41 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
41 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

oops....I think I made a poor niche choice

by JBroyer44
36 replies
I only just started working on an Amazon niche site this week. I have not started sending traffic to it yet but the more research I do the more I realize that I may be in a tough buyers niche.

I picked a product niche on Amazon that had product over $150.00 with a decent amount of reviews. There are multiple versions and brands of this type of product, and it had a keyword i thought i could compete with.

This all sounds good right?

My fear is this product it very much a luxury purchase or a hobbyist purchase for beer enthusiasts. I have a pretty good idea on how to make this a great site with good original content but not sure even if i do get the traffic if it will be a great money maker.

Does anyone have experience making niche blogs on luxury or hobby items that aren't really a need but more of a want?

I see so many posts in the forums about sell them what they need, focus on needs, but this is more of a fun product not really a need product.

Any insight would be appreciated.
#choice #made #niche #oopsi #poor
  • Profile picture of the author DylanJames
    Those little niches, like the one you are talking about (I think), can be extremely profitable if you work them right. I have a friend of mine who makes about $50,000 per year all from a forum that has about 800 members. And that forum is pretty much the entire niche. The guys like 70 years old, retired, and it's much more of a hobby for him but still, it's a small niche, certainly a luxury thing, and he still does well.
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3040843].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author flowers4love
      Originally Posted by DylanJames View Post

      Those little niches, like the one you are talking about (I think), can be extremely profitable if you work them right. I have a friend of mine who makes about $50,000 per year all from a forum that has about 800 members. And that forum is pretty much the entire niche. The guys like 70 years old, retired, and it's much more of a hobby for him but still, it's a small niche, certainly a luxury thing, and he still does well.
      Thank you for the tip! I'm also in the process of becoming an Amazon affiliate and your advise is very helpful to me as well. Would you consider a niche like super expensive gold and diamond jewelry to have a potential? I saw the prices of some of the items sold on Amazon and they are really extremely expensive. One sale like that would be a gigantic profit.
      Signature
      "Let Love Blossom Like a Flower in Spring"
      http://judaicaunlimited.com/
      You can use the coupon code "flowers4love" and receive a discount for any item from our 1000's items.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3040859].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
        My fear is this product it very much a luxury purchase or a hobbyist purchase for beer enthusiasts.
        Toss your fear out the window and finish what you started.

        You don't need to rank to get sales.

        Take notes, track your progress, feel free to start a second project which you apply what you have learned from doing the first.

        I tend personally to spend more money on hobby stuff than other real necessities.
        Signature

        "May I have ten thousand marbles, please?"

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3040913].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author Joe Mobley
          Originally Posted by avenuegirl View Post


          Toss your fear out the window and finish what you started.

          Well there's something to live by.

          Joe Mobley
          Signature

          .

          Follow Me on Twitter: @daVinciJoe
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3042072].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
    Please, I say this politely but what research have you done? The main keyword you're targetting, how have you researched that? What have you used to do so?

    I ask this because before I dive into any niche, I look at how often the main keyword I want is searched for, Is it a buying keyword? Is it a popular trend? How many competing pages it has but most important how clued up and in the know, are those competing pages. I use Market Samurai to do this and a few other tools too.

    It's more often than not, nothing to do with the product, it's how much the competition knows about this business and do they know what they're doing?

    Only then, with the right figures, do I go ahead and enter the competition.
    Signature

    Wibble, bark, my old man's a mushroom etc...

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3040848].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Lee MacRae
    Hobbies can be very profitable niches to work.

    There are a number of sites and methods to figure out what people are buying online. For example, go to Amazon and take a look the section that shows the "Best Selling Products". You can filter each section like jewelry etc and get an idea of what people are actually buying there in your niche. You can "search google checkout stores" and get more ideas or look at pulse.ebay.com to see what is selling on eBay in your niche. There are more but you get the idea. Selling any item is like selling a house...the higher the price the fewer the buyers who can afford it...you're better off promoting items the majority of your target audience can afford. That doesn't mean you don't offer those higher priced items but you can starve to death waiting for that one sale LOL.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3040938].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author J.M.Wilson
    Whilst focussing on needs is a great way to go, people buy things they WANT as well. Hell, most people have spent thousands upon thousands of dollars on things they WANT many times overlooking what they NEED to get what they WANT.

