For those who have longed for Saturday, because they get to wake up when they want instead of setting the alarm. To be followed by dressing in comfy clothes, instead of a rushed shower and donning of business attire. Not to mention the absence of commuting in a car, bus or train and all the wonderful experiences that evokes. The thought of working from home with their own home based business is a pleasant daydream. Some people have made it a reality by starting out part-time to see if they can make money online, and others have found themselves without a job and needing to replace the income they lost in order to support their families. You have to think about the pluses and minuses to see if a home based business is right for you. Here are a few things to consider.
Discipline and Time Management
When you work at home, you essentially become your own boss. For some that is not a problem, but it does require a tremendous amount of discipline. You have to be very focused and not easily distracted by friends and family, TV, pets, gardening, cleaning, shopping, etc. You have to explain to the ones you love that, even though you are home, you are busy building your business. It is also easy to get distracted online with email, forums, reviewing products, studying the amazing amount of information available online on how to build your business, which can use up valuable time you need to make your business happen. You have to set goals for each day or week of what you need to accomplish, and make sure you get to the projects that will meet your goals and build your business.
Budget
When you first start your business, assuming you do not have unlimited resources, you have to set a budget and stick to it. You will be amazed at the array of products you can choose from online. Most of them promise you will be making millions overnight, if you follow their amazing system! You have to be very careful. Research products before you buy or sign up for any service that can supposedly help you build your business. Reputable products will have reviews online for you to research and forums are a great place to get honest advice on which services actually perform. It pays to do your research.
Other costs can include setting up a website, and the monthly costs for the company that hosts your website. If you sign up to be an affiliate with an online company, and there is a recurring income opportunity with that company, you will likely be paying monthly costs to maintain your membership status. The biggest expense can be advertising, with Pay Per Click ads being the primary expense for many online marketers. You do not want to start throwing money at Pay Per Click ads until you know what you are doing. Many online entrepreneurs have lost a lot of money doing just that! All these expenses add up, and it could be months before you see any revenue from your efforts.
Organization
When you first start working online, you will find yourself accumulating a variety of information that you have to keep organized. If you decide to market digital products you will probably join ClickBank.com or Commission Junction. You will join forums, Warrior Forum being one of the best for online marketers, and social sites like Twitter, My Space or Facebook. You may be setting yourself up to be an affiliate of one or more programs, creating a blog, and in all of these situations you will have different identification names and passwords, or affiliate identification numbers or a personalized link to the merchant’s website. All this information needs to kept in a way that is easy to access.
The best thing to do from the start, to make sure you keep everything organized, is to set up folders in your email account, and keep every confirmation email you receive with all your account information, and set up a directory on your computer where you can cut and paste all of your affiliate links. That way you can easily find whatever you need, without having to go through the frustration of searching through pages of emails. Trust me, this will save you lots of time. It’s also not a bad idea to keep a register of all this information off line in case you have a problem with your computer. It is always better to be safe than sorry!
Expectations
When you first get started, you think you will be seeing fat checks before you know it. The reality is that starting a home based business requires a tremendous amount of initial startup time to get your business up and running. In fact, it usually takes months of working full time before most people see any money at all. It is like any business you could start, you have to work hard and trust that all your efforts will eventually pay off. If you are looking for instant gratification, you will be disappointed. There are a lot of people making a very good living online, but they put a lot of effort in usually for a long time to get to that point.
If you think you have the drive and the patience to invest the time and money to build your business, then you have the makings of a successful home based business entrepreneur. Once you build your business, and have learned and accomplished what it takes to be successful, you too could benefit from all your hard work for years to come.
About the Author:
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Eileen Daly is the webmaster of http://www.ProfitExpediter.com Sign up for her free Home Based Business Newsletter and receive six free e-books on internet marketing and building a home based business visit:
http://www.ProfitExpediter.com/free-downloads.html
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Friday, February 20, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Promoting Top Affiliate Programs for a Better Chance to Success
Affiliate marketing has become increasingly popular over the years. In addition to the fact that many affiliate programs are easy and free to join, it is commonly believed that it is also the easiest way to make money on the Internet. Whether you have a website or not, you still can promote affiliate programs and generate income. However, if you want to build a career as an affiliate marketer, you must find top affiliate programs to promote.
