LESSON #19: How to Choose a Niche (Part 1)
Back in lesson 7, we established that the type of online business model I’m going to be teaching is primarily an information publishing business.
In other words, you’re going to sell your own information product (also known as an infoproduct). But before we can create an infoproduct, we need to choose a topic for it.
(Watch this video…
NOTE: This niche selection process applies to virtually ANY type of online business– not just infoproducts!)
Main points:
1) They think they’re going to be married to it (so they stress out and procrastinate making the choice)
2) They’re afraid it’s going to fail and not be profitable.
(both reasons are basically that they are afraid of choosing the wrong niche)
1) Something you know
2) Something you don’t know
1) Your enthusiasm will help sell it
2) It will be a better product
3) You can relate to your market
- How big is the niche?
- How competitive is the niche?
- How profitable is the niche?
Action step:
1) Brainstorm some topics that you would be interested in turning into a product. Write them down.
Don’t worry about details of the niche market for it yet…we’ll be doing the research in the next lesson.
If you don’t already have some ideas in mind, and don’t know how to start brainstorming, I’ve listed some websites you can use to help find ideas.
Special Offer:
Today I’m offering an ebook which explains how to have your own product online and making sales within 30 days.
If you’re interested in discovering all the details about the niche selection process, or in getting a jump start on the rest of the product creation process, this ebook is for you.
It is a brand new exclusive ebook created for Eric’s Tips.
“How to Have Your Own Information Product in 30 Days“.
Click here to get more details and download this ebook
(Resale Rights also available)
As always, you are welcome to post your questions and comments below. Feel free to let me know if you’ve got some topics in mind, or if you’ve already chosen a niche.
Have a great day!
Eric,
I’m really excited now about the new turning point and starting to work directly on creating my business. I can’t thank you enough for all the foundational videos you worked so hard on…these will continually come in handy when I find myself struggling or wanting to give up. Just like you mentioned…most other teachers don’t start(or teach) with a basic strong foundation for their students, so thank you for doing this.I’m stronger because of it!
As for a Niche I’ve diffently tossed around a few ideas…diffently will be going with something you refer to as evergreen. I’m looking forward to learning how to explore niches in your next video.
Student 4 Life
Gary
Get 150 *Top Quality* NICHE Websites With Your Paypal ID On Each!
http://Instant-Paysites.com
Thanks Gary!
Hey Eric,
Looking back in hindsight, the niche (everybody say “neesh” like Neil Shearing!) I initially chose when going online with my main site doesn’t look all that stellar on paper…
1. How big is the niche?
36,000,000 just in the USA. That’s too diverse to be considered a niche.
2. How competitive is the niche?
Extremely. Everybody and their brother wants to sell the 71% of families with a mom in the paid workforce something.
3. How profitable is the niche?
Profit? Where? A good portion of the target market lives paycheck to paycheck and has almost no disposable income to speak of!
But before I paint such a bleary picture as all that, I should add that using your criteria we did have a few things going for us.
a) I knew a lot about the subject,
b) I could identify and write about topics of interest to the target market,
c) And fortunately I wasn’t counting on the site to make a living.
So how’d it turn out? By the grace of God it turned out well enough to support our family. But we spent more than three years in the red before we were in the black.
So it would seem there is a bit of an intangible X factor when you’ve got an idea with as many positives as negatives. It was certainly beneficial I chose something that I was willing to write about for free…because that’s exactly what I did for three years!
However since I’m always seeking to learn to do my online work better, I’m here putting Eric’s tips into practice.
Eric, I’ll let you know when we amass our first million using your tips!
Sabrina
http://www.WorkingMom.com
Thanks for sharing this. Yes a niche as competitive as “working moms” would be very ambitious for the average newbie. But there’s nothing wrong with tackling a large, competitive niche IF you are prepared to do so. In general I would expect it to take longer to break into the market and establish a name for yourself. As you mentioned, it took you a few years to become profitable, which is a time frame that many newbies would not withstand.
A huge niche may be more work, more risk, with a slower return… but it also comes with a larger potential payoff.
And yeah, there’s always an intangible X-factor.
Hi Eric,
I’m really looking forward for your 2nd part of this topic. For my Niche, I have actually planned for a few since I started my Internet Business and I’m working on it one by one and making sure that I only start my next niche once i have completed the previous Niche properly.
Finally the juicy information have arrived.
Your Free Digital Resource Center
http://www.dbookworm.com
Hi Eric,
Thanks for sharing this info in such an easy to understand way.
I’m sure that choosing a niche and developing the product may well be a challenge, but I suspect that marketing the product will end up being the biggest challenge. Advertising can so easily swallow up huge amounts of capital.
I’m sure you will be covering the marketing of the product in your next video. I’m certainly looking forward to it.
God bless
Peter
Happy with a DSL Connection? How much do you pay for it?
