Do Hobby Niches Really Make Money?

I agree with Andy here...The main thing about getting yourself to work on a niche is to have people who are interested in something. Hobby is one thing that people love...so, thats where you should go for it!

I'd say that depends on the hobby.

I have hobby niches making MUCH more than that.

People are passionate about their hobbies, so they ARE a good market.

Andy

Another good tool for evaluating a niche is the average ad CPC in Google's Free Keywords Tool. Although it only tells you what advertisers will pay for the niche, you can figure they won't be advertising in a niche where people don't spend money.

Whew...thank god that was an example. Something like guitars would definitely work. If you really want to get an idea what niches are solid, take a look at your local magazine stand. Or save the gas and head over here. Holy crap...I can't believe the AARP is at the top!

Want even more? Go here: http://abcas3.accessabc.com/ecirc/magform.asp and select "Paid Circulation - Ascending" and leave the Title blank. Then check out all the paid niche circulations. If people are paying for magazines on this, you can bet the niche is marketable.

That sounds good. and you can sell them on the"community" part of your membership club. i'm sure all the hobbyist and passionate people would love to interact with people that have same/similar interests.

you can create info products, physical products , or training programs to sell, and have fund while doing it.

even if you aren't an expert/passionate in a particular area/hobby, you can find someone who is and work on the membership site with them

good luck

This is probably worth reiterating - for the niches where people are going spend decent cash on their hobby, you're going to be dealing with people who are pretty much by definition already very knowledgeable.

So unless it's something you're already personally interested in or you're a very fast learner (or can afford to hire people who their stuff) it could be rough going.

Corey, when I had a bricks-and-mortar store and a website, this is exactly what I did. And what always amazed me is that people on the internet signed up for my email newsletters for the shop, even though they had never visited it in person! I was always puzzled/amazed that people would sign up for my website when IMO, it was nothing special??? And my storefront, it was just a humble little thing in a tourist town...

But, I sold a line of stationery that was hard to find online. There were only a handful of retailers who sold it online, and my selection was not only very complete, but I was also committed to getting in & posting the newest designs right away once they were available. The newsletters announced the new styles, among other things. (I would tell you what else I wrote about, but that's giving away the farm, when the farm is for sale, LOL). So that was the niche and the hook that I had, and that I played.

The lists weren't big, only about 1500 total. But every mailing had over 30% CTR and 2-5% conversion. The average sale was > $40. You do the math! Did I get rich? LOL, No. Was it a lot of work? Absolutely -- shipping physical products (all of which are different sizes, and half of which don't fit in standard-size boxes) is a PITA!!! But did it work? YES!!! (Not to mention how cheap email newsletters are to send; the greatest investment is probably your time spent writing them.)

It doesn't matter what your niche is. Find a niche, build a relationship, sell to them. This is Marketing 101 and it applies to all niches. People buy based on emotion, and you will be most effective at tapping into that emotion if you build a relationship with them.

So get busy.

Bailey

addicted to? So people are addicted to treasure hunting perhaps or something like that?

Holy crap!

Now I want to know what you sold the site for?

OK, maybe I'm asking too much.

Amen. I suspect most newbs gravitate to this "niche" because thats where all the free - already prepared articles and materials are.

Creating their own articles, ideas, products seems a bit overwhelming - I know it did for me, and Im kinda technical and salesy and an offline marketer already.

Throw at me all the info on SEO, Opt Ins, Conversions, Analytics, AdSense, CPC, CPA, Plugins, themes, html, PHP, List Building, Site hosting, Info Products, WSO's, $7 scripts .. blah blah blah ... its a massive amount of data to master.

Blogging on a hobby ... that could work :-) Addiction is strong in some of these niches.

Hi all,

Here are just a few hobbies you could cater to that are full of money waiting for the pickings. Anyone of these a hobbyist could easily spend thousands on.

tropical fish(aqauriams, lights, high cost fish)
remote control (cars, airplanes, helicopters)seen
bicycling(bmx, mountain biking)bikes can cost thousands alone not including gear
astronomy(telescopes)
video gaming (games and high priced computers, latest graphic cards, etc.)
paintball(these guys spend a fortune on their paintballs and equipment)
collecting(art,coins,automobiles, etc.)
private piloting, auto racing
musical instruments(many buy way more than one)
some collect old arcade machines and pinball machines can run into thousands
Recreational Vehicles(some of these can go for 200,000) hint get a hotel and save money lol
boating(people spend alot on their boating equipment)
You can even drop a pile running! $300 shoes, $500 for summer gear, $500 for winter gear, race fees, hotels, etc.
model building
quality tools (not only the tools but mechanic boxes that hold the tools can cost thousands)
horseriding(you seen how much a saddle cost?)
sound systems(quality high end speakers alone can run into thousands)

Just about any hobby you can think of has a high end segment to it that you can sell to so the choices are almost limitless.

