how I Found some of my niches
Submitted by kensav on Sat, 05/03/2008 - 07:41.
I've done some organic site building with mini sites or micro sites (I hate both terms) and the biggest piece of advice when going after a niche is to follow something that you like.
I like bicycle racing, I'm interested in health issues, I like online gaming, I like raising bonsai trees. So I came up with a few small mini sites from in these niches and I've written from 5 to 20 pages on each with some ads eventually and later web2.0 technologies like rss, commenting and video.
I started a few sites that were paying very well in the affiliate networks but I just couldn't stay motivated about building out pages and designing anything that felt interesting so they kind of just sat there (maybe I'll sell them).
I'm here now to learn how to market and monetize these sites better and also how do leverage their domain age into finding offers I can market through ppc to start turning a bigger profit.
What are you currently doing and how did you find your niches.
-ken
Exactly!
Exactly!
If you are building a site and trying to promote something you have no interest in, then you will see very limited success. Been there done that.
You have to be interested and motivated in the products or services you are trying to promote.
Simple task. Make a list of the things you like or like to do. Music, cooking etc...
Don't think to hard just let your imagination flow and write down anything any everything that comes to mind.
Now prioritize that list by the items that interest you the most.
Now take the top 5 and and start searching Google to see which ones have the most relevance. Search relevance, keyword relevance etc..
The 3 that have the most relevance are the topics you need to build your "web" presence around. Be that an eBook, blog, web site etc...
Hope that helps.
Dan
Finding profitable niches
I'm a hardcore Wordpress guy and don't have any problem building mini sites. I've created scripting that takes care of unique content for me so the sites and the content isn't a problem. My dilemma is in finding niches that people spend money in. I've created sites that get organic traffic from 250 - 5K uniques per month, but only a few 100 a month in sales from some?? ... so I'm missing something. :)
I'm really looking forward to this entire course to help me recognize my weaknesses.
Joseph
http://twitter.com/josephmurray
Hey Joseph, Could you
Hey Joseph,
Could you expand on the scripting you've created? Are you using rss feeds or creating new content?
Thanks,
Mike
doing something wrong?
Hi Joseph,
Indeed the question is ... how do you get to your content? How original is it? How much are people actually interested in the info that you provide. Apparently not enough to buy from you.
To be able to give better answers I think you need to give more info, or even the url of your site (but I can also imagine that you do not want to do so :))
Richard
Niche: Passion OR Traffice
Hi,
I have heard about two approches for marketing, first one the most talked about is Passion and the other one is Traffic.
I started out with Passion route("build and they will come") which was good to start out and get things rolling, and to some extent I found some traffic and monetization also from those efforts, but not enough to QYDJ.
Second route was the traffic, this one I heard from some very succesfull Internet Marketers. Build toll both where there is proven traffic. This route was hard for me to follow, I was like the niches are saturated, too much competetion, too high ppc cost, big dogs playfield, you know the voice in the head.
I had some succcess in the traffice route, it was hard to start but with some persistence I was on the right track and with some hits I got the passion for that niche also.
IMHO it will be the hybrid of passion and traffic.
I wrote about this about a
I wrote about this about a month ago when looking for a new niche. My suggestion was to look at who's being nominated for the "best affiliate program". It always helps to work with a merchant who is willing to work with you.
One of things that keeps
One of things that keeps coming up for me is "find what people are buying and sell it to them".
So while I agree that you have to have an interest in the area that you marketing to, you still need to sell things that people are buying, or more importantly, position yourself BETWEEN the buyer and the things people are buying.
The whole thing about affiliate marketing is finding advertisers that have landing pages that convert the traffic you send there to sales.
So while having an authoritative site with a ton of content that has a good page rank and quality backlinks is a good idea to start putting together, it seems to me a quicker way to get going is to develop landing pages with the single purpose of pointing someone who is looking for widgets to the best widget supplier in the world. (and also pays the highest commission ;-0)
That being said - there are some things that sell all day everyday that I am just not going to participate in. But that is the beauty of affiliate marketing... there are 1000's of markets.
