Anyone can have their own niche website. Thousands of people launch them every day. But very few of them actually succeed. That’s because the majority of marketers who get an idea for a niche site launch it based on things like:
- Keyword search traffic volume
- The number of products available to promote
- A guru claiming he’s making bank in the niche
Those aren’t reasons to build a site. A better way – one that ensures you’ll wake up every day excited to work – is to base it on your own personal interests and passions so that profits will come naturally.
Everyone is always saying they need guidance about how to make a site that succeeds. You’re about to get an overview – but it’s based on you and your interests and not what other people are into.
Pick a Niche with Profits and Passion in Mind
The greatest combination you can have when choosing a niche is profits and passion. One doesn’t equal the other, though. You might have a passion for a niche topic, but find it’s a niche where people aren’t willing to pay for information.
Or, you might find a niche that’s ripe with profit potential, but it’s something you have zero interest in. You want a niche that meets both prerequisites. Start by looking for a niche that sustains your long-term interests.
Brainstorm a list of topics – both tangible and information topics – and include everything you like – even if you don’t have experience with it or consider yourself an expert in it yet. You can lead and share information in a niche without being considered the main authority figure for it.
So here’s an example of what a niche brainstorm list might look like:
- Parenting
- Healthy cooking
- Dogs
- Allergies
- Anti aging
You can dig down deeper into specific niches within those broad categories later if you like. After you have your list, start going through and seeing what kind of profit potential there is for that niche. For example, let’s take the dog niche as an example. You have tons of profit potential in these areas:
- Dog health – dog care guides on the web – and tangibles like heartworm medicine on Amazon
- Dog training – courses that teach broad and specific training issues, plus collars, clickers, etc. on Amazon
- Dog grooming – information about caring for certain breeds, plus dog shampoos, etc.
If you see a good combination of tangibles and information products, it’s a good indication that the niche has profit potential. Make sure the niche you choose is something you feel you could write about day in, day out for years to come.
Conduct Massive Keyword Research for Future Use
To date, you may have tried appeasing search engines through the use (or overuse in many instances) of keywords and phrases. You want to still keep keywords in the back of your mind when leading your niche, but it’s done in a slightly different way.
Look for keyword phrases – not based on search volume – but based on topics that interest you and that you know would make good blog posts for your target audience.
For instance, if you went based on volume only, then the phrase “anti aging” might be something you chose to write a blog post about, and you’d make sure you had a nice 3% density of that exact phrase.
But if you wanted to have a good idea for a blog post, then you might choose a phrase such as “anti aging for women over 40.” Dig down when you conduct keyword research. Use tools like Ubersuggest.org and give the tool starter phrases such as:
- Anti aging for
- Which anti aging product
- How to get rid of wrinkles around
Those phrases get the system searching for keywords that meet those exact requirements. It instantly provides you with a long list of blog topics and ideas for products that you can create.
Keep it handy. Whenever you’re at a loss for a blog topic, reach into that list and have something immediate to write about. If the niche is viable, consider making Squidoo lenses about those topics as well.
Grab a Domain and Install Your Niche Blog
Once you’ve picked a profit and passion-based niche, and you’ve conducted some hefty keyword research, you should invest in a domain name and hosting and proceed to installing your niche blog using WordPress.
Your domain should be short and should include commonly used keyword phrases. Don’t be vague and cute, where the searcher can’t tell from looking at your domain what it’s about. Be obvious.
Instead of barkremedies.com – which might be about alternative health treatments using tree bark, choose a domain such as stopyourdogsbarks.com, which obviously indicates it’s about dogs.
A domain will only cost you about $10 a year. Hosting, provided by a company like Bluehost, will be about $10 or less per month, Use their built in system to install a WordPress blog and then set up the basic SEO options under settings before you begin to attract your audience with good content.
Don’t spend days, weeks or even months worrying so much about SEO. Get the basics down, like a tagline that says what your site is about, and start leading your niche.
All of your content should be personalized – written for human visitors, not search engine bots. Try to write every day, or close to it, and always stay abreast of recent trends and news in your niche that you can share.
Create a Database of Items to Promote That You Believe In
Once you have a domain launched, you’ll want to spend a day gathering information about what you want to promote. Aside from your own products, which you’ll want to begin thinking about for the near future, you need affiliate promotion opportunities.
Look in the following places and start making a database of viable options for you to promote:
- ClickBank
- Commission Junction
- Share-a-Sale
- JV Zoo
- Warrior Plus
- Amazon
Gather your affiliate links, any promotional tools that you plan to use, and request a copy of the product by the seller (or buy it) so that you can write up a proper affiliate review.
Create an Email Autoresponder Series Designed to Show Value
You want to begin building a list in your niche. Every site should have a squeeze page with an attractive offer. And every blog should have an opt in form in the sidebar as well as below each blog post.
You can create a series that goes out on autopilot to new subscribers, or you can blast out a broadcast email every time you have something new to share.
Think of what your target audience is looking for and turn it into a series. For example, let’s say you’re in the weight loss niche. You could have one of these topics as your opt in series:
- 7-Day Jumpstart Juicing Plan
- 2-Week Healthy Snack Guide
- 52 Weeks of Exercise and Diet Combinations
You want to preferably have the series timed out, and then afterwards you can send them broadcast emails. Most marketers use paid autoresponder tools like Aweber or GetResponse, not freebies like MailChimp because they include their own ads and limit the number of subscribers you can have and emails you can send.
Create Personal Connections by Engaging Your Audience
For the most personal satisfaction and the best profit potential, you need to form a bond with your readers. That means asking them to contact you, responding to comments that they leave on your blog, and replying personally to all emails they send you.
Ask what they need help with and then create blog posts and products that provide the answers they need. If you have several people emailing you in one day asking questions, post a Q&A blog entry that addresses multiple topics.
Have Fun Branding and Social Marketing for Your Site
Social marketing can be a really fun thing to do when it’s a topic that you enjoy. For other marketers who are still chained to topics they dislike, it is a huge burden.
Start by following people interested in the same topics as you. Most of the time, they will reciprocate and follow you back, sharing your links and posts with their own followers who are also like-minded individuals – and conveniently, your target audience, too.
Sign up for sites like Twitter, Google Plus, FaceBook, etc. Read other people’s blogs and start engaging on those as a fan of the competition. Participate in forums and let your enthusiasm shine through.
Don’t try too hard to push your agenda on others – just enjoy sharing your insight and brand your business the way you want to be seen. People will click through on your links to see what else you have to share and that’s where you can over deliver and become well known in your niche.
All of these simple tips add up to one thing – your happiness with your online business efforts. You’ll soon discover that profits pour in – not because you have to game a system or use a certain strategy before anyone catches on – but because your excitement is contagious.
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