If you want to become an affiliate niche blogger, read through this Q&A inspired by an email I received over the weekend. That's exactly what I do for a living, and I hold nothing back in my answers...
I was reading a couple of posts on ClickNewz and you mentioned an affiliate niche example of a New Zealand travel site. Is this something you actually did? I don't want to steal this niche or any niche, but I was curious if I could look at your site or any of your sites as something that may spur some brainstorming or ideas. -CA
That would have been a really a fun project for me given how fascinated I am with New Zealand, but I didn't start an affiliate niche site on that topic. One of my more popular (and favorite) projects is a low carb blog.
You can read my thought process and set-up behind that site in this post:
Case Study: Niche Affiliate Site
People ask for examples a lot, and that's understandable. You want to see a live, working example of successful affiliate niche sites. That's one of the things I loved about Rosalind Gardner's Super Affiliate Handbook - she used her own sites as examples and case studies throughout the guide.
I still want to start an online business and have for some time but for some reason, I am faltering in figuring out what I want to do... -CA
This is THE most important piece to starting your online business. You definitely want to choose something you'll enjoy - a topic you get excited about, and won't mind talking about every single day. Being an entrepreneur take a lot of self-discipline, motivation and energy. If you choose the wrong niche, or the wrong business model, you'll find it more taxing on you than a traditional job. What you're really after is more flexibility, creative freedom, and a lifestyle you enjoy.
The big question you want to ask yourself is: How do I want to spend my time?
Start by reading these three posts:
- How to Choose a Niche
- Did you choose the right niche?
- Frustrated with market research or finding niches?
Those three posts will give you a strong feel for what direction you should be going while brainstorming and deciding on your affiliate niche topic. Like I said, this is THE most important thing to consider when you're getting started!
Is online content the only model you do to get online business going? -CA
There are other options, but yes - I prefer the content model because it's free, it's easy, and it WORKS. Very well, I might add. 😀 Even if you have a product or service based business model, blogging is a great way to engage and interact with your target market - and turn them into loyal clients & customers.
Affiliate Niche Blogging is a great model in itself, though.
It's also an easy way for practically anyone to get started online.
Not only is it highly profitable, but you actually get to spend your time doing something you ENJOY. I love talking about low carb foods, the science behind the diet, creative meal ideas, etc. Not only do I get to blog about it, I also get to interact with other bloggers who are passionate about the topic as well. I'm serving a market (teaching and inspiring) while doing & discussing something I find FUN every day.
I get to try new brands, work with cool merchants, test & review products, etc - all things I would do anyway as a low carber, except I earn money doing it.
From my experience, "work" just doesn't get much better than that. 😉
See: How Much Is YOUR Content Worth?
And: How to Make Money Blogging
There seems to be total saturation in all markets anymore, how the heck do you make a site do well with so much competition? -CA
Great question! Things have changed a lot over the years. I've been doing niche affiliate marketing full time for close to nine years now I think, but affiliate programs have been a part of my business since the beginning (almost 16 years ago).
Fortunately, all the recent changes have been very positive!
It used to be that you could build out niche affiliate sites using HTML or templates (static websites) and your only real way to reach your market was through SEO or paid advertising. Which was competitive enough even back then, 5-6 years ago.
There are many more options for reaching your market now, which give you a variety of ways to get free targeted web traffic.
You'll also find that people aren't as "competitive" now, and lean more toward working together than competing with each other. Affiliate Niche Bloggers are collaborating, guest blogging for each other, entering into joint ventures, sharing resources, and interacting publicly via Social Media channels even!
Instead of worrying about competition, you want to look at how you can best leverage the "competition" - or the established market leaders in your niche.
While some people mistakenly assume that more bloggers, more online businesses and more affiliate marketers means more competition - or market saturation... the truth is it just means more opportunity! 😉
See: Is Affiliate Marketing Too Competitive?
And: Are There ANY Good Niches Left??
I hope this answered your questions. If you have any others, feel free to leave a comment below and we'll let the discussion continue...
Best,
p.s. I can help you choose a niche that is right for *you*, select the perfect domain name, set up your online business, and take it all the way from start to profit.
Get the details at: I'm Ready To Get Serious About Making Money Online!
About Lynn Terry
Fabulous article, and hits really close to home. I've wanted to make money online by blogging for a while. I jumped into a couple of niches, which I really love, but didn't think about how to effectively monetize them. But love reading your tips so I can get the sites back on track. Thanks!
I agree Rachel, I got my blog going but more as a hobby not really to make money with it...now with these tips I might actually do something with it!! I also get Niche ideas from different womens magazines...sounds weird I know, but what is trending now in Womens magazines can really get your blog going! At least that is the plan 😀
You just never can underestimate strategy and planning.
You also can't accomplish anything if you don't do something.
I think the best plan would be to think short term with long term positioning in mind.
An authority site is really the best way to go for long term stability but it takes so long to get results most people tend to get burned out.