You really should check out what’s coming:
http://wifi-10505pm.ItsYourNet.com
HI! Eric,
I am waiting with big interest part 2. My tendency always is to pick up a large niche, but this time I want to work in a very narrow niche, just to see how is going to work, but for a particular niche I really need to find out a good range for popularity and competition as well. I hope I’ll get some good advice in Part 2.
Example: “affiliate ebook marketing”is a good large niche, but I want something as “affiliate ebook marketing home schooling”, just to have an idea. My point is, for a restricted niche, which range for popularity I have to look it over, and which range of competition is acceptable. You got the idea.
Regards Michaela
http://www.ebookscamp.com
Exactly, it’s about finding the right balance of niche size vs. competition vs. profit potential…
Hey Eric,
Choosing a niche can be very important when anyone is deciding to pick a product. The great thing is that niches usually have people who are very dedicated to their given area. They are usually avid enthusiasts who are willing to purchase quality products related to their niche.
Eric, the sales conversions is some niches are much higher than typical conversion rates. The reason for this is because everyone in a given niche is highly focused and they are open to purchasing products related to their interest.
Eric, these videos are great… Keep them coming…
Tom Curran
http://www.vipmarketingsecrets.com/
Good point Tom, some niches are naturally more profitable than others due to the demographics and fanaticism of it’s members.
Hi Eric,
I downloaded “Your Own Info Product in 30 days” and read through it a few times and have been trying to apply all the tools…thanks for such detailed info. I’m finding(if I’m doing it correctly)that the things(niches)I’m interested in or know something about, are either not very popular or either very popular and to competitive. When I look at the power search tool you mention in the ebook it only gives me the top 100 search phrases in google and doesn’t give me a wide spectrum of niche ideas. I guess my question would be…is there a website or service you would recommend that could provide ideas for niches(just to get the creative juices flowing).Theres probably a lot of topics,niches and subjest matters out there I didn’t know exsisted. I’m kind of feeling like a blank wall at the moment and thought it would be nice to find a place(website or service) that helps with niche ideas so I could research them with all the other tools you provide.
Thanks
Great question. I get most of my ideas just from everyday life. Again it goes back to thinking like a marketer, and being aware of the trends that we observe every day.
However, there are times when I do need to browse around to help get the creative juices flowing. Here are some places to look for ideas (starting points)…
1) What’s hot on Ebay (updated each season)
2) Ebay Pulse (dynamic popularity rankings)
3) Best sellers on Amazon (updated hourly)
4) Shopping.com Consumer Demand Index (updated every 2 weeks)
5) Most popular goals on 43things (updated daily)
6) Google hot trends (updated throughout the day)
If I know that I want to create a product in a certain genre, I will go to google and search for a “list”. For example, if I wanted to target a certain occupation, I would go to google and search for “list of careers”. People love making lists, and the internet is full of them.
I can’t make a dime on line I have a product that will help clean the environment I need your feed back
Ron, for the moment I will assume that you are referring to your current website, linked from your comment. Here are some reasons I think it is not doing well…
1) probably not getting much traffic. Almost any site can make money if it gets enough traffic, but your site is still impaired even if it does get traffic because…
2) Fuel additives have been overdone in the last couple years, due to the companies setting up MLM type of affiliate programs to sell their product (thousands of people with nearly identical pages)
3) Partly due to #2 above, and partly due to the look of the site, it comes off as somewhat spammy
4) Your links (particularly the Click Here to Get Started) should be blue with an underline. At first I didn’t know it was even a link.
5) Your site is not focused. It’s hard to know what to look at on it. And the money making ebooks are totally unrelated to the fuel products you are selling… this lowers your credibility. Your site needs to stay focused and specialized.
Hope that helps
May I ask you for suggestions to improve on my blog for better ranking and to promote my online health products store under pages?
thanks
irene
Irene, as far as improving your blog’s ranking, you would need to focus on SEO. I’ll be teaching some SEO, but don’t have time to do so in this comment. The most important factor of SEO is probably link building (getting inbound links to your site).
However, I would encourage you for the moment to focus on your blog itself and not the rank or income.
If you were just slapping articles up there and trying to make a buck from Adsense I wouldn’t worry what your blog looked like. The only important thing would be traffic from SEO.
However, it looks like you are personally writing for this blog. It’s on your own name/domain, and it looks like you are writing about things you care about.
Therefore, I would recommend forgetting about SEO for just a little bit, and focus on making it a blog that people enjoy reading.
Get a better wordpress theme. I’ll show how to do that in the next month or so.
Take down all the ads unless they’re really making money.
It’s better to gain a readership of your blog, and then monetize it.
I’m glad to see you’re building a list with Aweber. you’re doing the right thing in that regard, and I’ll talk about how you can improve those lessons in a future lesson.
Your blog just looks like a “made for adsense splog”, but I know that it’s not!
So you need to give it more of a face, and more of your personality. Putting your picture or a stock photo would help.
