Here is a GREAT way to ensure you NEVER lose when testing new niches

18 replies
When I first started niche marketing, I was always scared of testing new niches. I mean, what if I do not get any sales? What if I spend needless money on a domain and hosting?

Here is my way around those questions along, with an excuse buster for all you other Warriors who are new to the game, and afraid of testing new niches out of fear of failure or losing money.

First, I discovered one of the best ways to see if I product was worth promoting was to test the products main sales page. I didnt want to waste my time driving traffic to an offer that couldnt convert.

This led me to "redirecting" my site to the site with my affiliate link. I do this initially to see how many HOPS I get vs. how many sales, by having the vistor go directly to the sales page.

There were two possibilities - The product/niche could be hot and convert, or it could be an epic failure.

The first way not to lose when testing niches is by NOT buying hosting. I register my domains at godaddy. Within your godaddy account, you can forward a domain w/o the need for hosting. You still need a domain name, but that is OK - You'll see why in a minute.

Here is how to forward a domain name from your godaddy account:

Log into your godaddy account
Click "domain Manager"
Click the domain you wish to forward
A toolbar will appear across the top of the options page.
Click "forward" It has a green arrow icon
Click "enable forwarding"
Enter your affiliate link
Click OK

Again, the only money you have spent is the $8 for a domain name.

Next, write 5-10 articles and submit them to EZA with your site in the resource box... example.com EZA allows you to redirect from the top level domain, so you are not breaking any rules and your articles will not get rejected. (Of course you can write more articles, you just need a few to get traffic to that salespage.)

After your test (whatever that duration may be), if you find that the niche was a failure, you can still make a little money.

Instead of throwing that $8 away with the domain, invest a little more. Get hosting. If you are reading this, you probably already have a hosting account somewhere that you can add that domain to. I use Hostgator.

Get the domain hosted. Install Wordpress on the domain. Then, go grab those articles you submitted to EZA and put them on the blog.

Now you have a site with content. Run over to Digitalpoint and list the site for sale for $25-$30. If you managed at least one sale in that test, go over to sitepoint and list it there for $50-$97. Then test another niche.

If you follow this plan:

-get a domain
-forward it to the salespage with your affiliate link
-write articles for EZA
-if test fails, host the domain
-install wordpress
-put the articles from EZA on the blog
-flip the site

...then you will always be able to get something out of your failed niche adventures.
#ensure #great #lose #niches
  • Profile picture of the author Adaptive
    Charles, thanks so much for the step by step explanation of your ingenious technique. This takes the risk of a test down to nothing more than the cost of a domain name registration.

    I've seen two other "cheap test" approaches: run ads on ebay for the offer; and create a blog. I wonder if anyone has tried a three way split to find out which is the most efficient way to do a low-cost test?

    Regards,
    Allen
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[698369].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author TerryTelford
    Hi Charles

    Excellent work. Your formula is that of an optimist who sees opportunity even in a niche that doesn't perform the way you anticipate. Bravo my friend.

    My view on testing niches is like the stock market. Out of 10 niches you test, you'll probably hit 3 that are successful, the rest you write off as experience, but now with your formula, there is no write offs. It's ROI all the way

    Nice work!

    Enjoy your day!
    Terry
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[698379].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author DrewG
    Nice idea, I had not thought about going that route until now. Should help this summer when I launch my niche sites.
    +thanks given
    ~D.C.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[698393].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
      Brilliant...absolutely brilliant.

      Even I never thought of this and I'm as cheap as they come.

      Thanks for sharing Charles.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[698498].message }}
      • Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

        Brilliant...absolutely brilliant.

        Even I never thought of this and I'm as cheap as they come.

        Thanks for sharing Charles.
        Thanks Steven!

        You may not know it, but I am a product of one of your Nice revolution WSO's. For those of you who do not know, it is the first link in his sig that only has 60 left.

        Anyway, that WSO gave me my start in Affiliate Marketing

        It was the 1st WSO/MMO product I ever bought
        It was the first WSO/MMO system I ever put in effect
        It was the first WSO/MMO system I ever made money with

        That WSO is the foundation of my affiliate marketing career. Anyway, as you can see, I have learned a lot since then.

        Thanks
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[698709].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
          Originally Posted by Charles Montgomery View Post

          Thanks Steven!

          You may not know it, but I am a product of one of your Nice revolution WSO's. For those of you who do not know, it is the first link in his sig that only has 60 left.

          Anyway, that WSO gave me my start in Affiliate Marketing

          It was the 1st WSO/MMO product I ever bought
          It was the first WSO/MMO system I ever put in effect
          It was the first WSO/MMO system I ever made money with

          That WSO is the foundation of my affiliate marketing career. Anyway, as you can see, I have learned a lot since then.

          Thanks

          It's so nice to hear when people actually use your stuff and it works.

          To me, that's worth more than all the money in the world.
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[698726].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author gxd5
    Any tips for easily transferring sites from godaddy? I have a ton of domains with them, but am new to the hosting and flipping aspect. Is it simple to export your dbs?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[698793].message }}
    • Originally Posted by gxd5 View Post

      Any tips for easily transferring sites from godaddy? I have a ton of domains with them, but am new to the hosting and flipping aspect. Is it simple to export your dbs?
      You dont have to transfer your domains to Hostgator in order to host your domains there. All you have to do is setup a hosting account at Hostgator (or anywhere else that lets you host multiple domains).

      Then, that new hosting will have nameservers. All you have to do is go to your godaddy account and change the nameservers to the ones listed in your new hosting account. It is pretty simple.

