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Steps to help you find a Niche Market
Finding a profitable niche market that is not saturated with competing affiliate marketers is the most important step when trying to make money online. Luckily the range of potential niche markets is absolutely stupefying. This huge amount of potential niche markets is on the one hand a blessing, but on the other hand it can be a curse. Filtering through all these markets, seeking only those that has the most profit potential can be a slow and time-consuming process. Luckily there is a few steps that can be taken to help you sift through the potential niche markets and identify those that promise the biggest money making opportunities.
I have been going on about this quite a bit, but the only way to really make money online is to find a profitable niche. This process is not difficult... but it does need patience on your side. Although there is no perfect method for finding your niche, these simple steps can help you find a good, profitable niche market for creating your own online business.
So, let's get started. First grab a pen and a piece of paper.
Step 1 - Make a List of All the Things You Really Like
It is always easier to focus on things you really like, and since you usually already posses some knowledge about the things you like, it will make a good starting point. Although it is possible to make money in niches that you know nothing about, it is always easier to start out in a niche market that interest you personally. Of course, as you grow in experience you will branch out to other niches, making money in many different and unrelated markets. When I started out with affiliate marketing I was quite deep in debt. I was researching loan consolidation on the internet and I learned quite a lot about how to consolidate my own personal loans. That gave me my very first idea for starting out my own online marketing business. I was interested in this and I created my very first page. I did make a little money, but my inexperience showed quickly. Loan consolidation is quite a competitive market, and I quickly discovered I was up against some big and experienced affiliate marketers, who is already settled and probably making huge amounts of money, giving them more room to operate. Starting with a small budget makes it difficult to take one those bigger players.
So, when starting out, play it safe. Do not be fooled into thinking that web surfers are stupid enough not to realise when you are writing about something you know nothing about. If you want to make money online, you need to find something you really WANT to write about.
Do not dive in and start marketing the first interesting subject you find, and expect to make money, you still need to do research. Think about it: if you are going to spend hours of your time creating a website, finding content and promoting your site, then the least you can do is make sure that the product or service you promote, has the potential to make money.
Luckily, most of us have quite a few interests and I think you will be hard pressed not to find anything to market that interest you. So make a big list of all the things you currently like to do, or like to read about. This would not necessarily be the niche you will target for your online business, but it will get you started. So let’s take a look at an example of such a list:
1. Playing Video Games like PC Games, or some of the popular game consoles
2. Rugby, Football or any other sport
3. Planning Dream Holidays
4. Making Money on the Internet
5. Gardening
6. Reading
7. Building Model Planes
8. Bonsai
9. Woodworking
10. Cooking Delicious Food
11. ....
12. ....
etc.
So you have your list? Good, now lets keep moving towards our goal: making money on the internet.
| Contents |
| Synopsis of this section |
| The Importance of Research |
| Steps To Find Your Niche |
| Check Back Soon - The Rest is Coming |
| Contents | ||||
| Synopsis of this section | Finding a Niche Market | Steps To Find Your Niche | Check Back Soon - The Rest is Coming | |
Step 5 - Determine Which Niche Has The Biggest Profit Potential
Determining profit potential is a bit of an art. There is no scientific method that will guarantee you success. Wish there were; but following a few simple steps can help you weed out the losers and focus only on those that shows the biggest potential to make you money. There is dozens of ways to do keyword (niche) research and in time you will probably learn about most of them. Some internet marketers focus on KEI analysis, other use only one tool or piece of software that automates the biggest part of the job. Some focus on finding cheap PPC keywords to bid on, others focus on using misspelled words. All these methods have their merits, and it could be a huge advantage to master these methods, but at this time, the focus of this site is to give you the simple basics of doing keyword research. At the end I will give some links to other resources that could help you develop this important skill.
But for now I will only focus on some of the basics steps of doing keyword research. One of the most common used tools is Overture. Please note that, unfortunately, this tool is not always active, for reasons unknown to me. But keep trying. Luckily it is not the only available tool. I will also focus on Free Tools for keyword research. There are very effective, and sometimes expensive, tools available to help you with researching a niche market... but you can learn about these later.
So, we will begin this step by going to Overture first.
Grab the list of your favourite niches you compiled in step 4. Open up Overture and type in the first keyword on your list. Overture will give you a list of keyword phrases with lots of numbers. This is an approximation of the searches done for each keyword during the last month. What you should know is that these numbers include the searches done on the search engines owned by Yahoo. Google, for example, is not included in this. Some internet marketers feel that you can multiply these numbers by 3-10 to reach an estimate of how much searches was done for the same keywords on Google.
