A niche is explained simply as finding or creating something special. The niche is either the craft itself i.e. something that no one or few people are doing. Or it is a variation of a craft i.e. you change or put conditions of your own that make the craft different. For example, iPad covers are not a niche, but hand embroidered iPad covers could very well be a niche since not many are available.
The advantage of working in a niche are obvious. You stand out from the rest as one-of-a-kind. There are thousands of iPad covers available online. But only yours are the hand embroidered ones.
Since there is no other product to compare it to you have relatively greater freedom for pricing it as you like. You do not have to compare or be restricted by another product because your craft is different from any other craft.
The deeper you dig the more specific you can get.
“Finding a subcategory within a craft group of the product is known as finding a “micro niche”.”
If you think out of the box or try to apply your original ideas and specific talents to a certain craft, you can create a craft much different from the original one. You can discover these kind of “micro niches” in almost any kind of craft.
“People often think that all the best craft ideas are already taken up. This is not the case.”
The most successful crafters are the ones who have acted on their liking for doing something regardless of how small the idea may have seemed then.
Do you like Crewel work? Yes, someone has made a very profitable business selling Crewel kits online. There might not be a large demand for Crewel Kits as there is for quilts.
But there are very few providers. So even fewer buyers, less demand result in a large number of sales as there it no competition. This is what working with a niche craft does for your business. You get better conversions and sales with minimal effort on advertising and promotion.
Start a craft business in as specific a niche as possible. We realise that you may have a wide crafting talent. Think about your craft and consider how you can make it special. What changes, additions can you make to make your craft? The changes do not have to be earth-shattering revelations. Sometimes it is as simple as playing around with the colour palette.
There was many ways of creating a niche and we will list them here shortly. Understand that your scenes can jump many times when selling online on Etsy and eBay. It’s all about establishing your identity as a leader. People recognise where you craft is coming from. Your brand is your true asset in a craft business. It makes you stand out from the rest. People start searching for you and your craft and not make genetic searches.
“Developing a niche can work wonders for creating a brand image and can make you an industry leader. If that sounds like a very high talk, it’s not.”
When you work with a niche craft you will find very few people to compete with. You will discover sub-categories and micro niches of a craft that are ready for the picking, where there is almost NO competition.
A niche is anything that is not being done well, not been done at all, that you can do well. By focussing on specific aspects of a niche you can discover “micro niches”.
Here are just a way to discover a niche and micro-niche for your craft business.
- Choose unique colour pallets.
- Choose unique choice of materials.
- Apply fun trends to the traditional draft.
- Minimalism.
- Use high-quality materials.
- Use unique branding and presentation.
- Combine your skills with another craft, such as, hand-embroidered jewellery boxes.
