When learning how to start an online business, I'm sure you came across someone mentioning the phrase, "niche market". The all-illusive, all-important target-market for your business known as your niche.

Niche. Some pronounce it "neesh" and some pronounce it "nitch". Why? Heck if I know... I think it has to do with what side of the "pond" you live on and if you pronounce tomato as "toe-may-toe" or "toe-mah-toe". In my personal opinion, if "niche" was supposed to be pronounced as "nitch", then why didn't we just spell it n-i-t-c-h?

Anyway....

Please, Define a Niche...

Finding a niche market in any business is crucial to its success. I read somewhere a great conceptual definition of a niche market. A niche is a market within a market, if that makes sense.

Lets take for example, Cat Food. The cat food market is pretty well dominated, right? If you were interested in penetrating that market it would feel like running into a solid, brick wall. However, in your niche research, you found a little chip in the brick wall....a little hole that you could work with. Say you found an area for cat food for adult cats, or cat food for indoor cats, and that market was NOT saturated with products, yet DOES have a market that is pretty much under-served. Bingo - you found a niche market.

Think: Vitamins. Think: Vitamins for Women. Think: Vitamins for pregnant women, vitamins for older women, vitamins for vegetarian women...etc etc. The niche finding thought process starts there. Then you do your market research and keyword research to find a viable market you can be profitable in.

Seems easy enough, right? Sadly, if you are like most of us, that brain freeze locks in. When you can think about anything in the world, why suddenly does nothing come to mind?

I've always wondered what brainstorming processes successful internet marketers use to find those golden niches. The internet is an endless buffet of brain food to feed a brainstorming session for a new niche market to conquer - what are their secrets?

How to Find a Profitable Niche Market

I found a fantastic free video entitled "Find Your Niche" that is put out by an extremely successful internet marketer names Jermaine Griggs.

Jermaine Griggs, is different from these other internet marketing guru types. Mr Griggs started off online with a grand total of $70 at the age of 17. He turned an idea into millions - and changed his life.

Jermaine's niche is so unusual - so unique - and it turned into a goldmine for him. Ready for this niche he found? Learning Piano by Ear.

Can you stand it?? Who would ever think of that? and HOW did he think of that?

Jermaine shows this video of his sales from 2002-2007. You actually see him go from making $2000 to months of $112,000+... but I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that he makes this much as an online piano teacher (and 80% of his products are focused around gospel music at that).

I'm really excited to be talking about Jermaine today. He has a phenomenal site launching tomorrow where for a grand total of $2.97, I can get inside his brain for a full month. No, I didn't misplace the decimal - that is two dollars and ninety-seven cents. I told ya, he's not like the other $297 gurus...lol!

If you watch his video on his info page and see the story he tells of his up-bringing and the circumstances he rose above, you will most likely be just as amazed as I am at his accomplishments. Jermaine pretty much takes the phrase, "I can't" out of our vocabulary as you see how he DID.

If anything, I sincerely recommend everyone go at least watch his video story. It's just a few minutes of your time, it is put together in such an out-standing way....and it is so genuine and inspirational that, like me, you'll get back to busting butt this week to make YOUR millions!

Here's your links:

Find your Niche Video Instruction

Jermaine Griggs Personal Story

Jermaine Griggs Sales Proof Video Story

Have a great day!

P.S. I sure wouldn't be a good little internet marketer if I didn't tell you how YOU can promote Jermaine Griggs launch tomorrow. He has an EXCELLENT affiliate program. Click here for more info.





Brand New to Internet Marketing? Read my four-part blog series - How to START Making Money Online

Website traffic - gotta have it... all there is to it. PPC, or pay-to-click, advertising always seems to be the "easy" answer. Need traffic? Pay for it!

I have refused to go that route. I don't want to pay for traffic, yet I know my online business is getting to the place where my niche markets are more refined and defined. My keyword lists are better...I've found "buying" niche markets..so why not throw some PPC advertising on these campaigns? Adwords can be learned. It's not rocket science, but it is also something you do NOT go into blindly.

Ok, so I can learn and I can pay for traffic to my already profitable niche sites and make even more money. Right? Right.

To PPC or Not To PPC ???

Perhaps you are in this same situation - trying to decide if you are ready, willing, and able to pay for traffic thru Google Adwords. If you research the topic of PPC like I have, you may have also found many generous souls willing to charge us $97 or so for all the deep, dark secrets.

Also, perhaps you are thinking what I am. If I use PPC, I am cutting into my profits. There WILL be a learning curve. I WILL need to focus a lot of attention on my new PPC campaigns or else it WILL be a very expensive learning curve!

Ok, NOT to PPC, that is my answer.