Using the term for reading, I got the following results: Your results could look different
Determining profit potential is a bit of an art. There is no scientific method that will guarantee you success. Wish there were; but following a few simple steps can help you weed out the losers and focus only on those that shows the biggest potential to make you money. There is dozens of ways to do keyword (niche) research and in time you will probably learn about most of them. Some internet marketers focus on KEI analysis, other use only one tool or piece of software that automates the biggest part of the job. Some focus on finding cheap PPC keywords to bid on, others focus on using misspelled words. All these methods have their merits, and it could be a huge advantage to master these methods, but at this time, the focus of this site is to give you the simple basics of doing keyword research. At the end I will give some links to other resources that could help you develop this important skill.
But for now I will only focus on some of the basics steps of doing keyword research. One of the most common used tools is Overture. Please note that, unfortunately, this tool is not always active, for reasons unknown to me. But keep trying. Luckily it is not the only available tool. I will also focus on Free Tools for keyword research. There are very effective, and sometimes expensive, tools available to help you with researching a niche market... but you can learn about these later.
So, we will begin this step by going to Overture first.
Grab the list of your favourite niches you compiled in step 4. Open up Overture and type in the first keyword on your list. Overture will give you a list of keyword phrases with lots of numbers. This is an approximation of the searches done for each keyword during the last month. What you should know is that these numbers include the searches done on the search engines owned by Yahoo. Google, for example, is not included in this. Some internet marketers feel that you can multiply these numbers by 3-10 to reach an estimate of how much searches was done for the same keywords on Google.
Using the term for reading, I got the following results: Your results could look different
Step 2 - Make A List Of Things You are Good At
I cannot stress enough how important research is for making money as an affiliate marketer. Investing time and money setting up an online business, only to discover that you chose the wrong niche market is quite disheartening. Therefore, take the time to research your market thoroughly and keep going with these steps.
So you have your first list ready. Now it is time to create another list. Take a look at all those things you are good at. This include your qualifications, things you do well... anything. If you are unsure of this part, ask a friend or relative to help you. Write down everything you are good at, or your friends and family suggest.
1. Quick Reader
2. Excellent Cook
3. Debating
4. Good at sports
5. Planning events
6. Good at working with your hands
7. ....
8. ......
I think you get the idea. Keep writing down anything you can think of, and then move to step 3.
I cannot stress enough how important research is for making money as an affiliate marketer. Investing time and money setting up an online business, only to discover that you chose the wrong niche market is quite disheartening. Therefore, take the time to research your market thoroughly and keep going with these steps.
So you have your first list ready. Now it is time to create another list. Take a look at all those things you are good at. This include your qualifications, things you do well... anything. If you are unsure of this part, ask a friend or relative to help you. Write down everything you are good at, or your friends and family suggest.
1. Quick Reader
2. Excellent Cook
3. Debating
4. Good at sports
5. Planning events
6. Good at working with your hands
7. ....
8. ......
I think you get the idea. Keep writing down anything you can think of, and then move to step 3.
Step 3 - Determining your “Expertise”
Compare these two lists and look for any common denominators between them. These could be the things in which you can become, or already are, an expert. Creating a website, or blogging about any of these things can help you build a money making online business that is also credible enough to last for many years to come. Of course you do not have to be an expert in any area to make money, but as a beginner it could be wise to choose a niche that corresponds to one area of your expertise.
So, what is my area of expertise from these lists?
1. Reading
2. Cooking
3. Planning events, like holidays
4. Woodworking, or making things with my hands
5. Sports
Compare these two lists and look for any common denominators between them. These could be the things in which you can become, or already are, an expert. Creating a website, or blogging about any of these things can help you build a money making online business that is also credible enough to last for many years to come. Of course you do not have to be an expert in any area to make money, but as a beginner it could be wise to choose a niche that corresponds to one area of your expertise.
So, what is my area of expertise from these lists?
1. Reading
2. Cooking
3. Planning events, like holidays
4. Woodworking, or making things with my hands
5. Sports
Step 4 - Choose Your Personal Favourites
If you could choose only those you would most likely focus on, which would it be? Choose about 3-5 of your favourites and write them on a separate piece of paper. Up until this point you were only brainstorming ideas. Now you will begin some serious researching. Now you must determine which of these will show the biggest profit potential and focus your attention on those. You will drop those that do not have any money making potential. If none of your favourites have money making potential, do not despair. Simply return to the drawing board and look for new possibilities. Remember I said that this is not difficult, but you need to be patience to make money online. Since research takes time, do not make your list too big. Choosing about 3 favourites to begin with, will be more than enough.