Get involved in the blogging community by commenting on related blogs, etc, to help get new readers for your blog.
If this were a page where you were selling an infoproduct, I would have totally different advice. But blogs are different. Your traffic should come mainly from REPEAT visitors… regular readers. Therefore you should focus on making sure it’s a place they will want to bookmark/subscribe and come back to.
I read your About Me page, and you have a compelling story. I would guess that there are thousands of hurting people out there who have gone through something similar.
If you can reach out to those people, they could become your regular readers and you could be a light in the darkness for them.
Irene,
I like your articles. In addition to implementing Eric’s suggestions, I noticed in looking at your source code you don’t have a robots meta tag. Adding one can help search engines index your page content properly. Also consider adding an author meta tag too.
Keep writing. And I’ll definitely try the parsley tip!
Another great lesson. I do get some excellent ideas from what you are presenting and am very motivated with your style. Looking forward to the next one.
[…] the previous lesson, I talked about some important things to keep in mind as you choose a niche […]
Eric, I have never done this thing about paypal. I put all my information about my card and it kept saying information was wrong. I could not get to the download page. Will I still be billed for it? Can you mail the book to me? Please answer.
Thank you
Jeanette
If it says the information was wrong, then you were not billed for it. I’m only offering it via download. Maybe if you could give us some more specifics about the error message, we could help you figure out paypal
Affiliate marketing is very competitive. In order to profit from the affiliate marketing, you need to target the niche market that less competitive but got high demand.
How to Check Market Profitability?
Profit Check # 1: Is This A Market Where People Are Already Buying?
For example, the resources listed below:
1. http://www.Ebay.com
2. http://www.YahooShopping.com
3. http://www.Amazon.com
4. http://www.Magazines.com
5. http://www.Bookspot.com
Profit Check #2: Are You Tapping Into Hot, Current Trends And/Or soon-to-Be Hot Topics?
These sites:
6. http://pulse.ebay.com
7. http://50.Lycos.com
8. http://www.TrendWatching.com
Profit Check # 3 : Which Markets Are Written About?
You can visit the following article directories:
9. http://www.Ezinearticles.com
10. http://www.Goarticles.com
11. http://www.ArticleAlley.com
12. http://www.IdealMarketers.com
13. http://www.Searchwarp.com
Profit Check # 4: Validate Your Market with Free Keywords Research Tools
14. http://FreeKeywords.WordTracker.com
15. http://Adwords.Google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
Hope that above tips can help you find the profitble niche market to promote.
To Your Success
Bryan Hee
Nice list
When you see lessons #20 and #21 you will see that we’re thinking on the same wave length.
Hi! Eric,
I start to read your eBook, and I find out 80% of the answers I am looking for. It is an excellent eBook. Now I have to make a habit of doing the research part the right way and don’t be worry about the length of it because it will pay off…
Thanks
Michaela
Cool I’m glad to hear it!
Hi Eric,
Thanks again for your great information !
Eric, last week i had a serious computer problem that made me lose many emails and other worthful stuf !!! i really feel sic about losing all of those things !!!!
Is it possible to get from you all the previous Lessons again via email ??
Thanks in advance !!!!!!
Kind regards,
John
Sorry about your computer
You can view all the previous lessons here:
http://www.ericstips.com/tips/category/lessons/
And if you want to get them in your email again, I suggest just sign up with a different email address:
http://www.ericstips.com/join/
Thanks eric,
I want to promote my niche,how about if we have more than one niche, I mean with another website is it ok
Hi Eric, thanks for all your positive teachings. Niche is a French word, initially meaning the “dog’s house”, extended to “a segment of market”; one must pronounce it neesh, not nitch… Nietszche is a philosopher.
I see in a previous post that one of the comments suggested adding a “Robot meta tag”– what kind of Robot meta tag is good?
I just realized I have a “robot meta tag” in one of my “ready to go” site that says “”
That doesn’t sound like a good one to have because it almost sounds like the command is asking the robots NOT to index the info and links… Why would this be?
THANKS SO MUCH!
Therese
OOPSS… the tag didn’t show up in my previous post… it says META NAME=”ROBOTS” CONTENT=”NOINDEX, NOFOLLOW”
Eric, I picked a hard one–Health. I have cancer since 1959, without pain but the cancer doesn’t have me. This niche is very competative & not especially remunerative. But the money isn’t as important as the help I can give them. God bless you.
Mary
Hi Eric
I do find all this meta tag add ID hop links blurb totally alien!I invested my time in writing a little blog then paid out for a domain name and hosting.Added a link from the blog to the site and…nothing lol.The link in the blog went grey not blue and my email for help went awol,no reply in 2 years lol.Still,at some point I am fully expecting to be able not to only to understand it all but also to implement the %^/ in all the right places!!!