Sorry folks, I am still all about FREE WEB SITE TRAFFIC. There is nothing better than organic, targeted traffic to your web site. I also believe that consumers have gone "ad blind" and don't even see adwords ads anymore.

Free Web Site Traffic - the Solution

So, how do you get free traffic to your niche site or blog? This is where "Make Money Online - on a Budget" comes into play. This is a fabulous resource for many, many free traffic generating strategies - that work. Some of these strategies work very quickly, too.

Whether you are new to this make money online thing, or you've been doing this for some time, Make Money Online - on a Budget will give you great ideas, proven concepts, AND get traffic to your site or blog.

PotPieGirls Traffic Mindmap

No Traffic = No Sales = Bad
Random Traffic = 1 or 2 sales = Better
Paid Traffic = Lots of Traffic = Expensive
FREE TARGETED TRAFFIC = Lots of Sales = Pure Profit Revenue...and lots of it!

Gee, that PotPieGirl is a genius, isn't she? (yes, I am picking on myself. It's part of my charm...lol)

To PPC or Not to PPC - What is your answer?

If you are also toying with the idea to try PPC (Google Adwords) and think there is no other way to get high-volume traffic, stop for just a sec and check out these free traffic generating strategies. Even if you DO end up using PPC, you will need these strategies working for you, too.







Brand New to Internet Marketing? Read my four-part blog series - How to START Making Money Online

Making money online using all low-cost to NO-cost methods can cause you to get creative in your marketing efforts. It also forces you to come up with a system that is not only profitable, but duplicable so you can recreate the process over and over again. I have found that niche blogging is at the heart of my system and it has not only proven to be quite profitable, but it has become super easy for me to recreate time after time.

What is a Niche Blog?

A niche blog is a simple blog (that can be a free blog) that has content and monetizing actions based on one topic, or "niche". If the niche blog is about gardening, all the content will be geared towards the reader who is looking for gardening information - and you won't start posting about playstation games or BMWs. A niche blog stays on topic. It is an "authority" site on a given topic.

Here is an example of a niche blog I'm working on: Puppy Training Tips. (Go ahead and look, the window should open in a new window.) As you can see, this blog is all about puppies, puppy training, new puppy care, etc, etc. This niche blog is also still a work in progress. Something VERY important is missing on this niche blog...Can you tell me what is missing?

Why Use a Niche Blog?

If you are making money online using all free and low-cost methods, you most likely do not have your own web site. However, internet marketing strategies require that you have a "landing page" that is NOT an affiliate site. Your niche blog is the heart of your affiliate marketing efforts. This is where your Squidoo pages will lead viewers, your article marketing bio boxes will point to, your forum marketing will point to, and all the other great and FREE methods of advertising will direct to. This is where your visitors...your buyers LAND. Got it?

What Should be on Every Niche Blog?

Your niche blog is not only your "landing page", it also needs to be your "squeeze page". A squeeze page is where your build your list. There should be an opt-in box to join your free newsletter, get a free ebook or ecourse, or something of value to the reader in exchange for their name and email address. The list - you must build your list for every niche you work in. This way, when a viewer leaves your blog, you can still have contact with them - and build a relationship with them.

FYI - if you guessed that my Puppy Training niche blog is missing an opt-in form, you are correct!

What is the Best System to Learn Niche Blogging?

In a previous post I mentioned Niche Blog Affiliate Profits. This is an excellent system that is over-loaded with info. The system itself has six modules that include:


- Affiliate Programs for your Niche
- Niche Blog Automation
- Free Blog Traffic
- Choosing a Domain for your Niche
- Longtail Niche Keywords (excellent!)
- How to Find Hot Niches

From the site:

" Now you can start generating multiple affiliate commissions from ClickBank, Commission Junction, ClickBooth and more using this killer blog system!

No Pay Per Click Costs
No SEO Skills needed
No HTML Knowledge
No Customers To Deal With

Create... Profit... Duplicate! "

Create, Profit, DUPLICATE

Couldn't have said it better myself =)

Niche Blog Affiliate Profits is a steal for only $4.97 (Yes, I'm serious...less than $5). This system also comes with a TON of bonus products (one of which is Easy Blog Traffic which is terrific). If you are interested in owning Master Resale Rights (MMR) to this system, it will cost an additional $9.97 (total of $14.94).

Just a note: I had some readers tell me they went to order and the Paypal screen showed $14.94 when they were only wanting to buy for $4.97. Look carefully and you will see there are TWO payment button options on the info page - one for product only, one with rights - make sure you are clicking the right button for your choice when you purchase.









Brand New to Internet Marketing? Read my four-part blog series - How to START Making Money Online

What a great day! I came across two really cool ways to make some more money online. They're both new to me - and both are F-R-E-E!