I like to research, I like to match people up with what they are looking for - I just need to find what people are buying, and sell it to them.
Jack Ball
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jackball
Jack....What methods do you
Jack....What methods do you use to find what people are looking for and what they are interested in buying?
We are newbies and just looking for the best approach to finding a profitable niche.
Thanks
Ah, the dreaded niche...
Dittos. One of the things I've heard time and time again from reputable online guru's is that most newbies get to the point of picking a niche, or something to sell, and then they get stuck. This is, by far, the biggest obstacle and what seems to be a problem for so many. And, the argument between 'sell what's selling' and 'sell something you're interested in' never seems to go away. I don't particularly think that matters too much as long as you can make a profit either way.
What seems ironic to me is that, although this is such a huge challenge for many, the amount of time dedicated to it by many of the guru's seems to be paltry. They quickly glance over this subject by recommending you look at places like Ebay, Amazon, Magazines, etc., for ideas. To me, that's like saying 'pick a needle out of this haystack and try it out'. Problem is, many of us pick things we like, say golf for instance (which I like) which also just happens to be an VERY competitive market. They we try to compete with the superaffiliates and get our you know what handed to us along with nice Google bill. Dare I say, that this isn't a very good approach if you're a rookie?
For me, there is a big disconnect here. I don't quite know what it is, but there's gotta be a better method for choosing niches without it all seeming like one big guessing game.
AGREED !!! It's one BIG
AGREED !!! It's one BIG guessing game!!!!!!
This has been my problem
I think what us newbies need is an apprenticeship like or hands-on approach to learning internet marketing. Specially people that don't understand or know much about marketing.
I would like for someone to not just give me a broad direction like "look for competition" or terms like PPC, etc. I would like to get something more like this:
1. These are the tools for your research
2. This is how you search for what you are looking for
3. This is how you interpret your results
4. Now try it yourself until you understand and let me review your result and tell you if you are in the right path or not
5. This is how you apply the research you just did, try it yourself and let me review to see you are in the right path or not
I have try to search for niches, do competition research, get results and just stare at the stuff until my head hurts. Now what!?
I only learn if I see and do.
JA
The Right Niche
What I check for in a niche:
Passion is important...but you have to check the following to see it will be profitable
no of searches
no of competitors (check the no of ads in google)
check the cpc using google external tool
available frontend,back end,continuity products that can be sold to the niche
check affiliate programs, cpa offers etc
possible jv partners
also when entering a niche - a pre test using an adwords campaign is always good to see if the niche will be profitable
Alex.
what?
I might be a little more advanced than most in the blackinkproject, (I have made good money doing this but I constantly want to learn to make more!) you want "motivation" fine here it is, it is not the product you are selling or the niche etc. It is MONEY! There, now why do you care if it is a green wowdaddy widget or a cream yousuck stick? both have the same goal, to make you money.
I agree with Chip - more
I agree with Chip - more than any other affiliate marketing topic, there's a big gap in terms of how to find a viable niche. This tells me two things: (1) there *is* no systematic way of predicting the viability of a niche (aside from launching a campaign), or (2) those teaching affiliate marketing are holding back!
But I'm not trying to advance a conspiracy theory or anything :)
Moe
Two thoughts
Some really good comments.
aitechworld has an interesting script. "I've created scripting that takes care of unique content for me so the sites and the content isn't a problem." .
Could probably make money there.
Chip said "there's gotta be a better method for choosing niches without it all seeming like one big guessing game." And Moe echoes that feeling with " 1) there *is* no systematic way of predicting the viability of a niche (aside from launching a campaign), or (2) those teaching affiliate marketing are holding back!"
I wish there was a better method. I don't believe there is.
Alex has a really good point. "a pre test using an adwords campaign is always good to see if the niche will be profitable."
Business takes time. More time for some, less time for others. As you work on it, the better you become. (Practice makes perfect!)
