How To Become An Affiliate Niche Blogger

If you want to become an affiliate niche blogger, read through this Q&A inspired by an email I received over the weekend. That's exactly what I do for a living, and I hold nothing back in my answers...

I was reading a couple of posts on ClickNewz and you mentioned an affiliate niche example of a New Zealand travel site. Is this something you actually did? I don't want to steal this niche or any niche, but I was curious if I could look at your site or any of your sites as something that may spur some brainstorming or ideas. -CA

That would have been a really a fun project for me given how fascinated I am with New Zealand, but I didn't start an affiliate niche site on that topic. One of my more popular (and favorite) projects is a low carb blog.

You can read my thought process and set-up behind that site in this post:
Case Study: Niche Affiliate Site

People ask for examples a lot, and that's understandable. You want to see a live, working example of successful affiliate niche sites. That's one of the things I loved about Rosalind Gardner's Super Affiliate Handbook - she used her own sites as examples and case studies throughout the guide.

I still want to start an online business and have for some time but for some reason, I am faltering in figuring out what I want to do... -CA

This is THE most important piece to starting your online business. You definitely want to choose something you'll enjoy - a topic you get excited about, and won't mind talking about every single day. Being an entrepreneur take a lot of self-discipline, motivation and energy. If you choose the wrong niche, or the wrong business model, you'll find it more taxing on you than a traditional job. What you're really after is more flexibility, creative freedom, and a lifestyle you enjoy.

The big question you want to ask yourself is: How do I want to spend my time?

Start by reading these three posts:

Those three posts will give you a strong feel for what direction you should be going while brainstorming and deciding on your affiliate niche topic. Like I said, this is THE most important thing to consider when you're getting started!

Is online content the only model you do to get online business going? -CA

There are other options, but yes - I prefer the content model because it's free, it's easy, and it WORKS. Very well, I might add. Even if you have a product or service based business model, blogging is a great way to engage and interact with your target market - and turn them into loyal clients & customers.

Affiliate Niche Blogging is a great model in itself, though.

It's also an easy way for practically anyone to get started online.

Not only is it highly profitable, but you actually get to spend your time doing something you ENJOY. I love talking about low carb foods, the science behind the diet, creative meal ideas, etc. Not only do I get to blog about it, I also get to interact with other bloggers who are passionate about the topic as well. I'm serving a market (teaching and inspiring) while doing & discussing something I find FUN every day.

I get to try new brands, work with cool merchants, test & review products, etc - all things I would do anyway as a low carber, except I earn money doing it.

From my experience, "work" just doesn't get much better than that.

See: How Much Is YOUR Content Worth?
And: How to Make Money Blogging

There seems to be total saturation in all markets anymore, how the heck do you make a site do well with so much competition? -CA

Great question! Things have changed a lot over the years. I've been doing niche affiliate marketing full time for close to nine years now I think, but affiliate programs have been a part of my business since the beginning (almost 16 years ago).

Fortunately, all the recent changes have been very positive!

It used to be that you could build out niche affiliate sites using HTML or templates (static websites) and your only real way to reach your market was through SEO or paid advertising. Which was competitive enough even back then, 5-6 years ago.

There are many more options for reaching your market now, which give you a variety of ways to get free targeted web traffic.

You'll also find that people aren't as "competitive" now, and lean more toward working together than competing with each other. Affiliate Niche Bloggers are collaborating, guest blogging for each other, entering into joint ventures, sharing resources, and interacting publicly via Social Media channels even!

See: How To Use Social Media

Instead of worrying about competition, you want to look at how you can best leverage the "competition" - or the established market leaders in your niche.

While some people mistakenly assume that more bloggers, more online businesses and more affiliate marketers means more competition - or market saturation... the truth is it just means more opportunity!

See: Is Affiliate Marketing Too Competitive?
And: Are There ANY Good Niches Left??

I hope this answered your questions. If you have any others, feel free to leave a comment below and we'll let the discussion continue...

Best,

p.s. I can help you choose a niche that is right for *you*, select the perfect domain name, set up your online business, and take it all the way from start to profit.

If that interests you, see: I'm Ready To Get Serious About Making Money Online!

Source: http://www.clicknewz.com/5882/affiliate-niche/

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