Follow Along As We Discuss Choosing a GOOD Affiliate Niche...
I first met Vera Raposo online around 9 years ago, and I had the opportunity to hang out with her in person while I was in Vancouver a couple years ago. For as long as I've known her, she's been a serious entrepreneur type.
Vera has seen success both offline and online, and she's tried a number of internet business models such as buying/selling websites, advertising sales, selling information products, writing, coaching, affiliate marketing and more.
She's decided to make a shift, and focus ALL of her efforts on Affiliate Marketing, and she asked my advice on choosing an affiliate niche. We decided to have this conversation publicly so you could follow along. 😀
"Out of everything that I have done, I really love affiliate marketing the best. I don’t have to create products, fulfill orders or manage clients."
-Vera
Like Vera, I've had my hand in a number of offline and online business models over the last 16+ years. From the beginning I integrated Affiliate Marketing into my business models (even offline), and it was the one thing that really stood out to me. It required the least investment, and the least work, for the highest return. Which is why I ultimately became a full-time affiliate.
That's not to say that being an affiliate doesn't require a serious investment of time and energy. But as Vera will agree, there is much more freedom & flexibility than with other business models. You don't have specific hours, your time isn't consumed with meetings and phone calls, you don't have to invest time/money upfront in creating or manufacturing products, etc.
It's also not limiting at all. You can always add products or services to your affiliate based business to better serve your market and dramatically increase your revenue. It's not required, but it IS an option - which is great!
Vera is changing to an all-affiliate business model for the purpose of "lifestyle design" - to earn more, stress less, and enjoy life.
Affiliate Marketing is "work" just like any other online model, but the affiliate niche you choose can make a HUGE difference in your quality of life.
There's GOOD money in Affiliate Marketing, but there are other great benefits too, which is why "choosing the right niche" is SO important!
"My plan is to start in a new market and hopefully something that will help me personally in my life. Do you personally see a difference in your income when it’s a topic that is actually helping you since you’re more emotionally invested in it?" -Vera
Definitely. I always advise people to choose a niche they're passionate about, or extremely interested in. Otherwise you'll find yourself bored, and your business (or blog) will suffer for it. As a rule of thumb, if you can't see yourself talking about the topic on a daily basis - with enthusiasm - it's not the right niche for you.
Here's the cool thing...
The affiliate niche you choose has the potential to take your life in the direction you most want. Let's say you have a fascination with RC Helicopters. It's an expensive hobby, but if you had the time and money you'd tinker with them all day long. You'd hang out with other RCH enthusiasts, attend RCH events all over the world, and basically spend most of your time building and flying and talking about them.
Fun, right? 😀
So you create an affiliate blog all about holiday ornaments so you can earn enough money to live your "RC Helicopter" dream. Right? Wrong. 😛
You create a blog about RC Helicopters! Even if it's just an interest, you can start a blog as an "enthusiast" (you don't have to be an expert) and share everything you learn along the way. Other people who are interested in getting started will really appreciate what you learn & share. Potential buyers love to hear from real people, not just merchants, and they're interested in your personal experience - because it helps THEM avoid wasting money, and make smart buying decisions.
Now that you've started your blog, you get to spend all of your free time doing exactly what you want to be doing. Even if you can't afford RC Helicopters in the beginning you can share cool videos, talk about upcoming events, let people know the best deals you've found online, and as you get set up in the hobby yourself you can share all the details with your readers.
Building up a strong readership will put you in a position to ultimately attract advertisers, potentially get free products to review, or a "press pass" to RCH events, etc. Now your blog is funding your hobby! Not to mention your "work" is FUN. And of course, done right, most of your "hobby expenses" are now tax deductible. 😀
That's just one example. You have to find the right niche for YOU...
Brainstorming Exercise
* How would you spend your life, day in and day out, if time & money weren't an issue?
* What's the one thing you most wish you could do, but never seem to have enough time to get to it - or feel like you could never afford it?
* If you could pick something to get a free lifetime supply, because you WANT it (not because you need it), what would you choose?
* If you were given 10 hours a week and a bottomless bank account to start a new hobby, with the condition that a television crew would follow you for those 10 hours every week, which hobby would you pick?
Those are some great starting points for you to brainstorm the ideal niche for you. Grab a piece of paper and just jot down every idea that comes to mind. Even if they seem silly! You can research your ideas and narrow them down later, but start by considering everything.
I look forward to seeing what Vera chooses for her affiliate niche, and helping her through the process. Hopefully this will prove helpful to you as well. If you have any questions along the way, just leave a comment below. 😉
Best,
p.s. Follow along as we keep the conversation going! (You can subscribe by email below)
Next Post: Affiliate Niche Brainstorming Continued...
About Lynn Terry
I suppose I can\'t choose \"time\", eh? I\'d love to have a lifetime supply of that. I would love a lifetime supply of travel to endurance events. It would be fantastic if I could spend my time swimming around key west, then climbing the three peaks of the UK, then maybe the Pike\'s Peak Challenge. Rogaines and Muddy Buddys. . . so much fun.That would be the absolute best.
