Selecting A Niche

[Robert_Forrester]

In my younger days I did some work as a career coach and I think some of the exercises are relevant to finding a good niche. If you are just starting the affiliate thing or looking to expand to a new vertical, I think this might be useful. Make a list for each of the following:

I - All of the things you have done in your free time during the past week. Anything from golf, movies or playing video games.
II - The websites you frequent. Check your history or your bookmarks if you need some help.
III - If you were going on a business trip out of the country for a month, what things would you HAVE to have with you.
IV - Things your friends and family ask you for advice about.
V - Anything you are really good at. Win awards? Have a ranking? Peer respect?

Take a look at all of these lists and do some thinking. Sit down for a while and try and see what they have in common. They will be things that you; enjoy doing, are interested in, care about, have knowledge about and have talent at. Look for patterns and I think you will be able to find some good niches that you could set up an affiliate site for. Once you've got that figured out, everything else is easy, right?

[Niche]

I wish it was as simple as that. It's about finding a PROFITABLE niche. Doing this involves keyword research, demand analysis, supply review.

Find your niche is a good basic guide. But loads of homework to do to get there

[GregK]

Very true. Finding a niche you love is good, but if the purpose is to be an affiliate, there better be some money there. On the flip side, sometimes it is better to make less money doing something you love.

I bet you know a lot about niches Niche

[Robert_Forrester]

That is something to think about. Maybe it would be a good idea to use the exercise to generate a list and then look at the top 5 for the most profitable and accessible. Do you have any tips on doing profitability research Niche?

[jyudin@bhphoto.com]

At B&H Photo we are constantly on the prowl for "in the niche" websites. I find that photographers and photography bloggers that love what they do are excited when they find out they can bring in revenue by associating with B&H PHOTO. Because of their excitement they are more inclined to work on monetizing their websites through our affiliate programs.

[webzedge]

I have to disagree about finding an interest and setting up an affiliate program around it. The affiliate programs are free; I say sell it all. Who cares if you have any interest what so ever about anything. If it sells sell it; I sell everything from generators to stripper clothes; from Christian books to Transgendered supplies; from Bibles to dildo's. When I started many moons ago I put everything you could think off on a site. When certain products started to sell I would buy a domain and build a site around it. I have kite sites, chess sites, Asian fashion sites, Lesbian fashion, Gay fashion, International online dating. I even have geek sites like NerdyGadgets.com; scrapbooking sites; farm and garden sites; I just sold a wedding dress online at one of my two wedding sites. You name it I probably sell it or at least probably will sell it. I even have a site that sells rifles that shoot around a corner and have a video screen attached.

[GregK]

that is what I call diversity. I would be worried about spreading myself too thin if I tried that. Personally I like to focus on one niche. If you do that, you can become an industry expert and carry some weight. I know of super affiliates that have done this and can now negotiate awesome promotions with their managers. Different strokes for different folks.

[Yep!Jamie]

There are obviously two schools of thought here...Find something you enjoy and try to make it profitable or find whats hot and make as much money as possible.

A good way to find profitable new hot niches is to keep your eyes open. See what else is being advertised. Surf the net and look for common banners and ads. What advertises on Social sites? On search?

[Robert_Forrester]

That is very perceptive. I guess there are different types of affiliates too. I saw a poll here that talks about how much of your time you devote to affiliate marketing. If you only do part time, it might make sense to focus on something you love, where if you are dependent on the income, you have to go big.

[webzedge]

Yes you must think big, big, big, big, big, big