by BlondieWrites on March 8, 2010
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.
Popularity: 1% [?]
by BlondieWrites on March 8, 2010
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.
Popularity: 1% [?]
by BlondieWrites on March 8, 2010
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.
Popularity: 1% [?]
by BlondieWrites on March 8, 2010
When it comes to building a website, your domain name could make it or break it. A catchy domain name can help people remember who you are and easily find you to give them what they’re looking for. By contrast, a bad domain name can make your website hard to find, so they’ll find someone else or give up trying. Here are some quick and easy tips to help you pick the name that’s best for you.
Here are some do’s to remember when picking your name:
- Make it easy to remember. If people remember a website, they’re more likely to go to it. Our brains process tons of information in a day, and most of it we forget. Just because someone’s friend tells them about a great website, doesn’t mean they’re going to remember the name when they get home to check it out.
- Make it related to your site. When you start choosing your domain name, the best place to start is with a few keywords related to your topic. Take these keywords and try to turn them into a name. While you might be able to find an awesome catchy word or phrase, if it’s not related to your topic, people aren’t going to remember it.
- Make it easy to type. There are certain letters that are just harder to type than others. While it may not make the biggest difference, try to avoid letters like q and p. And avoid difficult combinations. If it doubt, have a friend who isn’t the best typist try to get to the sites. If one takes a lot longer or is harder for them, it’s probably best to throw out that option.
Domain name don’ts - try to avoid these common domain name mistakes:
- Names that are hard to spell.
- Misspellings. If you misspell a common word, people are probably not going to spell your domain name right. Correct spellings are easier to remember. If they don’t get it on the first try, they may try again, but more likely they’ll either find another site with the correct spelling, or simply give up.
- Names including numbers. While it might be clever, it’s hard for people to remember, and it’s hard to spread the site name by word of mouth.
- Names that are too close to a popular website. Sure, you might get the traffic from misspellings, but that’s not going to be enough to sustain a quality website.
If you’re stuck finding a good name, try going to a site that sells domain names and entering your keywords. Often, sites will help you find related names that are available. And that way, you don’t have to worry about trying to buy a name that is already taken from someone who doesn’t want to give it up.
Popularity: 1% [?]
by BlondieWrites on March 5, 2010
by BlondieWrites on February 20, 2010
How to Uncover a Hot Profitable Niche
Are you still looking for that profitable niche to get into or are you ready to expand your existing portfolio of affiliate websites?
>> Do you want to get started with an online business but don’t know where to start?
>> Have your worked and worked but still aren’t turning a profit?
>> Are you at a loss for a niche that people will spend money on?
Susanne Myers has put together a report about how to find a hot profitable niche where people spend money so you profit.
This works for blogs, websites, newsletters … you name it.
You can get her special report, How to Uncover a Hot Profitable Niche,for only $7 … just follow the link below and get your copy now.
How to Uncover a Hot Profitable Niche
Popularity: 2% [?]
by BlondieWrites on February 18, 2010
Writing Jobs: Get Paid For Writing Short Articles
Hi,
We are looking for some people that are interested in working from their home on a part or full-time basis.
If you want to earn $100, $200 or even up to $500 a day, and you don’t mind writing some short opinions up, this is the perfect opportunity for you!
We work with hundreds of companies such as 20th Century Fox, Paramount Entertainment, Ford Motor Company, Google and more! We recruit people to fill 1000s of jobs for companies like this every year.
Many of these jobs are simple online writing tasks, such as blogging about a movie that you recently saw, commenting on what your opinion is of a certain kind of car, proof reading simple documents and more!
Real Writing Jobs
These companies are fighting for exposure on the internet and know the more people blogging about them, means the more exposure they are going to get, and ultimately the more money they are going to make.
There has been an explosion in the need for online writers, regardless of skill. These companies are more interested in your honest genuine opinions when you’re writing blog entries about their company… not if you are a very talented writer.
If you’re looking for work, or just want to make some part time money on the side, please come check out the jobs we have available. We are currently accepting new members.
Real Writing Jobs
Sincerely,
Lisa Roberts
Director of HR
Popularity: 3% [?]
by BlondieWrites on January 22, 2010
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Popularity: 5% [?]