So, in this example, what will my 3 favourites be? Let’s choose:
1. Reading
2. Sports
3. Cooking
Just remember that it can be anything. This is one of the biggest advantages of making money on the internet. Starting your own brick and mortar business can be quite restrictive. Starting your own online business gives you tremendous freedom. You can have a website up and running within days, and change your focus and have a new, totally different, website up and running in another few days. I personally have about 8 money making websites running at this moment (of writing) and they have very little in common with each other, and I never once left my house setting them up. Best of all, they have international exposure. Try doing that with a brick and mortar business!
If you could choose only those you would most likely focus on, which would it be? Choose about 3-5 of your favourites and write them on a separate piece of paper. Up until this point you were only brainstorming ideas. Now you will begin some serious researching. Now you must determine which of these will show the biggest profit potential and focus your attention on those. You will drop those that do not have any money making potential. If none of your favourites have money making potential, do not despair. Simply return to the drawing board and look for new possibilities. Remember I said that this is not difficult, but you need to be patience to make money online. Since research takes time, do not make your list too big. Choosing about 3 favourites to begin with, will be more than enough.
So, in this example, what will my 3 favourites be? Let’s choose:
1. Reading
2. Sports
3. Cooking
Just remember that it can be anything. This is one of the biggest advantages of making money on the internet. Starting your own brick and mortar business can be quite restrictive. Starting your own online business gives you tremendous freedom. You can have a website up and running within days, and change your focus and have a new, totally different, website up and running in another few days. I personally have about 8 money making websites running at this moment (of writing) and they have very little in common with each other, and I never once left my house setting them up. Best of all, they have international exposure. Try doing that with a brick and mortar business!
So, what does these numbers mean? Before we look at the numbers, take a quick look at the other keywords shown. I looked at reading, since I am interested in reading and I am quite capable of reading fast. Suddenly I have quite a number of other options to consider for my online business: psychic reading, tarot reading, bible plan reading, college reading skills, child reading etc. Personally I am not interested in Tarot reading, or psychic readings, so I will give this a pass, but I am interested in speed reading, since I completed a course a few years ago.
These numbers show that, at least, there is an active interest in issues regarding reading abilities and comprehension. Most internet marketers would suggest that you focus on keywords that show at least 10,000 searches a month. Of course this is not a rule, since some make money simply by focusing on those below 10,000 searches. 10,000 is a good indication of an active market. If I was to focus my online business on issues regarding reading skills, reading speed, reading comprehension etc., I could stand a chance to enter an active market.
For this purpose I will make a note of the following keywords: reading (80018), reading comprehension (30888), reading speed (18924), book reading (7306), reading skill (4117), light reading (3777), reading strategy (3762), reading teaching (3237) and college reading skill (2360).
This is my first rough draft a possible niche market. If I am lucky and I complete my research, I could have a possible money making opportunity on my hands. Do not become impatient at this point. Having keywords that appears to be popular does not mean you will be able to make money. There is still more work to be done. I used one of my favourites (of three) and I expanded it from simply reading into reading comprehension, reading speed, book reading, reading skill, light reading, reading strategy, reading teaching and college reading skill in only a few seconds. Already I am getting a very nice idea for a possible niche market... Getting a site up to help college students improve their reading speed and comprehension.
These numbers show that, at least, there is an active interest in issues regarding reading abilities and comprehension. Most internet marketers would suggest that you focus on keywords that show at least 10,000 searches a month. Of course this is not a rule, since some make money simply by focusing on those below 10,000 searches. 10,000 is a good indication of an active market. If I was to focus my online business on issues regarding reading skills, reading speed, reading comprehension etc., I could stand a chance to enter an active market.
For this purpose I will make a note of the following keywords: reading (80018), reading comprehension (30888), reading speed (18924), book reading (7306), reading skill (4117), light reading (3777), reading strategy (3762), reading teaching (3237) and college reading skill (2360).
This is my first rough draft a possible niche market. If I am lucky and I complete my research, I could have a possible money making opportunity on my hands. Do not become impatient at this point. Having keywords that appears to be popular does not mean you will be able to make money. There is still more work to be done. I used one of my favourites (of three) and I expanded it from simply reading into reading comprehension, reading speed, book reading, reading skill, light reading, reading strategy, reading teaching and college reading skill in only a few seconds. Already I am getting a very nice idea for a possible niche market... Getting a site up to help college students improve their reading speed and comprehension.
