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Here is The 1 thing I changed that started making me money

by 2ndAccount
25 replies
quick bit of advice for you all born out of my experience.

choose a small, very specific niche. I only really started making money online when i focussed on tiny niches. i wasted a lot of time and energy on sites/salespages that were in niches that were to big.
#changed #making #money #started #thing
  • Profile picture of the author Suzanne Morgan
    Thanks for the advice. Sometimes we can get carried away looking at the big picture, when we should be going for the thumbnail. Will take your advice. Regards.
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  • Profile picture of the author Adenrele Laguda
    Originally Posted by 2ndAccount View Post

    quick bit of advice for you all born out of my experience.

    choose a small, very specific niche. I only really started making money online when i focussed on tiny niches. i wasted a lot of time and energy on sites/salespages that were in niches that were to big.
    what is an example of one of your tiny niches?
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    • Profile picture of the author pharris1
      I agree although I haven't followed through adequately. I thought I had chosen a focused niche market (relationships - how to get back together with your ex type product). It ranks high gravity in CB. I do article marketing, have created a few landing pages, trying to build a list. I use Aweber to email market to the list.

      I've generated very few sales though. How do you know when enough is enough? When do you move on to the the next market? How do I know if this market is a dud or if I just haven't found the right angle to attract opt ins and buyers?

      Any thoughts?

      Peter
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      • Profile picture of the author dwt
        Originally Posted by pharris1 View Post

        I agree although I haven't followed through adequately. I thought I had chosen a focused niche market (relationships - how to get back together with your ex type product). It ranks high gravity in CB. I do article marketing, have created a few landing pages, trying to build a list. I use Aweber to email market to the list.

        I've generated very few sales though. How do you know when enough is enough? When do you move on to the the next market? How do I know if this market is a dud or if I just haven't found the right angle to attract opt ins and buyers?

        Any thoughts?

        Peter

        Peter,

        You are on the right track, but the niche you have chosen is still pretty competitive. You might try focusing on an even narrower niche such as:

        How to get out of an abusive relationship
        How to deal with infidelity
        How to bring romance back into your relationship
        How to improve communication skills in your relationship

        The list goes on, but the point is to cater to a very specific group. Target your articles with long tail keyword phrases to these sub-niches and offer free tips in exchange for an opt-in on your landing pages. Find a product that is more specific to your chosen group's needs.

        Hope this helps!

        David
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        • Profile picture of the author pharris1
          David:

          Your reply does help. I thought I had done that at times just maybe not consistently enough. I may need to revisit the keywords I have used and will use in the future. Another part of my lack of progress is that although I am building a list of opt ins slowly they are not very active in purchasing. I offer free advice and reports and youtube videos in my email marketing to them but the majority of sales that I make come from people that have read an article and go right to the sales page (I think).

          I'll try more focused long tail keywords as you suggest.

          thanks

          Peter
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    • Profile picture of the author Paul Ashbrook
      Originally Posted by MarketPro View Post

      what is an example of one of your tiny niches?
      If he has just struck a niche goldmine after a lot of prospecting, don't expect him to reveal it here.

      If it is a tiny niche, it would be overrun in no time with marketers.
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  • Profile picture of the author BloomerBeak
    yeah, I agree. focus on one small niche and eventually, your biz will become bigger.
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  • Profile picture of the author bonfbiz
    Banned
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  • Profile picture of the author Dana_W
    Not to be a contrarian, but I found my success in affiliate marketing by promoting clickbank products with HIGH gravity - popular products. If there's a lot of money in a market...there's competition.
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    • Profile picture of the author Super Affiliate Spy
      Originally Posted by Dana_W View Post

      Not to be a contrarian, but I found my success in affiliate marketing by promoting clickbank products with HIGH gravity - popular products. If there's a lot of money in a market...there's competition.
      I agree with your approach and it has worked for me many many times over.

