Finally found an interesting niche to write about - Needing a plan to get started

If I was in your position I would prioritize my list according to the very item which will make me money in the fastest possible way. Early on, I didn't focus on enough money making activities and felt hopeless with most of my efforts because of it.

I totally agree on looking for the places where they hang out. It's a good opportunity to connect with your target audience, plus you can get an idea of what they actually buy. M Thompson brought up a really good point about knowing what the people buy. Don't assume that they buy, because you might end up spending a lot on something that they don't really have interest in.

If you have a site, I suggest that you ask your friends to help you out in the promotion. I know your network might be the same, but your second degree connections aren't exactly the same, thus effectively extending your reach.

Let me add to what Thompson really meant here. It's always about the customers not about you. Think like a customer, focus on their choices.

Yes I very keen and detailed plan will be great before starting out a website...

Thanks

I never plan, I jump in at the deep end and start setting it all up ready to make money once i find a new niche to make money from.

Not everything works out the way you want it to even with a good plan. What I mean is you can monetize it one way, but might not like the return on investment you're getting. Test test test. This is how you will find the best way to monetize your site. Different niches require different marketing. They type of traffic that you have coming to your site also will effect how it should be monetized.

You should always build a list. There are different ways for building a list and it is up
to you which one you would take. Since you intend to build a content website, you
should register an autoresponder and include opt-in forms prominently on all website
pages.

Also, at first, start by promoting products as an affiliate, and when everything starts
rolling and showing results, aim to create a quality product of yours. Bascially, the
best way is to have a mix of both, selling products as an affiliate and your own products.

List building by giving away free material and side by side promoting other peoples products. After getting some success go for your own product with new touch.

If the niche is 'interesting' it would probably be very targeted by the sounds of it.

A list is definately the best option. Get your sales funnel and message sequence sorted before you sign up for an autoresponder though.

First, I really wouldn't worry about Page Rank!

Trying to take on all of the listed tasks at once, would lead to an overload; because it sounds like (from your description) you would have to learn a lot just to make any of ONE thing function; let alone trying to make all 3 work all at once.

Affiliate: YES!
For starters, I would recommend that before you even sell your own product, you try selling someone else's product. Get a feel of the sales page, what the product itself is (get a copy of it from the vendor, or purchase it, whichever is available to you) ... etc...etc...etc... so on and so forth...

I would not recommend starting your own product at this stage, because you are still figuring out what it is that you are even going to start in, in terms of marketing to make money (presumably)...and moreover, in terms of any form of marketing.

Affiliate work can show you the ropes, without all of the consequences that a vendor may face, and without having to 10000% know your niche, and website functionality, and sales funnels whatnots.... because affiliates sometimes get sales funnels given to them (to start with) from vendors. I have seen many vendor pages with their OWN affiliate system, that shows the affiliates different ways to market it, or gives them the first 5 emails for an email capture marketing venture.

You will not have those tools at your disposal being a vendor, with your own product; UNLESS of course you have already built up such tools from marketing other things in the past; or by a JV venture, in which the partner provides such tools.


List Building: YES You can do list building as an affiliate venture (and as a vendor); which means it can become part of your marketing campaign for whatever you are selling. This is ONE way to a personal source of traffic, that can always be there for you, whenever you need to send out an email; or whenever you feel like upselling and whatnot; which is something that natural search engine traffic cannot always guarantee.

Learning to build a list can show you other methods of traffic and lead generation, which will ultimately help you in your goal; and furthermore, if this list you build is related to the niche you ultimately want to go solo in (creating your own product), then you already have a list set up just for your own personal launch...

I may say now, however, that list building for some, can take a long time; and maybe for many. If you are expecting immediate sales, or if you are expecting a certain amount of sales per day; that may not be true at first for your list...

I have seen other threads where people were building lists for a year and some, 10+K people, who they believed were targeted, yet no sales. Now it could be their sales funnel, or the product they are trying to sell... or the audience (it is difficult to sell through email to internet marketers.... they are on many lists already, and feedback seen on this forum shows that many emails go unread or become deleted).

I will, however, on the off hand say that on the other hand, some other niches may fare well, even with a small list; and that list can be very active, and very responsive, even years down the road.

Those are the "desperate" niches, wherein people are constantly facing those issues everyday....A simple glance over magazines in any super market or shopping centre could lend an eye opening experience as to which niches are constantly in the public demand...

So on that level alone, be careful what it is you are promoting vs. your expectations of results when it comes to a list.



Furthermore, if you are going to do a list, and a product... you could brand yourself.... in your very niche; and create a facebook page dedicated to your site or your list; I have seen people be very active on Facebook pages, and it helps others become exposed; and you can add a capture feature to the page. This is getting a lot deeper into it, but I guess I am mentioning it, to show that many other traffic resources can actually circle back around to your original goal, they can be intertwined.... even if you don't have your own product initially, it can be worked around.

You want recurring customers- The thing about the blog, is it can get a one time view; or it could get recurring viewers... BUT, many of those viewers may only be coming to see one specific topic, if you are actually ranking for search engines.... they will be seeking one specific term then.

The problem here, is that your customers/consumers leave the minute they have read up on whatever they want. Maybe they buy something you lead into, on your site... BUT,

How are you capturing them for further/future sales? How are you keeping them in your sales funnels?

If they buy from you once, grab a hold of that opportunity, and capture their email; or find a way to keep them in the loop longer...

Losing them, from one page views, or from not having a list is detrimental. These same people don't just need one article, they need a lot of information... information you can offer or give them.

I am not saying everything has to be sell, sell sell... because on a list you can ALSO give information. Eben Pagan (David Deangelo) is a good example of list building; wherein many of his emails are often just information filled content, rather than sell,sell,sell....

Just keep in mind the minute you build a blog, what you actually want in the end....what you SHOULD want is recurring customers... which is why an email capture campaign could be very useful.

You SHOULD want a way for these people to give you permission to directly contact them; instead of having to wait for people to google your search terms and choose your site.

Once they have chosen your site, ask them to choose your list; for even better information.



The quality of the information/content on your website:- Be very careful not to just rehash or redo the same old tips of what is already out there. Consumers grow bored of certain fads, or they become TOO used to certain tips, because they see it so often, it's now just too commonplace.

I am not sure what niche you are choosing, but this applies to any niche. Find a way to give something they haven't seen already, or a fresh perspective they can feel comfortable with.

Just saying it's something new, or a secret tactic etc... doesn't make it true. I am recommending that you carefully watch over the quality of your content, because that can be your ultimate money making pot of gold.... especially if you want long term customers, and you want to build a brand, and eventually have your own product.

This is especially true for your list, as well.

Considering you are talking about getting ranked, the first thing in your mind is probably where to put those keywords, how many...yadda yadda... but will the content even make sense by the time you are done?

Certain words, in a natural speaking tone/language; only need to be said a few times for the reader to get the point. REMEMBER, this is for the reader, not for GOOGLE.

Google has supposedly even changed their results, and website rankings (Panda rehaul), to basically do just that: make the engine for the READER.... not for businesses and websites who just want exposure.

The best content, can sell itself; when the time comes down to it. Never forget that.