There is the assumption that if people are talking about a product or service or even a method that is creating a Buzz then that is the direction that we should be focusing on to making money online, right?
Take for example the golden word in internet marketing, NICHE!
The Wikipedia definition of online niche marketing: An often used technique for affiliate marketers. By seeking out smaller segments of larger markets, a website can be developed and promoted quickly to uniquely serve a targeted and usually loyal customer base, giving the affiliate a small but regular income stream. This technique is then repeated across several other niche websites until a desired income level is achieved.
However did you know that one the worst Mistakes you can make that will send you in a on a false spending spree and eating into countless hours of your life proving to be totally unproductive or non-profitable is searching out and looking for Niches!
This is not an understatement and the more you understanding it the clearer things will start to become;
In a simple case scenario the basic and fundamental advice given in internet marketing is to go and look for these niches that have not yet been accessed by others and are waiting to be tapped into for making money.
But what you should actually be doing is, instead of identifying and finding these niches you should be looking for targeted audiences or targeted markets
Right from the outset you should be seeking out and finding a very broad market or targeted audience that will be the basis of your online marketing business.
An example of a Broad ‘market’ would be ‘weight loss’.
An example of a targeted audience would be those who want to be able to lose weight or those looking to get fitter or in shape.
As you can see the choice was to look for a broad targeted market or to look for a broad targeted audience or both.
So instead of searching for those hidden niches, developing offers within those niches, then running off to be able to find other niches to be targeting are something you do not want to be doing.
Find those targeted audiences, start developing a business model focused in and around a specific group of either subscribers to a mailing list, customers, affiliate marketers and partners by offer a variety of offers or services.
What you should understand here is that you need not create loads and loads of niches to be making a sustainable income online. You just need to have one healthy market i.e. targeted audience base.
So what you are looking to do is make things as simple as you can and make money just doing that. So instead of looking for these smaller multiple niches, you will be looking for those bigger targeted audiences and be offering them a variety of extremely related services, offers or products.
What you are attempting to do is to find a customer base that will be willing to purchase from you repeatedly time and time again.
Let us look at an example:
The industry of ‘losing weight’ is massive and worth billions of dollars per year. There are not just thousands of people who have the potential to become paying customers but there are millions of customers out there who are looking to be losing weight, to get fit or into shape.
You make an assessment that anyone who is ‘to be losing weight, to get fit or into shape’ is within the reach of your target audience, the market that basically is looking to purchase the offers that you have to make.
Now you create a product, maybe an eBook that is called, ’12 days weight loss without dieting’ (just hypothetical, not sure if it can be achieved; but you get the point J ). This would be an excellent way to kick it off as you would be aware that there is a massive market base.
Once your site is built, then the marketing would need to kick in. From your marketing you would be getting subscribers to the mailing list, customers sign up and not to forget actual sales!
Now there is no need to go off and create other completely different niches like, ‘train your cat to play the piano’; now you simply start to develop related products, offers or services for that customer base and subscribers that you have built.
Once you have got the customers in place or those who will be potential buyers from your mailing list then all you need to provide them with is the ‘offer’. The combination is a simple formula – Offer to Buyer.
Just start to churn out those offers, services or products to that target audience that you have already accessed. You could start to develop your own or start to outsource the work. The variety of products that can be offered is not limited except by your own imagination. You could be offering interviews with experts, affiliate products, videos, audios, eBooks, how to guides, etc.
You have understood that the outcome for the target audience is to be losing weight, getting into shape or getting fitter.
The multitude of products that can be offered could be related to eating, drinking, training, walking, running, yoga, therapy, kick boxing, karate, low calorie eating, healthy living, etc the list is endless.
What you will notice from the list above is that they are different to each other. However they will have one thing is common which you would package them up to be viewed from that perspective or angle, and that is to either lose weight, get into shape or get fitter.
Any of your customers that end up buying your initial ’12 day’s weight loss without dieting’ would be interested in purchasing one of these additional products, why? Simply because they are highly related products. Take the ‘kick boxing’ example. Churn out an eBook called ’10 minutes of flying kung-fu to tone your abs’ and include methods that work on abs with pictures, instructions or even videos.
What will occur here is that your loyal customers will buy multiple products directly from you or based on your recommendation through your affiliate link.
The first thing you want to do is find that ‘targeted audience’, the one you want to build your business in and around. Similar to the example above that have an outcome.
Here are 3 simple but Golden rules to what you should be looking for when picking a market:
- They like to spend money!
If you target the audience of young children who like to play games and think about developing ‘cheat books’ for kid’s games online do you think they will buy? Of course not! They do not have credit cards, paypal or any real money above their spending budgets of $1 a week. What about ‘students’? Students are always broke, I know I am stereotyping; but I am being factual in my business thinking. If you look at those who play golf, golfers spend a in the millions every year. They are people who have spending power and spending power customers is who we want to target.
- They like to receive variety of offers.
If there is a cap or a limitation of the number of different type of products you can offer to the market then you want to try to stay clear. Based on the general theme that you have picked for your targeted audience you should be able to offer them multiple products, offers or services.
