e.g. If you're starting a consultancy/dev shop, do you have people already trying to get you to do work for them or complaining to you about difficulties finding good freelancers? If so, there is clear demand for your specific services.
e.g. One of my most successful side projects was a web browser for the Roku that I developed after reading a bunch of people complaining there was no web browser in the Roku forums. The browser went on to get over 500k active installs (there are ~10mm active Roku devices).
e.g. Another popular way to do it that works great for local businesses (or SEO-based businesses like OP's Keto business) is to use the Google keyword research tool and see what sort of traffic your keywords get and how much people are paying for clicks on those keywords. If it costs a lot to buy search ads, the niche is likely too competitive.
I've learned the hardest part of a project. Is the one you've not been exposed too. While working on a startup idea. I'm hitting a lot of roadblocks on sales / marketing etc.
When I did consulting/freelancing, that was easier. I know how much a project is worth, the value provided etc.
In retrospect, I should have probably used it solely to get user data like Google does with Chrome and then done something useful with that data, but this was before I realized that (somewhat shady) business model.
You'll need:
- A small amount of money for the ad campaign itself (e.g. $50-$100)
- A compelling image (buy a stock photo, or get a graphic designer to whip something up)
- Some compelling copy (one liner for your pitch)
- Some time spent tuning the ad targeting to focus on your target market (or your best guess of who those people are)