Step by step means to me exactly that..For example some sites that redirect you to ‘auto responders’ say all you do is…and upon arriving at the page it all may aswell be written in Chinese!No offence to the Chinese meant.So when you get to explain things Eric would you keep this numbskull in mind please? lol
Paul (UK)
Hi Eric,
In your latest video, you speak about building a business by creating an info product in a chosen niche. But in your ebook on creating info products you recommend the HyperVRE website builder. These seem to be mutually exclusive systems — one relies on creating and selling your own product, the other utilizes Google Adsense, free articles and
affiliate sales. Please show me how these two models fit together.
Thank you.
Best,
Susan
Good advice on lesson 19. Hope everyone picked up on the idea about RESEARCH,RESEARCH,RESEARCH. It is work, it’s not glamorous and it takes time. They say that 98 % of marketers on the internet fail. The reason is that they don’t do the proper research. A niche that gets little traffic or a niche that is competing against millions of web pages is 98 % sure to fail. If you can find a niche or subniche that will get 80-100 searches per day and has 30000 or less competing pages will make you money. As Eric said, once you get one site up then repeat process again and build another and another.
Eric…our house just sold and we’re breaking down the household for a move to Honduras. I’d like to change my email since this one will be gone after 9/04. New one will be < <<>>>. How can I do this so I don’t lose touch?
Dick look at the bottom of any email you receive from me, and you will see an unsubscribe/change link. Click that link. On the following page, do NOT unsubscribe. Instead, choose the option to change your email address. Good luck with the move!
Eric…thanks. It’s done. I’m appreciating your thorough lessons. Keep ‘em coming.
Hi Eric,
We are working on the ‘NICHE’ but we are doing ‘OFFLINE’ & see that we can put them Online as to expand our business.We need to know how to do this & possibly we might learn as how they are being set up Online.
Niche from the scratch is something that challenging us on what should be the products that we need to have for our clients on living healthiness, always.
Ths, regards
Mohd Singapore
Have been really enjoying your lessons. I know this is short but keep up the good work for us. There is still lots to learn.
Thanks Again
John/Annette
Hi Eric,
Thanks for such a great info on”How to choose a Profitable niche”
To a newbie it’s going to be a very challenging task to look for the right niche!
Any way I try to give my best shot to do the research and analysis so as to get the right one.
Regarding the ebook, I paid to Paypal but
couldn’t download the stuff !
God bless,
Warm regards,
Mike Wong
Thanks Mike. If you didn’t get the download page, just open a ticket at the helpdesk (www.ericsupport.com) along with a copy of your paypal receipt and we’ll get the download link to you.
Dear Eric,
I hope this gets to you so as not to create a problem in communication with you. I was reading the fact that you are changing business direction and moving away from on-line business as you used to work. I applaud your reason as to a more fulfilling and spiritually directed life. I think your business building videos are a tribute to you as an individual and the business ethics that
you used to create your internet businesses. I look forward to devouring them quickly.
You are absolutely right as to where most newbies are that attempt to create an
on-line internet business presences. We are as you have so eloquently said - we
are operating in terms of overload. I was about to give up recently because I had
come to the same conclusion about internet marketing and I found myself at a stop
as to what to do with some of the ” stuff ” that I had acquired. Thank you again for your
compassion and concern for those that have followed your “tips” website.
My questions are many but I want to see if you could answer a question or two for
me. I have purchased many things but I had quit before your declaration to cease.
I intend to follow your ” tips” business building to the end. However, how do I
collapse some time frames and start performing some basics now. I do not want
to just market stuff to unsuspecting souls- especially if I not sure who telling the
truth to the finish in their program. I need to start building a list . Where can I find
some good information on basic directions to take in order to accomplish the tasks.
What should I do while building a list to make some money or establish some program
growth? I purchased Joel Comm’s Adsense website sellout which I realized it included
some sites from you. Is there enough information in his books to move in that direction.
My problem is know and feeling comfortable in website creation with the appropriate
internal coding to accomplish an effective job with the likes of quality people like
you and Joel Comm. Is this possible with the information that I received with those
program sites? Can I jump ahead in your business revelations and collapse time frames and understand from your work on Business Tips? Your right it just seems I stuck on inaction looking for practical help on practical things. Website creation - the proper way seems to be my big stumbling block. I am sorry that I went on too long. Is there any minimal advice that you can give me to get me moving off zero ? God bless you and thank you for your candor and honesty. Good luck and God speed on your endeavors to find meaning and spirtual growth with your purposed direction.
Thank you,
Randall Ferguson
Randall, glad to have you on board. Several people have asked about ways to expedite the process. However, the best advice I can give for now is to stick with the program and don’t miss any lessons. Since you got those templates, I also suggest taking a look at:
http://www.irthelp.com
It’s got some tutorials that will show you how to get set up selling those.