LOL @ unlimited time.
What an ideal niche, Dan! How much fun would THAT be?! 😀
This is a great discussion and one I will be following closely. I've tried a number of times with niche websites but haven't yet seemed to get it right. It may be that I didn't pick topics that I could talk about long-term or it may be that I just didn't put enough effort for a long enough amount of time to see results. I'm looking forward to hearing this discussion and what Vera chooses as her new niche!
Choosing the right topic (for you personally) and sticking it out long term are the two biggest keys to success with niche affiliate marketing. And the great thing is, it doesn't take nearly as long as it used to a few years ago to "become well established" thanks to social media going mainstream - and marketers & bloggers becoming more and more open to working together (instead of competing).
Hey Angela,
What I've discovered through this process is that we don't look deep enough into who we are. We take the "surface stuff" and don't actually even acknowledge our biggest passions, I'm still giggling to myself that I would even try to consider a cooking niche. Jeepers!
🙂
I wonder if I could get a camera crew to watch me cross stitch 10 hours a week? I don't think we'd get many viewers, but I'd certainly enjoy myself.
This is such a fun way to narrow down a niche and brainstorm ~ I can't wait to see where this conversation ends up 🙂
LOL, Loretta - I bet you'd be surprised how many people would follow along, especially if you were sharing tips & ideas along the way!
The mental shift there is "what would you do if people were watching, with expectations of you?" < changes the whole game, hey? 😉
I think the same way Loretta!! 🙂
This is something that so many people want the answer too. They want to start a blog but they don't really know what to write about. Lynn, that brainstorming exercise is just what the doctor ordered. Those are some awesome tips on finding out what you really like. I always say if you like to do it more than likely someone else does too. That's why I also blog about natural health because it's something that I love talking about and sharing with other's. Plus, I am on a natural healing journey myself because I have fibroids and I am determined to heal myself naturally from them.
I am looking forward to seeing what Vera chooses as her new niche.
Thank you, Maketta! Appreciate the comment & feedback. 😀
Hi Lyn,
What a great a topic, when i read this it really sat me on my butt. These for me are some powerful for a wanna be marketer like myself. I look forward to reading more on the topic.
You'll find the next post here: http://www.clicknewz.com/7669/brainstorming-affiliate-niches/ And I am about to publish my third response - it's getting exciting!! 😀
I adore this idea and love that you're making it public! The brainstorming is my hardest part...I've started and stopped so many times with various blog ideas that I'm beginning to think that I have TOO many interests! Looking forward to following the conversation.
What happens when you love so many things and just cant pinpoint that 1 thing? LOL I am sure I am not the only 1 who feels like that! My passion=Being a parent. I am a mama of 6 and that is truly what I am passionate about. It is the 1 thing that I have found that I do not and cannot get bored with. It fuels me drives me and makes me happy (aside from the teens struggles that come up). Now just not sure how to turn something like being a mama into a income generating source! I LOVE the questions you ask on how to find your niche, now if only I had the exact answers in my heart and mind! How is it SO easy for some people, geeez! 🙂 Thank you for all your blogs! They are SO informative!
You're right, Christina & Kelly - brainstorming and choosing your ideal niche IS the hardest part. You're not alone in that one. 😉 Step one is to just freely brainstorm every idea. Don't judge them, just jot down everything you are interested in or passionate about. You can filter through them later - once they're all out in front of you.
But to take it a step further, dream big. What would your life be like if time and money weren't factors? What would you most like to do in your life? What's your "someday" dream? Those are the things you should be putting *serious* consideration into! Ask yourself: What would I do if I didn't have to work, and I had limitless amounts of time & money at my disposal? That's going to get you closer to the core of who you really are - or could become. 😀
One of my blogs is a "personal blog" (and it's a vlog, or video blog) where I talk about anything and everything on my mind, that I like or don't like, products I think are cool, topics that I'm passionate about, etc. Personal Blogs with your own unique personality and twist and character are okay too! To really make that work you have to be willing to have (and share) a strong opinion and really be "out loud" with your personality...
Lynn, your totally right. You need it to be your passion. Whatever it is that your constantly thinking about throughout your day. For some it's being a mommy or being an insanely great SEO Marketer *cough* Lynn *cough*. Sorry, had a bad cough. There should be a lot of people starting up thier blog writing about me, because as far as I know. I'm all the world thinks about. Just Kidding. - Scott Craighead
LOL Scott! I love your sense of humor. 😀
Hi Lynn,
I love affiliate marketing too. I think it's the best job in the world. Nothing beats doing and earning from affiliate sales. As mentioned, I do not have to create products, nor to maintain the customer support. All I need to do is to drive traffic.
However, not all things are so colourful. There are tons of things to learn, ups and down. Nevertheless, this industry is here to last. Get in early!
Thanks
Well, I'm still trying to nail down my niche. I would love to just travel and travel and well, travel! I would love to combine that with having the "internet income lifestyle," but since I am just learning to do that I don't feel like I can "teach" or help anyone or give them advice since I am just learning myself. It would be so cool to get some of it paid for too AND be tax deductible!