David Fiske A subtle blend of affiliate marketing and web development

Kirsty published a question and answer article on choosing the right affiliate niche. In a nutshell, her advice was:

• Make a list of everything that interests you
• Make a list of areas around those topics that you could explore
• Match your content to affiliate programs

The confines of a blog post means that you can't write too much on a topic but there are a couple of other questions you need ask yourself before settling on a niche.
 
(The examples Kirsty used were chilli plants and UK fishing locations so it makes sense to continue with those themes).

Will Other People Search For You?

The adage "build it and they will come" is not true. Build it and they may stumble onto it but not in crowds. You have to work hard to get traffic and even harder to keep it. Either that or you'll need deep pockets so you can pay people to come (PPC).

The chances are, if you build a site targeting a niche, you will get some traffic. The amount will vary based upon two factors:

• The amount of people looking for that topic
• The amount of other people competing for that topic

You have to ask yourself whether you think you can successfully crack a niche.

There's no harm trying but if you leave the day job pinning all your hopes and dreams on chilli plants, you need to be sure it will be a success. If it's a few extra pennies and a hobby you are looking at, just give it a go. You have nothing to lose.

What Can You Do Differently?

The amount of sat nav price comparison website I have seen is enormous. A lot of people are attracted to it even though the average percentage payout per sale ranges from 2 to 5%.

When there is a lot of competition, you need to do things differently. That could simple be a different design that makes life easier for people, it could be regular updates or it could be a new service nobody else has created (yet).

With regards to UK fishing locations, a basic idea could be a directory of locations, all with maps (similar to my Orlando resort map). That's already a little bit different from those that just list locations. But it's probably not enough to differentiate yourself.

Try looking around the subject and at what people want. Perhaps fishermen fisherpeople want an online forum where they can chat with each other. Maybe they want somewhere to show off the largest fish they've caught. Perhaps it's secret tips about great spots or tips on how to improve their skills.

Remember to look for sticky content (i.e. stuff that keeps users coming back time and time again). This won't always be possible as some niches don't really offer great repeat figures (e.g. a website trying to encourage sales of swimming pools may not see visitors return once they've actually bought their pool).

Also remember that to do well, you need to stand out from the crowd. The easy option is to create a price comparison site, a forum, a blog, a reviews site, etc.

Easy options don't generally equate to high profits. If you are after high profits, you will inevitably be needing to put in an awful lot of time, effort and patience.

Will You Get Bored?

This is one close to my heart. I've set up my chilli plant website, I've added content and I've added banners. But then something else comes along (my fishing site perhaps) and I get distracted. Whilst these are fictitious sites, the tale is so true. I get too excited and start new projects before I've finished old ones. On top of that, I then spread myself too thinly which means I don't do enough justice to various sites that need me care and attention.

Writing about a hobby may seem like a good idea but are you likely to then get bored of that hobby if it becomes your core centre of attention? From experience, hobbies are best left as that rather than converted into a business idea.

Do You Know Enough?

Are you Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms Know-It-All? You don't have to be as the benefit of the Internet is that you have all the answers at your fingertips. Plagiarism is a big no-no. Copying won't get you anywhere and doesn't equate to fresh content or a unique angle as discussed above.

If you are looking at business ideas, you need to be looking at the longevity of your chosen niche. Using the chilli plant example, what happens when you've wrote about how to grow and look after the plants? Can you expand the idea into another market or can you find an infinite amount to write about?

Some of my best ideas on paper have translated into at most a 10 page website. For an area that I thought was going to be good, 10 pages is nothing.

Summary

Make sure you research niches properly. My top tips (from experience) are:

• Find an area you are interested in that you can write plenty about without losing interest
• Stand out from the crowd. Create something unusual, different or bizarre. If it can capture the hearts and minds of your visitors, you are onto a winner!
• Make sure the subject area is compact but easily expanded upon.
• Look for a 'hungry market'. Will people search for chilli plants? It could be the best website in the world but if no one cares, you're not going to make millions.
• Try and focus on a couple of different niches. That way, you won't lose interest as you can work on one site one day and another the next.
• Keep business and pleasure separate. If your hobby is football and you make that your business, you may get sick and tired of it, leaving you with a business you have no interest in and a hobby you no longer enjoy.

Hope this helps in some way :-)