Starting out in a niche

34 replies
Hello everyone.
I would really like to start in a niche I am very passionate about, but I need guidance.
Tennis is my passion, I played college tennis, played in the pro tour for a year, and would like to start an authority website based on Tennis.

I need help, though.

I know the goal of authority websites is to have a solid sales volume through affiliate products. By saying that, I don't know if I should narrow my niche to something more specific within the tennis niche.

Also, I don't know if the content should be more about say the pro tour, learning the basics of the sport, or a mix of everything.

Also, do you think it is necessary to build a facebook fan page around my site to diversify traffic sources? I will definitely be using SEO.

Thanks in advance!
#niche #starting
  • Profile picture of the author simonbee
    Doing something you are passionate about will definitely keep you motivated and focused.

    Who is to say this site has to make any money it could just be a vehicle for learning how to build a site and do SEO/Social Media.

    I'd say go for it!
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  • Profile picture of the author Miguelito203
    Originally Posted by Salkema View Post

    Hello everyone.
    I would really like to start in a niche I am very passionate about, but I need guidance.
    Tennis is my passion, I played college tennis, played in the pro tour for a year, and would like to start an authority website based on Tennis.

    I need help, though.

    I know the goal of authority websites is to have a solid sales volume through affiliate products. By saying that, I don't know if I should narrow my niche to something more specific within the tennis niche.

    Also, I don't know if the content should be more about say the pro tour, learning the basics of the sport, or a mix of everything.

    Also, do you think it is necessary to build a facebook fan page around my site to diversify traffic sources? I will definitely be using SEO.

    Thanks in advance!
    The goal of any site would be to provide quality and relevant information based on what the user is search for. If you build a decent site and a following, the money will come. If you're planning on building an authority site, I think you should do a mix of basic and pro stuff. As your site grows, so will your following. The people that follow you from the inception of your site will also grow in knowledge and experience over time as well, so having a mix of basic and pro stuff makes sense. You should also diversify your traffic sources, so making a fan page is a good idea.

    Good luck,
    Joey
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    • Profile picture of the author Salkema
      Great response, Miguelito.
      Thanks.
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  • Profile picture of the author pmessenger
    You are certainly on the right track and you are asking the right questions!

    The fact that you are passionate about the subject is the key here. It will mean that you will be able to find the motivation to write those posts when you really don't feel like it, and yes that will happen!

    I wouldn't limit yourself too much, keep it broad but focus on subjects that you want to write about and have passion for.

    Certainly nothing wrong with having a facebook fan page to send you traffic and build a community.
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  • Profile picture of the author bryan lillard
    Clickbank is a great place to start for niche research.I took this screen shoot using tennis as my keyword. Should give you an idea of the kinds of product in your market.



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    • Profile picture of the author Salkema
      Thanks Bryan!
      I'm already familiar with ClickBank, and yes, there's a wide range of marketable products I could sell.
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  • Profile picture of the author RahulNag
    Yes some good questions. It looks like there could be a couple of areas you can focus on at a high level. Either improving yourself as a tennis player. This could be then drilled down to amateur, professional. College players, men or women, mothers v teenagers etc.

    The other one would be for fans of tennis. This could be based on specific players, or stats of all-time tennis greats. Or the ATP Tour or the Grand Slams etc. You can drill down within each section.

    Why not just start a website? Have the mindset of creating insanely useful content, see the Liveyourlegend.net website. Forget about making money for the first year or two. How could you make your tennis website amazing for your fans? Are there things which are popular in other sports e.g. other websites for football or basketball which you could then apply to tennis?

    Set something up and then see what works or doesn't. But your focus must be on the reader - how are you improving or making their life better? If you keep that focus for a consistent period of time, you are well suited to then understanding your customers better and then offering them products and materials perhaps which has never been offered before.

    And remember to use Aweber or Getresponse etc. to build a list.
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  • Profile picture of the author Peter Kontango
    you should go and study what the competitors in your niche are doing -> talking about pro tour or just learning the basics of the sport...
    then go sub-niche first and expand later...
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    hmm

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  • Profile picture of the author Life Naturally
    I think being passionate about your niche is the most important thing. I find it difficult to provide good content when i'm not an authority in the field/niche i'm promoting. When I am promoting my passion, content flows more naturally. Good luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author Salkema
    Thanks for the answers.

    What marketing initiatives should I take if I am starting on a tight budget?

