I really enjoy doing research to find profitable niches and new niches. A favorite category of mine is health niches and people looking for natural remedies to their problems. One of my secret weapon websites for finding these niches is http://earthclinic.com/
Not only is it great for finding niches of people looking for remedies, it's also great for research if you are writing an article or creating a product in the natural health niche.
Another way that I like to look for new niches and research existing ones is to look through books and use information from public domain works.
I use http://books.google.com/ to take a peek inside profitable books that are sold on Amazon as well as get information that I can use freely from public domain books. You can often read entire best selling books just by looking through the scanned images of Amazon books that are on google books.
I also like to use http://www.justfreebooks.info to find free information about topics.
You can brainstorm ideas for niches by thinking of any personal suffering or pain that you, a friend, or a loved one may have gone through in their life and also think about hobbies that you or others around you have, especially if it's a hobby that they spend money on.
Brainstorm all of your ideas in a mindmap or on paper, and you'll have plenty of ideas for niches. Your next step will be keyword research.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
How To Write Great Product Reviews
What makes a good review?
First of all, a good review is objectionable. You should write about the positive as well as the negative things that you observed during your review of the product. It's important to tell the truth.
I always personally review the product if my name is going to be on the review. If it's an affiliate product that I am not personally using, I still present both positive and negative aspects to the reader.
If you are recommending it, make sure it's one of the better products out there. If there are several, you can do comparison reviews or review several of them and recommend a couple as your top picks. Having some bad reviews on your website builds credibility for your readers because they will see that you are not just out to recommend everything to make more money.
Always state in your review if you were given a free review copy or acquired the product in anyway other than personally purchasing it.
Don't forget to add links to the review item (with affiliate links if applicable) and mention any discounts.
Why write reviews?
If you are a writer, writing free reviews is a good way to get noticed. Writing good reviews can lead to review requests from companies, publishers, etc.
Also, once you have some good reviews under your belt, you can begin asking for review copies. You should have a minimum of 5 good reviews in your portfolio before asking for review copies.
The other obvious reason for writing reviews is to benefit from those people who are looking to buy a product by adding your affiliate links to the review article.
The most effective method that I have found for profiting from review articles has been to place a text link at the bottom of the article. You can also add product images and star ratings to your reviews. If you do, make sure that you link your images and such to your affiliate link.
Where to post reviews
If you are writing as an affiliate, you can post your reviews with affiliate links to hubpages, squidoo, and your own website/blog. You can also use your affiliate link within Facebook with a short review, though it's probably best to link back to your review on your blog first.
If you are building your writing career, filling out your Amazon profile and then posting your reviews under each Amazon product's review section is a good way to gain some exposure.
First of all, a good review is objectionable. You should write about the positive as well as the negative things that you observed during your review of the product. It's important to tell the truth.
I always personally review the product if my name is going to be on the review. If it's an affiliate product that I am not personally using, I still present both positive and negative aspects to the reader.
If you are recommending it, make sure it's one of the better products out there. If there are several, you can do comparison reviews or review several of them and recommend a couple as your top picks. Having some bad reviews on your website builds credibility for your readers because they will see that you are not just out to recommend everything to make more money.
Always state in your review if you were given a free review copy or acquired the product in anyway other than personally purchasing it.
Don't forget to add links to the review item (with affiliate links if applicable) and mention any discounts.
Why write reviews?
If you are a writer, writing free reviews is a good way to get noticed. Writing good reviews can lead to review requests from companies, publishers, etc.
Also, once you have some good reviews under your belt, you can begin asking for review copies. You should have a minimum of 5 good reviews in your portfolio before asking for review copies.
The other obvious reason for writing reviews is to benefit from those people who are looking to buy a product by adding your affiliate links to the review article.
The most effective method that I have found for profiting from review articles has been to place a text link at the bottom of the article. You can also add product images and star ratings to your reviews. If you do, make sure that you link your images and such to your affiliate link.
Where to post reviews
If you are writing as an affiliate, you can post your reviews with affiliate links to hubpages, squidoo, and your own website/blog. You can also use your affiliate link within Facebook with a short review, though it's probably best to link back to your review on your blog first.
If you are building your writing career, filling out your Amazon profile and then posting your reviews under each Amazon product's review section is a good way to gain some exposure.
