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How To Discover Your Online Niche
Having a niche is the key to building an online business that succeeds. A niche, when thoroughly researched and prepared for, is the key to not only great website traffic and a top search engine result, it’s also the key to profits. Therefore, the first step when considering any online business is to discover your online niche. Here are a few tips to get you started.
#1 Make a list of topics you’re interested and/or passionate about. Assuming your online business is a rousing success, you’re going to be writing, speaking, and planning your business almost every day of the year. It really helps if you enjoy what you’re working on.
#2 Once you have a list of topics you’re interested in and/or passionate about, it’s time to see if there is any demand for that topic. It’s time to do a bit of keyword research. Keyword research involves using a few keyword sites like the Google AdWords tool and Wordtracker to accomplish two key things:
You want to see if there is a lot of demand for your topic(s) and you want to see if there is a lot of supply for your chosen topic. What you’re looking for are topics with high demand and low supply. Meaning lots of people are looking for your information and very few websites are providing it. Now if you find that absolutely no one is providing any information on your topic then you’ll want to investigate why. It may mean that it isn’t a viable topic.
Each keyword tool operates a little differently but you’ll see numbers that represent the number of people searching for that topic or keyword and the number of sites or pages that are optimized for that keyword. So if you see that 1000 people are searching gingerbread cookies each day and there are only 20 pages that are optimized for that keyword, it may be time to dig deeper.
#3 Research your competition. Using those same keyword tools and a few keyword tools that help you dig deeper into the keywords your competition is using to market and optimize their site, you will spend some time visiting potential competitors to explore what their niche focus is.
For example, you may visit those website pages optimized for gingerbread cookies and find that only five of them are cookie recipe sites. The others may be parenting sites or just random blog posts. So, you now know that you really only have five competitors and can position yourself amongst them by perhaps narrowing your niche even further.
You could, for example, choose to have a website devoted entirely to cookie cutter cookies rather than all cookies, assuming there is high demand and low supply for that topic.
#4 Finally, analyze your topics based on profitability – which topics have the potential to make the most money. For example, a website based on cookie cutter cookies may be great fun for you but are there many moneymaking opportunities? A website based on a high-end luxury product, like Italian Espresso Makers, may have more income opportunities.
Choosing your online niche is a process. It can take a little while to find a topic that meets all of the criteria we mentioned however, it is time well spent. A well-researched niche topic can help you achieve all of your online entrepreneur dreams.
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Work at Home: Don’t Get Overwhelmed
When working on a big project, it’s easy to look at it and think “there’s just no way I can do that”. But a big project becomes a lot more manageable if you break it down into smaller pieces - you just have to know how to divide it up.
Before you dive into breaking up your project and making a plan, you need to figure out exactly what needs to be done and when the project needs to be done by. This may be very easy if your client has a clear idea of what they want and a solid deadline, but they may be more flexible and want you to fill in the blanks, it which case this might take a bit longer.
Either during or after figuring out your full goal and deadline, break the job down into exactly what needs to be done. Break the job into small pieces. Don’t worry about the order yet, just make sure you have a list of all the tasks involved. Also make sure to put next to each tasks who needs to be involved and what tools and equipment will be needed to complete it.
The next step is to organize all the pieces into an order. You can do this based on several criteria including:
* Client needs. No matter what your preferences, to run a successful business, you need to put the client first. If your client needs certain parts by certain dates, then that’s going to be the first determinant of your schedule. Once that is decided, you can fill in the other blanks from there.
* Chronological considerations. While certain parts of projects can be done in any order, some activities require other portions to be done before they can be finished, or sometimes even started. Once you are done organizing things by firm deadlines, they can be ordered in this way.
* Availability of people and tools. Generally, you’re going to need certain employees, outside contractors, specific equipment, and other items. These are likely going to be different for each part of the project. Organize your timeline based on who is needed for each part. For example, if you need a certain contractor for several steps, it’s easier to do those steps one after the other instead of spreading them apart. And if a person is working on a part of the project that will take up all their time, they obviously can’t work on another project at the same time.
Once you have a general order set up, you’re ready to set up a more specific timeline with dates that specific parts of the project need to be done. Unlike the previous step, this one may be more difficult (and you may have to redo the last step). For your timeline, you need to take into account not only when things are due, but when people and equipment you need will be available.
Once you have your final plan, you’re ready to get started. But, don’t let you’re planning be done there. We all know that nothing goes exactly as planned. Re-evaluate your plan every so often to make sure it still lines up with client expectations and how things are going. That way there won’t be any surprises later on.
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A good website can be a great tool for boosting your sales. On the other hand, a poorly made website can turn customers off to current and even future products. Here are some tips to creating a website that will help you, rather than hurt you.
1. Consistent look. Have you ever noticed, while every page of a magazine looks slightly different, there’s generally a consistent organization, color scheme, and overall look to the whole magazine? This helps users who read the magazine find exactly what they’re looking for quickly and easily. In the same way, if you keep your web pages consistent, your customers will have an easier time finding things.
2. Test different browsers. So, you’ve set up your website and it looks exactly how you want it. Then your customers start getting upset because they can’t find items, figure out how to order, or even see simple parts of your page. The likely problem? Their browser. Contrary to popular belief, not everyone uses the same program to surf the web. It’s recommended that you design your page so it can be seen well on most, if not all Internet browsers.
3. Support. While it’s great to have an awesome website, if it goes down or has other technical issues, you’re not going to be making any money off of it. Plus, it will probably upset your customers as well. Once you get your website up and going, be sure to keep it going and get issues and bugs worked out as quickly as possible.