Go google "expensive hobbies" and it will open your eyes.

Later,
Terry

Hi,

In many ways selling physical products is easier than selling digital ones.

Why?

Because the they are searching google already looking for something that they want to buy already. If you wanted to buy a coca-cola would you need to read a salesletter? NOPE!!!

It is alot easier selling physical products by far.

And if you are being affiliate it is almost the same to you whether it is physical or digital. Sure they get the digital product instantly and you don't have to ship anything. But it almost feels the same when you are selling as an affiliate. You get your order and you are done. The company who owns the product takes care of the rest.

I sell a few info products, and that is what I did 100% when I first got started. But now almost all my business by a large margin is selling physical products of known brand names.

There is a much bigger world out there in cyberspace then just digital products.

Terry

Hi,

When I am selling any digital product, whether my own or someone elses, I always try and capture their name because I want to be able to contact them again and again until they buy or unsubscribe from my list. People who buy digital products tend to buy similar info products in the future. That is why I want them on my list to make them my customers, so I can sell to them over and over.

Before I even start capturing names for the digital products I like to put up a presell or review page and test the product out to see if it converts any first. When I see at least a few are buying then I start capturing names to be able to convert them later and sell other stuff to them.

When I am selling a physical product I like to make a very short presell or review page for it and get them to the affiliate merchant's page quickly as possible. The reason I do this is because they probably found my page by typing in the product name in google and are already ready to buy. My goal then is to get them to click throught to the merchant's site right away.

The reason I usually don't collect names for physical goods is I feel most the physical buyers are one shot buyers, not always but most the time.

So to sum up, for digital products collect names and get them on my list to be able to sell to them again and again. And for physical products, make a very short presell page to get them to clickthrough to the merchant's page fast and let the merchant do the selling.

But the above is just my personal preference, there really is no right way or rule to how you market. Some will say always collect names others will say never. Do what you want.

Terry

Also check out for the number of searches.

You can use Google keyword tool which is free.
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

John

Just a thought. With both the robotics and civil war niches, you could use the BANS (Build A Niche Store) software to build up a site that integrates with eBay to sell those products.

The thing is, even if you don't consider yourself all that knowledgable about robotics or the civil war, it's guaranteed that you'll still know a lot more than most people.

Just brain dumping here; for the robotics topic why not create a website devoted to those LEGO robot kits. Aim it at a younger audience, add a few affiliate links, write some articles and reviews, and voila! You have a simple hobby site.

EDIT: I forgot to mention. You may not know how things will sell, but the only way to find out is to try. Even if a site doesn't work, you'll have learned something to apply to the next project.

Just because it's free elsewhere doesn't mean that people aren't willing to pay for the info. Game guides sell very well online, even though there are a million websites with free info on every aspect of the various games. People will pay for the priviledge of having the data collated and presented to them.

Here's an idea for your weather interests: Write a eBook guide on how to set up a personal weather station. Have a feature where it can automatically report to the users PC. Even have an alarm when the weather conditions become dangerous, could be a big seller in Tornado Alley.

That would be tough. There are so many free recipe sites, not to mention mega sites like foodnetwork. I search recipes all day long, but I would never join a membership site when I can find any recipe I want, plus ask for recipes on recipe forums.

* Oil Painting, and other arts and crafts,
* Model Railroads
* Board Games
* Gardening, and it's sub niches,
* Star Wars Collectibles,
* Comic Books,
* Computer Games,
* Amateur Astronomy,
* Amateur Electronics,
* Robotics,
* Weather,
* Reading,
* Writing Fiction,
* Pet Shows,
* Computer Case Modding,
* Furniture Making,
* Home Renovation,
* Travel,
* D&D Tabletop Roleplaying Games
* Computer Programming,
* Growing Extremely Hot Chillis (my favorite!)
* Sewing
* Embroidery
* Fitness

Did you visit any of the links provided earlier in the thread?

Bailey