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How can I monetize the DIY automotive niche

by Eager2SEO
7 replies
I have lots of posts on some DIY car forums, I could probably throw something in my sig. And maybe give away an ebook or build a list. But where do you go from there?

Clickbank has 1 product in this area.

Seems everyone on the forums are looking for free advice, and there are a few online giants (like rockauto) who sell the parts. They don't have an affiliate program(they don't need it with their reputation - they have a presence on every forum and give away a 5% off code). I believe they also pay the forum owners to be there.

They are viral and people naturally say check rockauto. They are my personal first choice for parts, online dealers second.

Wish I could get into that business model, they just aggregate catalogs and drop ship. There is probably more to it than that though, they are super reliable.

Amazon removed vehicle/make/model info from their API, because of low sales(and in no tax states they usually beat rockauto too - maybe it was a loss leader?) .

Another idea is an authority site where people submit DIY repair guides per year/make/model. All the info is scattered around youtube, forums, etc.

Besides being a parts drop-shipper (which some are probably murdering it on ebay) .. any ideas?
#automotive #diy #monetize #niche
  • Profile picture of the author LaneB
    The reason being is credibility. Unless you can make yourself an equal authority to the Chilton's Manuals for automotive repair and you happen to own the next Pep Boys. You won't crack this niche. It's target demographic are mostly offliners anyhow.
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  • Profile picture of the author Darla
    How about turning all your posts/articles into a 15-20 page ebook and selling it on Kindle? That may generate some quick income for you. It wont make you rich, but a steady income that requires little or no maintenance can be good. PLUS, it will make you an instant authority. You can then also link to your kindle ebook in all your sig's for more sales. Just a thought.
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  • Profile picture of the author autofix
    This niche is an especially hard one to crack, as you said everyone is looking (and usually finding) free advice. I have had an auto repair DIY site and forum for a few years now (see sig) and have tried many different methods to monetize the 20,000 or so unique visitors we get each month with very little success.

    The best we've done is a couple of hundred dollars a month with adsense, forget affiliate marketing of any kind, there just doesn't seem to be a product that fits the market.

    You could always give the idea a go that Darla came up with but from my experiences it is a very hard market to monetize.

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  • Profile picture of the author AFI
    Home Depot has an affiliate program. Maybe you could throw up some tools as a product suggestion?
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  • Profile picture of the author getsmartt
    I like AFI suggestion, maybe not Home Depot, but I think I would concentrate on tools, diagnostic testers, ODBC scanners and the like. Amazon should carry most of that stuff.
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    • Profile picture of the author Dan C. Rinnert
      Maybe you need to segment the audience and choose a segment to target.

      I would think there are various types of DIY'ers who have different reasons for doing the repairs themselves and each of those types is going to have a different need.

      For example, some may be into DIY because they are current or former auto mechanics. They know where to get the parts and the best tools to use. But, what they are probably looking for is things they don't know. So, new trends and new information might be what they are after.

      Another group just likes tinkering. Their needs will vary. Some will need tools. Some will need parts. Some will need information.

      Another group are people that need to save money and have some technical know-how, so they are comfortable doing it themselves. Like the previous group, their needs will vary. But, this group is going to be looking for the best deal and the quickest access to whatever they need, be it information or hardware.

      Some people may buy beat-up cars and fix them up for resale.

      Others may restore classic cars.

      Some just do repairs for friends and family.

      Instead of trying to be an umbrella, narrow the focus down to a specific group of DIY'ers and target them with products that meet their needs and wants.

      Mind you, I don't know how accurate any of these groupings are. These are just ones I've thought of while writing this post, so be sure to do your own due diligence in researching the sub-niches.
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    • Profile picture of the author FredJones
      DIY automotive? Maybe some sort of guide book or handbook? Maybe painpoint identification and selling an ebook on that?
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