[…] the previous two lessons we talked about how to select a niche market, and how to determine whether there’s money to be made in […]
[…] the past few lessons, we’ve gone through the process of selecting a niche market, and defining the topic of your information […]
Kick ass lesson! I liked this one best so far!
Hi Eric,
I’ve sold a very successful weight loss product on ebay for a while now.
I’m about to launch a website that will only sell that product. (a 1 page website specially directed for users of this product)
Since the mark up is not that great, what other revenue streams could i bring in to supplement the sales of the product? An ebook about weight loss might be contradictory to people taking the product.
On a separate note, i have a list of over 500 buyers from ebay who i would like to market my new site to. I have their email addresses - will any autoresponders allow me to add these addresses to them?
Regards,
Dan
Eric I seem to keep telling you how right on you are. It was through losing a day job that got me looking at internet marketing as I determined not to put all my eggs in one basket. Multiple streams of income is the way to go and you are right we need to start with one. I myself have been playing catch up with the lessons by viewing a couple a day before work and am almost there. Starting to get nervous as I haven’t seen the next one in my inbox yet but understand you have your own business and priorities. Keep up the good work you have given me a renewed fire and passion about what I am doing.
Eric,
I notice that you focus on websites versus blogs and I’m just getting started and want to start in the right ‘field’. Can you tell me if one is better than the other? I’ve heard search engines love blogs but then I’m wondering why you’re so successful with web sites.
Thanks, Jeff
A website can be a blog, but a blog is not necessarily a website. Some blogs are hosted on blog sites like Blogger.com and Wordpress.com, while other blogs are hosted on their own website (for example, EricsTips.com is mainly a blog).
In general it is better to have your blog on your own website, because then you have full control and ownership of it.
As far as what type of website is best, it depends on the purpose of the website. Blogs are good for many different reasons, and can also be used in conjunction with various types of websites.
I will be teaching how to set up a blog on your own website.
thanks for making “find a niche” seem so easy and the links for niche ideas was helpful… look forward to your teachings about how to set up a blog on your own website…have a Jesus Day!
Carolina
Once again Eric, really great info. Thanx for sharing.
Hi Eric,
After purchasing your ebook on the Info Products, I saved it, but the formatting appears completely different to the one I downloaded. Can this be rectified? Sorry, I am very new to all this.
Thanks so much
Adele
The ebook is a PDF, so the format should be standard on any computer. So if you’re having any trouble with it, just open a ticket at the helpdesk (www.ericsupport.com) and let us know the specific problem so we can look into it. Thanks
Hi Eric,
Have you ever done a teaching session on how to use Wordpress? I just started this blog but I have two concerns.
1. I can’t seem to get any links to my site.I tried to get a link from Clickbank but no luck.
2. I sent a comment from another e mail address to see if it would show up on my blog and didn’t, can you offer an answer as to maybe why it’s not working?
Thanks,
Tom
Yes I will be covering WP in lessons #33 and 34
As for the comment problem on your blog, its hard for me to know… but maybe you just need to log into your admin panel to approve it.
Thanks Eric, That was it I had to approve the comment. Look forward to your lesson on Word Press.
Tom
Hi Eric, I joined your list some weeks ago and have been an avid follower of the series (great stuff), however some of the vids, covered stuff i was already competent at, so I jumped a head using the link and changing the lesson number, however after 32, this became impossible as the address 404 website not found appeared.
Have you altered the link forthe up coming lessons?
thanks for your time.
Same link… I’m just not done making the lessons yet
Thanks so much Eric. Although I’ve wanted to start an online business for a few months now, nothing has been clear as to what I should do or how exactly I would go about it. Your videos are amazing, I am getting so much out of your down-to-earth words and very clear steps. I started this lesson (Part 1) not knowing what I wanted my niche (sorry but I pronounce it ‘neesh’ here in New Zealand!) to be but half way through I’ve got some really good ideas, one in particular which I’ll now research. Thank you very much. Lynda
Hi eric,
As always another very good lesson. I hope I will choose the right NICHE, I know what I want but there are alot of them out there, but my ideas is to put all the get ones on my webpage. Sort of like the best of the best. Until the next lesson.
same as me,i am not just through with the lecture yet.
Eric, I have some, really good ideals i hope there marketable, anyway looking forward to the next lesson. Thanks again for all your Knowledge, James
hello eric, i’m behind and hanging in their. cant wait until the next lesson dp
Hi Eric. My name is Joey and I am a newbie. I don’t know where to start. I am a very hard worker and single dad. I have a baby girl and she is by far the love of my life. I have been so lost in my life and desperately need guidance. I try to keep a close relationship with god as much as possible, and continually pray for help. Everyone tells me that I can’t do it, or I won’t amount to anything, and so far they are right. I don’t want them to be right anymore. I need help! I need to start earning money now, I don’t want to quit. So far I have everything I need I think. I have the software for traffic, even though I have no idea to use it, my website and all fees paid for. I have been intently watching all of your lessons eric, and I know I can do it. I fear I am out of money for your 97$ membership for traffic machines. It brings me joy that you are christian based, that’s very important to me. If you can guide me in any way, please.
