Dear Scott,
I have figured out a great niche for my new blog. Now I am wondering how to make money with it. What is your advice about finding a business model for my new blog?
Thanks,
Randy
Click Millionaires Member
Silver City, New Mexico
SCOTT FOX'S ANSWER
Hi Randy,
Here's how I break down the best business models for a new web site or blog:
* Product Sales: Selling your own products is what you would want to move toward because the profit margins are highest. However, right now you’re likely to be busy just building the site and attracting traffic, so developing new products is probably not the easiest place for you to start.
* Subscriptions: Recurring revenues are great but require a pre-established credibility with a sizeable audience and/or an already developed product. So probably good eventually but not right now when you are new to the niche.
* Advertising: There are roughly two types of ads for a new web site: Adsense-type Pay-per-click Ads and Affiliate ads. (I'm presuming here that you don't yet have enough traffic to attract direct advertisers or sponsors.)
Google Adsense-type PPC text ads are free to get and "copy & paste" easy to add to a new site. They pay small amounts but can add up if you get a lot of traffic. Since you have a relatively new site/approach, however, you’re unlikely to have enough traffic to make real money from Adsense ads yet.
Affiliate ads are probably your best bet for a new blog. This is because they allow you to sell proven, name-brand products but require no capital investment or product development time/energy/money. Plus, they can offer much larger commissions per sale than typical PPC text or banner ads deliver. Affiliate ads can help you turn even a small audience into significant revenue.
So I would focus on finding affiliate program offers that are highly targeted toward your intended audience. Don’t just put up run-of-the-mill affiliate offers for web site hosting or Amazon books. Find products/services that really speak to the needs (not just the interests but the NEEDS) of your audience.
Try digging around on CommissionJunction.com, ShareaSale.com and Click Bank to find unusual offers that your visitors won't see everywhere else.
Then figure out what content you need to have to position those ads for maximum effect both with site visitors and with SEO positioning. Writing reviews of products can be a great way to combine content with promotion that also helps the visitor, for example. Maybe you can differentiate by doing reviews on video or via Twitter, too.
If you have my first book, Internet Riches, I would point you to the discussion of TrafficMatt.com in Chapter 4. His approach of using product reviews has been very profitable and might apply nicely to your niche, too.
I hope that helps!
Best,
Scott Fox
What do YOU think? What business models do you think are most appropriate for Randy's situation? Please share your thoughts in the Comments below?
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