July 4th, 2008 admin
Today we are going to cover the last part of the niche marketing concept. - getting traffic and getting readers to keep reading your blog.
The first thing you should when your niche blog is all set up is submit your URL (domain name address, usually www.something.com) to all the big search engines. Here are the links to the ones you should at least start with:
Google: www.google.com/addurl.html
MSN: http://search.msn.com/docs/submit.aspx?FORM=WHWL
DMOZ: http://www.dmoz.org/ click on suggest URL
Yahoo!: http://www.yahoo.com/ scroll to bottom and click on suggest site
Currently Ask.com doesn’t accept URL submissions so you have to wait for their bots to crawl your site before you’ll be added to their directory.
You should have added the All-in-One SEO plug-in to your Wordpress blog. If you haven’t yet, I highly recommend you do so. It will help the search engines notice your niche blog and get you propelled to the top of the rankings faster.
Also, once you have the plug-in installed and activated…you have to use it. Fill in all the appropriate fields for every post and page that you want people to visit. (you don’t have to bother doing this for your privacy page or FAQs or anything like that)
Now that your pages and posts are set up to be picked up by the search engines. And the search engines know you exist, it’s time to think about article marketing.
Article marketing is simply writing short (between 400 and 700 words) articles about your subjects involving your niche. You then take these articles and submit them to some of the hundreds of article directories out there.
There are a few reasons why article marketing is a such an effective method for getting traffic:
- Good article directories already have a high rank on Google and Alexa so your articles will appear on search engines (high up usually on page one) almost immediately.
- Other bloggers and website owners who have related niche sites will use your articles giving your site all-important backlinks and a runoff of their traffic.
- Publishing several articles on a subject makes you something of an expert in the eyes of readers on the web. If people like what you have to say, they will click through your bio link to read more.
Additionally, you may get offers for guest blogging which can be a good way to network and build up your name (or brand) even more. Finally, you can make a decent part time income off article writing with the right site.
I used to submit my articles to a dozen directories but now I just stick to the two best ones (in my opinion):
Associated Content: I love this directory. Not only do you have the chance to get paid up front for your article, they have a huge reader base and they pay for page views on a monthly basis. I know people who make a couple of hundred dollars alone through AC. Plus they are marketing their site. Essentially, you are getting paid for them to advertise your site! Just make sure you carefully read the terms of service so your articles have a better chance of getting accepted.
Ezine Articles: This directory doesn’t pay for your articles but they have probably the largest reader base and the best ranks through Google and Alexa. Your articles are likely to be picked up through Ezine Articles for use on other sites which gives you an even better chance of getting traffic.
Start with two or three articles for each niche blog. make sure the articles are significantly different from the articles you have on your blog; otherwise the directories may reject your submissions.
Oh I forgot to mention the best thing about article marketing, it’s completely free if you decide to write your own articles. If writing isn’t your forte (strength) you can “farm” out the articles for a few bucks per article.
Once you have a marketing strategy in motion, you will need to periodically maintain interest in your blog through article marketing (one or two a month should suffice) and new posts.
Posting on your blog should be consistent but you get to set the schedule. You can post every day, every other day (which is what I shoot for but often fall short), once a week or even every other week as long as you are consistent. naturally the more often you post, the more likely you will keep interest in your site from your faithful readers (remember- it’s all about them)
Now you have all the basic knowledge to start and run your own niche blog. Good luck and check back often for the latest and greatest tools to help you succeed in the world of Niche Blogging!
Posted in Article Directories, Article Writing, Marketing, blogging | 4 Comments »
June 20th, 2008 admin
Okay, you’ve got a beautifully themed and customized blog all ready to become a massive money-maker.
So now what?
Now you add high-quality content and advertisements that will (hopefully) help you earn money. Content first…always. Never try to put advertising on a niche blog before adding at least a few bits of content. Your advertising will see no use in paying money to be put on a site that had no chance of drawing traffic.
So now you know why Content Is King but how do you write good content? The cheapest and, in my opinion best, way is to write your own articles based on your knowledge of the subject and your own research. I have written plenty of articles on subjects I knew nothing about simply by researching online but it is faster and easier to write about something you know about which is why I suggest you pick a niche you have some basic knowledge of. Use your niche keywords and phrases and come up with at least 5 to 10 articles that will go on your blog. The best articles are usually between 300 and 600 words long and be sure not to keyword stuff (using your keywords more than once per hundred words). The search engines and your advertisers don’t like keyword stuffing because consumers don’t like keyword stuffing. Writing articles isn’t as hard as you might think so at least give it a try.
If writing isn’t your thing, you can always pay someone else to write for you if you have the money in your start-up budget. Type in freelance writers in Google and you’ll find loads of good sites to find writers. If you go this route, ask for a sample of writing first. Dont’ pay before you know that you will be getting quality writing. Also, have anyone who writes for you agree to a contract stating that you will possess full rights to the finished articles. Be very clear about what you want in an article and when you expect the work to be done. Don’t pay until you proofread the finished work.