Some programs have certain characteristics that allow them to be categorized as top programs. What are those characteristics?
1. They have a good reputation for paying their affiliates on time. Keep in mind that in a hot market such as this, there are always people who will take advantage of others. Do your best to avoid such programs yourself.
2. They have products that are in high demand by the public. We all know that the public determines the market. It is a waste of time and energy promoting programs that the public is not interested in buying.
2. They provide their affiliates with marketing tools to promote their programs. Affiliate marketing is a partnership between the merchants who own the programs and the affiliates who promote them. As an affiliate, it is important to have partner who cares about your success.
3. They have good customer service and affiliate support systems. Things change very quickly online; and affiliate marketing is a very competitive business. Having a good support system will help you get the answers you need in a timely manner.
4. They have accurate affiliate statistics. As an affiliate, you need to be able to alter your campaigns and make necessary adjustments when needed. With an accurate system to track your campaigns performances,you will be able to immediately know what part of your campaigns need to be changed.
Everyone's circumstances are different. The best program for one is not necessarily the best one for others. Therefore, it is necessary to test different programs. By monitoring the results, you will be able to determine the program that best suit your purpose.
It is critical to very carefully choose the affiliate programs to promote, as choosing the wrong program can have a huge negative impact on your business. It is always wise to conduct your own research before deciding to join any program. Ultimately, only you can decide which program will help you reach your goal as a successful affiliate marketer.
About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.ProfitExpediter.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Some programs have certain characteristics that allow them to be categorized as top programs. What are those characteristics?
1. They have a good reputation for paying their affiliates on time. Keep in mind that in a hot market such as this, there are always people who will take advantage of others. Do your best to avoid such programs yourself.
2. They have products that are in high demand by the public. We all know that the public determines the market. It is a waste of time and energy promoting programs that the public is not interested in buying.
2. They provide their affiliates with marketing tools to promote their programs. Affiliate marketing is a partnership between the merchants who own the programs and the affiliates who promote them. As an affiliate, it is important to have partner who cares about your success.
3. They have good customer service and affiliate support systems. Things change very quickly online; and affiliate marketing is a very competitive business. Having a good support system will help you get the answers you need in a timely manner.
4. They have accurate affiliate statistics. As an affiliate, you need to be able to alter your campaigns and make necessary adjustments when needed. With an accurate system to track your campaigns performances,you will be able to immediately know what part of your campaigns need to be changed.
Everyone's circumstances are different. The best program for one is not necessarily the best one for others. Therefore, it is necessary to test different programs. By monitoring the results, you will be able to determine the program that best suit your purpose.
It is critical to very carefully choose the affiliate programs to promote, as choosing the wrong program can have a huge negative impact on your business. It is always wise to conduct your own research before deciding to join any program. Ultimately, only you can decide which program will help you reach your goal as a successful affiliate marketer.
About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.ProfitExpediter.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, February 5, 2009
A Responsible Approach to Online Marketing
When a person comes online, they are generally looking for information and resources. Many people are searching for a way to make money online and therein lies the setup for an unhealthy partnering of newbie and Internet savvy scam artist.
Everyone that has been online for a while and has set up a business needs to market that business to pay their bills and to grow their business. However, the Internet seems to be in need of growing a "conscience" when it comes to the ebooks, the software, and the tools that are offered to new people and those that are still searching for a method to better their life. Whether retail marketing or sponsorship program, each requires a lot of the person's time and resources to market to the new client.
Every day there are emails offering the newest marketing blitz, the most cherished system that a person cannot live without, the only method to making thousands of dollars as evidenced by the checks the marketer has received. Granted, there are disclaimers, but it is like saying something in a courtroom. Once the word is out, it is highly unlikely that the jury is going to forget what was mentioned. The same goes for claims to wealth.
Receiving an email with a product that seems legitimate and is followed with a heart-felt sales offer will encourage many people to continue and become a representative. The story behind how the marketer got to his position, how he felt during the start-up phase, and how he managed to obtain the goals set is much more interesting than how much he received in his last check. There has never been anyone that could spend that marketer's check but himself, so there seems to be no real reason to be showing checks in a sales solicitation.