    Should I focus on SEO since day 1?
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  • Profile picture of the author Markets
    I would suggest monetizing the website by selling tutorial / virtual items (eBooks) as well as selling tennis affiliate products.
    I would suggest to stick to a more direct topic, e.g how to play tennis.
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    • Profile picture of the author Salkema
      Originally Posted by Markets View Post

      I would suggest monetizing the website by selling tutorial / virtual items (eBooks) as well as selling tennis affiliate products.
      I would suggest to stick to a more direct topic, e.g how to play tennis.
      Markets, that's some good insight. I'm assuming that by focusing on that I will have faster results? I mean a website that directly centers around how to play tennis will demand less content and would be faster to monetize? Am I right?
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  • Profile picture of the author seoboyz01
    Originally Posted by Salkema View Post

    I know the goal of authority websites is to have a solid sales volume through affiliate products. By saying that, I don't know if I should narrow my niche to something more specific within the tennis niche.
    Not every authority website monetizes with affiliate sales. Some are not for profit or associated with a much larger organization that provides the site as a public service. Others sell products of their own creation.

    As for narrowing down your niche, you could focus on a sub-niche such as tennis related injuries or selecting the best tennis shoes. Pick one facet of tennis that you feel passionate about, not just the broader area of tennis. What aspect of tennis were you most actively involved in, other than playing? Only you can answer these questions for yourself. Decide what area with tennis you are an expert and specialize in that, not just the generic niche.
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  • Profile picture of the author PerformanceMan
    I think building an 'authority site' is going to take a long, long time before you realize any gains.

    I personally would try and monetize first using paid ads, then go back and build content (if I even bothered).

    Your plan for using 'SEO' is not a sound one IMHO.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jps500
      I'm not sure how long it would take to become an authority in that niche, however, if you have that much passion and experience about the subject, a website is definitely the way to go.

      I would start with a few articles teaching the correct hitting stances and whatnot, then follow up with a free tutorial about short exercises one could do at home for free. Once you start to get some traction, (could be a few months but keep at it!) you would head into product creation.

      You could create a monthly subscription based service in where you release pro tips to your customers every month and/or create an Ebook/video series that takes them by the hand from beginning tennis to the workouts and trainings that a professional would eventually utilize.

      That should not only get you nice website conversions as they trust you and obviously the products made by you, but you'll also have complete control over the product you're promoting.
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  • Profile picture of the author iansinfo
    Originally Posted by Salkema View Post

    Hello everyone.
    I would really like to start in a niche I am very passionate about, but I need guidance.
    Tennis is my passion, I played college tennis, played in the pro tour for a year, and would like to start an authority website based on Tennis.

    I need help, though.

    I know the goal of authority websites is to have a solid sales volume through affiliate products. By saying that, I don't know if I should narrow my niche to something more specific within the tennis niche.

    Also, I don't know if the content should be more about say the pro tour, learning the basics of the sport, or a mix of everything.

    Also, do you think it is necessary to build a facebook fan page around my site to diversify traffic sources? I will definitely be using SEO.

    Thanks in advance!
    If tennis is your passion you are one step ahead of most in the IM crowd. As most just want to make money and dont care how hey do it. It is a good idea to drill down into the niche and become an expert at that particular thing as you cant be all things to all people. As far as facebook goes it would be best if you were to create a FB page where you can interact with your clients. All the best
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  • Profile picture of the author allenmartin
    Originally Posted by Salkema View Post

    Hello everyone.
    I would really like to start in a niche I am very passionate about, but I need guidance.
    Tennis is my passion, I played college tennis, played in the pro tour for a year, and would like to start an authority website based on Tennis.

    I need help, though.

    I know the goal of authority websites is to have a solid sales volume through affiliate products. By saying that, I don't know if I should narrow my niche to something more specific within the tennis niche.

    Also, I don't know if the content should be more about say the pro tour, learning the basics of the sport, or a mix of everything.

    Also, do you think it is necessary to build a facebook fan page around my site to diversify traffic sources? I will definitely be using SEO.

    Thanks in advance!

    Hi Salkema,

    if i were in your situation, i would go to tennis forum, register for free and start posting 5-10 posts per day with value content - answer questions etc. to become an authority.

    Then i would create a squeeze page to collect Email Leads from incoming Visitors. You could create a short Video or Ebook with value content like for example:"The Top 2 Reasons why your backhand sucks" or something similar. You need to grab their attention.

    Then i would create an information product (suggested videos) and once they sign in to your site they will be redirected to your sales page - if they don't buy your product the first time they saw it, i would create a follow up series with value content and your offer at the bottom of each email you send out.