    Go for it!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3040955].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author cashcow
    If you sit around overanalyzing everything you do then you will never get anything done.

    I sell plenty of Amazon stuff that are hobby purchases - I think they are great because people love buying new stuff for their hobbies and plenty of people still have money to spend on that.

    If you are thinking that you need to only target people that have a "desperate problem" then don't worry, there's plenty of money to be made off of people that just want to buy stuff. Just go into your local Walmart and see for yourself. Besides you can always start another project in one of the "desperate buyer" niches after you finish this one.

    Lee
    Signature
    Gone Fishing
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3040988].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Diane S
      So you are saying that anyone who loves beer will tell themselves they want your product? Sounds good to me, since we all know people buy what they want and not what they necessarily need. In this case, a beer lover will tell themselves, most likely, that they NEED that product.

      Go for it.
      Signature
      KimW still needs our help DONATE DIRECTLY
      My First Kindle Book: Ten Days in the Land of Smile
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3041007].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Kay King
      Stop second guessing yourself and go with it. Don't take two steps back or to the side - keep moving forward.

      The worst that can happen is the niche isn't profitable - and you waste a little time. But what you LEARN will be more than worth it.

      Get busy identifying more keywords for that niche (long tails) and writing about them and work to get traffic to the site.

      kay
      Signature
      Saving one dog will not change the world - but the world changes forever for that one dog
      ***
      Dear April: I don't want any trouble from you.
      January was long, February was iffy, March was a freaking dumpster fire.
      So sit down, be quiet, and don't touch anything.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3041010].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Michael Shook
        You cannot anticipate everything. Just go ahead with what you are doing and see if it works. You already made a decision, try it and see what happens.
        Signature


        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3041036].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author ECMartin
          Once you put some effort into something, don't quit it before you finish it. That's the only way you will see whether your strategy is realistic or not.

          Not living by what I just wrote was a newbie mistake for me which caused me losing tons of time in the beginning
          Signature
          Got Forex traffic? Promote EuroRise, one of the few automated systems that actually bring consistent results!
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3041048].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author myob
        What particularly works well in selling high end and luxury Amazon products is to post videos on stand-alone sites demonstrating the product, or of people enjoying the product. If you can personalize in some way with feeling, all the better, and use lots of pictures. Write keyword-rich review articles and submit them to article directories regularly. Since you say there are multiple versions and brands, you may have just hit upon a keyword goldmine!
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3041070].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author JBroyer44
    thanks for all the great replies everyone, that is why I am loving this forum!

    I think the best advise is to just follow through and finish what i started like some have said here. The good news is I am a beer enthusiast and it is a product i would buy if i had the money so I'll have fun building a site about it.

    I think the number one newbie problem is follow through, and if i can get one project done then i know i can get two projects done, and three, four, 5, 100 web properties learning and earning more every time.

    It's going to be a busy Sunday!
    Signature

    "The force is strong with this one"
    Facebook Ad Services: http://sellabletraffic.com

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3041079].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author SamFrankly84
    I have to agree with the other posters here, go for it!

    You'll never know unless you try. Even if you're absolutely correct and it's only a luxury item that hobbyists purchase, the internet is filled with people.

    That means you're bound to find at least one or two people to buy your product.

    And don't forget that even if people are looking for something they will ultimately not buy, you can always point them in the right direction with another affiliate link.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3041081].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author mrdomains
      You won't know until you try. Some keywords that seemed bulletproof just drift along with 0 conversions. Other sites that should be dead ones keep pinging the treasury box with sales now and then. Often it isn't the main keyword that converts, all it does is bring the traffic. Sales come from related products. This information in turn is what you use to expand your site.

      If you are unceratin don't invest too much until you have enough info and can analyze what is going on.

