Niche Scout

Evaluate whether a keyword/topic is a profitable KDP publishing niche. Based on the 3-step validation framework from Sean Dollwet, Dale Roberts, and Dave Chesson (175 episodes distilled in Kings of Kindle).

Usage

/niche-scout beekeeping for beginners
/niche-scout "anxiety management"
/niche-scout claude code AI coding assistant

Workflow

Step 1: Amazon Keyword Volume (DataForSEO)

Run the keyword volume script to get Amazon search volume and related keywords:

python3 ~/.claude/skills/niche-scout/scripts/keyword-volume.py "$ARGUMENTS"

This returns:

Amazon search volume for the seed keyword + 9 variations
Related keywords with volume (up to 20)
Use these to assess demand and identify series potential (10-keyword strategy)

Demand threshold: Seed keyword should have 200+ monthly Amazon searches. Related keywords reveal series opportunities.

Step 2: BSR Analysis (Apify Amazon Scraper)

Run the BSR scraper to get Best Seller Rank for top books:

python3 ~/.claude/skills/niche-scout/scripts/bsr-scraper.py "$ARGUMENTS"

This runs two Apify calls:

Search results — gets titles, prices, ratings, ASINs for top 20 books
Product details — gets BSR, publisher, categories for top 10

Wait for both to complete (typically 30-90 seconds each).

Step 3: Score the Niche

Apply Sean Dollwet's BSR benchmarks to the scraped data:

| Metric | Target | Scoring | |--------|--------|---------| | Books under 5,000 BSR | No more than 5 of top 20 | >5 = too competitive | | Books under 30,000 BSR | Most or all of top 20 | Sweet spot for new publishers | | Books under 100,000 BSR | At least 7 of 10 | Minimum viable demand | | Self-published on page 1 | At least 2-3 | Proves indie can compete | | Search results count | Under 3,000 | Lower = easier to rank |

Self-published detection signals:

Publisher = "Independently published" or "Independently Published"
Price $2.99-$4.99 range
Keyword-heavy title (exact match of search term)
Stock/template cover design

Step 4: Check All Three Platforms

A keyword that's weak on Kindle might be strong on paperback or audiobook:

| Platform | Good BSR | Notes | |----------|----------|-------| | Kindle eBooks | Under 50,000 | Most competitive; most publishers start here | | Paperback | Under 100,000 | Higher royalties; reference/cookbooks do better | | Audiobook (Audible) | Under 100 search results | Least competitive; under-served in most niches |

Step 5: Generate the Report

Output a structured niche report with:

Keyword volume table — seed + related keywords with Amazon search volume
BSR table — top 10 books sorted by BSR with publisher, self-pub flag
Benchmark scorecard — pass/fail on each Dollwet criterion
Estimated daily sales — using BSR-to-sales conversion (see reference/bsr-sales-table.md)
Competition signals — weak covers, bad titles, low reviews = beatable
Series potential — can you find 5-10 related keywords for a book series?
Verdict — VIABLE / BORDERLINE / TOO COMPETITIVE / DEAD

Step 6: Hot vs Evergreen Assessment

Classify the niche:

Hot topic: Trending, short window, fast cash if you move quickly
Evergreen: Steady demand year-round, compounds over time
Seasonal: Predictable spikes (gardening in spring, etc.)

The ideal portfolio mixes both. Check Google Trends for seasonality patterns.

Niche Selection Checklist (from Ch 2)

Before committing to a niche, ALL boxes must check:

[ ] Demand confirmed: Multiple books in top results have BSR under 100,000
[ ] BSR sweet spot: Most of the top 20 books fall between 10,000 and 30,000
[ ] Competition beatable: No more than 5 books under 5,000 BSR in top 20
[ ] Self-published proof: At least 2-3 self-published books selling well on page 1
[ ] Weak spots visible: You can identify covers, titles, or descriptions you can beat
[ ] Multi-platform potential: Checked Kindle, paperback, and audiobook
[ ] Search results count: Under 3,000 (lower = better)
[ ] Series potential: Can identify 5-10 related keyword variations
[ ] No trademark issues: Keywords don't include trademarked terms

Reference Files

For BSR-to-sales conversion: see reference/bsr-sales-table.md
For tool comparison: see reference/tools.md
For the full keyword workflow: use /keyword-fill after niche is validated

Tool Dependencies

DataForSEO — Amazon keyword volume + related keywords (credentials in ~/.zshrc or hardcoded)
Apify — Amazon product scraping for BSR, publisher, categories (APIFY_TOKEN in env)
Python 3 with requests library

Related Skills

keyword-fill — Fill the 7 Amazon keyword boxes (run AFTER niche is validated)
book-architect — Generate outline + title/subtitle (run AFTER niche + keywords)
listing-optimizer — Write description + select categories
deep-research — For deeper market analysis on borderline niches
seomachine — For Google keyword data (complements Amazon data)