subject: Affiliate Marketing And Picking The Right Market [print this page] Affiliate Marketing And Picking The Right Market
Copyright (c) 2011 Lawrence HamiltonWhat steps are you going to take to pick a market that you want to promote?When you first start out in Affiliate Marketing, it will more than likely be something you are familiar with, have a passion about, or just plain feel it should be a fun market for you to promote. You will then conduct some extensive research about the viability of making money in this market. From this information, you will then research a specific niche within that market. Without researching your market and finding out about the various niches in that market, we often make the mistake of getting into a market that is just too competitive. Now, there is nothing wrong with competition, but if we have an established budget, the more intelligent choice is to spend money to get our site in front of the most people possible. We need to market our product wisely, effectively, and efficientlty. We do not want to disappear in the quagmire of too many similar promotions. If we get into a market that is too saturated, we have less of a chance to stand out, be unique, or have prospects opt in.I won't waste your time with a multitude of examples, but I will give you one to illustrate my point. Let's assume you want to get into the weight loss market. Well, that is way too big and general for you to make much of an impact using a keyword such as "weight loss". You have to drill down and find a specific niche within that market that you can promote. You need to be able to promote that product or service to the extent in which you can become successful. You have to consider if you are going after the male or female market (or both). You have to determine if you want an exercise regimen or a diet regimen to promote. You have to research products that currently exist, see where they fit within the niche you pick, and use the information you find about the viability and popularity of your niche product.Does this sound a bit confusing? With a little knowledge on how to gauge these niche markets, you will find one, two, or more products that fulfills the passion we discussed. These type of niche products will be very promotable and fit within your business model. I find niches all the time that seem exciting to me, and there is very little competition. Sometimes I find niches that have very little competition, rank very high in my research, but are not neccessarily exciting to me. If they could work but do not exactly match up with my passion, should I ignore them? This is merely a personal question and not necessarily part of this format; but yes, I do get into some areas that cash out well but are not very interesting to me. The point is that I can only find the neccessary information about the potential success of a niche market, if I dedicate the time to research that niche and use the appropriate keywords.With the proper training and knowledge, you can avoid the pitfalls of getting into the wrong market and spending your money in a less than efficient manner. Don't let that pitfall happen to you. Learn how to pick a niche in some market about which you are passionate, then learn how to research it properly. You want to be in a position to make decisions that are educated and not "hope and prayer". Your level of passion about a product or service will definitely show through in your promotion of that product or service.