I also believe the gurus fail faster than us and move on quicker. It's all about testing and monitoring. It would be interesting to find out their ratios ...
If an idea is a 'hit', they then run with it and continue to test:
- landing pages
- adword campaigns
- banner ads
- headlines
- offers
- affiliates
- upsells, pre-sells, more sells
And lastly, they don't work alone. They work with others. "There are no Lone Rangers in successful businesses.
Randy
This topic hits home.
Hello,
This topic hits home for me. I put a video on ebay to test the waters on an electronic product for guitar players. I demonstrated in the video how to install it and what it did, etc. Well it sold but I almost had to give it away so I just forgot about it for a couple of months.
Then this site starts getting hits, about 20 a day so I check it out and the people who made the product stuck the video on some of their main pages with a link to mine. I contacted them and one person at the company said with my experience, to boost it up and do a membership site that trains techs. Well let me tell you, a technical membership site can be a lot of work so I researched the market.
My market research told me there was no market that I could find. That didn't stop me, :) so I started putting up more videos and info to see if it could turn it into something. As I started becoming more aware of affiliate marketing I started wondering how I could monetize the site since I was deciding against the membership site.
So here is my question(s) if people would be so kind to look at my site and give suggestions.
Can you see possibly different ways to monetize my site for affiliate marketing. I got the rss feed plugin from ebay and adsense and one affiliate link but it has not performed. I know it's because of the low traffic numbers but I don't think the site at this point is focused enough for adwords.
www.aztechmusic.com
Maybe gear comparisons on pages attached to this site? OR?
Thanks
Gary
That's a great site. If
That's a great site. If you're looking to monetize it, try something like askthebuilder dot com. You can do the same thing but only with music gear repair. He has affiliate links and banners running through the site.
Repairing video gear
Why don't you change up the topic? "gear" is pretty generic. Perhaps if you went after a smaller niche you would have better luck on your affiliate links.
{url removed}
Your signature is not a
Your signature is not a place to advertise your website. Please place your website URL in your profile.
Cheers,
Jason Woods
Hello Gary: I took a look at
Hello Gary:
I took a look at your site. Lots of good work there.
But I am not sure how an affiliate is going to make money. WIIFM (What's In It For Me)
- What service or product are you offering?
- What is your USP? (unique selling proposition)
- Who is your focus?
- The term gear is too vague
Once you can answer these questions, maybe we will have a clearer picture of what you can do.
Ideas to generate traffic and cash for you:
- Maybe a "no fee" membership site with expert moderators. A community that helps itself but where you can sell what they need at a discount.
- Write 'white papers', create vids, or guides that show your 'who' how to use or maintain 'their' equipment. You have started this - approach other vendors and become an affiliate. Then you can add your guide to those purchases. (Find the top selling items.)
You're creating a product that increases the value of the item.
At the end of the day, your comment really tells you what you need to do.
"I don't think the site at this point is focused enough"
Randy
Thanks for the feedback
Hello everyone and thanks for the feedback on my site, I'm not sure how this reply will show but I will try to respond to everyone that posted concerning my site.
Mike115...What you talked about is kinda what I had in mind as I built this site up to see if it could become a membership site. I don't have the traffic at this point for either one of these to be profitable but I know it can take time.
After reading everyone's post and listening to the seminar yesterday I realize I'm kinda doing it backwards as far as a affiliate site goes.
Nateritter... Very good suggestion, at this point I need to find if there is a bigger market for synth people or guitar people I would assume and "niche" it.
RandyRandola... Thanks, it's "Gary, wake up and smell the coffee" :) Concerning trying to turn my site into an affiliate site needs to answer some basic questions. I need to answer your questions, and maybe finding what affiliate offers are out there will help. I assume your talking about for example...guitar amps...how to maintain and use with affiliate links to "musicians friend"....or possibly to a place that sells parts...or even a dropshipper. I'm linking to ebay now under almost every video and the results have been dismal...
I'll keep studying your questions.
I'm not sure on how to find moderators, what would be in it for them?