[Reply]
Don’t listen to those people. You can do this. You do need to take care of your baby, so keep working your job if you’ve got one, and learn as much as you can in your spare time. Follow these lessons. Don’t give up, but you will probably need to be patient. It won’t come instantly. Instead of looking at it as a quick way to make money, start looking at it as building a long term sustainable business. It may take longer than you expect, and take more work than you anticipate, but it will be worth it. God bless
Don’t listen to those people. You can do this. You do need to take care of your baby, so keep working your job if you’ve got one, and learn as much as you can in your spare time. Follow these lessons. Don’t give up, but you will probably need to be patient. It won’t come instantly. Instead of looking at it as a quick way to make money, start looking at it as building a long term sustainable business. It may take longer than you expect, and take more work than you anticipate, but it will be worth it. God bless
Hi Eric, thank you very much for the lessons. Really great info!
I’ve got a problem. I just paid for your book “How to Have Your Own Information Product in 30 Days“ by PayPal, but I did not click the “Return to Eric Holmlund” button to reach the download closed the window ( I closed my PayPal window by accident). How can I get my book?
Thank you, Tanya
Thanks, and no problem. Just open a ticket at http://www.ericsupport.com with your Paypal receipt or transaction #, and we’ll send you the download link
Eric,
I am trying to stay with you big guy. I really am but the lessons are coming slower than I would like and I got marketers coming at me from all over the place. (two of them using this email address and I don’t give this one out…don’t know how they found me.) I really want to get up and running but I remember your lesson on not buying stuff. So I am not buying. Is there a place I can go and get the lessons quicker than one a day. I am on lesson 20. Thank you for what you are doing and any further help and suggestions you have…..you got my ear.
When I am done making all the lessons I will be selling them all on DVD. But in the meantime, you can see the most recent ones here:
http://www.ericstips.com/tips/category/lessons/
I thank you sir.I will be in Steamboat Springs in June….how far is that away from Ft Collions. Would like to take you to lunch or maybe dinner is your close. God Bles
it’s about 6 hours. But maybe we could meet at a seminar sometime. I’ll let everyone know when I plan to attend one.
Eric,
I have a niche in mind and I would like to talk to you more about it. You see, I have been doing biblical research since 1982 and while I still do not consider myself a professional, I have had some small articles printed. I just googled “biblical research” and got 13,500,000 hits which tells me that it is a sound topic. I was hoping that maybe you could help me put together an e-book and video on the subject that I could market. I just need a guide to show me what to do next to make this work. I actually have enough material together right now to do 2 or even 3 products. Can you or one of your staff contact me to help guide me here? I really would appreciate it.
Dana
PS. Your course has been great thus far. I am really getting a lot out of it.
Hi Dana
Lots of google results shows that its a popular topic but that doesn’t mean it’s a profitable one. First you need to do some more research to zoom in on a profitable niche in your field of study (see next lesson). I will also be covering product creation within this series of lessons
Hi Eric,
Thanks for sharing this info in such an easy to understand way.
I’m sure that choosing a niche and developing the product may well be a challenge, but I suspect that marketing the product will end up being the biggest challenge. Advertising can so easily swallow up huge amounts of capital.
I’m sure you will be covering the marketing of the product in your next video. I’m certainly looking forward to it.
God bless
Hi Eric, the lesson was great as usual but I feel lost. I’m a newbie and don’t know anything about owning an online business I just know I really want to do this I’ve been following all the lessons and taking notes, reading the suggested books but it seems like everyone else is ahead of me when I read the blogs. were there products I should have purchased from you like web trafficing products if so I missed it, should I have a web site setup already, because I don’t. I stopped reading other e-mails from on site business offers,so I’m not following up with any products, I did download the free ebooks from you w/bonus package the bonus I could not download I have the paypal account with reciept # what else should I have, I have no ideal about a product but I will do the research, I don’t know how to design a web-site or write for a living, so I feel lost here at the start.
Betty
Hi Betty, just keep taking it one step at a time. I show how to build a website later in these lessons, so don’t worry. It’s normal to feel lost and have times of frustration anytime you’re learning something new. If you’re truly not enjoying the process at all, then it might not be a good business for you. But if you’re still excited about it, then just keep taking one step and learning a little more each day
Eric,
I’m really confident about selling afiliate programs such as “Send Me Recipes” and “PLR Food Content”. Traffic has really picked up on my blog “This Dame Cooks” due to articles I’ve written, RSS streams I’ve written for, and other Foodie websites are now contacting me and asking me to display their widgets. The ebook I’m writing fits right in to the “food niche” and I’d like to use Clickbank to market it. I’m also looking for kitchen accessories on affiliate programs, eco shopping bags, and my good friend has just launched Botashi.com a new composting system designed by Japan which I will grab also. I’m going to register my domain with wordpress and use BlueHost as they are recommended by wordpress. Okay, other than food, I might consider selling household budget software, or bookkeeping for micro (mini-sized) businesses.
