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Niche ideas [Feedback Requested]

by redstanford
9 replies
I am considering starting a website or personal blog. Two areas I am most passionate about are wildlife conservation/habitat conservation and ice fishing.

I am going to go school majoring in Fisheries & Wildlife Sciences and have a deep interest in protecting the environment and managing it responsibly (responsible legal hunting practices, predator/human conflict, wild land protection and anti-development, endangered species restoration, responsible forestry practices, etc).

I also love ice fishing. It is my #1 hobby by far. The main problem with ice fishing is it's highly seasonal. I want to get year-round visitors to my site but ice fishing is the last thing on many people's minds come July in North America.

Do you believe either of these would be viable niches? Obviously, I'd love to make some money from these sites (if nothing more than to pay for the cost of hosting/domain/and general site upkeep). I'm not expecting to get rich off them. I would just love to have them as a side project to contribute to and provide good information to readers.
#feedback #ideas #niche #requested
  • Profile picture of the author discrat
    Originally Posted by redstanford View Post

    I am considering starting a website or personal blog. Two areas I am most passionate about are wildlife conservation/habitat conservation and ice fishing.

    I am going to go school majoring in Fisheries & Wildlife Sciences and have a deep interest in protecting the environment and managing it responsibly (responsible legal hunting practices, predator/human conflict, wild land protection and anti-development, endangered species restoration, responsible forestry practices, etc).

    I also love ice fishing. It is my #1 hobby by far. The main problem with ice fishing is it's highly seasonal. I want to get year-round visitors to my site but ice fishing is the last thing on many people's minds come July in North America.

    Do you believe either of these would be viable niches? Obviously, I'd love to make some money from these sites (if nothing more than to pay for the cost of hosting/domain/and general site upkeep). I'm not expecting to get rich off them. I would just love to have them as a side project to contribute to and provide good information to readers.
    I think Ice Fishing would be a potentially lucrative small Niche to pursue. That is purely a gut reaction without any basis. Just a feeling.

    I can see where you could indeed find a lot of passionate people doing it.

    Not sure about monetizing it. It would be good to investigate and research to see some of the problems these people might have in the midst of pursuing this passion.

    E-books on how to exactly get the best results from ice fishing...where to go, what time of day, all the stuff you need for an outing, actual techniques etc..or maybe promote some equipment related to ice fishing.


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    • Profile picture of the author smedia11
      I can see the ice fishing niche being profitable. You probably could set it up as a review site using amazon affiliate sales to sell product recommendations.


      The conservation one is harder to imagine monetizing. Unless you did a similar concept and reviewed "environmental/wildlife friendly" products. Sort of like "buy this not that" recommendations.


      Good Luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author redstanford
    thanks guys. Should I be concerned about the seasonal nature of ice fishing?
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  • Profile picture of the author agmccall
    Like others have said, ice fishing would be profitable especially if you use an affiliate program like Bass Pro Shops, Most Ice fishermen/women are also avid fishermen/women in general so that would be one option

    As for the Fisheries and Wildlife, Conservation idea, that would be a great blog, but for monetizing it you would be limited. Probably adsense, maybe some CPA offers.

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

    I'd love to make some money from these sites (if nothing more than to pay for the cost of hosting/domain/and general site upkeep).
    RedStanford,

    I have some experience in the fishing market although my specialty is fly fishing not ice fishing or habitat management and preservation.

    If all you're looking to do is to pay for the cost of hosting and site upkeep, you could easily do that with a blog and some targeted affiliate products and services in either case (ice fishing or habitat).

    But if you're going to go to the trouble of keeping a blog updated and current, it seems to me that you ought to put just a little extra effort into it so that you build a property with an income stream that can be an asset when you decide to move on to other things. I think you could build a site that draws in $1,500 - $2,000/month without too much trouble if you do it right.

    I would focus on just one site to begin with. You are right, there is a seasonal nature to ice fishing but that can be overcome by expanding the topic slightly to include fishing that takes place in the "non ice fishing" months. Others have said that ice fishermen typically don't stop fishing when the ice thaws. Capitalize on that fact. Get a little creative. Go to the fishing forums and see what the ice fishermen talk about when the weather warms up.

    Remember that market demand is critical. Before you decide exactly what you're going to sell, find out what fishermen want. Identify the demand first. When you know what it is and where it's coming from then meeting that demand (and being paid for your solutions) is easy.

    The very best to you,

    Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      I grew up ice fishing, although since we moved to Florida, the only thing I fish through the ice for anymore is another cold one...

      Beyond the obvious things others have mentioned, you have several possible markets you can overlap with. Your interest and study of conservation and sustainable practices opens up the "green" market for you, as well as the "back to basics" Mother Earth News market.

      Even if you stuck to ice fishing on your blog, you could take a cue from the various sports leagues and their blogs. While the ice fishing opportunities in July in North America are pretty limited, there's always something to talk about. For example, you could take what you learn from a technical study or published paper and 'translate' it for the average angler. Tell them what it means to them and how they can take advantage of the findings.

      Heck, you could even take some of your ice fishing expertise and position it for the survivalist/prepper market.

      You just need to step back and look at the whole forest, not just specific trees or species.
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      • Profile picture of the author redstanford
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        • Profile picture of the author Michael Shook
          I can't say I know a lot about ice fishing, but I suspect it is a sport with many hard core enthusiasts. If that is indeed the case, i would think that while your income might go and down throughout the year, that in the off seasons, the participants might be trolling through websites to read reviews of last year's great spots, reviews on gear, stories about fishing trips and drooling over new clothing.

          It just seems like those would be natural activities for devotees of such a sport so your site could be active all year long.
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  • Profile picture of the author tristatemedia
    yes i agree about fishing....it is a passionate niche and they are the best niches to follow. especially with fb pages where people show off their catches
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  • Profile picture of the author OmarNegron
    Yeah, I "think" the ice fishing idea could work. But have you done research on this specific niche? Have you noticed and good keywords that show potential for this market?

    Because at the end the day that's what matters...what the market wants/needs and what your research determines.
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