Getting Started- Step 1- Niche Research

Now that you know what affiliate marketing is, you are ready to start your first project (or “campaign”).  The first step is to decide what type of product, topic, or website you want to promote.

In internet marketing, a specific topic is a called a “niche.”  There are broad topics, but you want to focus more to narrow down the competition.  You want to start with a broad topic, but then narrow it down until you find a niche that you can work with.

Here are some examples of narrowing down a broad topic into a focus niche:

• mp3 players -> 4 GB mp3 players -> 4 GB ipod -> 4 GB ipod nano accessories
• exercise -> exercise equipment -> bowflex exercise equipment -> bowflex treadclimber
• health -> weight loss -> low fat cooking -> low fat cooking recipe books
• clothing -> handbags -> purses -> designer handbags -> Prada leather handbags

As you can see, it is possible to promote almost anything if you narrow it down far enough.  But why do we have to bother with narrowing it down?  Why can’t you choose a broad topic?  The answer is competition (you’ll learn more about that in the next lesson).

There are billions of people with websites just about dogs, so if “dogs” is your topic you will fail because there are so many other people on the exact same topic.  But if you narrow it down some, there will be less competition.  There aren’t quite as many people with a website focused on “dog training tips” or “costumes for dogs.”

If you focus more on a specific niche, you will know exactly what you need to write about.  And it will be easier to get results since there is less competition.  This goes hand-in-hand with the next lesson on keyword research, but don’t worry about that just yet.

For now, just try to think of a few topics or niches you are interested in.  If you have any knowledge about a particular topic, that is a good choice.  If you have any hobbies you can list those too.  If you are having trouble thinking of ideas…just go to Google, Amazon, or other websites and look for something that interests you.

Once you have a few ideas to work with, you are ready for the next step…which is finding out how to promote these topics by narrowing down the competition.

No related posts.