Choosing a Niche - First Consider Supply and Demand and also the Substitution Factors
Choosing a niche that will allow you to make money online is not always easy. If you are considering becoming an online marketer or even if you are a new or struggling online marketer, you should bear in mind that presently, with all the uncertainties about the future of the US economy, consumers' demand for certain goods are likely to decline, especially if these items are not considered necessities.
However, there will continue to be a high demand for some products, and should the price of these products fall, people will be more willing to buy more of these items if needed. Also, if the value of these vital products should rise, chances are that you might see only a marginal decline in the quantity of these products purchased by consumers.
In general, if the price of a product is expensive to the average public and the product is one that they can do without, they will rather buy that cheaper substitute or less of that expensive item. Take for example toilet paper,an item that is used on a daily basis in almost every household in America -- if consumers need toilet paper but just have enough money to purchase a cheaper brand as opposed to a more expensive brand, they will be willing to settle for the cheaper one or they may purchase just a few rolls of the expensive brand.
Other things to take in consideration, is that certain products are periodical or seasonal items and therefore, do better during those periods/seasons such as Christmas Season, Easter season, Baseball Season, Football Season, Basketball Season and so on. Annual celebrations or occasions that tend to drive the demand for certain products are Halloween, Mother's day, Father's day, Valentine's day, St. Patrick's day, Back-To -School etc. During each of these Season or period you might find that certain merchandise tend to do well. However, sales drastically fall when these seasons or periods are all over.
The best thing to do before choosing an Affiliate niche is to do some diligent research; You can then decide whether you want to create blogs or websites around seasonal products or around products and services that are high in demand. Just a suggestion, you can go to Amazon website(amazon.com) for example, just to get an idea of some of the merchandise that are market movers, shakers, bestsellers etc. You may also go to Yahoo ask to see the type of questions people are asking, obviously, they need help in these areas.
When you have come up with an ideal product, then you can apply to one or more of the top online merchants/stores' Affiliate program who might be currently marketing that product. Clickbank, Commission Junction, Amazon, Offervault, eBay are just a few of the more popular ones.( FYI: Presently, Clickbank has made several new changes which all of its affiliates are now required to adhered to, in order to avoid being barred from their program).
Having done the above, the next crucial step is to make your product(s) visible. Chances are, no one will ever find your website if it is not visible in the search engines. In fact, your website or blog will be like a ship in the desert loaded with much needed cargo. This is the point where SEO, Keyword Search, Good Content Writing, Advertisement and so one comes in.
Just to summarize, people are constantly searching online daily for a solution to their problems or a much needed item; If you have what they need and they know where to find you online, the probability of you making some money as an online marketer will be high.
Copyright(C) I.McFarlane 2011