      Get the seite live.

      Originally Posted by Success With Dany View Post

      With Amazon, if a niche doesn't make money, you... Simply choose another one, hehe.

      There are over 9000 of them!
      9000? Much too modest.
      Signature

      Free action plan : Think less. Do more.

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3041539].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Success With Dany
    Banned
    With Amazon, if a niche doesn't make money, you... Simply choose another one, hehe.

    There are over 9000 of them!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3041530].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Tomwood
    I personally prefer desperate niches as a opposed to luxury items but if you have put some work into this already you might as well complete or you will never know
    Signature

    FREE >>As We Thinketh << as a man thinketh for the 21st century The missing chapters are actually the best

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3041572].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author jan roos
      People by things they want and not what they need. It's human nature. Just look at the poorest of people you know that still won't give up the Starbucks coffee which costs them $5 a day times 30 days = $150 a month.

      People will always find the money to buy things they want so in my opinion you'll do great with your hobby site.

      Cheers
      Signature

      I'll teach you how to make money like a Mamba.

      Sign up for the free money mambas newsletter!

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3041596].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author debra
        I got a beer site. And I'm telling you that it is profitable. Really...profitable. And, they have money. Don't know where they are getting it from but they seem to have it. You don't need the serp's either...just linking in/from the right places.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3041911].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author nicholasb
    one of the biggest mistakes you can make in this business is assuming that everyone in teh world is broke which is just not the case.
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3041927].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author JBroyer44
    I want to thank you all for the motivation again guys I got a lot done on the site today and I should be ready to shoot some back links at it this week.

    One question about the site set up and maybe this is better off in a new thread but using the flexibility theme I have my posts page as the front page, should this be a static home page?

    I usually go wit static home pages but those are usually music sites or my day job sites, this is my first affiliate site.

    thanks again for the help
    Signature

    "The force is strong with this one"
    Facebook Ad Services: http://sellabletraffic.com

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3042683].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      I think your choice of front page depends on your goal for the site. If you intend to focus on just the one product, put your main review on the front page. If you will have a range of items, go with a static front page pointing to the various product groups, with perhaps a featured item that changes periodically.

      As far as the choice of niche is concerned, I think the whole "desperate buyers only" thing has been twisted and then overblown. I far prefer to concentrate on obsessed buyer niches, which are not only easier for repeat sales but more fun overall.

      Think about it...

      Yes, it may be easier to sell a solution to a pressing pain (according to Dan Kennedy, no one complains about the price of aspirin when they have a headache). But once you solve that problem, they no longer need you.

      Compare that to obsessed buyers like golfers, fishermen or even beer aficionados... They happily keep on buying stuff even after they don't really need more stuff, right?
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3042796].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author KevinTorrence
        I think John nailed it. If you can get in front of the beer obsessed folks, and hit their hot buttons, you can turn a pretty penny. Plus, people love to buy "toys" & cool stuff they don't really need. Even if we can't quite afford it yet, we desire it and will jump at the first chance.

        And, sure, if there's a pressing problem, there may be a bit more motivation to buy now and fix a problem ... but if you hit hot buttons & desires of the hobby people, you can get them to buy and keep on buying.
        Signature
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3043179].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Rob Whisonant
    I'll add to what others have already said in this thread but I'll be blunt.

    Bottom line...

    Forget all that sell them what they need crap! People BUY what they WANT!

    Re's
    Rob Whisonant
    Signature
    FREE Email Marketing Quick Start Course! Start Building a Profitable Email List Today!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3044031].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author CyberSorcerer
    If Amazon is working for you that's great. Personally I use them online only on my Squidoo and Hubpage articles because the 3-6% commissions aren't really worth my time in research for me to use them.

    I mostly prefer sticking to ClickBank products and normally $20 or more with a minimum of 30 gravity for my article marketing projects that is. Higher gravity for products I want to go after more aggressively.

