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Affiliate Classroom Blog Archives

Finding Your Niche

Thursday, May 3rd, 2007 at 3:38 pm by Matt Van Atta

Discovering one’s niche can mean everything. To do what you like, to do what you do best, and to do it regularly, can fulfill a life. For many, affiliate marketing provides that kind of fulfillment — in terms of both dollars and general satisfaction.

A niche in affiliate marketing is a particular group of products that share both common characteristics and a similar target audience. That group could constitute an entire industry, or it can be a product group within a particular industry.

A niche’s target audience varies in size. For instance, a resume writing service cuts a wide swath. Almost everyone has prepared a resume sometime in their lives, right? On the other hand, a lot of pet owners may never have heard of pet insurance, let alone the non-pet owners who may roll their eyes at the concept.

But chances are those who market pet insurance have two things going for them — the passion for their niche (in this case, their love of pets), and the niche’s profitability.

Everyone in affiliate marketing started out by selecting a niche in which to operate. If you are considering taking that plunge, selecting that niche may be the most important decision you make.

And selecting a niche involves more than just saying, “I’ll go into X.” Two general steps are required:

  • Select a niche based on your interests. How passionate are you about those interests? Did you pursue these interests previously in your work? Have you pursued them as hobbies? This is particularly important. Bringing passion and expertise to your niche will make your website content easier to create and more compelling to your target audience.

  • Once you’ve decided on a niche, research it. A general area of interest could lead to dozens of profitable subcategories. Check out affiliate program providers such as Clickbank, Commission Junction, clixGalore, and others for programs that cover those subcategories.

While a niche can be “too small,” don’t discount it entirely. While a larger niche may be more appealing, it may also have lots of competitors. And being the only marketer in a relatively small niche can be lucrative.

The more you can make affiliate marketing a labor of love, the more fun you’ll have, and the better able you will be to ride out any storms. Selecting the right niche is the first step in that direction.

Use eBay to Optimize YOUR Site

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007 at 1:44 pm by Evelyn Grazini, AC Student and Staff Writer

You work hard to optimize your website and your blogs. So why not take advantage of someone (or something) else that really knows how to capitalize of the power of SEO! Yes, I’m talking about eBay!

When you think of eBay, you probably think of selling something. And, if you have an eBook or report that you want to go viral, eBay is the best place to start.

However, there are many other ways to use the strength of eBay to your advantage. Here are a few things you can do quickly, to get some SEO help from the big guys.

Most people don’t know that eBay has something called My World. You automatically get a My World Account when you register on eBay. My World is a free web site where you can promote your business. You just add Modules (kind of like on Squidoo, only easier).

You can add a module to show everyone what you are selling, make a favorites section, add a blog (and blog about all your new products - linking back to your web-site or other blog). There’s also a place for your bio, and a “Reviews and Guides” section where you can share your expertise (about that new software product you’re an affiliate for!)

That’s the most fun thing I found out about eBay recently, but you can also do other things to help promote your business.

If you’re in a hurry to get on the front page of Search Results, check out eBay’s My World!

Why not write up an eBay Review Guide on how to use the latest traffic generating or Article Spinning software?

Check out the Stores section of eBay. This has been said to be the “most powerful e-commerce solution currently in the marketplace.” You can list everything you have for sale in your store for less than $16 a month! If you do your SEO correctly, you could soon see your Store on the first page of the Google search results.

Don’t forget also to use your store’s “Custom Pages.” These are more for content, and you can use them to give reviews of your products, tips and tricks, or anything else you want to write about.

These may look like small things (and indeed, they will not take you long to set up), but they are well worth the effort. You know eBay would not get it wrong!

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