      By doing this, your domains are still registered at godaddy, they are just hosted elsewhere, so there is no need to transfer your domains.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[699139].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Chris Hunter
        Originally Posted by Charles Montgomery View Post

        You dont have to transfer your domains to Hostgator in order to host your domains there. All you have to do is setup a hosting account at Hostgator (or anywhere else that lets you host multiple domains).

        Then, that new hosting will have nameservers. All you have to do is go to your godaddy account and change the nameservers to the ones listed in your new hosting account. It is pretty simple.

        By doing this, your domains are still registered at godaddy, they are just hosted elsewhere, so there is no need to transfer your domains.
        Charles,

        GREAT thread!

        But I'm still clueless as to how you transfer a site to someone that has bought a site from you.

        Could you explain it in terms a nine year old could understand? LOL!

        I've never understood how to do this. I use Dreamhost for all of my domain and hosting.

        Any help would be appreciated!

        Thanks!
        Signature

        Ok, sure. You can follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/Chris_Hunter ;)

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[701210].message }}
        • Originally Posted by Chris Hunter View Post

          Charles,

          GREAT thread!

          But I'm still clueless as to how you transfer a site to someone that has bought a site from you.

          Could you explain it in terms a nine year old could understand? LOL!

          I've never understood how to do this. I use Dreamhost for all of my domain and hosting.

          Any help would be appreciated!

          Thanks!
          First, transferring a WP blog to another host can be intimidating, but it doesnt have to be.

          Here is a brief example of what you need to do. There are a few steps, but they are easy to follow.

          Create a new ADMIN username and password. WRITE IT DOWN

          Create a folder on your desktop for the site you are transferring so you can put all the files there.

          Open your FTP client. I use filezilla.
          Download the intire wordpress installation from the site you are transferring to the folder you created.

          Go to your WP database. I dont use dreamhost, so I cant help you with the navigation there. Within that database is a link that says export. Click it then scroll to the bottom and save the file. You will download it and save it on your computer - in the folder you created.

          At this point I would push the domain name to their account. Hopefully you use godaddy for domain registration.

          At this point, you have a folder on your desktop that has the database and the WP blog. When some one buys the site, upload those two files into WINRAR or WINZIP, upload them to your email, then send the files to the buyer.

          Instruct your buyer to get hosting that has fantastico, or some sort of one click Wordpress installation. Yahoo, godaddy, hostgator, bluehost...there's lots of them. (Use your affiliate link and make an extra $50)

          You can do this for them, or have them do it. Have them use the one click install to install WP on the site. Have them create it in the root directory. (This makes it easy, since it came from the root directory on your site.)

          Go to the database that was created and use the "import" button to import the database file (the one you exported from your site.)

          Using the FTP, upload the entire WP folder to their hosting.

          At this point it should work. Make sure you send them the admin username and password.

          I am no expert, but I havent had any problems doing it this way...yet
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[701584].message }}
  • Originally Posted by Razer Rage View Post

    Excellent post.

    Another suggestion is to just use one domain for everything.
    Hmmm. I dont really know about that. You would have to pickk a really generic domain name that could encompass every niche.

    I would rather have a domain on the niche I was promoting. To me, it gives a little credibility to the site. Even though it is redirecting, your visitors will see the name of the main domain for a second or two, before they are redirected to the product site.

    I would rather them see coolweightlossreviews.com instead of coolreviews.com. But that is just me.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[699334].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Matt Helphrey
    Thanks Charles!

    I have no experience in flipping sites but it sounds like an easy enough process. At least you'll make some money that way.

    Cheers,

    Matt
    Signature
    My Advanced SEO Blog
    ---------->Search Engine Optimization Tips<----------
    Absolutely No BS!
    Rank #1 For Most Keyword Phrases
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[699494].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author adpablo
    I really like your post...interesting technique for those testing the waters of new niches...you gave me some new ideas.....thanks....
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[699607].message }}
    • Originally Posted by adpablo View Post

      I really like your post...interesting technique for those testing the waters of new niches...you gave me some new ideas.....thanks....
      That's what I was going for. Too many people are afraid to try new niches. This system takes some of the pressure of needing to succeed out of the equation. This way, you always succeed, even if the niche was a complete failure.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[700922].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Chris Hunter
    Charles,

    That's a lot simpler than I thought it would be!

    Thanks a lot!

    This thread has been PDFed!
    Signature

    Ok, sure. You can follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/Chris_Hunter ;)

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[701606].message }}
    • Originally Posted by Chris Hunter View Post

      Charles,

      This thread has been PDFed!
      Cool. Last time I was PDFed, I had to go the Health Clinic.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[701631].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author John Ritz
        Don't forget about the database config info when you transfer a WP blog this way. The config.php contains all of your database login info, and usually has full admin rights because that's the common way people set it up.

        So at a minimum they'll need to change the config settings to their own info (which one-click WP install should help with), but the bigger potential problem is that if you have other apps that use the database on your site, you don't want to give the db config info to them!

        John
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[701683].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Adaptive
    Charles,

    Last time I was PDFed, I had to go the Health Clinic.
    Don't worry, with new outpatient technology they can now unzip, unpack and expand the tarball, and remove any viruses from your administration. Just give them the password to your bank account and they'll do the rest.

    Regards,
    Allen
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[702056].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author marcus passey
    Thanks charles for all your help.

    Marcus
    Signature
    Watch me finally make money this year now I have a mentor follow my journey at www.marcuspassey.com

    Are you building a list? get my FREE report on list building CLICK HERE!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[702073].message }}

Trending Topics