I'm at a crossroad and need some advice on my website! I was new to website design and marketing starting in March of last year. I started my blog, tiaraandthebox.com, about finding bargains for brides. I would look for bargains online and compile it all on my website. Didn't get much traffic and only used Google Adsense. Didn't make but a few cents! I just thought that it took a while to establish yourself and name online. But after much research, I find that the Wedding Industry/subject is filled with probably thousands of blogs, websites, and everything else for the engaged couple. Very, very competitive!
So I decided to change my website to include a Bridal Salon Directory (incl 50 states), Sample Sale Directory, and online sales while including Google Adsense and other advertisers. As I was working through plugging the database with Bridal Shop listings including names, address, phone numbers and logos, it was the logo part that slowed me down. I have since learned that I need permission to include a logo. ( Glad I found out before the site went public! ) I was actually corresponding back/forth with an attorney who represents David's Bridal and was informed that logos are intellectual property as I suspected! I couldn't just take a snippet of the logo and place it in the directory. Ugh! So I then requested permission from the Bridal Salons I have input thus far but very little have responded. (I know their very busy so I respect that!) Now, I'm wondering if this is just a bad niche idea altogether!
After listening to Lynn Terry this morning on Niche selection for awhile, I started to realize that perhaps I'm making this more difficult than it really is! Lynn does a terrific job on explaining how to find niches and start up a site. And earn some income! So now I'm at a crossroad and I'm starting to think it's time for a new idea! Has this happened to many of you?
I attended the webinar this morning to and went here to join. My website is www.resourcefulblogger.com I'm not sure you would call it a niche blog since I cover so many subjects.
I am interested in learning about starting a niche blog on a very specific subject and have been searching for ideas.
I love your idea, but I'm not an expert in niche blogging.
Hopefully someone here with experience will help.
I can help with blog stuff in general if you have any questions.
Your question about the logo. Can't you just design your own or hire someone to do it? I wouldn't let that hold me up.
Like those looking to have a country themed ceremony. Maybe you could link to and write about country bridal accessories and decor. That way those searching for Country Themed Weddings might find you.
Other ideas.
The Winter Wonderland Bride.
Creating the perfect beach wedding. You could offer beach themed wedding dress ideas. Decor. etc....
Those are just a few examples.
I think being more specific could help. Like the example Terry gave this morning using heart shapes. She targeted specific heart shaped ideas that would work for the heartshapedstuff site.
Like I said, I'm no expert in niche marketing. Hopefully, someone else will jump in and have some suggestions.
Thanks for the input! Yeah....I think you're right that my overall theme of the blog is too broad and I think that's where I'm fumbling! Perhaps, breaking it down to a specific Bridal Theme is good advice! Thanks! I happen to love Lynn's (or Sherry's I think her name was) idea of hearts! Wow, what a great idea to the upcoming Valentine's Day!
The logo dilemma was that I was copying logos from the various Bridal Salon sites and posting them in the directory which I learned is a no-no! Geez, having to not only learn web development but legal lingo as well! Oh well! I'm not going to give up! I did think about creating my own generic logo (using GIMP) but it just didn't seem the same to me!
Thanks for offering blog help! Being new at it several months ago was so tedious for me at first but I'm starting to catch on! I will certainly ask you questions and thank you!
Hi and welcome !
I am new to affiliate marketing myself, but have been doing business on the internet and building websites off and on for sometime. I will make some suggestions'. Others with more experience my disagree, like Lynn and Angie, and I would suggest you listen to what they have to say.
I tried to take a look at your site but it was in maintenance mode, so cant help you much from a layout perspective.
But your idea/niche is a good one. Don't be put off because it is competitive. Does not mean you cannot be successful.
As you know, there are a lot of "Wedding" Sites out there. Take some time and look through some of them. How are they laid out? What do they offer? How do they categorize? etc. This will give you an idea what to offer your readers. Believe me the bigger name Co.'s have already done the research for you, so take advantage of their work.
As far as using images and content from other sites, everything on any website is copy write protected. Especially images.
I have a couple suggestions for this and for your Wedding Salon Directory ( Great idea by the way! ).
First find if there are any with affiliate programs. Once you have an account with them they will provide you with images which are linked to your affiliate account.
Second, Contact all Wedding Salons that don't have an affiliate program. Make an offer to post a text link to their website in your directory for free for a limited time. After which, you could charge an advertising fee. Since your relatively new, I would make it cheap. Maybe $50-$75 a year. You could have a lower fee for Text Ads and a larger fee for Ads with images.
Gotta go for now but that should keep you busy for awhile
Personally, I think both of your sites are just fine as they are, or Barb - as yours was. Being a "bridal bargain hunter" is a great angle! And as I mentioned on the webinar, my site is very broad in terms of travel & weight loss - in TWO very "competitive/saturated" niches lol. ;-)
The key is to not over-think it. You can target a specific market, big or small, and the main objective is to SERVE that market. Meaning you share products or services or offers - and information! - that helps them achieve THEIR goal(s). Also, most of the so-called "competition" is not all that social media savvy. Nail that, and you have a serious advantage!
Barb,
I think it's a great niche and wide open! If you haven't posted in the elite forum yet, please do so we can dig in and do more specific brainstorming. Logo use (and any image use for that matter) is tough but you can make it work, just use stock images or like you are doing, contact the companies directly for permission.
I think a combo of the bargains and the directory will be great!
Thanks Chris NKC....you have some wonderful ideas! The affiliate links for images is excellent! I haven't really ventured out to affiliates other than Google yet! In my memo to Bridal Salons, I told them I would not charge them as I was expecting to reap some income from affiliates! So I kinda blew that one but great idea nonetheless!
Thanks so much for your input....I will use your site for reference!
I did put my site on maintenance and glad I did! Not sure if what I was doing was legit!
Thanks, Barb
Oh, I forgot to mention that I have looked at a lot of Bridal/wedding sites! Part of the reason I did this was to see if there was anything out there that was similar to mine. So far what I've noticed is a bunch of sites (great btw) that offer professional photographers pics of weddings to give people ideas, all the usual gown designers images, and other stuff for weddings, even sites who show them advertising on TV stations to give them reach. But after a while I noticed they all started looking the same! This is why I decided to just focus on bargains since I love bargain hunting these days!
Oh man, did you nail it! I do over-think a lot! This is why I get hung up on this or that! But I was glad I questioned the image violation before it became a bigger problem. I joined your Mastermind group and look very much forward to it! You are a great teacher and glad I found you!
Thanks angienewton! I joined Lynn's Mastermind group yesterday and look very much forward to Lynn's and your input! My site is on maintenance mode right now. I planned on re-opening it on Jan. 20 but decided that I have too many roadblocks. So I wanted to clear up any problems before I dedicated a date! But like Lynn says, I over-think a lot. My husband tells me that I over analyze so she was spot on! I look forward to referencing your site to see where I could use some changes.
Crossroads!
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