    Hope this helps you out, have a nice day,
    Allen
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  • Profile picture of the author Jason Lavis
    You need to find a tennis sub-niche that is not as competitive.

    Rather than thinking about SEO you should learn keyword research.

    Go into Google Adwords and create a big list of related keywords, then look at the competition for each one that catches your attention. Two good tools are long tail pro and market samurai for keyword research. Watch the instructional videos.

    You can also get toolbars from semrush, seoquake, or Moz so that when you look at competitive sites you can see if there is a chance for you to get on the first page of Google.

    The reason for this strategy is that if after a year or 2 of creating content for a website focusing on "semi-pro tennis" or "tennis for beginners", you have no visitors, you will get discouraged.

    Gearing your site for "tennis clubs in California" or "starting tennis after an injury" might give you quick traction. Working on a site with visitors and revenue is 100x more fun.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve B
    Originally Posted by Salkema View Post

    I know the goal of authority websites is to have a solid sales volume through affiliate products.

    Not necessarily.

    Affiliate products is just one way to monetize a site. You could also develop your own information product for sale, generate recurring income through a community subscription site, or develop a niche portal where you sell advertising. Those are just three of many other ways to make money from the Internet.

    Open up your mind and embrace all the possibilities! Chances are good that one of them is a much better model than affiliate sales, especially in the tennis market.

    You also need to think about narrowing your focus off of tennis and into a specific sub-topic within tennis. Find demand and carve out your own narrow niche and you will have much less competition.

    Good luck,

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author Trey Morgan
    Originally Posted by Salkema View Post

    Hello everyone.
    I would really like to start in a niche I am very passionate about, but I need guidance.
    Tennis is my passion, I played college tennis, played in the pro tour for a year, and would like to start an authority website based on Tennis.

    I need help, though.

    I know the goal of authority websites is to have a solid sales volume through affiliate products. By saying that, I don't know if I should narrow my niche to something more specific within the tennis niche.

    Also, I don't know if the content should be more about say the pro tour, learning the basics of the sport, or a mix of everything.

    Also, do you think it is necessary to build a facebook fan page around my site to diversify traffic sources? I will definitely be using SEO.

    Thanks in advance!
    You can make your site about Tennis and then have subcategories within the site.

    I think you need to do some keyword research and find out what people are searching for within your niche and you will have a better understanding of what kind of content you should focus on.

    I do recommend creating a Facebook fan page. It certainly won't hurt to have one.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve B
    Originally Posted by Salkema View Post

    Tennis is my passion, I played college tennis, played in the pro tour for a year, and would like to start an authority website based on Tennis.

    IMO, why sell affiliate products when you are the authority? You have the passion, the experience, the knowledge about tennis. You don't need to sell other people's products and make some percentage (maybe 50%) when you could create your own product or service and reap the full financial benefit (100% profit) from your creation? Does that make sense? Sell your own hard-won knowledge and experience about the sport because you have so much unique knowledge to offer.

    Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author Steve MacLellan
      Originally Posted by Steve B View Post

      IMO, why sell affiliate products when you are the authority?

      Steve
      I'd have to agree with Steve B. You don't become an authority on any given subject by selling other peoples' goods and services. That doesn't mean you cant recommend other peoples' products... after you have already established your authority. Use a website to prove who you are first.....

      Regards,
      Steve MacLellan
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    • Profile picture of the author Lucian Lada
      Originally Posted by Steve B View Post

      IMO, why sell affiliate products when you are the authority? You have the passion, the experience, the knowledge about tennis. You don't need to sell other people's products and make some percentage (maybe 50%) when you could create your own product or service and reap the full financial benefit (100% profit) from your creation? Does that make sense? Sell your own hard-won knowledge and experience about the sport because you have so much unique knowledge to offer.
      Sounds like a good idea, but only until one discovers how much work and money goes into creating a product.

      But I'll let Alexa expand on this: it's her field of expertise.
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  • Profile picture of the author Lightlysalted
    I would do some research on keywords linked to your tennis niche, you can use the free google keyword checker tool. Once you've found a few then choose your specific niche. It might be around tennis equipment, coaching , professional improvement, beginner basics. But the keyword checker will give you an idea of search volume which will then give an idea of whether you may haves lucrative niche.
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  • Profile picture of the author muay
    Hey Salkema I am in the same position as you however I have focussed on a paid membership for my niche as I am percieved as an expert, not the number one in UK but in the top ten of coaches in my sport.