      That said, I think the common approach taught by the gurus is to promote the product with the highest gravity. While it is a good indicator of sale-ability, I have often found that lesser gravity products in the same genre will outpull it. I've tested it and have learned to not always go with the highest gravity product.

      My theory is that some of the most successful CB products are so recognizable that surfers think "oh yeah, I know what that one's about" and if you can show them a fresh approach from a lesser known product, they are more receptive.

      As always it boils down to testing. And as you mentioned, it must be in a market with a lot of competition/money-flowing. The sales page has to be effective. I can usually tell if a page is going to pull or not. But I don't know for sure until I test.
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  • Profile picture of the author Quentin
    Actually I do it a totally different way and make lots so I know it works and has for years now.

    I go wide so as not to reduce my possible market share and then by watching my sales this then provides the markets I target.

    For example I stated selling streaming audio which is quite a broad market however as sales came in I noticed pockets of specific customers so I then niched down into those specifics. I then created streaming audio for churches, streaming audio for MLM, streaming audio for poets, streaming audio for schools while still getting sales from the broader market place through my main site.

    I had already seen people in these areas buying my products so I knew if I targeted them I would make sales and I do.

    The problem with just going for a narrow niche is you can get locked in there very easily and leave a lot of money on the table. A very specific niche should be part of an over all strategy not the primary strategy.

    Quentin
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    • Profile picture of the author USHwy129
      Originally Posted by Quentin View Post

      Actually I do it a totally different way and make lots so I know it works and has for years now.

      I go wide so as not to reduce my possible market share and then by watching my sales this then provides the markets I target.

      For example I stated selling streaming audio which is quite a broad market however as sales came in I noticed pockets of specific customers so I then niched down into those specifics. I then created streaming audio for churches, streaming audio for MLM, streaming audio for poets, streaming audio for schools while still getting sales from the broader market place through my main site.

      I had already seen people in these areas buying my products so I knew if I targeted them I would make sales and I do.

      The problem with just going for a narrow niche is you can get locked in there very easily and leave a lot of money on the table. A very specific niche should be part of an over all strategy not the primary strategy.

      Quentin
      Interesting...big to little or little to big?

      I like it. With this approach the new niches reveal themselves as you sell, so you don't have to hunt for them.
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  • Profile picture of the author bbells
    Everything that has been said is very relevant. One thing that Quentin said really sticks out, if you hyper focus on your narrow niche you can definitely leave money on the table.

    I always found that it is better to start out small, then move onto bigger and better things. Through experience you will learn what works for you.
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  • Profile picture of the author phil.wheatley
    Hi there (I was going to say Hi 2nd Account but that would be weird ;-)

    I think David (DWT) said it best there, people can confuse a small niche with a small section of a large market. Here's my definition:

    1) Small Market: Deep sea Diving Costumes for Under endowed Poodles
    2) Big Market Sub-Niche: Hotels next to big golf courses

    Now, see how with number one, you could get onto page one of Google in 5 minutes, but as it's soooo specific (well, doesn't actually exist of course) you're not going to get much traffic and you don't know if people are buying in that market.

    However, with number 2, Golf is a huge market, and people are spending money in it, of course you would be crazy to go for a phrase like "golf clubs" but you can still get a slice of it (opps, excuse the pun) but targeting a branch of that market. Hope that makes sense.

    Phil
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  • Profile picture of the author cashtech29
    It definitely works for me...
    Smaller niches = a more focused target audience.

    EJ
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  • Profile picture of the author 2ndAccount
    what i was trying to convey is that i have had a lot more $ success by solving the problems of people in very specific niches.

    i target getting a big slice of a small pie as opposed to the other way round.

    the way i see it is that in all niches traffic is the key to success. it is so much easier to get quick, natural, sustainable traffic in small uncompetitive niches that bigger ones.

    i am not saying my way is right but for my skills/knowledge levels/traffic generation techniques this is the blueprint that works best.
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  • Profile picture of the author Spinethetic
    One technique I used with my old template site was to join a few different Google and Yahoo groups and talk with people who were either web designers themselves, or were looking for good templates to purchase; ask around, get a good feel of what they want and expect out of a product. Remember, you are not to sell benefits, BUT RATHER solutions to your clients problems, if you focus too much of your attention on the benefits of a product, usually it will be percieved as spam or hype.