Probably the worse way to get content for your niche blog is through free content articles. While this can be an acceptable way to fluff out your site, any free content you use has most likely been use on other sites too. Some advertisers and Google especially does not like “duplicate” material. Occasionally you will find an article that provides good information that you can use for your own article but stay away from copying.
Ironically the worst way to get content for your blog is also one of the best ways to get traffic for your blog. Writing articles (different from the ones that you put on your niche site), adding a resource box with your bio and link and submitting them to article directories to be picked up by other niche marketers is a terrific way to get readers to your site. In fact I recommend article writing as the best free way to get traffic.
Once your site has some well written and informative articles about your niche it is time to find affiliate programs and advertising for your blog. I’ve had good and bad luck with some and I find it is mostly an individual preference but here’s a list of the affiliate and content advertisers that I use on my sites:
- Google Adsense - the best known and probably the most used content advertisers. It free to join and easy to use. The variety of ads that they can bring to your niche blog is the best thing about them. The $100 payout that you have to reach before getting a check is the worst.
- Commission Junction- this a directory for finding affiliate products. They have so many products that you are almost guaranteed to find something for your niche. You will have to sign up for the merchants affiliate program through CJ but this is usually quick and easy enough to do. Because you are dealing with many different affiliate programs (all managed by Commission Junction) the terms of each products is different. The ease and variety make this site a must have while I haven’t personally found anything I don’t like about them.
- Clickbank- similar to Commission Junction, clickbank deals more with products that are available for immediate download upon purchase. They are also known for working more with publishers who are just starting out in affiliate programs since it is easy to start an program with Clickbank’s help.
- Kontera- this site provides advertising linked to keywords in your site’s content. When a reader mouses over the keyword link, they are met with a discreet advertisement based on the word. It can be difficult to get accepted to Kontera so read the requirements carefully and if at first you don’t get accepted…reapply in a few months when your site is bigger and better known.
These are just a few sites to get you started. Search Google for “your niche” + affiliate and you will likely find many more programs you can sign up for. Look for ones who pay a high percentage of the sale price and offer plenty of advertising resources for you in the shape of buttons, banners, and prewritten ad copy for email marketing.
This post turned out to be longer than I expected. Next time we’ll talk about driving traffic to your site and making your niche blog worth revisiting.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
June 11th, 2008 admin
Today I’m going to talk about what to do after you’ve decided on the perfect niche idea.
1. Buying a domain name. In order to be looked upon as a professional, it is best to buy a domain and hosting. The price of a domain can vary quite a bit so shop around for a price that works for you. For domain names only I have found 1&1.com to be reasonably priced ($6.99 for one year of a .com domain) and easy to work with. Since you will most likely be transferring your domain to another web host (I strongly advise against hosting with 1&1.com) you want to find a company that makes it easy to change your name servers (DNS).
The most important thing is to include your niche keyword or phrase in your domain. Next you should focus on trying to get a .com but, like with dating, most of the good ones are taken. If you cannot get a .com domain, you should get a .net. Only as a absolute last resort you should try any other type of domain. While .info and .org are generally assumed to be okay, I have found that they do not provide the same effect to customers and search engines as .com and .net.
Use this domain search to see if the domain name you want is available!
2. Find a good hosting company. Just about everyone is offering hosting nowadays. While there is some debate within the niche marketing world, I still find Hostgator to be the best hosting company around. For one, they are reasonably priced at only $7.95 a month for unlimited domains hosted. Their Cpanel makes it easy to install Wordpress (which I highly recommend using for your blogs) as well as other applications that are useful in maintaining a website or blog. Second, on the few occasions that I have to contact customer service, they have responded quickly within a day or two and explained things clearly and thoroughly. When working online, customer service should trump price every time. This is your business and livelihood so it is important to deal with people who take it as seriously as you do.
3. Install and Set up WordPress.Once you have your domain name pointed to your web hosting account, you can install WordPress from the Fantastico De Luxe option on your Cpanel. You will have to set up a Wordpress account with a separate username and password. As of right now you have to do this for every blog you set up with WordPress. Although it’s a bit inconvenient, you can use the same information for each blog if you want to make it easier to remember. At first it all may seem a bit confusing and overwhelming but WordPress also has many options available to you if you need help with something. Browse their extensive FAQ menu or post a question in their helpful community forum to get quick answers to any of your questions. Alternatively, you can email me at admin(at)nichebloggingforprofit.com and I will try my best to answer any of your questions.
4. Customize your WordPress Blog. At WordPress.org you can find tons of free themes, plugins, and widgits for your blog. Plan on spending some time browsing around to find items to best suit your needs. Personally I like three-column themes. I have my favorite list of plug-ins including Adman, All-in-one SEO, Gospress, and Inline Javascript which I upload to every one of my blogs. I still find widgits a bit iffy to work with but you may have a better experience with them so go ahead and give them a try. You will need a FTP program to upload your plugins and themes to your hosting. This is probably the most difficult thing to learn when dealing with WordPress but once you have it figured out it will be clean sailing. I use Smart FTP which is a free program and fairly easy to learn. If you have any problems figuring out your FTP address (you can find them under the FTP Manager option of your Cpanel) you can email Hostgator and they should be able to tell you what you are doing incorrectly.