What is Autoblogging?
Autoblogging describes a form of blogging where some or all of the content is added to the blog automatically. In most cases, programs or services are set up to pull content from other websites at certain intervals, and publish it to the blog.
Most autoblogs are set up only once, and require very little maintenance. Of course, the more time you put into your blog, the better results you will get, but it is possible to have a “set it and forget it” blog.
Autoblog Content
Autoblogs don't just pull articles. They can automatically post images, product links, product information, or even reviews. Anything that can be sourced from the web can potentially be used by an autoblog.
These type of blogs have to be extremely careful that they do not violate copyright laws and the terms of service of other websites when they are obtaining content. Most content that is used will require, at the very minimum, a link back to the original source.
There are a good number of sites that use only automated, unoriginal content. The best autoblogs use a mixture of automatically generated content and original content. Original content will give your blog a boost in the search engines and provide your readers with more value.
Is Autoblogging Dead?
Google and other search engines, in an attempt to keep useless and spam filled websites out of the rankings, have made big changes to their search algorithms. But, autoblogs are still making good money if they can tailor themselves to these changes.
As mentioned before, the best autoblogs use a mixture of automatically generated content and original content. It also makes a big difference the type of software that you use, and how it generates your auto content.
How to Choose The Right Software
Currently, there are dozens of autoblogging programs and plugins to choose from. The choices are only growing, coming out with new and better ways of aggregating content and making money. So how do you know what to choose?
1. Make sure that the program complies with all copyright laws and terms of service. Of course, these laws and terms are ultimately your responsibility, but your chosen software should do everything that it can to make sure you do not break the rules.
2. Make sure it fits your needs. Are you just looking for something that pulls articles? If so, software that uses RSS feeds might be suitable for you. Other programs pull several types of content from several websites.
3. Make sure it works with your blog platform. Some programs work with blogger and other free blog platforms, while some will only work with Wordpress.
Most autoblogs are set up only once, and require very little maintenance. Of course, the more time you put into your blog, the better results you will get, but it is possible to have a “set it and forget it” blog.
Autoblog Content
Autoblogs don't just pull articles. They can automatically post images, product links, product information, or even reviews. Anything that can be sourced from the web can potentially be used by an autoblog.
These type of blogs have to be extremely careful that they do not violate copyright laws and the terms of service of other websites when they are obtaining content. Most content that is used will require, at the very minimum, a link back to the original source.
There are a good number of sites that use only automated, unoriginal content. The best autoblogs use a mixture of automatically generated content and original content. Original content will give your blog a boost in the search engines and provide your readers with more value.
Is Autoblogging Dead?
Google and other search engines, in an attempt to keep useless and spam filled websites out of the rankings, have made big changes to their search algorithms. But, autoblogs are still making good money if they can tailor themselves to these changes.
As mentioned before, the best autoblogs use a mixture of automatically generated content and original content. It also makes a big difference the type of software that you use, and how it generates your auto content.
How to Choose The Right Software
Currently, there are dozens of autoblogging programs and plugins to choose from. The choices are only growing, coming out with new and better ways of aggregating content and making money. So how do you know what to choose?
1. Make sure that the program complies with all copyright laws and terms of service. Of course, these laws and terms are ultimately your responsibility, but your chosen software should do everything that it can to make sure you do not break the rules.
2. Make sure it fits your needs. Are you just looking for something that pulls articles? If so, software that uses RSS feeds might be suitable for you. Other programs pull several types of content from several websites.
3. Make sure it works with your blog platform. Some programs work with blogger and other free blog platforms, while some will only work with Wordpress.
Deciding What Social Media to Use
When deciding what social media platforms to use, finding out where your prospects are hanging out is a good idea. With 5 million users, Facebook is a pretty good bet, though you probably won't find quite as many people over fifty.
You can use Quantcast.com to get an idea for what demographic of people are interested in your type of business as well as what websites your prospects are hanging out on. But the most important thing that will determine what platforms you decide to use will be your goals. Remember those? It's time to get them out and find out what social media platforms are going to best.
Many of your goals will fit with a variety of social media platforms, but some of the platforms may not fit with your goals. It will be up to you to evaluate each type of social media and each social media website to see if it matches your goals. This will help you choose which to use and which to fore go for now.
