When you are trying to break into a new niche, you might ask yourself at some point, "Does this niche have too much competition?" That is the wrong question to ask. Any experienced marketer or copywriter will tell you that having competition in a niche is a very good thing. If a niche has no competitors, that niche most likely will not make you any money. Having an established competitor in a niche means someone has already done all the hard work … figuring out if there is a market, if people are interested in it, and on top of all that, if it is actually profitable.
If you think your niche has too many competitors, you can cut into specific niches or create tailored reports. I knew a guy who sold a special report about making money by investing in metal mining companies. That niche started to get crowded, so he wrote a book about investing in silver mining companies, and another in gold mining companies, and so on.
As for tailored reports, I have another friend who recently wrote a guide on time management specifically for internet marketers. He wanted to joint venture with a couple of experts in similar fields such as personal development, so he tailor the report just for that joint venture partner. He added more information about self-help and personal growth, and removed the more technical stuff.
Also remember that, as long as you are not a direct threat to your competition, you can become each others' affiliates. Let's say you sold a guide about how to setup a WordPress blog quickly and easily, you could contact someone with a guide on how to write WordPress plugins. The WordPress setup guy tells his list about the WordPress plugin product and gets a commission. The WordPress plugin guy tells his list about the WordPress setup product and gets a commission. Both people win.
Finally, do not underestimate the power of pre-education to help your sales. Do you think a guide about how to make money on foreclosures would sold as well ten years ago as it would today? What about guides on blogging or podcasting? The internet and the news media does the hard work of training the common people about things that need to know, and you only need to sell them the solution.
Your niche may have competition, but so what? You can beat that problem with specific niches and tailor reports, make competitors into affiliates, and use pre-education to capitalize on needs people are already talking about.