Boza247... I have heard the guitar players are always buying stuff and maybe this is the way to go, even know I'm up on synths, they might not spend so much ongoing since their synth purchases are usually one time only... and how to program the different synths to get the most out of them would be time consuming...
Gary
Music site
Hi Gary,
That's the start of a great site. You obviously have a great deal of expertise in music gear.
I would second mike's suggestion to make a site like askthebuilder. I read recently that he was making about $34,000 a month from adsense alone, before adding in affiliate sales.
If you're thinking of going more 'niche', you could focus on amps, as you have already demonstrated in-depth knowledge in this field.
I know from my experience of playing in a number of bands the guitarists were always trying to 'tweak' their sound and bought plenty of gadgets. I was just the drummer so it was all a bit over my head.
Best of luck with it.
Money = Passion
I have great passion for a niche that makes me money. Its like that saying "If your doing what you love, its not work". I have some websites that i love to work on and are ranked #1 in the serps for there competitive keywords, but they will never be money makers. I would rather put my effort into a niche that i may not have a deep interest in but will pay out a resonable ROI. My passion is to QMDJ and do this full time there for every niche that will make me money is my passion.
Its a frame of mind. If i happen to find a niche that i like even better, but im not going to look for months. I don't want to come down with a case of "analysis paralysls".
Money <> Passion
I thought it should be how to turn the current site into profit making web site? Since you have web sites that ranked #1, I think your biggest challenge is to make money out of the traffic!
a. capture emails
b. adsense
c. offer products
d. affiliate
I thought I can be happy with just load up PPC keywords daily and send out products newsletter weekly. Boy, it was painful. It is not about give up passion for money, or vice versa. It is about "rather put my effort into a niche that I have deep interest and give a reasonable ROI". That's life worth living, time well-spent.
Money = Passion
I really believe the niche or idea is the hardest part of the whole process. I tend to go into 'analysis paralysis' too many times no matter what I do and I know the key is to make a decision and move on with it.
I think that writing down all of the things that interest you and trying to target something you enjoy is the right way to START the process. I know many times I've sat down and wrote a list only to look back over it and wonder which of them can be profitable. You've really got to sit down and break your list down and see what 'slice of the pie' you can target. For example....outside of my 9-5 job I also invest in rental properties. So, REAL ESTATE INVESTING is one of the things that interests me so it goes on my list. Well, to try and make headway into that very large pie would be very tough so I need to brainstorm more and start breaking that idea down into smaller slices. I'm sure I can find some profitable sub-niches in there somewhere.
But at the same time there are a lot of profitable offers out there that may not be my passion but can make me a ton of money. You know what? Wave a few hundred dollars daily profit in front of my face and guess what.......I just got REAL passionate REAL quick. :)
So I say start with things you enjoy and do a deep dive. If you don't find anything that's got potential than start branching out. Eventually you'll find something as long as you don't get analysis paralysis!
CPA offers for music website
Hello,
Thanks again for the people that answered my questions. As I try to answer RandyRandola's questions I realize at this point I don't have some of the answers, which is his point.
Since this is one of my passion/experience sites, I can still keep the energy up but at the same time as the Jeremy's course unfolds I may want to do a new site on another topic.
At the same time, and doing it a little backwards again since the site is up and running, I am wondering if anyone knows of an affiliate program like CJ or Hydranetwork that may have CPA offers that could possibly fit a musical instrument site. I've never seen one, but there may be one, so I thought I would ask.
Thanks,
Gary
I checked Hydra, CPA Empire,
I checked Hydra, CPA Empire, and Azoogle for CPA offers related to musicians. I can't seem to find anything. However CJ does have a few merchants like Musiciansfriend.com which is a 5 bar affiliate program. I would contact the affiliate manager and Musiciansfriend.com and ask him what their top selling products are. Then I would explore the market around those products.