Take into account the amount of time you have to use social media as well.
You can use Quantcast.com to get an idea for what demographic of people are interested in your type of business as well as what websites your prospects are hanging out on. But the most important thing that will determine what platforms you decide to use will be your goals. Remember those? It's time to get them out and find out what social media platforms are going to best.
Take into account the amount of time you have to use social media as well.
Types of Social Media
There are generally 6 main web platforms that are identified as social media. Each one has it's own unique characteristics and uses. The 6 main forms of social media are:
Blogging is defined by a website or part of a website that is easily updated with new content and timestamped. Popular blogging platforms include Blogger and Wordpress websites.
Micro-blogging is a form of blogging where smaller snippets of information are shared, such as with Twitter. Micro-blogging typically focuses on more easily dated material such as “What are you doing right now?” instead of the typical blog, which can focus on more long-term content. Blogging is beneficial to marketing because it allows the sharing of news and information quickly and easily.
Social Bookmarking makes it easy for people to bookmark their favorite websites and resources online and share them publicly. Websites and content are usually rated by popularity and ratings can be additionally influenced by other users. The content creators dream is that their material will be shared publicly on social bookmarking websites and gain popularity.
Media sharing consists of the public sharing of media such as video, pictures, audio, etc. Websites
encourage users to upload media so that others may listen and view them.
Social Networking websites exist to help build social networks and facilitate relationships among groups of individuals. People use these websites to connect with other people for a variety of reasons including business, friendship, common interest, and romantic relationships. Social networks are commonly used connect with familiar people as well as meet new people, and to share ideas, events, activities, and interests.
Forums are websites or part of a website where people can post messages and sharing information, while others can come along and respond to the original message or to other people within the conversation. Forums usually revolve around common interests and hobbies.
Social Review sites allow users to add their own comments and reviews of products and services and share them publicly. There are social review websites for just about any product or service you can think of including sites that let users review local businesses.
Hybrids
Most social media platforms integrate several forms of social media into their websites. For instance, Facebook is a social networking website but it also uses elements such as micro-blogging (status updates), media sharing, forums, groups, and more.
Hybrid social media platforms are constantly evolving and we can expect to see new types of social media websites being utilized all the time.
In the future, if you have the time and expertise, you may wish to explore these options. Right now you should focus on the largest and most used platforms to place your efforts.
Top social media platforms
Blogging:
• Blogger
• Wordpress
Micro-blogging:
• Tumblr
• Twitter
Social Networking:
• Facebook
• Linkedin
Social Bookmarking:
• Delicious
• Digg
• Stumbleupon
• Reddit
• Mixx
Media Sharing:
• Youtube
• Flickr
Blogging is defined by a website or part of a website that is easily updated with new content and timestamped. Popular blogging platforms include Blogger and Wordpress websites.
Micro-blogging is a form of blogging where smaller snippets of information are shared, such as with Twitter. Micro-blogging typically focuses on more easily dated material such as “What are you doing right now?” instead of the typical blog, which can focus on more long-term content. Blogging is beneficial to marketing because it allows the sharing of news and information quickly and easily.
Social Bookmarking makes it easy for people to bookmark their favorite websites and resources online and share them publicly. Websites and content are usually rated by popularity and ratings can be additionally influenced by other users. The content creators dream is that their material will be shared publicly on social bookmarking websites and gain popularity.
Media sharing consists of the public sharing of media such as video, pictures, audio, etc. Websites
encourage users to upload media so that others may listen and view them.
Social Networking websites exist to help build social networks and facilitate relationships among groups of individuals. People use these websites to connect with other people for a variety of reasons including business, friendship, common interest, and romantic relationships. Social networks are commonly used connect with familiar people as well as meet new people, and to share ideas, events, activities, and interests.
Forums are websites or part of a website where people can post messages and sharing information, while others can come along and respond to the original message or to other people within the conversation. Forums usually revolve around common interests and hobbies.
Social Review sites allow users to add their own comments and reviews of products and services and share them publicly. There are social review websites for just about any product or service you can think of including sites that let users review local businesses.