4. Keep it simple. Your site should look good, and can have some special features, but if it’s too complicated or the colors and designs are just too much, you’re likely to lose customers. Try to keep it simple with just a few special touches. Keep it appealing without being overwhelming.
5. Keep it coming. It’s great to get information from a website, but it’s a pain to go check for updates all the time. Keep your users updated by adding a newsletter or RSS feed. This is a great way to keep them updated and introduce new products.
6. Get feedback. Running a business is all about helping the customer, so why not improve your site by asking your users what they want. You can add a quick survey or just a suggestion box to the side of each page.
7. Make searching easy. If you have a lot of information on your website, try adding a search box so visitors can easily find what they’re looking for. A search box will help them find what they want and keep them coming back in the future.
8. Have content. If your website is mostly links and advertisements or sales pitches and products, there’s not going to be much on there to inspire people to stay at your website. You have to have quality content on your site. Plus, if done right, good content can also help you get links and go up in the SEO rankings.
9. Have discussions. Almost any website can be benefited by adding a message board. This is not only a great way to answer people’s questions and keep them coming back, it can also be a great way for your customers to get to know you and trust you as an expert.
10. Have fun. If you don’t like your website, and don’t like working on it, it’s going to show through in your work. Just because a topic might be able to make money, doesn’t mean you will find it interesting. Try to create websites that you have an interest in and want to keep going.
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If you want to get stuff done at work, you need to take breaks. Our brains and bodies aren’t meant to go non-stop. The longer you go without taking a break, the slower you’re going to be working. By taking breaks, you’re going to increase your productivity and probably get more done in the long run. Occasionally, you’re going to need a day off, or even a full vacation.
When you work in a regular office, you have specific vacation time that you can take to get out of the office. When you work at home, it’s easy to not only skip vacations, but also to work through weekends and holidays too. If you try to take a day off at home, you’ll often end up working through your break. To really get a break, you need to get out of the office and the house.
You’ve probably heard of people or media outlets talk about office burnout. This is when you get so stressed out at work, you just don’t want to do it anymore. You’re tired, angry, and disinterested in your work, or sometimes anything else. This not only decreases your productivity, it also can be dangerous to your health.
Don’t have time to take off? You’ll get too far behind on your projects? Before you write off taking a break, sit down and think about why you started working at home to begin with. Chances are it had something to do with your family. Whether it was to make more money for them or to spend more time with them, it’s probably about them. If you work yourself so hard you’re having physical and mental problems, how is that helping your family?
When we’re used to keeping going and going, it’s hard to figure out what to do on a day off. However, there are plenty of things you can do for any interest. Like learning? You can go to a local museum. If you like nature, go to your local zoo or park. If you prefer adventure you could take the family canoeing. If you just need to relax you might look into your local day spa. There are endless possibilities to fit every personality.
Just because you take a day away from the office doesn’t mean you necessarily need to stop working. One great way to do this is to go to a seminar. The beauty of seminars is not just that you meet new people and learn things, it’s that they’re often in fun, sometimes exotic places. You can build useful business relationships, learn new techniques and ideas, and have a relaxing vacation all at the same time. If there are no useful seminars, you could just go on vacation with someone in your field. You can brainstorm, trade ideas, and relax at the same time.
The important thing to remember is that if you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of anyone else. Taking the occasional day off is a great idea to recharge and refresh yourself so you can get back to being the best version of you.
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It seems like everyone and their mother (and grandmother!) has a website these days. That’s why it’s important to be able to build a quality website to help promote your business and sell your products. Here are ten quick tips to help even a novice build a quality site.
1. Know your audience. If you watch the latest hot cartoon and then watch reruns of shows from the 60s, you’re probably going to see not only commercials for different products, but they’re going to be totally different styles. In the same way, a website whose audience is older shouldn’t have things that will appeal to teens or a younger generation. Knowing your audience is the first step to meeting their needs.
2. Keep it simple. Simple websites are not only easier to navigate, they also load faster so your customers don’t get frustrated waiting to find what they’re looking for.
3. Ask for feedback. Always have a way for your users to send you feedback. This will help you make changes your customers want to keep them coming back, and even recommend you to their friends. You can put feedback boxes or questions on different pages, or you can add a message board with a feedback section.
4. Don’t branch out too much. It’s best to focus your website on one area or product. If you offer several different products or types of products, you need to have several websites to promote them so visitors aren’t bombarded with things they don’t want.
5. Be consistent. Make each page the same format, font, color, etc to keep visitors from getting confused at where to find what they’re looking for.
6. Be readable. Not only do you need a font that’s readable and colors that don’t hurt the eyes, but it’s also extremely beneficial to have correct spelling and grammar. Customers aren’t likely to stick around if they think you’re lazy or don’t know what you’re talking about.
7. Add RSS feed. Many people keep themselves updated by using RSS feeds instead of checking websites constantly. By adding a RSS feed, you can not only catch these users, you can also tailor feeds specifically for their interests.
8. Keep it current. Besides the danger of having out-of-date information, pages that are updated more often get visited more often, and give you a better chance of keeping more customers.
9. Make things easy to find. Everyone wants things fast, and adding a search box or an easy site map will help them find what they’re looking for quickly and easily.
10. Have fun. Ultimately, if you do everything right, but your site is just like every other well-made site, you still may not be able to make money off it. Your site needs to have something unique that reflects who you are and what you can provide.
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