(Yes, I know my title ends with a preposition; but it’s my blog and I can make grammatical errors if I want.)
In my last installment I told you how to find products to promote in your affiliate marketing business. Now it’s time to investigate the next step, finding someone to sell products to (Oops! I did it again!). And keep in mind that these two steps do not necessarily need to take place in this order; finding your audience or “niche” can be your first step if you prefer.
In Internet affiliate marketing the term “niche” (pronounced “neesh” outside of the US) refers to a targeted group of potential customers, typically a subset of a larger and less well defined group. For example, people searching for “jazz guitar lessons” would be a tighter niche than people searching for “guitar lessons”. And capturing those searchers is what this Internet affiliate marketing is all about; to wit…
A Google search for “guitar lessons” (using the quotes to closely define the search) turns up 2,460,000 competing pages. Your efforts as an Internet affiliate marketer will focus on rising to the top of Google’s search results (getting on page 1) and the fewer competitors the easier it will be to do that. Winning a top spot for “guitar lessons” is highly unlikely.
A search for “jazz guitar lessons” produces only 31,900 competing pages; there’s a Google rankings battle you have a chance to compete in! Let’s look at a few other potential related niches and their search results:
- Online guitar lessons: 259,000 (3,000)
- Online jazz guitar lessons: 133,000 (35)
- Free online jazz guitar lessons: 63,400 (<10)
- Free online jazz guitar lessons for beginners: 0 (0)
Based on the information I’ve given you thus far it would appear that winning a Google top ranking for “free online jazz guitar lessons for beginners” would be a cakewalk—and in fact it would. However, the numbers in parentheses shed another important light on the niche selection process; they are the number of inquiries for that search term each day. And as you can see, no one searches for that term so getting Google’s #1 ranking would be meaningless to your bank account (though admittedly a boost for your ego). You can find numbers of searches as well as competition data and a host of other valuable information by visiting Google’s Free Keyword Tool here: Google Keyword Tool.
Now I have to go sell some cars or cut the grass or something, so I’m going to cut this post short. But there’s plenty more to learn regarding niche selection, so stay tuned for part two.
Jerry,
Keep the info coming, very informative.
Steve.
Thanks, Steve. Check out my latest site…
Jerry,
At the risk of sounding dense, what’s the first step in getting off on the right foot. Starting with ones own idea or using a site to develop the right product to market?
Jerry,
Would you still recommend starting with ‘Site Build It’as a begining?
Steve, let me answer both of your comments here. as to getting off on the right foot I think it’s critical that you find the right mentor. therer’s a bunch of snake oil out there and sifting through the junk can be time consuming at best, expensive at worst.
SBI is a great place to start and depending on what you want out of your ‘Net marketing career, it may be a good place to end. I’ve adopted the tools and techniques of Chris Rempel into my plan; as you’ve seen from my guitar site it’s more compact, to-the-point and frankly, money oriented. If I didn’t have a day job I could build and market a site in a few days then move on to another. But Chris’ tools assume a working knowledge of web publishing, i.e. HTML, FTP, etc.
Which ever way you choose to go you will spend some $$. SBI is about $300/year but provides you with more tools and support than you can likely imagine at this point. I’ve spent about the same for Chris’ tools but that’s a 1-time payout. But without SBI I would not have known how to make Chris’ stuff work.
Jerry,
Thanks, I need to take the plunge and try to connect my passion/interest with the SBI tutoring and business building. Your sites are awesome and seemingly quite advanced. I want this to make money but also allow me for maybe the first time do something I enjoy.Keep up the great work.
Steve.
Jerry,
What is your opinion on ‘TKA- The Keyword Academy’as a starting point for an internet newby. As compared to ‘SBI’
Jerry,
Would you still recommend starting with ‘Site Build It’as a begining?
Emily, the more familiar I become with SBI the higher my recommendation for using it. By following the Action Guide you will be introduced to virtually everything you need to know to start a successful affiliate marketing business. You may, as I did, want to branch out and take advantage of other alternatives, but without a year of SBI I would be unable to use the resources I’m using so confidently now. If you investigate/sign up please consider doing so through this link so I get paid for the referral!
Don’t know TKA, sorry. I will caution you against a continuous search for “just the right thing”. You will get bogged down in the search and never take action. Go here and get started so I get paid for the referral!