One of the very first hurdles that all affiliate marketers have to get over is how to choose a niche for affiliate marketing.
A niche are the people you'll be marketing to, providing useful information to, and recommending products to... and when they buy, you'll earn commissions!
It's a common hurdle for many aspiring affiliate marketers, because they simply can’t decide on which market to get into... But it is very important that you clearly define your market before you start anything, as it affects all the subsequent steps.
You're about to learn a few strategies on not only how to choose a niche for affiliate marketing, but one that best suits you.
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But before we get into this, I want to quickly mention something that a lot of affiliate marketing training don't cover... and that's mindset.
You will never be successful at affiliate marketing (or any type of online marketing) if you approach it with a half-hearted attitude... that will simply get you half-hearted results.
As I’ve said before, you have to treat this as a real business… and it will reward you accordingly.
Here's a quick read on the issue of mindset:
The Right Mindset For Building a 5-Figure/Month Affiliate Marketing Business
Ok, back to picking a niche.
A niche is a group of people with similar interest in a particular topic. For example, people interested in learning about golf or in forex trading are markets.
There are 2 main criteria for choosing your niche, and these are especially important if you are a beginner affiliate marketer:
- it should be something that you are personally interested in
- it must be profitable.
What Are You Interested In Or Passionate About?
This will greatly improve your chances of being successful in that market. Why? Because, you'll need to devote time and effort in creating a meaningful and relevant content to provide to your market... this becomes a lot easier if it's a topic that you personally like.
You know the old saying “Do what you love, and the money will come”
There are 2 simple ways to go about this...
- Something you are personally interested in AND know a lot about.
- Something that you personally interested in and don't know a lot about, BUT you are very curious in learning about.
Strangely, a lot of people can’t easily answer this question. Can you? Here are a few simple questions that may help you out:
1) What websites do you visit when you're just surfing online?
2) Do you have pets?
3) do you play and sports?
4) Do you collect anything?
5) Do you have any specialized education?
Do you see where I am coming from?
Reflect on what skills, hobbies or products you know the most about. If you don’t have the knowledge as yet, then choose a market that you love and spend the necessary time on some researching that market… eventually you’ll become and expert in that market.
How Do You Know If A Market Is Profitable?
To answer this question, you've got to do some research.
If there are plenty of marketers competing in the niche – including spending money on paid advertisements – then you’ve got a profitable niche on your hand. And if you can find evidence of buyers actually purchasing products in the niche regularly, that’s a clear sign that the niche is profitable.
So here’s how to uncover these signs and do your market research…
Check Amazon.com
- Do a search on Amazon.com using your broad market keywords
- Do you see a lot of books and other products in the results? Are there multiple books on the same topics and are there competing products?
- If so, that’s a good sign – because multiple marketers don’t jump into a barren market to create and sell products!
Tip: You can also check the Clickbank.com marketplace. If you see a lot of products in your niche category – and these products are popular – that’s a good sign.
Search Google
- Go to Google.com and enter those same broad keywords.
- Do you see lots of sites in the results? (Yes… a million sites or more is perfectly fine.) And are many of these sites commercialized – meaning they’re building lists and selling solutions?
- If so, those are good signs that the niche is profitable.
Look at Niche Publications (and Other Media)
- Now look at newspapers, magazines, books, and even TV and radio.
- Do you see programs and publications about your niche?
- Do you see paid advertising in these publications that advertise products and services in your niche?
- If so, that’s a good sign and it indicates there’s a big pool of buyers.
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What niche are you thinking about getting involved in?... Let me know in the comments below.
I have just started a niche website. Anything and everything BABY! I figured no matter where the economy goes, people will continue having babies! am I thinking correct?
Hi BlogginMoma,
I agree with you… I think it’s a good niche.
I’m sure you’ll find lots of affiliate programs in this niche. You can use the process I outline in the following blog post to find programs:
https://affiliatemarketinglessons.com/how-and-where-to-find-the-best-affiliate-products-to-promote/
Best of luck with your website!
As you progress with the website, don’t hesitate to give me a shout out if you need any help.
I am truly interested in sustainable living, recycling and the environment, I am also an avid “do-it-your-selfer”. I think I will be looking into a niche that combines to the two. Household items, wares, or decorative projects.
I’m torn between 2 or 3 niches. I feels to pick the niche that everyone are promoting is difficult to competing. I will decide to pick a good niche. One that I can devote whole heartedly. Thank you William for best tips and tools.
You’re welcome Summer!