I've found my 'niche', and I need some suggestions...

19 replies
Nobody ever reads my crap, so I'm just typing this for my own gratification...

I've always enjoyed messing with computers and radios...and for you youngsters out there, I was in college before they had 'personal computers'

I had a Sinclair 8080, a Commodore Pet, and something from Texas Instruments that I can't immediately call to mind. I built my first PC from components, and it cost me a shitload!

I'm a General Class Amateur Radio Operator...And I've talked to people thousands of miles away on a wire antenna before the Internet was even a flash in Al Gores mind!

Yes, I'm wandering I know, but I've been working on my friends computer for two days now and I finally got it going - still don't know what I did? - but in the infinite wisdom of the microcosimn(sp?) now my damn high dollar laptop won't power up!!!!!

If I had not been working on this piece of sh*t, I would never have thought of this! And I would be offline right now!

My point is, I know how to fix 'puters and radios and these new-fangled video game machines...what do they call them, Xbox and Nintendo and 'Wii"? How do they pronounce that? WEEEEEEE?

I used to enjoy this, but got out of it because I couldn't make any money on it and it was hard to keep up with...

Damn, lost my train of thought....how can I monetize this? I could do a fix on a video game as a pdf or still video, could show how to fix OLD stuff...

I could market the CB affiliate stuff for the Xbox....

Thanks,
Steve

p.s. If you have an old Amateur Radio or CB Radio, I can probably tell you how to fix it
p.p.s If you read this I applaud you because nobody ever sees my posts!
#found #niche #suggestions
  • Profile picture of the author marksmatter
    I have no idea how to monetize any of that (except if you know hacks to make them better than originally designed), but I wanted you to know that I did indeed read your post!
    Signature
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    • Profile picture of the author ECS Dave
      Steve,

      Build a WordPress blog about it!

      Use the posting feature to detail a bit about
      fixing different things, and then at the end
      of each post, invite feedback in the form of
      "Ask me how to fix your stuff" and put an
      email form there for additional contact.

      You could then "charge" accordingly...

      Be Well!
      ECS Dave
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      • Profile picture of the author Ouroboros
        Do any Warriors have a "Fix Your Sh*t" program they want me to sell other than the obvious ones at Clickbank?

        It's all got to be about the simple stuff that I can show them with pdf's and videos. I don't think them shipping the radio or 'puter to me is an option.

        Steve
        Signature

        Need a Simple Product/Service to Market to Offline Clients? Sell Them DFY Custom Videos. https://www.fiverr.com/users/gigsiteguy

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      • Profile picture of the author NeelsTheron
        Originally Posted by ECS Dave View Post

        Steve,

        Build a WordPress blog about it!

        Use the posting feature to detail a bit about
        fixing different things, and then at the end
        of each post, invite feedback in the form of
        "Ask me how to fix your stuff" and put an
        email form there for additional contact.

        If you do some keyword research, I'm sure you can monetize such a blog with Adsense. Selling aff products probably looks more enticing, but I've found that just writing about niche topics, addressing people's problems (with some keyword research thrown in) can draw in lots of traffic and make you easy money while you gear up for selling products once you have established trust and a mailing list.

        Good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author Dave777
    Hi Steve,

    A little food for thought. Stuff like this is all over the news and media on a regular basics. Just add a nice little spin on things and the media & niche marketplace will help monetize it for you...
    General Class Amateur Radio - Google News

    Another quick example/possibilities...
    http://www.warriorforum.com/main-internet-marketing-discussion-forum/17341-im-recession-proof-bussiness.html#post157368


    If you focus and apply some creative brainstorming methods on related interests and topics... Bet you'll discover many Untapped niche marketplaces and possibilities to consider...
    Seo Book Keyword Suggestion Tool

    Just my opinion on things...