After a person becomes a representative or purchases a product from a marketer, that marketer has a responsibility to help or lead the new person to obtain their goals. To keep retail sales from being cancelled, a follow up email on how to use the product or some of the benefits not mentioned previously or some general knowledge of how the product has helped others will be most welcomed. The follow up lets the new representative know that the marketer has his best interests at heart and that he is not just another notch in his sponsor's printout sheet. Knowing there is a caring person behind a great product or program is more than enough motivation to a new person. This can be an inspiration to them to do well and to continue to try knowing that they have someone in their corner should a problem or questions come up.
Many marketers send out multiple solicitations to join their respective companies and, honestly, just wait to see who takes the bait and runs with it. That is one method of marketing, but it seriously lacks a sponsor's responsibility. A marketer should help a new person as much as that person wants to work.
Giving ideas, helping them through hard and easy times, and sharing methods that seem to be working and letting the everyone takes what they need and leave the rest seems to be a responsible attitude. Everyone is different and new people have fear of failure on their mind and so trying to make everyone fit one mold is not a workable method. What works for one may not work for another, but it is helpful to the new person to know what the options are and to count on their representative to guide them.
To sum it up, if you are working programs or products that require sponsoring, then make sure that you retail products and that you spend time with those you bring into the program.
To do anything other than guide and share with those that you sponsor is irresponsible marketing and should be reconsidered.
Online marketing can be a great source of friendship and business profits that last a lifetime if promoted properly. Do your part to make the Internet a more responsible and caring place.
About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find home based business ideas and receive six free e-books on internet marketing and building a home business visit:
http://www.ProfitExpediter.com/free-downloads.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Everyone that has been online for a while and has set up a business needs to market that business to pay their bills and to grow their business. However, the Internet seems to be in need of growing a "conscience" when it comes to the ebooks, the software, and the tools that are offered to new people and those that are still searching for a method to better their life. Whether retail marketing or sponsorship program, each requires a lot of the person's time and resources to market to the new client.
Every day there are emails offering the newest marketing blitz, the most cherished system that a person cannot live without, the only method to making thousands of dollars as evidenced by the checks the marketer has received. Granted, there are disclaimers, but it is like saying something in a courtroom. Once the word is out, it is highly unlikely that the jury is going to forget what was mentioned. The same goes for claims to wealth.
Receiving an email with a product that seems legitimate and is followed with a heart-felt sales offer will encourage many people to continue and become a representative. The story behind how the marketer got to his position, how he felt during the start-up phase, and how he managed to obtain the goals set is much more interesting than how much he received in his last check. There has never been anyone that could spend that marketer's check but himself, so there seems to be no real reason to be showing checks in a sales solicitation.
After a person becomes a representative or purchases a product from a marketer, that marketer has a responsibility to help or lead the new person to obtain their goals. To keep retail sales from being cancelled, a follow up email on how to use the product or some of the benefits not mentioned previously or some general knowledge of how the product has helped others will be most welcomed. The follow up lets the new representative know that the marketer has his best interests at heart and that he is not just another notch in his sponsor's printout sheet. Knowing there is a caring person behind a great product or program is more than enough motivation to a new person. This can be an inspiration to them to do well and to continue to try knowing that they have someone in their corner should a problem or questions come up.
Many marketers send out multiple solicitations to join their respective companies and, honestly, just wait to see who takes the bait and runs with it. That is one method of marketing, but it seriously lacks a sponsor's responsibility. A marketer should help a new person as much as that person wants to work.
Giving ideas, helping them through hard and easy times, and sharing methods that seem to be working and letting the everyone takes what they need and leave the rest seems to be a responsible attitude. Everyone is different and new people have fear of failure on their mind and so trying to make everyone fit one mold is not a workable method. What works for one may not work for another, but it is helpful to the new person to know what the options are and to count on their representative to guide them.
To sum it up, if you are working programs or products that require sponsoring, then make sure that you retail products and that you spend time with those you bring into the program.
To do anything other than guide and share with those that you sponsor is irresponsible marketing and should be reconsidered.
Online marketing can be a great source of friendship and business profits that last a lifetime if promoted properly. Do your part to make the Internet a more responsible and caring place.
About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find home based business ideas and receive six free e-books on internet marketing and building a home business visit:
http://www.ProfitExpediter.com/free-downloads.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Paid Membership Programs are a Great Way to Make Money
When it comes to making money on the Internet there is no shortage of ways to do it. Of course if you have a product of your own that is the best place to start. What if you do not have a product of your own?