Here's another angle for you. "Guitar tabs" gets over 6,000 daily searches on Google but I don't think you can sell anything around this keyword. However you could build a content based site teaching people how to read guitar tabs. Create some videos and put them on Youtube to drive some traffic. Do something like teach a new song each week. I would also find out what the most popular guitar tabs are by using the Google Keyword tool or the SEO Book Keyword tool. You could center your lessons around terms like "eric clapton guitar tabs", "green day guitar tabs", and "metallica guitar tabs". The point I guess is create a site with some value and then monetize it with Adsense and/or affiliate offers. You could have a newsletter and each month you could review some new musician related item and send it to your readers.
This is just some food for thought.
Cheers,
Jason Woods
Follow me on Twitter
Affiliate offers for musicians - @GaryStevens
@GaryStevens
In line with what woodsja is saying, you may want to consider creating affiliate relationships with GuitarCenter.com and Musicians Friend. Guitar Center pays 10% and has a ton of products to promote. (Actually, I see you're already promoting them in a general sense)
I noticed on your site that you talk quite a bit about amps and digital music in general. Have you considered not only talking about repair but doing reviews of amps that you like and recommend?
Amps range in price from $100 all the way into the thousands (as I'm sure you know). If, for example, you focused on the mid range amps up to the high end you can be receiving commissions of $50 - $150 per each sale if Guitar Center is paying you 10% per sale.
GuitarCenter is currently offering a high-end amp called the Blackstar Artisan Series for $1,799 on their site. A quick search in google shows no one is advertising for that term. (Blackstar Artisan Series)
Now, there may be almost non-existent traffic for that term but since there's no competition for that term it may be something you'd want to promote if there's an increasing interest in this product and you're interested in writing a review about it.
A better formula would be to find the best selling amps that are going to pay you an acceptable commission in relation to click costs and start doing short reviews with very clear action items on the page your directing your traffic to.
An interesting experiment would be to come up with a list of amplifiers and see what kind of search volume and CPC Google estimates.
Great ideas,
Thanks Woodsja, I was looking at tabs awhile back, I'll think about that. I'll contact the affiliate at Musician Friend/guitar center...same company.
Thanks Markgustay I've been thinking about doing reviews on the site since it isn't focused right now. Maybe find the hot amps and review them.
I do have a question though, when you say "reviews with very clear action items on the page", can you give a little detail? As in call to action?
Doing the cpc is a great way to find which item is hot.
Thanks,
Gary
finding profitable niches
I am surprised that Clickbank has not come up as a research tool. The 'Gravity' numbers are a great indication of both demand and conversion. Even if you don't promote a Clickbank product
you can still get niche ideas and figure out demand for certain markets.
Landing page on this site
Hello,
Thanks again everyone, all your comments give me different ways at looking at my site.
I'm starting to do reviews also with tech tips. I am wondering if I could also put a page like a .php landing page in the middle of this site that would be along the lines of Jeremy's laptop page where he compares vendors or models? And drive ppc traffic to that page.
Since this is in the middle of my blog does google mind this? I wouldn't necessarily have links from the landing page to the rest of my blog but maybe I should? I would have the contact, about me and all that and possibly the ebook.
Thanks,
Gary
I'm not sure I understand
I'm not sure I understand the question completely... Google doesn't hate landing pages. I don't see how implementing this strategy would hurt you?
It might be a good idea to link to your blog (if it has good content) in the footer of your landing page.
I'll try to explain a little better...
First of all thanks for answering...
I guess I should'nt say middle of my blog, what I mean is instead of the landing page being a part of my blog as in blog posts and blog pages, I would insert a .php page in the domain url that is just the landing page with no links back to the blog. The blog is in the root folder already, so the landing page would be also in the root folder...like www.blogname.com/landingpage.php
The way my blog is, I feel they would be way to distracted if the landing page was within the cms because the side bar would be full of posts and videos and such.
I was wondering if google would slap for this, since it would only link out to about me and other pages at the bottom of the landing page that (Jeremy) suggests at the bottom, that would of course link back to the landing page but nowhere else.
Thanks,
Gary