Help getting over Niche Researcher’s block
Posted on October 16, 2008
Filed Under Affiliate Marketing - basics |
Whilst you’re best off writing about something you know about and are going to be able to maintain an interest in, having done some market investigation you might be struggling to find something.
When I did my research I came up with cameras and gadgets, children, cooking and shoes, and I felt very, very uninspired. So the first thing to realise is that you’re not alone, and this kind of affiliate marketer’s block doesn’t just happen to beginners.
But don’t worry there are other ways to find topics you might be able to make into profitable niches.
What are other people searching for?
Well surprise surprise Google comes up trumps again. You can either use Google Hot Trends, which shows the top 100 topics people are searching for, or use Google Insights whch allows you to filter different categories and locations.
But don’t just take Google’s word for it – there are other search engines you know! Yes really! But search for things like “hot trends” “hot searches” and you’ll come up with a load of information about what people are searching for right now.
What are they reading?
So we’re agreed that people are using the internet more and more – and luckily we can not only find out what they’re searching for, we can also find out what they’re interested in reading about. Two top places you can look for information are Digg and Technorati who both reflect what the top stories are in the world of the blogosphere, including video clips etc. If you’re in the UK a lot of these might be very American stories but it’s all useful information.
But people don’t only read online, people buy magazines. And if a couple of magazines are published in an area that you’re thinking about then it indicates that there’s obviously a big enough readership that you might also be able to exploit it. To find out what magazines are being published (in the UK) try a website like Newwstand.
People are searching and reading – what are they buying?
The only way you can make money in affiliate marketing is if people buy products. But what products are popular at the moment? There are two huge stores which no doubt trip off most people’s tongues when discussing where to buy on the internet. One is Ebay and the other is Amazon. Hold your hand up if you haven’t heard of those? Hmm didn’t think so. Fortunately for us, both sites give information about what their customers are buying.
On Ebay you can try Ebay Pulse and on Amazon have a look at Amazon’s bestsellers.
Hopefully you have found this, and my previous articles on niche research useful. Hopefully you now have a sector or niche market in mind - just as long as it’s not cameras and gadgets, children, cooking or shoes I’m sure we’ll get along just fine!
If you use any other resources to help with your research why not share it. There aren’t any other readers at the moment - so it would only be you and me!
If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy these!or read my previous post: Completing your niche research!
or read the next one: Domain name hunting we will go.
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