    Dave
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  • Profile picture of the author Erich
    I follow your posts TI-99 for the flashback nothing like commands like Catalog...and OMG have you seen my cartridge?
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  • Profile picture of the author ibringjoy
    Stephen, I think there is a market for this. A lot of people still use old stuff, and would like to know how to fix it when they need to.

    For example, when the companies come out with new game consoles, etc., there is no more support for the old ones. If your old console that you play your favorite old game on breaks, then there goes your favorite old game.

    Not everything automatically gets replaced with new stuff. One of my daughters loves her old super nintendo that she played with as a kid. She took the player and all those old games with her when she moved to California. Last year, when San Diego was burning, and she had only a short time to throw things in the car before they had to evacuate, what did she put in the car? Her supernintendo and her old games. They left the new playstation in the house, because the insurance money would cover buying a new one if the house burned while they were gone. But her super nintendo was irreplaceable!

    There is also an avid amateur radio community!

    I'd say to go ahead and make those videos and pdfs on how to repair these things. Position yourself so that you are at the top of the search engines for anyone looking for how to repair them. Then let that be another income stream for you.

    Kathryn
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  • Profile picture of the author Erich
    What about exploring the HAM radio community as a niche? I would expect you could really profit it from it if you explored it.

    I type in Ham Radio in Google and I see Adsense ads for it and total of 2,900,000 sites. Took a look at keywords in Google lots of traffic for Ham Radio and other terms like Amateur Radio, CB Radio etc. If you have a passion for it looks like a great market.

    You could always drop ship equipment or build a BANS or phpbay store for equipment sold on Ebay.
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  • Profile picture of the author richpeck
    If you know how to fix stuff then just find out what people need fixing and make a product about it?
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  • Profile picture of the author sparrow
    What do you mean no one reads your stuff, we all did

    I think you have alot of talent you just need to find where you fit

    Ed
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  • Profile picture of the author IM_Geek
    Originally Posted by Ouroboros View Post

    Nobody ever reads my crap, so I'm just typing this for my own gratification...

    I've always enjoyed messing with computers and radios...and for you youngsters out there, I was in college before they had 'personal computers'

    I had a Sinclair 8080, a Commodore Pet, and something from Texas Instruments that I can't immediately call to mind. I built my first PC from components, and it cost me a shitload!

    I'm a General Class Amateur Radio Operator...And I've talked to people thousands of miles away on a wire antenna before the Internet was even a flash in Al Gores mind!

    Yes, I'm wandering I know, but I've been working on my friends computer for two days now and I finally got it going - still don't know what I did? - but in the infinite wisdom of the microcosimn(sp?) now my damn high dollar laptop won't power up!!!!!

    If I had not been working on this piece of sh*t, I would never have thought of this! And I would be offline right now!

    My point is, I know how to fix 'puters and radios and these new-fangled video game machines...what do they call them, Xbox and Nintendo and 'Wii"? How do they pronounce that? WEEEEEEE?

    I used to enjoy this, but got out of it because I couldn't make any money on it and it was hard to keep up with...

    Damn, lost my train of thought....how can I monetize this? I could do a fix on a video game as a pdf or still video, could show how to fix OLD stuff...

    I could market the CB affiliate stuff for the Xbox....

    Thanks,
    Steve

    p.s. If you have an old Amateur Radio or CB Radio, I can probably tell you how to fix it
    p.p.s If you read this I applaud you because nobody ever sees my posts!
    The problem with many next-gen consoles (XBOX 360 - PS3 and not so much the WII), as that they aren't as stable as their predecessors.

    In fact, many of these consoles suffer from pretty annoying bugs.

    For example:
    Xbox 360 technical problems - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    PlayStation 3 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii#Technical_issues

    The "Red ring of death" for example was a very common problem that had the console gaming community moaning for a long time.

    DIY articles started popping up on DIY sites like instructables (might be worth a watch, seeing as how you're good at fiddling with hardware, has a lot of interesting instructables) Instructables - Make, How To, and DIY

    Fix the Red Ring of Death! (without towels!)