Hybrids
Most social media platforms integrate several forms of social media into their websites. For instance, Facebook is a social networking website but it also uses elements such as micro-blogging (status updates), media sharing, forums, groups, and more.
Hybrid social media platforms are constantly evolving and we can expect to see new types of social media websites being utilized all the time.
In the future, if you have the time and expertise, you may wish to explore these options. Right now you should focus on the largest and most used platforms to place your efforts.
Top social media platforms
Blogging:
• Blogger
• Wordpress
Micro-blogging:
• Tumblr
Social Networking:
Social Bookmarking:
• Delicious
• Digg
• Stumbleupon
• Mixx
Media Sharing:
• Youtube
• Flickr
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
The Advantages of Social Media
Think about the last thing you shared online. Maybe it was the recipe that you tried for dinner, a new website that you discovered with Stumble-upon, a blog post that you found particularly useful, or a hilarious video on YouTube.
Did you share it on Facebook or twitter? Did you email it to family and friends or bookmark it with your favorite social bookmarking site?
Even if you don't share that much, think of all the avenues of social media that you use to find the things you are interested in.
If you use a search engine, chances are you've come across a link to an interesting article that was posted on Digg or Delicious. This is helpful to you; You may not have found that awesome article otherwise, but because it was so awesome, others took the liberty of improving it's rankings by saying to the world, “Hey, I think this link is cool.” In the same manner, other people came along and said, “Hey, I think this link is cool, too.”
The advantages of social media to advertisers and businesses is simple.
Today, people are using social media to interact with products, brands, and businesses in a way that was previously unheard of. You and I can “like” a brand on Facebook or “follow” a business on twitter with the click of a button. It's the equivalent of subscribing to a newsletter without the hassle of giving an address, email, or even forking over some money.
There are some downsides to this. The first that comes to mind is that it's easier to attract less serious prospects.
This problem is countered by the fact that more individuals have access to you and your products; Those who are not quality prospects, but hop on board now, may stick with you and prove to be excellent prospects in the future.
Social media gives the ability to warm up your prospects to the realization that what you have to offer might be exactly what they need.
The main advantage to social media is the ability to connect with your prospects on the platform that they are most comfortable with. Instead of visiting your blog/website and being out of their element, you can interact with them in their environment first.
Choosing an Affiliate Program
There are many affiliate programs across the web, but some of them are better than others. You can earn commission from physical products, web services and online programs, program downloads, ebooks, and more.
Choosing a Quality Program
There are good and bad qualities of any affiliate program. Some things you might want to consider are commission percentages, target markets, and popularity of the product. If you are interested in a particular program, look at what other sellers are doing and how they are making sales. Depending on the program you may need to dig a little deeper to find out.
Within programs there are usually a selection of different products that you can choose to promote. If there is a particular product that you are interested in promoting first, just make sure that the affiliate program it works with is right for you.
Also, if you are interested in a certain affiliate program you will want to look at see what their selection of products is like. Are there products to promote that you are interested in? Do they offer a wide selection of products to promote? Are they quality products that people will feel good about buying?
Affiliate Tools
If you are a beginner, it's also nice to choose an affiliate program and/or product that provides you with several tools. For instance, many digital products that sell through affiliate programs offer free banners, articles, emails, and other tools to it's affiliates.
Some Popular Affiliate Programs
Probably the most popular program for selling physical products is Amazon. You can sign up for their affiliate program through Amazon Associates.
Two very popular programs for selling ebooks, guides, and other digital products are PayLoadz and Clickbank.
I personally prefer promoting digital products from Clickbank. In my opinion, the products are higher quality and the commissions are much better.
Please let me know in the comments what program you are thinking about and/or have chosen and why.
Choosing a Quality Program
There are good and bad qualities of any affiliate program. Some things you might want to consider are commission percentages, target markets, and popularity of the product. If you are interested in a particular program, look at what other sellers are doing and how they are making sales. Depending on the program you may need to dig a little deeper to find out.
Within programs there are usually a selection of different products that you can choose to promote. If there is a particular product that you are interested in promoting first, just make sure that the affiliate program it works with is right for you.
Also, if you are interested in a certain affiliate program you will want to look at see what their selection of products is like. Are there products to promote that you are interested in? Do they offer a wide selection of products to promote? Are they quality products that people will feel good about buying?