    When I look for a product, my keywords are based around the end result(s) I expect to obtain via using/learning a certain product.
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  • Profile picture of the author ecoverartist
    I wrote about this exact strategy in my book - as well as how to find some small, targeted niches that you'd swear NOBODY would be interested in, but they are absolutely CRAZY about.

    A good way to find niches without researching the web is to watch TV advertisements or read a popular magazine and look at the ads. Try to dig a little deeper to see what kinds of problems the product is really trying to solve other than what appears on the surface.

    I let the ad companies do all the research
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  • Profile picture of the author talfighel
    There are so many low competitive niches online that we all can benefit from.

    Tal
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    • Profile picture of the author dnb700
      Great advice - thanks! There are only so many hours in the day anyway. There's definitely power in focusing!
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  • Profile picture of the author Quentin
    I guess the other thing about targeting very narrow niches is you have to keep developing new product all the time.

    Creating a product for a wider base means that when you drill down you use the same support, the same product and generally get economies of scale.

    When you then niche down that product all you do is change the sales page to represent that niche.

    The product is still the same and all the systems work the same just a different website.

    The other trouble with going narrow is you limit the shelf life of that product. You will get a good spike and then it drops off rapidly.

    I am more interested in building sustainability so I can eat in 4 years from now.

    Believe me I have been doing this for 10 years and have lots of data to support this.

    By all means do a narrow project but use the money you make to develop something that has more substance and has a longer life.

    Quentin
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    • Profile picture of the author 2ndAccount
      Originally Posted by Quentin View Post


      The other trouble with going narrow is you limit the shelf life of that product. You will get a good spike and then it drops off rapidly.

      I am more interested in building sustainability so I can eat in 4 years from now.

      Believe me I have been doing this for 10 years and have lots of data to support this.

      By all means do a narrow project but use the money you make to develop something that has more substance and has a longer life.
      Quentin
      no offense Quentin but i disagree with this. a narrow niche doesn't mean it is short lived. my first 'small niche' product is in a very specific area but my sales have not spiked. there are always new 'buyers' entering the niche so hopefully i'll just keep selling!
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  • Profile picture of the author Devon Brown
    I think all the responses here all say the same thing. Do whatever you do best and what makes you money. That's the bottom line.
    Good for you for finding your path!
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  • Profile picture of the author entry
    Originally Posted by 2ndAccount View Post

    quick bit of advice for you all born out of my experience.

    choose a small, very specific niche. I only really started making money online when i focussed on tiny niches. i wasted a lot of time and energy on sites/salespages that were in niches that were to big.
    Can you give some examples of the big niches, where you went wrong, and giving examples of your small niches, comparing them to the big ones plz
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    • Profile picture of the author 2ndAccount
      Originally Posted by entry View Post

      Can you give some examples of the big niches, where you went wrong, and giving examples of your small niches, comparing them to the big ones plz
      one of the first site i set up was a "mortgage" site. i lost focus and before long it was mortgages, investments, stock/forex & landlord advice site. I spread myself far to thin and simply focused on random vaguely related keywords I thought i could crack.

      I still make a chunk of adsense $ on the site each month and the odd affiliate sale however compared to the effort i put in it was a mistake.

      an example what i would call a small niche might be something like "birthday cake decoration". it amazes me what people are looking for out there in the world. write a nice ebook on how to decorate birthday cake decoration, throw up a sales page, write a few articles, post in a few forums and you should see sustainable sales/traffic.

      oh and as has been mentioned elsewhere this works so much better/easier if you are passionate about the subject.
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  • Profile picture of the author Treby
    Having spent a small fortune on Adwords promoting other peoples products,this was a interesting thread to read-Thanks for the info everyone.One learns every day
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