Eric,
I’m following your lessons with great interest,
I don’t want to sound snotty here but we Brits say niche( neesh) because thats how the French say it as it comes from the french word “nichier” meaning to nest.
The modern meaning as you know, “finding a position particularly suitable for the person occupying it” i:e ” he found his niche in politics” Keep up the good work and thanks for spreading your knowledge in such an unhyped easy to digest way.
G
Hi, Eric:
Good work!
I really like your lessons.
I got one question here regarding the ebook that you are selling. Can I purchase it first with $9, and then after I read it and find it really fantastic, and pay the remaining $18 dollars to have the resale right?
Can I do that? Or I have to pay the full $27 to have the resale right?
Rick
Yes you could do that. Just submit a ticket to helpdesk, and we’ll give you the email address to paypal an additional $18. Thanks
Eric,to have a nich as you said, did it mean to buid your own house on the internet or is it to buy from somebody{rent}?
I’m not sure exactly what you mean, but generally speaking– I am teaching how to build your own business from scratch, not rent or buy it from someone else.
Eric,
Lesson #19 was very informative and a good introduction into the process of finding a niche in the ever-growing commercial world. Since my “product” is a service, I will be walking beside your lessons instead of exactly through them. Accordingly, I may find that I have questions that help me transfer your information from product to service. I did do the action step for this lesson and came up with four ideas that might be turned into products sometime in the future when I am ready to venture into other income streams. These are:
1) Teaching how to read music - I know how but have to research how to teach it
2) Newsletter with tips for healthy eating — many already exist and RealAge already comes to my inbox
3) Weight loss — I wrote a series of 7 lessons for an on-line weight loss site and can edit these lessons to remove any reference to the company
4) Recipes — again, this seems to be overdone already; I am collecting recipes from several sources already
I hope and pray that my website will be found quickly once it is set up. I am anxious to get to work as an FF&E contractor. The nature of the service has already determined the niche. The people who would be interested in my service are those in the design or construction fields.
Meanwhile, I am continuing to upload and edit items to my online stores. I still have to read the ebook I downloaded about eBay. I have been avoiding putting items in my eBay store because of the fees. It’s a bummer to have to pay fees when you are not selling products.
I apologize for the length of this post. I do not know why I get so long-winded. I actually dislike writing even though I seem to have a knack for it. Case in point, I have not been back to my blog since the day I created it….
Louise
Great lesson on finding a niche. I have always strugled in this area. I think I will focus on my passions first (which are computers (setup and fixing, computer software).
you are such a wonderful guy. i don’t believe this. this is what many top internet marketers sell to us. you are a thousand times rewarded.
Great lesson Eric
Wow I have finally found a niche after almost three weeks. Tons of research done but no ideas until I stopped and went fishing for the weekend. Walked in the door and you could say it slapped me in the face… LOL
Eric, you’re wonderful. Don’t know how on earth you find the time to reply to everyone but it makes interesting reading! I had almost given up after months of research and printing out all the freebie articles - having no money,(ended up with 30 folders!) but following your lessons and sticking to one goal has got my enthusiasm back, I can see I will get there one day!!! Many thanks, Dot New Zealand!
Glad to hear it, thanks!
These are definitely good information we need to know before starting a business. The niche thing is very important because you want to promote a product that is profitable especially that is search engines friendly is in demand. I think a big ticket items will definitely be wise move. A big ticket item is your big fish to profits. Thanks Eric
Hi Eric,
All I can say is that it is a good, good, good lesson. Thanks a lot!
God Bless You n Your Family.
i’m still hitting it.guess what this dummy final figure out how to label his email folders.i was rereading your lessons for the umpteen time and it dawned on me you showed how to do this in a lesson on something else.so i finally got my head around it and label all my files.wow this is easier than keeping a written list by numbers thanks again from slow but forever learning me.
Hi Eric , I do not mind telling you my Niche
Actualy it will tied into my Brick and Mortor business. I am building 2 Luxury resort style Villas one is a one bedroom and the other is a 2 bedroom. My hospitality Niche is simple my online customers will have a chance to experience for free for example a one week stay for paticipating in my affliliate programs , for purchasing a related product that is tied in to our Tropical Health Life Style Living. In fact I have a hand full of ideas directly related to my brick and morter business thru links. I cant wait to finish your lessons there great Eric.
I need more patience , I feel like a race horse over anxious for that gate to open .
Thank You Eric for giving your time to all your readers to help them start their business venture online. Barry Charles Anderson
thanks for the info. I already did this. I was trying to get listed on a competitive site. I am now listed 4 times on the first page.