- An area that you have an interest in.
This of course is optional. If you have an interest in an area, probably more importantly an interest with knowledge then this can be helpful in building your business. If you have met the criteria’s #1 and #2 in finding a target audience and you know that area or have an interest then it is a bonus, but just an option.
Now you just need to go out there and find that audience!
Below is a list of 60 areas that you can start to explore, but please only pick ONE. There is a temptation to pick multiple options, which you certainly can once you have an understanding of how to market and sell in one audience group. At that stage you can rinse and repeat, but by exerting all your resources to one healthy target audience can prove to be sufficient in providing a healthy sustainable income year over year over year.
You are not restricted to these 60 at all; if in your search you find others then please explore them.
1-Aging / Senior Interests
2-Antiques And Collectibles
3-Arts And Crafts
4-Automotive
5-Baby And Child
6-Beauty (Skincare / Haircare)
7-Business (Auctions)
8-Business (General)
9-Business (Internet)
10-Business (Opportunities)
11-Business (Small / Home)
12-Cancer Survival / Support
13-Career And Jobs
14-Coaching And Consulting
15-Communication
16-Computer (Hardware)
17-Computer (Software)
18-Computers And Technology
19-Consumer Protection
20-Cooking
21-Dating
22-Disease And Illness
23-Education
24-Fashion
25-Finance And Investment
26-Health And Fitness
27-Hobbies
28-Home And Family
29-Home Repair / Improvement
30-Home Schooling
31-Interior Decorating
32-Internet
33-Investing And Finance
34-Kids And Teens
35-Leadership
36-Men’s Issues
37-Motivational
38-Natural Living/Green Living
39-Non-Profit And Fundraising
40-Outdoors
41-Parenting
42-Pets
43-Photography
44-Politics
45-Public Speaking
46-Real Estate
47-Recreation And Sports
48-Relationships
49-Religion (Christianity)
50-Retirement
51-Retail Businesses
52-Romance
53-Sales And Marketing
54-Success
55-Self Improvement / Help
56-Sexuality
57-Shopping
58-Sports (Golf, Tennis, Etc.)
59-Stock Market
60-Time Management
61-Travel And Leisure
62-Wedding And Marriage
63-Wellness And Remedies
64-Women’s Issues
65-Writing
In case you are wondering as to which one should I go for? Or how do I know which is then one I should target? Then simply do searches in those areas using Google to find statistics of how much money that industry makes.
If you look at the last one on the list ‘writing’ you want to find the kind of money that is spent in either ‘writing’ or ‘reading’, why reading? Because those who read, read the work of writers and you obviously need to be able to write well for people to buy your work. I can say for sure the market is massive, but this is about you doing your work.
Find out what that industry is worth and the different ways people are spending money in that industry. The ‘writing’ example could be creative writing, copywriting, how to books on writing, speed typing, etc. You want to be confident that it is a multimillion industry.
Break it down into sub-categories; in fact ebay.com probably has a list of categories with sub-categories. Start to make a list of sub categories and see what is spent in that area.
Next we will look at how to find the subscribers and those would be buyers of your offers.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Salaam aleykum
some questoins
1. Do we have to make a product? like a how to book?
2. how do we get a target audience?
3. how do we start up a website for this?
4. and initially how much money would one need to put into this?hope its not much
5. do you have a example of what you do, like a website… so i can surf it and see how it works
May Allah also encompass you with wholesome and goodness.
1. Do we have to make a product? like a how to book?
Ultimately you will need to sell a product, but the product does not have to be your own; you could promote other peoples products that will bring you in a commission. This is known as affiliate marketing and can be very lucrative.
2. how do we get a target audience?
Once you have assessed the audience you want to target you would proceed to look at the following article I just loaded up about keyword research.
3. how do we start up a website for this?
What your actually looking for is a definition. Therefore you would be looking to either create a landing page, review site, forum, blog, etc. This should be determined on the basis of what it is you want to market and who. But I will cover the basics of website development later on, but you will be surprised at how easy you can get into it.
4. and initially how much money would one need to put into this?hope its not much
If you do not have money then you have to contribute time. All can be learnt and duplicated, once you have enough money you can of course outsource the work to others. So you can start on a budget of $0, but a simple rule of thumb the more you have to spend the more you can be effective i.e. produce material, better design work, outsource research, etc.
5. do you have a example of what you do, like a website… so i can surf it and see how it works
Sure, if you look at http://www.wowjoomla.com/templates that site was launched in June and in that month alone made over $400 dollars directly and indirect contribution in that month was $1000. So $1400 in the first month is not bad at all, would you not say so? All praise is due to his magnificent lord.
Salaam aleykum
I dont get how to get started you know? “how to get my feet wet in this field” as they say
You obviously have not understood the article then. I am sure there is a call to action at the end of the post, do you see it? What are you asked to do? find a market that you can pump all your resources into. It is a direct call to action for a reason. So please follow that advise and research a market that you feel it viable for you, re-read the content and digest the material. Good luck