It is easy to feel like a rabbit lost in the headlights when you come to the online workspace for the first time. As it happens, there are hundreds of ways you can online and many are unsure on what can fit them. Many newbies don’t even where to start in identifying their online niche. So, how do you identify your online niche?
There are many opportunities
There thousands of opportunities for everyone and you will find stars in almost all areas.
Some excel as transcriptionists, others as SEO gurus while others are at home working as writers not forgetting the other online opportunities.
As a newbie, the best way to guarantee success is by choosing a niche- once single area of focus which you can learn, get jobs in and build your ratings and subsequently income.
So, how do you choose a niche?
The big debate has always been whether you should go for passion or the money! Well, while some gurus will advise that you go for the dollars, to me passion wins it;
Here is why;
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Nothing beats doing what you love
If you are in it for the cash, and then you don’t earn for some days, you don’t have any motivation to go on. With passion, you are doing it out of love- so, you will always be eager to open your laptop and start working whether there is money or not.
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You can be the best
When doing it for money, certainly in some days you will struggle to deliver your best even if you have been trained. Why? You were forced into it by a desire to earn and you may not be always the best.
With passion, the self-drive and personality will push you to be number one as it just comes naturally.
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There is nothing to loose
If you have gone for the money and invested in some training and the tools for the job and then you don’t succeed, you will quit cursing how you have wasted your time and resources.
But with passion, there is not quitting as you are enjoying yourself and even if you temporarily shift to others things, you will always be tempted to come back to your calling.
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It is easier
Doing what I love means things just flow naturally. Not once will you ever struggle to work out something. With money, you’ve gone for a strange field and sometimes you will feel the stress as you try to work out your way through.
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You feel complete
When you let your passion take charge, you get to feel complete as an individual. You will be making a living from something you love and living your dream.
Is passion the only factor?
As you choose, you will also need to analyze the available opportunities.
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Check if there are enough jobs
Some niches have fewer jobs than others
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How much are the potential earnings
Jobs which aren’t over flooded will generally pay more.
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What are the future prospects
Some areas have a better growth prospects than others.
Considering most people have more than one passion, it shouldn’t be hard to choose the best and work on building your skills and expertise. Money should flow not long after.
How i identified my passion
All my school life, I used to rank among the top three in English. On multiple occasions, my teachers would excitedly read out my compositions to the rest of the class and challenge them to write like yours truly.
While in college, I had a humorous article published in one of national newspapers transforming me to be a celebrity in the students’ community.
As a professional, I have always found myself penning articles, opinions and educative content for various online and offline publications.
That is how I found myself working as a freelance writer. Though I dabble in affiliate marketing and a bit of SEO, I mostly feel at home when writing.
Should you carry all your eggs in one basket?
I believe in having several baskets. As an online freelancer, it’s wise to have diversified income streams.
As I said earlier, I also do affiliate marketing and offer training services for upcoming online freelancers as a way of balancing income.
I am also working on an e-course and an e-book which should be out before the end of the year.
Venturing in other areas help me to pay bills in seasons when writing jobs are not forthcoming.
How to identify your passion
There is nothing as tragic as living someone else life. You will be unhappy, irritable and frustrated. This happens if you are unsure of your passions. Well, here are some questions to help you;
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What are your hobbies?
Go through them and see if there is one which can be monetized. For example, if you like gardening, you can start an affiliate site in gardening. If you like making people laugh, you can easily make millions from YouTube. And if you like coding, then you can be rich creating apps.
The internet has opened up the world so much you can easily monetize everything.
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What are your skills
What areas are you trained in? What do people fame you for? Is it that you are a good data analyst? Or maybe you create awesome websites? Or you are a good marketer?
If you like what you know, then identify what to do online is pretty simple.
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What are the qualities of your friends?
Maybe you are pulled to your friends by certain things they do. Maybe because they like playing guitar or they are good in analyzing politics. They could also be good dancers or firm believers in certain principles like yoga.
That which makes you prefer that company could be your passion. Get ways of monetizing it.
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Who are your role models?
We often choose our idols based on what we see in them. Their work, the way they do things or even their personalities.
That which they do could be a potential passion.
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What can you die for?
If you would sacrifice anything in exchange for it, then that is your passion. For instance, somebody may postpone a birthday celebration because it coincides with a tree planting day. Of course, trees are this guys’ passion!
Here are some other ways of identifying your passion
Getting the passion is the first step in getting to identify how to make money online. Afterwards decide on how to monetize it and have your niche.
You will have answered the question of how to succeed as an online freelancer