Many of us use Adsense to monetize our niche blogs. Adsense is easy enough to use, but there are two problems with it (from my perspective).

1 - Well, pardon my "french", but the payout pretty much sucks.

2 - When someone DOES click an adsense ad on your site, sure, you make a few cents, BUT you just lost your reader. Whatever action that viewer takes after clicking your adsense ad will not be of profit to you. But, hey - you did make 10 or 15 cents. Whoopie.

So I came across this little program for webmasters/bloggers called Auction Ads. Totally free to use (which makes me like it even more..haha!).

Auction Ads makes MORE money than Adsense, and can be used WITH adsense - that's a nice "plus" to this totally free revenue-generating program, isn't it?

Auction Ads work with the eBay affiliate program. I placed one of the ads on my right sidebar down towards the bottom. No, those type ads don't really "fit in" on this blog, but I like using this blog to show different ideas for making money with niche blogs. I guess it can make this blog look a bit "cluttered", but I think you come here for information - not to be dazzled, right? Right. Besides, I really want a new laptop, so those ads will help me keep an eye out for a great deal.

ANYWAY - for a product-specific or review type site, these ads are awesome. With Auction Ads you get to choose the keywords that decide which products will be shown on your site. there are different ad formats and colors to choose from and over-all, it is WAY easy to use.

The ads are linked to auctions on eBay.

How do you make money? Lets get that answer straight from the source:

When your site's visitors click on an Auction Ad listing and take an action on eBay you earn cash. Actions are defined as a Winning Bid, a Buy-it-Now or a confirmed user registration. AuctionAds is committed to paying out a minimum of 100% of eBay commission revenue. See eBay's affiliate program for details on the payout.

Ok, WHEN and HOW do you get paid?

We send out payments the first of every month via PayPal. The payment is for all revenue generated the previous month.

SO what I earn this month, in September, will be paid out October 1st - Nice!

Ok - so how ELSE can I make money with Auction Ads?

There is no need to sign up for our affiliate program because our affiliate program is built right into the ads you display! If a user clicks on the "Ads by AuctionAds" that is displayed and signs up for our service you earn a bonus 5% of all revenue generated by that user for the 6 months.

You will get paid the first of every month via Paypal. We feature a 30 day cookie on all referrals.

Wah???? A 30 days cookie?!?!? That means if someone clicks my ad today, but doesn't actually buy anything for 2 weeks...3 weeks... 30 DAYS, I STILL get credited? Now, THAT is awesome! Adsense ain't got no cookies! haha!

As you can tell, I'm a bit fired up about discovering Auction Ads. They fit in real niiiiiiice with my niche blogs ;)

Second Cool Discovery of the Day:

Now this is brand-spanking new - actually, it's not even "live" yet. It's a little program called DealDotCom that shows promise to make BIG money - or, at least a nice additional revenue stream from your online efforts.

Here's the deal with DealDotCom:

(note from me: I love the humor on this site)

How Do You Make Money (ie, Whats In It For me?)

We give you a special link to share with your friends. You strong-arm them into signing up for a free DealDotCom account, and anytime they ever buy anything from us, you get paid. Our affiliate program is 2-tiered, so not only will you get paid for purchases that your friend makes, but you’ll also get paid for purchases that THEIR friends make.

Ok, sounds good, but what's up with this "two-tiered affiliate" business?

When you refer others to DealDotCom and they get their free account, they are marked in our system as having been referred by you. Anything that they ever buy from us nets you a 35% commission. Notice the word "ever" in the previous sentence... as in FOREVER. It doesn't matter if they buy something tomorrow, next week, or fifty years from now - you're going to get paid. What's more, anyone that they refer to DealDotCom goes on your second tier. Anything people on your second tier buy nets you a 15% commission. Again, FOREVER.

Lifetime Cookies..awesome. Again, I feel the need to say, "Adsense ain't got no cookies!!"

Pretty sweet deal, huh?

So, they are only selling "make money online" related products (and they are also accepting new products to market for review - hint hint to my product owners out there). They will be selling ONE product per day and at a really low price (lower than the general public can get it) and will only offer a very limited quantity of each product. When people you refer buy - you make money. When the people you refer have people THEY have referred make a purchase, again, YOU MAKE MONEY.

Now, here's the sweet part - pay attention ;)

You see, DealDotCom hasn't even launched yet. The doors open on Tuesday, Sept 18th. You are only seeing this page because someone really, really cool (and well connected, and probably very good looking too) hit you with a link to this preview page. You should thank them.

Awww shucks.... I'm really, really cool AND good looking (and well connected, too!)

Take a peek at DealDotCom - you'll be glad you did.






Brand New to Internet Marketing? Read my four-part blog series - How to START Making Money Online

I know the rules of blogging are to do focused posts and type about specific topics, etc, etc.... but there is one thing I love about rules - and that is breaking them!!

