subject: Choosing a campaign topic: a four-step common sense approach [print this page] Choosing a campaign topic: a four-step common sense approach
So you're going to try your hand at Internet marketing, and you already know a great way to do this is by marketing affiliate products. But there are thousands of options for affiliate products and thousands of ways to approach selling them. How do you decide which products to promote, and how do you set up a successful campaign around them? This article will give you a common sense approach to starting at the very beginning, with choosing a campaign topic.
Step 1: Brainstorm
This is the part of choosing a campaign topic, where you need to accept and write down whatever idea comes to your mind, even if it seems outlandish. During this brainstorm phase reject nothing. Take out a blank sheet of paper and a pen, and start writing down topics you have any kind of interest in. Do not worry at this point if there is an affiliate product related to a given topic because there most likely is. Just write the topic down and then write down the next one that comes into your mind. Think about any topic in which you have experience or expertise in, or any topic you have ever read about, taken up as a hobby, or even fantasized about. Having prior knowledge helps, but is not necessary. If it even remotely interests you, write it down. You should have a list of 25 to 50 topic ideas before moving on.
Step 2: Determine your interest level
A full blown article marketing campaign is going to involve a lot of writing. Not only will you be writing all the content for your website. You will also be writing and submitting a minimum of fifty articles on your chosen topic. Even if your marketing strategy is going to be pay per click, you still are going to have to write a lot. With this in mind, look over your brainstorm list and picture yourself writing fifty articles on each subject. Don't worry at this point about whether you know enough about the subject. What you most want to determine is your level of interest or passion in the subject. Do you care enough to write fifty articles about this? If the answer is definitely no, then cross it out and go onto the next one. If the answer is yes or maybe, then keep it.
Step 3: Evaluate your level of knowledge
Evaluate the remaining topics in terms of how much you do know about each one. The more you already know about your topic, the easier it will be to start writing about it right away. Next to each topic note whether you have extensive prior knowledge, moderate prior knowledge or no prior knowledge. In this step you are getting an idea of how much further research into your topic you will need to do before you can start writing extensively about it.
Step 4: Make your choice based on your level of interest and knowledge
The exercise you took in step three should give you an indication of whether you can write authoritatively about a subject immediately or if you will need to spend some time learning more first. Now you are ready to choose your first campaign topic. It needs to be a topic you are very interested in, even passionate about. Your interest level is the most important determining factor. If you are very interested in your topic, you will have no problem taking the time to learn more about it even if you currently know very little. However, if you are passionately interested in several topics, but happen to already know more about one, then you might start with that one as you will be able to more quickly build a successful campaign around it.
You can run a successful Internet marketing campaign around just about any topic. Choosing a campaign topic for your online marketing efforts involves brainstorming your topic ideas then evaluating their viability based first on your level of interest and second on your prior knowledge on each topic. If you follow these simple steps, choosing a campaign topic that has a good chance of success will be an easy and rewarding process.
