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Finding Your Niche

By Vickie J. Scanlon


If you want to get into Affiliate Marketing you will need to find a niche. And finding a niche can be a heavy burden. Before I give you some thoughts on finding your niche and what to consider, let’s first define it.


A Niche Defined

A niche market is a market that is targeted not for the majority of the population, but for a subset of the population. Metaphorically speaking - it is one egg in your basket of many eggs. Now if you can find a niche market that isn't being met by a potential market, you can see a profit.

For the small person the niche market is ideal. Why? These ventures are not pursued aggressively by large business because of a lack of interest or a lack of awareness. 

What's the key to the niche business? Grabbing a niche that is not already owned by an established company or person. Example of a niche: Small Business Market, Home Office Market, you get the idea-as you can realize from looking at these two examples – additional drilling down to a more targeted market is possible.


Finding a Niche

1. What are your interests? This is where a lot of soul searching will have to come into play – along with whether it is a passion. If it is not a passion, you may have a problem sustaining your interest. Your passion can be a hobby, an interest you pursue on your day off, or an extension of your 9 to 5 job. (Sometimes your hobby can be rather limited, thus, not giving you enough material to write about over a long period of time-that’s why you need to research your topic)

2. Does, or can your interest, be easily meshed with different Affiliate Programs.

3. Research your niche: Is there a need that is not being met by the others that you will be competing with. You can do varied searches in Google, Yahoo and MSN to get the flavor of what is out there. Look over their websites, ads, etc. to get an idea of where you can position yourself.

Let me elaborate on point 3. I will begin by saying, you need to do research, but that does not mean copying what you find and using it to build your website. That is definitely not your own voice, but another. Yes, for those new to online marketing, the Internet is a big place, but copying without permission is stealing. You need to use your own voice. Nothing can be more aggravating, irritating and lawyer ridden then copying a website or content (where the author has not given you permission to copy). 

Don’t think they can find you? Think again. If they are polite, they will ask you first to take down the offending pages, in a not so nice email. And if you choose to ignore their email, expect to be talking to their lawyers. Sadly, you may have unknowingly ended your online career even before it began.

Once you have found your niche, did your research and you know your niche has a ready-market; it’s time to start setting up your Affiliate Plan to getting online. 

Note: If you find no competition, that could be a good sign or a bad sign: 1) it could mean others have tried and failed to reach the proposed market; or 2) your would-be competitors haven’t found the niche yet. Test market.

To conclude, before putting all your eggs in one basket, do your research before moving forward. It can save you a lot of time and money.



About the Author:

Vickie J Scanlon -- Visit her site at: My Affiliate Place  for articles, ebooks, how to info on the different phases of affiliate marketing/internet marketing, tech accessories, security software, accounting software and computers  and more.

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