Here are a few ways you can sell stuff online with affiliate marketing to make money for yourself.
- Affiliate Programs. Getting paid to sell other people's products is the quickest way to get going that I have found. Affiliate marketing has been around for over 10 years now and many people look at Amazon.com as one of the first companies to sell products this way.
You can make money selling clicks such as with Google Adsense. You can make money selling leads with affiliate programs like Max Bounty. You can make money selling products. One such way is to sell information products like you would find at ClickBank.
Another thing you can do is affiliate program directories like AssociatePrograms.com or Commissions Junction where they have compiled some of the best products to sell in one place.
One way to make money online is to sell memberships. This can be done through both affiliate marketing as well as network marketing. Getting paid over and over for making one sale is called residual income.
Certainly network marketing also offers some great residual income for repeat business on a monthly basis. Many MLM companies will set up your customers and distributors on auto-ship and the products they order go out like clock work every month. When they do you make a commission every month just like clockwork as well.
Back to paid memberships. Products that can be accessed online and offer value to your customer are great to sell. Paid memberships fit this description. Subscriptions on how to run a home business, personal development, paid newsletters on every subject imaginable, website hosting, autoresponders, and just about anything you can think of, offer you a chance to create residual income.
Two tier programs where you get paid on the sales of people you recruit work great for paid membership programs as well. Of course network marketing falls into this category and can even be better because you can make money every month on the sales of a large group of people.
The key with most paid subscription programs is you make a little bit of money on every sale. The first month this may not amount to much. The second month it can be more. In a year it can be quite a lot. Kind of like compound interest if you know how that works.
Your efforts and your sales compound themselves offering you a great chance to build an income that you could walk away from in a few years.
Can you say that about your current job?
About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.ProfitExpediter.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Here are a few ways you can sell stuff online with affiliate marketing to make money for yourself.
- Affiliate Programs. Getting paid to sell other people's products is the quickest way to get going that I have found. Affiliate marketing has been around for over 10 years now and many people look at Amazon.com as one of the first companies to sell products this way.
You can make money selling clicks such as with Google Adsense. You can make money selling leads with affiliate programs like Max Bounty. You can make money selling products. One such way is to sell information products like you would find at ClickBank.
Another thing you can do is affiliate program directories like AssociatePrograms.com or Commissions Junction where they have compiled some of the best products to sell in one place.
One way to make money online is to sell memberships. This can be done through both affiliate marketing as well as network marketing. Getting paid over and over for making one sale is called residual income.
Certainly network marketing also offers some great residual income for repeat business on a monthly basis. Many MLM companies will set up your customers and distributors on auto-ship and the products they order go out like clock work every month. When they do you make a commission every month just like clockwork as well.
Back to paid memberships. Products that can be accessed online and offer value to your customer are great to sell. Paid memberships fit this description. Subscriptions on how to run a home business, personal development, paid newsletters on every subject imaginable, website hosting, autoresponders, and just about anything you can think of, offer you a chance to create residual income.
Two tier programs where you get paid on the sales of people you recruit work great for paid membership programs as well. Of course network marketing falls into this category and can even be better because you can make money every month on the sales of a large group of people.
The key with most paid subscription programs is you make a little bit of money on every sale. The first month this may not amount to much. The second month it can be more. In a year it can be quite a lot. Kind of like compound interest if you know how that works.
Your efforts and your sales compound themselves offering you a great chance to build an income that you could walk away from in a few years.
Can you say that about your current job?
About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.ProfitExpediter.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
What Do You Need Most Immediate Cash or Residual Income
If you sit in front of your computer for a long enough period of time you will eventually get tired of doing it. This is especially true if you are looking for ways to make money online.
Because there are literally thousands of ways to make money online you can quickly get overwhelmed and either give up jump around and never really make any money.
Your needs will determine how you go about searching for ways to make money on the internet.
1. Do you need immediate cash?
2. Are you looking for a long term income including residual in come.
Immediate cash is best done by selling private label right products or joining an affiliate program.
PLR products are great because you can create buy now buttons that go directly into your checking account, or PayPal account.
