Starting an Online Business All-in-One For Dummies®, 3rd Edition

Chapter 2: Identifying Niche Markets That Keep Paying: Kids, Boomers, Pets, and More

In This Chapter

• Unlocking the minority report of the under-18 crowd
• Hanging out with the over-50 crowd
• Finding man's best (online) friends: pets and more

In this chapter, we take a look at niche markets, or those segments within the marketplace that may be very small but lucrative. Some of the more popular niches that continue to withstand the test of time involve children, baby boomers, and pets.

Children make up a fairly large market of potential online customers, and there's no reason why you can't take a piece of that market — as long as you can keep them interested in what you have to offer. We show you how to tackle the marketing strategies that help you tap into the kids' market — and, most importantly, their parents' wallets.

Another growing segment of the niche marketplace is baby boomers. A record number of people were born between 1946 and 1964, and they eventually received the baby boomer label. Today, these baby boomers represent one of the fastest-growing markets and have enjoyed an overall level of prosperity that has made them a viable customer for the right online business concept.

Kids and boomers are not the only segments who can be credited as contributing to online wealth makers. Man's best friend (and all his four-legged cohorts) has proven to be a lucrative niche market. With nearly two-thirds of U.S. households purported to have at least one pet, you can imagine what that ...