I think somewhere in between is the way to go the only question is, HOW? Well that's where you come it.
No one person has all the answers for everyone use your talents and move in the direction of your dreams. There is no right or wrong unless you wait too long.
I just kept nodding my head as I read this post. Great stuff! I really hope that everyone will check out the deal for your mastermind group. I can say I would not be where I am today without it. Period.
Gotta invest in your business and yourself if you want to move forward with a current business. OR if you haven't started a business, joining the elite group will save you time and help you get ahead faster.
Totally agree about 'competition'. I EMBRACE it totally. Off to read some of the links for inspiration.
There are a lot of competetitions outside. If we want to be alive we must struggle and compete with others. We must work hard and patiently. We must be sure we can make progress in our future by having a vivid vision and target.Blogging can be one of our ways to compete with others by expressing our ideas. It can sharpen our thinking and skill, too.
Thanks for the great advice, Lynn! I am just getting my healthy eating blog up and running, so I will take a look at your low-carb blog for insight. I am really taking to heart your point about collaborating with/leveraging your competition. I will work on that in the new year.
Thank you for the article Lynn! I know a problem that I see with new bloggers is they try to do everything at once. Then they get frustrated when they don’t have the success that Lynn Terry has. Well, dang it! Lynn Terry didn’t have the success 15 years ago that Lynn Terry has now.
People tend to compare themselves to successful bloggers instead of modeling them.
It goes back to the old question. How do you eat an elephant? Answer: One bite at a time.
I don’t compare myself to you when I blog, but I certainly try to model what you’re doing.
Thanks Lynn! You’re a fun follow!
Good times fuzzy bunnies!
Great point, Shane! I started out just like everyone else, and built my blog(s) one day at a time. And my business, for that matter. I'm not the fastest on the internet, but consistency certainly pays off - and I tend to work methodically and strategically toward very specific goals.
*cheers*
I really like the idea that competition is not bad, that it is opportunity.
I can't change how much competition I have but I hopefully can think hard and find opportunities in existing websites and people.
Thanks
Great post! I have done really well since learning that there really isn't such a thing as competition in the blogging world any more... Most people that read blogs actually follow multiple blogs in the same niche because they like hearing what the different people behind the blogs have to say! There's enough success to go around. 🙂 I do not blog about SEO or any of that kind of thing, but I follow tons of blogs on that topic. As a green blogger, I know my readers are reading other green blogs too. Collaborating with those other bloggers is a lot of fun for us and for our readers.
I do agree with you Kylie. I also follow some blogs for a certain topic. But here you give vivid description how we have to communicate and collaborate with other bloggers to enlarge our knowledge. This is very enjoyable and we get advantages not only money but also information and friendship. Good.
Hey, Lynn. I heard about you from Tiffany Dow and decided to come and check you out. I totally agree with what you said here -- especially about finding a niche market that you enjoy. The first site I ever built was in the "learn Spanish" niche. I am passionate about it (like languages in general) and got a degree in Spanish from university.
Since I had studied Spanish for so long and was a part of the niche, I also knew a lot about a number of the more popular products on the market as well. Even though I don't usually like writing, I enjoyed writing in that niche a lot. It wasn't like "work" at all. It was effortless -- so much so that I could practically type from my head.
I also appreciated that you mentioned various business models because I learned the hard way that different people are into different stuff. I, for instance, can't stand ghostwriting. Although it has its benefits, it's too much like "work" for me. Being that I'm somewhat of a slacker, I prefer models with a residual aspect to them. 🙂
Writing in a blog with a niche subject we are fond of is very fascinating. The ideas will come out of our brains smoothly. It will sharpen our thinking and our skill of writing too. It doesn't matter how often we make any mistake in writing at first but I am sure we will learn by doing. We will know our weaknesses and we will realize it soon and then we will improve it.
There are a lot of advantages given by internet especially by available blogs which attract people to share their ideas and experiences. They can be usefull for other people, we don't know.
I am new to blogging thanks for sharing your post really learned a lot... thanks
I had a great time reading this post. Just by reading the way you write and put up a post, I can make out about your success secret. Affiliate niche marketing might also be needing a lot of research work before we start working on the blog because it involves many small factors that need to be kept in mind.
I agree Rachel, I got my blog going but more as a hobby not really to make money with it...now with these tips I might actually do something with it!!
Lynn: You mention that you get to try out different products for free, as well as test out different brands, etc. Do you approach the various merchants or do they get in touch with you?
Hi Bev,
Both! 😀 I make it a point to connect with brands and merchants via Social Media - to tag them when I'm talking about them, comment on their status updates, etc. Those connections can go a long way!
I believe I mentioned that in this post: http://www.clicknewz.com/3038/how-to-use-social-media/ but I'll make it a point to discuss it in more detail in a future post as well.
Blogging within a niche offers you the chance to point yourself as an authority and person of trust respectively.