Affiliate Tools
If you are a beginner, it's also nice to choose an affiliate program and/or product that provides you with several tools. For instance, many digital products that sell through affiliate programs offer free banners, articles, emails, and other tools to it's affiliates.
Some Popular Affiliate Programs
Probably the most popular program for selling physical products is Amazon. You can sign up for their affiliate program through Amazon Associates.
Two very popular programs for selling ebooks, guides, and other digital products are PayLoadz and Clickbank.
I personally prefer promoting digital products from Clickbank. In my opinion, the products are higher quality and the commissions are much better.
Please let me know in the comments what program you are thinking about and/or have chosen and why.
Choosing a Blog Platform
Why is choosing the right platform so important?
Choosing a blog platform is the first step in making money with your blog. Choose the right platform, and you'll have a solid foundation for making money in the online world. Choose a bad platform, and you'll be fumbling with it from day one. A bad platform will only hold you back.
As someone who wants to make money with your blog, your choice in blog platform may be different than of someone who is not looking to make money.
We're going to be talking primarily about two blog platforms. One is free and the other requires that you pay for a domain and hosting account.
Blogger
Blogger.com is a free blog platform that allows you to easily create new blogs in a matter of minutes. They have a selection of basic templates that allow you to customize the look and feel of your blog. Blogger also allows for easy integration of Google adsense and other basic widgets and code.
Blogger is a great platform to use if you want to get your blog up and running quickly, while still having some control over your site's template. The downsides to choosing a free blog platform are that you won't have as much control over the template as you would with a hosted site, you won't have as many options for plugins, and it's usually not as easy to manage your archives.
Wordpress
Wordpress offers a free blog platform (at Wordpress.com) or can be installed on your own domain and host. I do not recommend Wordpress.com if you wish to make money with your blog, as Wordpress.com does not allow for adsense scripts to be placed on your site.
Wordpress hosted, on the other hand, is a great blog platform that allows for plenty of customization and endless themes and plugins that you can install. You may also wish to fully edit the CSS and HTML of your site, or have a custom theme built. You can do all of this with Wordpress hosted.
The downside to having a hosted site is that you will need to purchase a domain name, as well as a hosting account, which is usually billed monthly. The average shared hosting costs anywhere from $9-$15 a month.
What To Do
If you are just starting out, I recommend using blogger.com until you get your feet wet. It may take some time and patience to switch to a hosted site if and when you are ready, but at least you will get to decide if blogging for money is really for you.
Choosing a blog platform is the first step in making money with your blog. Choose the right platform, and you'll have a solid foundation for making money in the online world. Choose a bad platform, and you'll be fumbling with it from day one. A bad platform will only hold you back.
As someone who wants to make money with your blog, your choice in blog platform may be different than of someone who is not looking to make money.
We're going to be talking primarily about two blog platforms. One is free and the other requires that you pay for a domain and hosting account.
Blogger
Blogger.com is a free blog platform that allows you to easily create new blogs in a matter of minutes. They have a selection of basic templates that allow you to customize the look and feel of your blog. Blogger also allows for easy integration of Google adsense and other basic widgets and code.
Blogger is a great platform to use if you want to get your blog up and running quickly, while still having some control over your site's template. The downsides to choosing a free blog platform are that you won't have as much control over the template as you would with a hosted site, you won't have as many options for plugins, and it's usually not as easy to manage your archives.
Wordpress
Wordpress offers a free blog platform (at Wordpress.com) or can be installed on your own domain and host. I do not recommend Wordpress.com if you wish to make money with your blog, as Wordpress.com does not allow for adsense scripts to be placed on your site.
Wordpress hosted, on the other hand, is a great blog platform that allows for plenty of customization and endless themes and plugins that you can install. You may also wish to fully edit the CSS and HTML of your site, or have a custom theme built. You can do all of this with Wordpress hosted.
The downside to having a hosted site is that you will need to purchase a domain name, as well as a hosting account, which is usually billed monthly. The average shared hosting costs anywhere from $9-$15 a month.
What To Do
If you are just starting out, I recommend using blogger.com until you get your feet wet. It may take some time and patience to switch to a hosted site if and when you are ready, but at least you will get to decide if blogging for money is really for you.
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