    I have learned that I know more than the majority of persons interested in my niche/sport so in their eyes I have authority, it's only a small percentage of the millions worldwide who are interested in tennis who would have the same or more authority than you.

    I used to work with tennis pros at David Lloyd clubs here in the UK, I was a gym instructor some twenty odd years ago and I had a fair few personal training clients from the tennis crowd who were quite different from the other gym members. The tennis clients would ask for very specific exercise programs to enhance their game, strokes, smash, backhand, flexibility, power in calf muscles, increase hamstring flexibility etc etc.

    These were great clients for me as I had to put some brain work into the training programs as my area of expertise was comletely the opposite to tennis i.e rugby, powerlifting, boxing, bodybuilding, Martial arts and swimming.

    Whilst working with the tennis clients and indeed at the high end David Lloyd clubs I worked with golfers, skiers and other racket sports players. Most had money to spend on improving various small aspects of their game, they would use the pros to advise on techniques, strategies game play etc and then the PT's would be hired for one on one gym sessions.

    Maybe you could use your experience and knowledge to devise programs specifically to help enhance various single aspects of the sport and sell these as your programs or own product?
    Build your site using tennis as a broad subject, comment on forums, Facebook etc to build some authority and gain a following, rather than use affiliate products sell your own, try and find a local PT who may be a tennis specific personal fitness trainer and ask for a JV on a joint product between the both of you it would be easy to come up with no end of products that could be sold on your site and as e books via Amazon etc.
    PLR graphics can most probably be sourced on the net or outsourced, I would guess quite easily.

    Just a few examples of thinking past click bank and actually thinking about what you could add as value for the site visitor and aspiring tennis player whether they are beginner, recreational or pro standard I sm sure you have experiences and advice which could help them develop a certain aspect of their play.

    Fact of the matter is that there's millions of people worldwide just taking up tennis, target developing countries such as Brazil where tennis is enjoyed by the more affluent and you have a ready market of eager customers looking to pay someone to help them improve, various countries in SE Asia and other developing countries have a middle class that love tennis, again these are relatively untapped markets as far as Internet info products are concerned.

    Remember that you know more than most people about the sport, that makes you an expert :-)
    In fact you know more than me about tennis and I was selling tennis players one on one training sessions for £25 an hour some twenty years plus ago!
    As a tennis pro in my eyes you are an expert. Despite my experience working with tennis players.
    Different areas of expertise are valued by those passionate about their hobby or sport.

    One further thing I would say is that if you are going to target the tennis niche then I would consider making a high ticket product as in my experience the tennis niche market will spend lots of money.
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  • Profile picture of the author joelraitt
    My friend did this in a different niche (even bigger) and is making good money and will make more when he launches:

    Everyone always says this (and you need to do it):
    - blog high quality content
    - start building email list

    But no one ever says how to get traffic...you can do it with SEO (guessing game and can take forever) or JV (but lets be honest you don't have much to offer)

    Build a Facebook page (you're probably saying 'duh') but you need to advertise it....now I realize everyone is saying 'Fb Page reach is dead, FB pages are dead!!!' DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM.

    Aim to get super targeted like for about .05 - .08 per like of your perfect future customer. Spend even $10 a day (that's 100-200 likes a day) - Post viral content they like and share related to tennis - post to your blog sometimes....keep writing...keep posting...keep the ads going...

    2 months go buy...you now have 6000+ fans who are following you as a tennis coach (6000 people makes you looks pretty popular) and growing....your completion will be asking...WTF is going on!?!?!

    Now, you need those 6000 people off Fb and onto your email list...so create an opt in page about your weekly tips or w/e....make an ad targeting ONLY your followers...you should be abel to get your emails off of FB for about .10-25 cents (total cost of under .50 per email)

    Email them your quality posts (my friend in a different sport niche has 13,000+ emails with a 45% open rate on average, he has 130,000 likes on facebook)

    He started less then a year ago and when he works on the posts he does about 5000-6000 a month just from adsense.

    He DOES NOT promote crappy CB offers....

    When he does his product launch I'm guessing he will do 50,000+ in sales....he has people asking him all the time for help, companies asking him to review products and so on...

    Good luck, it's WORK - but very very do able
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  • Profile picture of the author muay
    Using facebook is the best source at the moment as it is so easy to target your Niche.
    My plan is to use Facebook upon launch also but I differ than building an authority site as I am planning on selling a monthly newsletter targeting the Niche using FB ads, a free downloadable product (2 week introductory course) which will come fromPLR that will be changed to unique so that it will grab their interest. I will use a squeeze page to capture emails upon download of the free product with a choice to join the monthly tips newsletter as OTO. I will also use a retargeting pixel for each visitor that shows the ad for my main product as well as traditional email marketing using the list.

