This is frankly the most important step you need to perform. It is the foundation for the success of everything that follows, especially when it comes to affiliate marketing.
The keyword of the day is “profitable”.
Remember That Some Markets Remain Underserved For A Good Reason: There’s No Money In Them.
So your goal is to learn how to do two things quickly:
- Locate potential niche markets to market affiliate products to
- Determine the profit potential of that market before diving in
Locating The Affiliate Niche Market:
You may want to begin by thinking about the topics you’re already interested in. This could be, for example:
Sports -> Specifically: Soccer
Cooking Indian Cuisine -> Curry recipes
And so on. Notice how we’ve broken down those main categories into sub-categories. Now this could be taken further and further…
Soccer -> Learning foot tricks
Curry Recipes -> For the lactose intolerant (curries contain a lot of cream!)
This Is Niche Thinking In Action.
The single biggest hurdle most new affiliate marketers face is coming up with niche ideas because they get stuck on categories that are too broad. So, your first step is to branch out with any sub-categories you can think of off the top of your head.
Since no one can generate a list of infinite possibilities in one sitting, your next step is to go where the niches are already broken down for you. Guess what common source is a great place to start? Search Engine Directories!
Start up your browser right now and head over to either Google.com or Yahoo.com and begin drilling down through those categories. Once you have a target in mind, employ additional research by:
- Checking some related search terms at Overture.com and checking on the size of that niche market…
- Visiting related discussion forums and monitoring threads pertaining to this niche. What questions are people asking? What problems are they looking to solve?
How To Determine The Market’s Profit Potential:
One Way To Determine Profitability Is Simply To Examine If An Affiliate Product ALREADY Exists In The Niche You’re Targeting.
The first place to start your search is at the ClickBank marketplace. Examine existing products and note if a profitable affiliate program is in place. Does the sales letter convert well? Can you readily market this product to the niche in question?
These are just some factors you need to consider. While a listing in Clickbank’s marketplace is not necessarily a guarantee of strong affiliate sales, it’s a good start. Pay attention to the products in the top 10 for each category.
Next, it’s time to take a trip to your local bookstore…
If your niche has its own specialty long-running magazine, that’s a good indicator of potential profit within that market. It also indicates that the market has money to spend. The reason:
Magazines are advertiser supported. The readership must generate sales for those advertisers to keep them interested in advertising in that publication.
Pick up extra issues at your library if you can and scan the magazine for ads which appear month after month. Those are profitable products for that advertiser.