics and see what kind of content they produce and how they engage with their followers. This will help you understand what kind of value you can offer to your audience and how you can differentiate yourself from the competition.

2 Validate your idea

The next step is to validate your niche idea by getting feedback from potential readers, customers, or partners. You can use various methods to test your idea, such as surveys, interviews, polls, landing pages, email newsletters, or social media posts. The goal is to find out if there is enough interest, demand, and willingness to pay for your niche content, products, or services. You can also use this opportunity to ask for suggestions, criticisms, or questions that can help you improve your idea and address any gaps or challenges.

3 Analyze your market

The third step is to analyze your market and see how viable it is in terms of size, growth, trends, and opportunities. You can use tools like SimilarWeb, Alexa, or SEMrush to estimate the traffic, audience, and revenue of your competitors and compare them to your own goals and projections. You can also use tools like SWOT analysis, Porter's five forces, or PEST analysis to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your niche and how they affect your chances of success. You should also consider the legal, ethical, and social aspects of your niche and how they might impact your reputation and credibility.

4 Experiment with your content

The fourth step is to experiment with your content and see how it performs and resonates with your audience. You can use tools like WordPress, Medium, Substack, or Anchor to create and publish different types of content, such as articles, podcasts, newsletters, or videos. You can also use tools like Google Analytics, Mailchimp, or Podtrac to measure and analyze the engagement, retention, and conversion of your content. You should also use tools like A/B testing, feedback forms, or social media analytics to test and optimize your headlines, formats, styles, and calls to action.

5 Monetize your niche

The fifth step is to monetize your niche and see how profitable it is and what kind of revenue streams you can generate. You can use various models to monetize your niche, such as advertising, sponsorship, subscription, donation, affiliate marketing, or product sales. You can also use tools like Patreon, Gumroad, Shopify, or Stripe to create and manage your monetization platforms. You should also use tools like QuickBooks, Wave, or FreshBooks to track and manage your income and expenses. You should also consider the costs, risks, and taxes of your niche and how they affect your profitability.

6 Review your results

The sixth step is to review your results and see if your niche is viable or not. You can use tools like SMART goals, OKRs, or KPIs to evaluate your performance and progress against your objectives and expectations. You can also use tools like SWOT analysis, feedback loops, or post-mortems to identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats and how you can leverage, improve, overcome, or avoid them. You should also use tools like pivot, iterate, or scale to decide whether you need to change, refine, or expand your niche or not.