    A lot of people say to stay away from free offers but my opinion is that two week course that offers GREAT value and which leaves the customer wanting more of the same will convert, basically the paid product will contain continuation of the training course over the next 24 months together with further monthly information contained in the newsletter that is in fact more valuable than the training course which is supplemental to the niche but nontheless valuable, trending and semi specialised all at the same time.

    Percieved expertise is a very lucrative marketing point and if harnessed in the correct manner can provide a lot of interest and therefor revenue for you.
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  • Profile picture of the author Salkema
    Guys, great responses. However, the last posts have been targeted more into tennis coaching, but my real passion is in blogging about the pro tour.
    I also have a very valuable contact. My uncle is probably the top 3 tennis agent in the world, having represented two number one players. I met up with him and liked the idea and said would love to help me.
    Your thoughts?
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  • Profile picture of the author BeyondContentNY
    In establishing a sub-niche, I think you first need to think of what you want the website to accomplish, and then go from there.

    As mentioned, look to see what's already out there, and also really think about where your interests lie with respect to tennis.

    Almost anything is marketable if you do the right things.

    Are you skilled and have a good personality? Then perhaps teaching tennis techniques is right down your alley. Here, I would use a combination of consistent how-to posts that can be repurposed, as well as YouTube training videos. The YouTube videos and how-to guides can go hand-in-hand, and can be a great way to boost affiliate sales.

    Do you specialize in tennis-related injuries? Then you can focus on treatments, prevention, and equipment / clothing related to both. Here, you'd want to explore other means of income generation - perhaps working out a deal with physical therapy clinics, or sporting goods companies.

    Don't make your sub-niche too limited, as you'll soon find you have to expand, and that can sometimes require re-branding way too early on in the game. Once you've got your sub-niche down, identify your target audience, and come up with a plan to market your website, and whatever product or service best fits your sub-niche.

    Best of luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author C G
    Nice idea. It would start with some basic stuff then you can promote some advanced coaching or courses when someone buys your entry products.

    Go see what other people are doing in your niche. Copy and enhance their approach

    Cheers,

    C.G.
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  • Profile picture of the author elmo033057
    I'd take a look at what's popular in Amazon for a niche and see if I could put my own spin on it.

    Right now a book called "The Inner Game of Tennis" is very popular. Currently it is #3,316 in Books, which is real good! Not only that, but currently there are over 200 reviews ( most of them favorable 4.6 out of 5 stars).

    That means people actually read that book and went through enough trouble to write a review on it.

    That means that you could come up with some sort of Jedi/Tennis mind tactics and focus on that aspect. (I'm being funny while making up a subject, but in theory, this could work.)

    You can also go through For Dummies site, eBay, and other sites to see what is popular in the world of Tennis. Take something that's popular in the niche you want to operate in and give it your own spin. Don't worry if it has already been somewhat done, look at all of the Paleo diet crap that's out there.

    Hey, wait a minute...

    Paleo-Tennis Methods! --- The technique of how primitive men swung their clubs to kill prey and each other!

    Now there's a niche!!!! LOL!

    God Bless!

    ELMO
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  • Profile picture of the author crgargan
    Hey since you have a lot of experience playing yourself you could get your website up and then create a youtube channel with all kinds of interested videos about tennis techniques and the proper form. If you have a decent video camera you could really slow down the swing to get a wonderful video capturing what actually occurs during a proper swing. People use youtube and google to learn all kinds of stuff. I sure do!

    Videos are a nice way to get real traffic to your site and the videos don't even have to be selling or talking about selling any items. You can easily put a link at the end of videos for the viewers to learn more on your site. just my 2 cents on a fun way to get your new site kick started.
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  • Profile picture of the author muay
    The pro tour idea is a great one, however you are limited by the number of people that are good enough to get there, or have ideas of reaching those heights. So if that's your real passion I would go along the lines of a general broad tennis related blog to get your name known and then piggy back off your uncles experience and his name (joint venture or as a co-author) by creating a top level product, course or series of courses that aspiring pros would pay top dollar for. Your uncle only has to be happy to be associated with the product, he doesn't have to involved in the creation just to give his ideas etc

    Interesting Niche, good luck with it. I am sure your head is spinning with ideas
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