    Maybe you can use these things as a starting point? From my point of view (as an avid gamer, not so much consoles though), gamers that invest in these consoles, don't mind paying some money to get their problem fixed asap.
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  • Profile picture of the author onlineleben
    something from Texas Instruments
    TI-99 A ???
    had one with a lot of software in funny memory modules.

    Later on, switched to a TRS-80 workalike with lots of external modules connected (still miss my CP/M card giving me access to lots of good programs and also changeing my TV into an 80x24 (or was it 40 lines?) monitor).

    Regarding marketing your skills or promoting CB products re computer repair etc, I recommend you look into what fellow warrior Chris Rempel has to offer:
    1. Confessions of a Lazy Super-Affiliate (available via affilate link on warrior homepage)
    2. The 'Conduit' Method (available from Chris' homepage)

    Although I was kind of computer geek in the past, other things got more important for me and nowadays PCs with XP are too complicated for me. So a good product on how to speed things up (make an old machine run like new) that covers more than the usual registry fixes and defrags would be helpful (also to warriors). If you develop something like that, please let me know.

    Good luck - and yes, I read your post, too.
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  • Profile picture of the author cclou
    I would do how to videos and blog for free and sell the parts needed as an affiliate. For example, I know that the most common problem with the older NES is faulty pin connectors, so I typed in nes pin connector affiliate into Google. The first result is a site that sells pin connectors and they do have an affiliate program.

    If you want to do an info product down the road you might want to target people who want to fix things for extra cash. You could give them both business and technical advice.
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  • Profile picture of the author write-stuff
    Got my first PC, an Apple ][ Plus in late 1978. My first hard drive was an add-on for an IBM PC in 1981. It was 5mb and cost $1400.

    Anyway, I liked ECS Dave's suggestion. Maybe start to brand yourself as a Mr. Fixit for electronics. Play up the just-plain-folks kind of thing. Did wonders for Paula Deen (if not otherwise embarrasing to us that live in Georgia). - Russ
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    • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
      Vintage radios do very well on ebay.

      Start a site offering to fix and ship, find broken ones on ebay and fix and sell, and write a guide on where to get the parts for the do-it-yourselfers.

      Offer to sell rare scrap parts you may have.
      Signature

      "May I have ten thousand marbles, please?"

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      • Profile picture of the author Ouroboros
        Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions guys. I'm on yet another computer, (got my laptop fixed, it was just the little wire/spring that tells it the top is closed).

        Friend came by today and saw me working on that other computer and brings me his. Said a guy offered to clean the viruses off of it for $80. Took me less than .5 hours and a download of adaware to clean it up! Maybe get a nice computer chair out of the deal.

        I'll get back and thank each of you shortly, just wanted to say thanks for all the good ideas.

        Steve
        Signature

        Need a Simple Product/Service to Market to Offline Clients? Sell Them DFY Custom Videos. https://www.fiverr.com/users/gigsiteguy

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  • Profile picture of the author cullenpowell
    I know a guy selling a report on how to repair the xbox three lights of death or whatever they call it and he's making a killing.

    The thing is you can either buy his ebook for $17 and fix it yourself in a matter of minutes, or ship it to Microsoft and wait 3 or 4 weeks. Can you guess which one most people would rather do?

    On top of that he upsells a repair kit, printed copy of the report, etc along with it for added money.

    Think about it.
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  • Profile picture of the author lcombs
    All of the above are great suggestions.
    You have an "in demand" talent.
    Another suggestion might be to start a subscription-based Ezine, or forum.
    At $9.95 P/M 400 members = $4,000.
    I would suspect that 400 members would be relatively easy to maintain.
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  • Profile picture of the author tonyscott
    Hi Steve,

    Build a website like this one: Ask the Builder - The Home Improvement Resource

    He earns $30,000 a month from adsense apparently

    Tony
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