    Good luck with it though and hope you get more out of it. Everyone is different as everyone's results are also different.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3044055].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author garyv
    If we all sold only things that wee needed, we'd all be selling air, water, and twinkies.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3044070].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Alfred Shelver
      LOL.... You forgot Chocolate

      Originally Posted by garyv View Post

      If we all sold only things that wee needed, we'd all be selling air, water, and twinkies.
      Signature
      Best $10 Articles on Warrior Forum Guaranteed
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3044118].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author garyv
        Originally Posted by Cathy Shelver View Post

        LOL.... You forgot Chocolate
        lol - Ever had a chocodile? I haven't been able to find them in years, but I believe they are basically chocolate covered twinkies. Would that work?
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3044142].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author J Bold
    It's good to find a group of people that have a passion. Sounds like you may have some potential customers that have a real passion for their hobby. Go with it and give it 100% and see what happens.
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3044137].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Barry Unruh
    Originally Posted by JBroyer44 View Post

    a luxury purchase or a hobbyist purchase for beer enthusiasts
    Imported Beer

    Local Brews

    Premium Ales

    Dark Lagers

    I hate to burst your fantasy world, but there is no such thing as a luxury purchase for beer enthusiasts. Every bottle of beer deserves a chance.

    If you really want to prove to yourself you have a potentially solid niche just walk into a few of the finest liquor stores in your city. Check out the variety of beer selections they have in their cooler. There are taverns which carry over 100 different beers, liquor stores which carry even more varieties, all because beer drinkers LOVE BEER.

    Then you drive to your local college area and check out the stores. Beer bongs, beer hats, beer coolers, beer needs accessories.

    Go Get 'Em!!

    Barry
    Signature
    Brain Drained...Signature Coming Soon!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3044222].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author JBroyer44
      Originally Posted by Barry Unruh View Post

      Imported Beer



      Then you drive to your local college area and check out the stores. Beer bongs, beer hats, beer coolers, beer needs accessories.

      Go Get 'Em!!

      Barry
      there is an affiliate program fr beer pong tables hahah!

      I know it is taboo to reveal ones niche but I could use some critiques on the site if anyone has a quick second: Mini Keg | Beer Dispensers | 5 Liter Beer Brands

      I am really close to being able to shoot traffic at it, I'm actually already getting some long tail hits!
      Signature

      "The force is strong with this one"
      Facebook Ad Services: http://sellabletraffic.com

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3054154].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author 2ndopkate
        Originally Posted by JBroyer44 View Post

        there is an affiliate program fr beer pong tables hahah!

        I know it is taboo to reveal ones niche but I could use some critiques on the site if anyone has a quick second: Mini Keg | Beer Dispensers | 5 Liter Beer Brands

        I am really close to being able to shoot traffic at it, I'm actually already getting some long tail hits!
        I really think that beer is a 'must have' in life. A quick look at your site and I noticed that this page
        5 Liter Mini Keg Beer Brands | mini-keg.net
        has no affiliate links on it. Perhaps you just haven't filled them in yet.

        Kater
        Signature

        Finally...
        Need inspiration for a product? Take this simple Gluten Free Test.

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3054200].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        Originally Posted by JBroyer44 View Post

        there is an affiliate program fr beer pong tables hahah!

        I know it is taboo to reveal ones niche but I could use some critiques on the site if anyone has a quick second: Mini Keg | Beer Dispensers | 5 Liter Beer Brands

        I am really close to being able to shoot traffic at it, I'm actually already getting some long tail hits!
        Overall impression is very nice. I did notice that on the mini keg dispenser page, all the 'read our review' or 'more info' links just bump you to the top of the page rather than a review or more info.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3054336].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author JBroyer44
    Thanks John I'm actually working on adding more to that page now and totally forgot to fix those links.

    thank you both for taking the time I really do appreciate it.


    Also I think I may have found a beer distributer with an affiliate program....so I'll have more ways to monetize this site it looks like. I keep feeling like this is going to be more of an authority site for me than a niche site as I am really passionate about the project.
    Signature

    "The force is strong with this one"
    Facebook Ad Services: http://sellabletraffic.com

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3054389].message }}

Trending Topics