Some affiliate programs offer immediate commissions, but most will pay you every 30 days or so. Even that is pretty immediate when you have your own home business.
Residual income is where you get paid over and over for doing your work one time. Selling memberships can be a way to do this. Website hosting is an example of how you can earn a commissions every month for making the sale one time.
Another form of residual income is to get paid over and over on the sales of others. Here are 2 ways to do that.
1. 2 Tier Affiliate Programs
You join affiliate programs that will pay you on your personal sales as well as the sales of affiliates you recruit. This can be great if you build a powerful team of quality affiliates you can sell online.
Of course the downside to this is you may have to recruit hundreds, or possibly even thousands of affiliates, to get a top selling team.
2. Network Marketing
This is a tremendous business model that is really coming into it's own thanks to the internet. You create residual income here by recruiting a team of distributors to buy and sell products in your downline.
The nice thing about this is your group can grow when other people recruit as well. This can be several levels deep. In affiliate marketing you only get paid on the sales of people you personally recruit.
So if you need immediate cash work on personal sales. If you want residual income spend your time recruiting and training. Either way you can still make very good money on the internet.
About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.ProfitExpediter.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Because there are literally thousands of ways to make money online you can quickly get overwhelmed and either give up jump around and never really make any money.
Your needs will determine how you go about searching for ways to make money on the internet.
1. Do you need immediate cash?
2. Are you looking for a long term income including residual in come.
Immediate cash is best done by selling private label right products or joining an affiliate program.
PLR products are great because you can create buy now buttons that go directly into your checking account, or PayPal account.
Some affiliate programs offer immediate commissions, but most will pay you every 30 days or so. Even that is pretty immediate when you have your own home business.
Residual income is where you get paid over and over for doing your work one time. Selling memberships can be a way to do this. Website hosting is an example of how you can earn a commissions every month for making the sale one time.
Another form of residual income is to get paid over and over on the sales of others. Here are 2 ways to do that.
1. 2 Tier Affiliate Programs
You join affiliate programs that will pay you on your personal sales as well as the sales of affiliates you recruit. This can be great if you build a powerful team of quality affiliates you can sell online.
Of course the downside to this is you may have to recruit hundreds, or possibly even thousands of affiliates, to get a top selling team.
2. Network Marketing
This is a tremendous business model that is really coming into it's own thanks to the internet. You create residual income here by recruiting a team of distributors to buy and sell products in your downline.
The nice thing about this is your group can grow when other people recruit as well. This can be several levels deep. In affiliate marketing you only get paid on the sales of people you personally recruit.
So if you need immediate cash work on personal sales. If you want residual income spend your time recruiting and training. Either way you can still make very good money on the internet.
About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.ProfitExpediter.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, February 2, 2009
Top 5 Ways To Get Traffic For Your Internet Home Business
Do you have an Internet home business that is not getting the amount of traffic you need to succeed. You are not alone! The majority of online businesses do not get enough visitors everyday to survive. It is no wonder the failure rate of Internet home businesses is so high.
Here are 10 ways to increase your daily traffic to give you a better chance of making money and surviving online.
1. Start a blog and post to it on a regular basis. A blog is a great way to attract new visitors as well as keep old ones coming back.
You can use your blog articles as search engine bait too! The important thing is to target keyword phrases and then bookmark your article to some of the top social directories.
Doing this will give you traffic from the directories themselves and to serve as search engine bait for even more traffic.
2. Become an expert at social media such as video and make it a part of your blog. Your visitors expect to be entertained as well as informed and video is a great way to do that.
You can add a URL to your Website or blog in the video and submit it to YouTube to attract traffic. Plus Google loves video and will reward you with high rankings for relevant keyword phrases giving you even more exposure.
3. Incorporate article marketing into your Internet marketing efforts. Writing and submitting articles is not hard to do, and the rewards can pay off for years to come.
A well written article should include a resource box at the end which contains a link back to your Website. This is how your readers find out more about you.
The key is to get your articles into the top article directories. You do not have to spend all day submitting them, but find 4-5 directories you like and submit to them consistently. This can really pay off in traffic today and in the future too!
4. Join Twitter.com and start microblogging. Spend a few minutes everyday inviting people to follow you. As your number of followers increase this presents all kinds of opportunities to increase your traffic and future business.
