In general, what type of online business and what niche is most lucrative now?

Sure it is tough question that does not have easy answers and is also trendy and varies depending on environment.
But generally speaking what
1) type of online business is most lucrative now?
Type can be examples like
-ecommerce site (earnings can be from affiliate commissions or profits of products sold)
-content sites /blogs (earnings can be from affiliate commissions or PPC ads like adsense)
-digital products download site (earnings will be sales less cost of digital products)
-file content sharing site (earnings can be from affiliate commission or PPC ads like adsense)

2) niche is most lucrative now?
Niche meaning segment/sector eg. finance or clothing or health niches

Cheers!

 

There is no goldmine. Even if some niches are more competitive that the others, it doesn't mean these niches are perfect for you. Try to find something you're really passionate about. That's the key to success

 

Network Marketing is the best for now.

 

What's best is surely a matter of opinion, and is probably based on how much effort you are prepared to put into it. I know a guy that makes thousands a month from selling cheap crap on eBay, he makes this money because he put the effort in. I also know a guy that took over an online store that was doing really well, he drove it into the ground, all because he lacked the passion and drive needed to put the effort in and make it work.

Figure out what's best for you and find a way to make it work.

 

There are reasons why you should answer your own question:

1. If someone on DP has a great unknown niche to exploit, it is unlikely that s/he will share it with anyone else on DP.

2. If someone suggests a niche that you know nothing about (e.g., blogging on precision cutting tools for orthopedic surgeons) it will be of little help and you might waste a lot of time looking into it.

3. If you find a niche based upon your experience in life (business, sports, socializing, etc.), you will know the in's and out's of the niche and actually be more likely to know what to pitch to the niche and how to pitch it. Makes a big difference.

Finally, "hot" niches come and go all of the time and if you focus on the latest "fad", you may put in a lot of time on a business that will lose its entire market in a year when the crowd moves on to the next fad, as they always do. A "medium warm" niche that allows you to offer a solution that will be of value now and in the future is the way to go, in my opinion.

 

I quite agree with your first and last points @jrbiz. Nobody shares what the real secrets to success in IM are unless it's for a price which usually gives you a big run for your money. Also, the market structure in this domain is very fleeting. By the time you settle a niche as 'hot', it has become frozen as ice the very next moment.
I guess there's no standard answer to the OP's question. The key, however, to know what might work and what not is researching and researching again and again as the scenario keeps changing day-to-day.

 

Hey tradester,

1) Type of online business is most lucrative now?
You will be amazed to know my answer about your first question! You did asked that, "What type of online business is most lucrative now?"

- There are many categories of online businesses, from which you can make money online.
-- Affiliate marketing: {first and foremost} either It's an Amazon product or an individual one. The primary objective is to sell the product on your own. But how? Here is the simple way in 3 words.
1) Define : Define your niche at first
2) Build : Build a landing pages for it. Get a good SERP position for it. You can invest few bucks for online advertising for your product.
3) Earn : At last, Earn passive income from affiliate product sales! (Earning will be from Ad Networks & Profit on Product Sales)

-- Online Gaming: This one is a quite popular, but is my primary choice to have a test! Build an online facebook game, where people joins, invest $$ get points, loss points. Probably, you just (In fact, your programmer) need to setup a piece of code that withdraw-deposit points in-exchange of real money! That real money feeds your pocket!

-- eCommerce site: As you already indicated. Starting an eCommerce site is a good idea. But you need to put the effort in to get a real return! e.g; Advertising (Online/Offline), Quick Support Team, Control Center, Good Marketing Strategy and many more.


2) Which niche is the most lucrative one?
- Everything is the most lucrative whenever you start up a business. Weather changes up whenever you decides something wrong up in your business. I won't repeat the same lecture (Other DP members already discussed about it.)
- In short, Personally I loves to startup my business in Software IT and Automobiles. Secondarily, I would suggest you to go for a health, stocks, fashion and education.

It is only my personal ideas, it depends on you. Whatever you apply for! Kindly let me know if you're seeking for more information.

 

Try making iOS Apps. There are not so many competitors today.