Now your WordPress niche blog is set up and ready to start adding content to! Next time I will talk about writing for your niche blog, finding advertising that will help you earn money from your blog, driving and tracking the traffic to your blog.
Happy Blogging!
Posted in General, blogging | 1 Comment »
May 14th, 2008 admin
Many people dread the niche finding process thinking it is the most difficult part of niche marketing. In today’s post I will share my personal technique of finding profitable niches that don’t have a lot of competition.
1. First I surf the news sites to see what people are talking about. News shows and magazines can also be helpful. Believe it or not, Yahoo Answers is a great place to find niches. If people are asking questions about something, odds are they would visit your blog to learn more. Just be sure to find a narrow niche - don’t pick anything to general like Teenage Pregnancy. A better topic for a niche would be pre-natal vitamins for the pregnant teen. I’m not sure there is a market or products for that niche but at this point you are just brainstorming and I would guess the pregnant teen would need more supplemental nutrients than an older pregnant woman (since the teen is still growing and developing themselves). Don’t be afraid to use your own imagination as well.
There is much debate over whether you should stick to topics you already know well or go after topics that are most profitable. I think you should at least stick with something you are extremely interested in or you may find it very hard to force yourself to work everyday. I know if I find something boring I don’t want to spend the time researching and writing about it. If you are the type of person who doesn’t mind that, then go for profitable.
2. Now that you have a list of possible niches, head over to Wordtracker’s Gtrends tool. It’s based on Google Trends and provides an easy way to see if your niche idea had enough interest and not too much competition to be a good niche blog pick. Start by typing in one of your niche ideas into the tool. You will get a results list including your keyword and related keywords according to how many people have searched for that term each day over the last month. After each result you will see a little icon. If you click the icon, another window opens that shows you a comparison of the competition for the keyword and the average number of searches. Wordtracker has even gone so far as to include a green check mark or red “X” to quickly show you whether you have picked (or clicked) a winner or a loser. Naturally you are looking for two green checks to let you know that you should continue on with this niche and keyword.
3. Next you’re gonig to take your niche keyword and plug it into the Google Keywords Tool. This tool provides detailed results for related keywords and how many searches you can reasonably expect from them. Again, you want keywords that have high search potential. Pick 4 or 5 keywords to go with your niche keyword. These terms will be scattered throughout your niche blog and your marketing articles.
The trend used to be to write a dozen articles all optimized for a different keyword. Unfortunately the search engines have gotten wise to keyword optimization techniques and are starting to crack down on keyword spamming. You are better off to have a few good keyword that you naturally scatter around your site. Not only will the search engines love you more but your readers will appreciate the natural tone of your writing.
4. Now you have a niche! You are ready to go forward and start building your niche blog. Next time I’ll cover how to get a good domain name and set up a blog.
Happy Blogging!
Posted in Picking Niches | 1 Comment »
March 21st, 2008 admin
Before I talk about why niche blogging, I’m going to take a moment to explain what is niche blogging. Niche blogging is simply the setting up of a blog for a particular niche, which is a specific market. For the purposes of this blog, niche will usually refer to a topic that is interesting to a particular segment of people (a market).
Most professional blogs are “niche” blogs whether they call themselves that or not. Any blog that is designed to gain the attention of a certain group of people and make money from them - Niche Blog. And this type of blogging can be very profitable (otherwise why would all those people be doing it?) if done correctly. I’ve seen people who know nothing of Internet marketing build a niche blog and within a few months are making hundreds of dollars a month. While that may not be a big deal with one blog, imagine if you build four or five blogs? Now we’re talking about a decent income there. Eventually you may decide to sell your niche blog. Blogs with good traffic can fetch thousands of dollars.
Combine all that with the fact that setting up niche blogs are fairly simple and require very little money upfront (just the cost of the domain and web-hosting) and you can see why the Niche Marketing industry is such a hot topic right now. But it is also important to realize that on the Internet things can change almost daily - New technology comes out, search engines change their rules, advertisers move to greener pastures…anything can happen. That’s why it is vital to stay on top of the latest breaking news in this industry. You have to be two steps ahead. Or at least one.
That’s why I’m here. I’ve set up this niche blog to discuss the best ways to earn money from your niche blogging. There are a variety or ways to make money from a blog including but not limited to: Adsense and other text ads, selling ad space, selling affiliate products, selling your own products, and selling reviews to other companies. Some of these ways are better than others; some are easier, some are more profitable, some are just expected from a niche. In any case, you can be sure you’ll make money if you put the time and effort into Niche Blogging.
Posted in General | No Comments »