In summary this is 4 of the top ways to get more traffic for your Internet home business. If you master all 4 of these your number of visitors will increase everyday and so will your profits.
About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.ProfitExpediter.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Here are 10 ways to increase your daily traffic to give you a better chance of making money and surviving online.
1. Start a blog and post to it on a regular basis. A blog is a great way to attract new visitors as well as keep old ones coming back.
You can use your blog articles as search engine bait too! The important thing is to target keyword phrases and then bookmark your article to some of the top social directories.
Doing this will give you traffic from the directories themselves and to serve as search engine bait for even more traffic.
2. Become an expert at social media such as video and make it a part of your blog. Your visitors expect to be entertained as well as informed and video is a great way to do that.
You can add a URL to your Website or blog in the video and submit it to YouTube to attract traffic. Plus Google loves video and will reward you with high rankings for relevant keyword phrases giving you even more exposure.
3. Incorporate article marketing into your Internet marketing efforts. Writing and submitting articles is not hard to do, and the rewards can pay off for years to come.
A well written article should include a resource box at the end which contains a link back to your Website. This is how your readers find out more about you.
The key is to get your articles into the top article directories. You do not have to spend all day submitting them, but find 4-5 directories you like and submit to them consistently. This can really pay off in traffic today and in the future too!
4. Join Twitter.com and start microblogging. Spend a few minutes everyday inviting people to follow you. As your number of followers increase this presents all kinds of opportunities to increase your traffic and future business.
In summary this is 4 of the top ways to get more traffic for your Internet home business. If you master all 4 of these your number of visitors will increase everyday and so will your profits.
About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.ProfitExpediter.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, January 30, 2009
Niche Discovery Tactics Gurus Don't Teach But Use Themselves
Every internet marketer knows the importance of discovering good and profitable niches. Many internet marketing gurus have a very simplistic way of teaching about niche discovery. The sum total of some gurus' teaching on this can be summarized as:
1. Choose a topic that you like, have experience or are interested in.
2. Take the main keyword from this topic and plug it into a keyword research tool.
3. Look at the search count. If it is about 30,000 per month, it's a good niche. If it is below 30,000 searches, there is very little market and therefore it is not a good niche. If it is way above 30,000 searches, there is probably too much competition and therefore it is risky to enter this niche market.
That's it. Based on those three steps, you are supposed to find a niche. What's wrong with such a teaching?
Firstly, there is no research into the competition. No step is taken to discover how strong a competition you face in that niche.
Secondly, there is no research into long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are defined as keyword phrases of at least 4 words (the more words, the better). Every marketer knows the importance of long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords can lead you to lucrative sub-niches.
Thirdly, there is no research into the tendency of the searchers to buy. It's not only a matter of whether the searchers have money or not. Some people in a particular niche market may have money but are not intending to buy anything.
So here's how the gurus really do their niche and keyword research:
1. Examine your own interests, abilities, knowledge, experiences. Anything from these may be a potentially good niche to market to.
2. Identify what's hot in the market i.e. what is currently the most talked-about thing, what's buzzing or new in town. Is this a potential niche?
3. From the above two steps, identify potential niches. Then run these potential niches through these 'filters':
a. Are people in this niche ready to buy and not merely information seekers or looking for freebies? For example, 'how to score an 'A' in your SAT examination' would probably not be a very lucrative niche because it would interest only students who may not have the money to buy anything much.
b. Is there a problem that the people in this niche cannot solve themselves? Any niche involving technical expertise would nicely fit into this criteria. For example, 'how to solve Windows Vista registry problems' would likely be a good niche because very few people are technologically competent enough to deal with these problems.
c. Do the people in this niche have an urgent crisis that needs to be overcome? The more urgent the better. For example, 'how to stop your teenager's drug habit' is an extremely urgent crisis that begs for answers.
d. Is there an 'evergreen' need in this niche that is not a just a fad? 'How to improve your golf swing' is an evergreen need compared to 'strategies for World of Warcraft' (World of Warcraft is a PC game). Once the fad for World of Warcraft is over, the market in this niche disappears.
Obviously, the more 'yes' answers you get to the above questions the more potentially profitable a niche is.