First off - Let's talk Squidoo. Squidoo paid out, and boy oh boy is it CRYSTAL clear that the so-called "Squidoo Slap" was very, very real. It appears that while this "Squidoo Slap" didn't effect me all too horribly, it sure must have hit the Squidoo site as a whole pretty dog-gone hard.

My Squidoo payment in August was $61.64 - which was quite good considering that was 54 lenses and just about all of that payment was from Squidoo adsense co-op revenue.

The payment I just received in September (for July Squidoo revenue) was for $35.81.

YUCK!!!!!!

I wasn't impressed. However, I imagine that some lensmasters on Squidoo took a much bigger hit than I did. Besides, its "free money" so my over-all opinion is... "Oh well".

It WILL be better next month.

Speaking of Squidoo... I have a lens that is being featured on the Squidoo homepage! My home energy lens has been there for a few days and man, has traffic taken off for that lens! It was funny in a way, too. That lens hadn't really done anything, then suddenly I noticed traffic to that lens was going thru the roof on my stats. I couldn't figure it out! Then I just happened to really LOOK at the Squidoo homepage, and there I was! Cool beans! Thanks, Squidoo!

For all you Squidoo-doers out there, there is a cool new site for Squidoo lensmasters out on the web now. This is like a luxury version of your Squidoo dashboard. From this site, you can access your stats, update, lensroll, bookmark...and even ping with one little click. It is AWESOME (and FREE). Check out SquidUtils. SquidUtils also makes getting those amazon links/images on your lenses possible now that the iframe option is gone (for those that use their personal Amazon links). Definitely a must-see for Squidoo users.

Associated Content has also updated their page view bonus threshold. Content Producers used to have to hit $15 (10,000 page views) before a payment would be sent. This threshold has now been lowered to $1.50 (only 1,000 page views)! This is a great change and helpful opportunity for those with lower page view counts to get paid much more quickly. Thanks Associated Content!

I've got some articles on AC that are really taking off. It's like a game to me to try and find those illusive little keywords that bring in major traffic. I found a little golden nugget of a keyword that brought in almost 6000 page views in less than 3 weeks....another article that has almost 20,000 page views, too! Considering I joined AC in late May, I am quite proud of my Clout Index of 7 - and very happy with the little revenue stream I now have coming in regularly.


Speaking of hidden "golden nugget" keywords - my love of the niche finding game is also showing in my Clickbank account, too. I've made some Niche Blogs last month and traffic (and SALES) are really picking up and showing some promising results.

Even my Adsense earnings from blogging have improved drastically! It's amazing what can happen when you learn to do something the right way... ha!







Brand New to Internet Marketing? Read my four-part blog series - How to START Making Money Online

Choosing a niche market to blog about for profit can seem over-whelming - especially when you're not quite sure what you're doing. Many niche blogs also tend to get started by enthusiastic bloggers only to die a lonely death from lack of interest.

I have really gotten into niche blogging this month. I have found a really super system that makes it simple enough for me to create and maintain. Actually, I don't do a whole lot to maintain my niche blogs.

As I've been (not-so) patiently waiting for Squidoo to announce our latest payment amounts, I've spent some time finding a better price on the system I've been using for my niche blogging efforts. The other day I found the same system for less than $10 and I almost sent all you wonderful readers to that link. I sure am glad I didn't! Today, I found the whole system PLUS a TON of great bonus products for $4.97.

I admit, it made me a bit distressed to know that I certainly paid more than $5 for MY copy of this niche blogging system, but that's ok. I wasn't patient enough to wait. Not only was I not patient enough, I also bought a product for $7 that is included for FREE in this niche blogging package. Ugh!

Anyway...

This huge niche blogging package will teach you things like:

choosing a niche market

how to choose (and find) a niche affiliate marketing program for your blog

how to target the right long-tail keywords This part was so helpful for me. I created one of my niche blogs last week (sorry, can't tell ya what niche..lol), and I wrote ONE article to promote it...that darn article has gotten almost 1000 hits in a week...and about 200 click thrus! Trust me, this makes my Clickbank account happy....and that makes ME happy! That one little niche blog is responsible for over $100 in Clickbank commissions in just a few days! One little blog... I am amazed at what a difference it makes when you combine the right niche market, with the right niche product, and put it all together properly on a free niche blog.

I can't wait to see what happens when the real traffic starts!!!

Ok, I'm rambling...sorry. Back to the point of this post...

:::start sales pitch:::

This niche blogging package is awesome and it is a steal at $4.97.

:::end sales pitch:::

Click here for complete details of this niche blogging profit system.








Brand New to Internet Marketing? Read my four-part blog series - How to START Making Money Online