4. Once you have identified a potentially profitable niche based on the steps above, it is time to look for some long-tail keywords. These long-tail keywords will reveal some sub-niches which you can further profit from. For example, if you type in 'golf swing' into Wordtracker, you would get a whole list of related searches. Look for keyword phrases with four words or more. Some of them are 'stack and tilt golf swing', 'biomechanics of golf swing', 'what is the proper weight distribution during the golf swing' etc.
5. To find out how much competition there is in this niche, simply type in all the keywords you have into Google's free keyword analysis tool. This tool will give you the estimated advertiser competition (which is the same as marketer competition), average search volume for the previous month and average monthly search volume. The great thing is that this tool also gives you synonyms for the keywords which means you get more keyword suggestions. You identify keywords with as little competition but as many searches as possible.
The steps above represent a much more complete way of niche discovery. You will not only find profitable niches but also the relevant keywords that go with these niches. By doing this you make a solid start in your niche marketing.
About the Author:
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To find home based business ideas and receive six free e-books on internet marketing and building a home business visit:
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1. Choose a topic that you like, have experience or are interested in.
2. Take the main keyword from this topic and plug it into a keyword research tool.
3. Look at the search count. If it is about 30,000 per month, it's a good niche. If it is below 30,000 searches, there is very little market and therefore it is not a good niche. If it is way above 30,000 searches, there is probably too much competition and therefore it is risky to enter this niche market.
That's it. Based on those three steps, you are supposed to find a niche. What's wrong with such a teaching?
Firstly, there is no research into the competition. No step is taken to discover how strong a competition you face in that niche.
Secondly, there is no research into long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are defined as keyword phrases of at least 4 words (the more words, the better). Every marketer knows the importance of long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords can lead you to lucrative sub-niches.
Thirdly, there is no research into the tendency of the searchers to buy. It's not only a matter of whether the searchers have money or not. Some people in a particular niche market may have money but are not intending to buy anything.
So here's how the gurus really do their niche and keyword research:
1. Examine your own interests, abilities, knowledge, experiences. Anything from these may be a potentially good niche to market to.
2. Identify what's hot in the market i.e. what is currently the most talked-about thing, what's buzzing or new in town. Is this a potential niche?
3. From the above two steps, identify potential niches. Then run these potential niches through these 'filters':
a. Are people in this niche ready to buy and not merely information seekers or looking for freebies? For example, 'how to score an 'A' in your SAT examination' would probably not be a very lucrative niche because it would interest only students who may not have the money to buy anything much.
b. Is there a problem that the people in this niche cannot solve themselves? Any niche involving technical expertise would nicely fit into this criteria. For example, 'how to solve Windows Vista registry problems' would likely be a good niche because very few people are technologically competent enough to deal with these problems.
c. Do the people in this niche have an urgent crisis that needs to be overcome? The more urgent the better. For example, 'how to stop your teenager's drug habit' is an extremely urgent crisis that begs for answers.
d. Is there an 'evergreen' need in this niche that is not a just a fad? 'How to improve your golf swing' is an evergreen need compared to 'strategies for World of Warcraft' (World of Warcraft is a PC game). Once the fad for World of Warcraft is over, the market in this niche disappears.
Obviously, the more 'yes' answers you get to the above questions the more potentially profitable a niche is.
4. Once you have identified a potentially profitable niche based on the steps above, it is time to look for some long-tail keywords. These long-tail keywords will reveal some sub-niches which you can further profit from. For example, if you type in 'golf swing' into Wordtracker, you would get a whole list of related searches. Look for keyword phrases with four words or more. Some of them are 'stack and tilt golf swing', 'biomechanics of golf swing', 'what is the proper weight distribution during the golf swing' etc.
5. To find out how much competition there is in this niche, simply type in all the keywords you have into Google's free keyword analysis tool. This tool will give you the estimated advertiser competition (which is the same as marketer competition), average search volume for the previous month and average monthly search volume. The great thing is that this tool also gives you synonyms for the keywords which means you get more keyword suggestions. You identify keywords with as little competition but as many searches as possible.
The steps above represent a much more complete way of niche discovery. You will not only find profitable niches but also the relevant keywords that go with these niches. By doing this you make a solid start in your niche marketing.
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To find home based business ideas and receive six free e-books on internet marketing and building a home business visit:
http://www.ProfitExpediter.com/free-downloads.html
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