Hi Eric,
Can I ask you a favor? I bought the ebook you recommended above, “your own product online and making sales within 30 days” but I was not able to downloaded the additional bonus ebooks. Will you allow me to download it again. I will understand if you will not because it’s my fault but I will highly appreciate if you consider my request. Thanks.
sure thing, I will email the link to you. In the future, just submit a ticket at the helpdesk and we’ll take care of it
Hi Eric,
I live in South Africa and have a problem using Paypal. Help!!!
Regards
Butch Hannan
I believe there are some other ways for you to get a Paypal account, such as establishing a US or Canadian business address, or partnering with someone here. There are also alternatives such as 2Checkout.
Hi Eric: I’m a wellness expert but am new to the niche world. I’m finding that wellness for everyone doesn’t sell
I have several markets I could focus on but am having difficulty choosing one and would like your input. I could choose: chubby speakers who want to enhance their wellness by losing weight and looking bright eyed and bushy tailed……wellness practitioners who are newbies and want help putting together a wellness business (presentations, free ecourses, info products)–I could mentor them and sell them wellness products that they could sell; entrepreneurs who want to get their health and lifestyle together so they can be more successful. I enjoy all of these markets but know I’d do better if I picked one and focused on developing that. I can easily get scattered and go in too many creative directions. What would you recommend? Thanks for any insights. Cheryl
I have done zero research on this, but out of the above 3 choices my instinct would go with the “wellness practitioners”.
The chubby speakers is the smallest niche, and might be tough to really locate your target market.
There is a market for the entrepreneurs, but from what I’ve seen most online entrepreneurs just want to make money and aren’t interested in health. There are some marketers successfully selling health-related stuff to this niche, but not many.
The newbie wellness practitioners are a big market, especially if you count all the “fringe” areas of the industry. These people are already trying to make money in the wellness industry. You would be giving them the opportunity to make more money… and that’s the kind of info-product that sells well online. In addition to info-products that teach them HOW to build their business, you could also sell Resale Rights and PLR material that they can actually sell (online or even offline) to boost their income.
I’m loving this site and have saved everything into my favourites folder and renamed so I can move easily back and forward to the various sections, what your doing is really appreciated and I know that following closely will get my business turning a profit real soon.
Hi Eric,
I am enjoying all of the lessons; however, like someone else posted earlier, I feel a bit lost. It seems like a lot of people are so advanced and have websites already. Do I have to be a great writer and do a lot of writing for my future website and do I have to be somewhat of an expert at something? I hope not because I am neither but I really want to run an online business. I’m still trying to find a Niche. I basically have a little knowledge in some things but I am in no means an expert in any one thing. I’m going to see this through.
Thank you for your help!
No you do not have to be a great writer, or be an expert. In fact the best way to build a business is to find people who are better than you at each task, and outsource it to them
As you will see through the lessons, I will give detailed information about how you can do most things yourself… but ultimately ALL of it can be outsourced.
And there are ways to get stuff done, even if you don’t have captial initially to hire contractors. For example, you can partner with an expert in a niche, you can partner with a copywriter, etc.
Thanks for the response. Very encouraging!
hi Eric, i am starting to think maybe affiliate marketing might b better for me to start, i have no idea on a niche for a infro product, when will u b talking more on affiliate marketing?
I’ll be covering some affiliate marketing much later on in the lessons, but it will be mostly from the standpoint of doing it from within an infoproduct business. Affiliate marketing is only getting more difficult as the FTC lays down more restrictions, and I really think most people have a better chance of long term success if they build the base of their business with their own products.
Hi Eric,
thanks for the information. After reading this, i think i might be in the wrong niche to start with!
I’m still struggling on finding a proper and profitable niche, and everyone here seems so advance. I thnk there’s still more to learn once you found out that special niche. Can’t wait for your next lesson Eric!
Eric,
I have fast forward to this lessons because I realized I am not that much of a newbie…U were right I had so much information in my mind that I just did not know what to do. I was stuck precisely on this What should I sell what should my niche be…
thank yo so much.
Eric,
I have a question. Let’s say you have done your market research and the market is pretty saturated. With both commercial offerings and blogs, forums and general help sites for that niche. Do you try to do something different or maybe choose another niche? I am having trouble pulling the trigger on a market to go after because it looks so daunting out there. I understand quite a lot, or at least I think so…lol, but this one area is my weakest link I think.
It is a tough call Randal. I would say it depends on whether there’s a lot of money in this niche, and whether you see a clear way of getting some of that money. If it’s a highly profitable niche, I would not shy away from it due to competition if it’s something you want to pursue. Just because there’s a lot of competition that does not mean the market is necessarily saturated. On the other hand, if it IS truly oversaturated that can obviously be a problem. But ultimately you do need to pull the trigger on something and then succeed or fail as fast as possible.
Another good lesson… thanks Eric…!!!
I am looking forward to the next video.
All the best,
Arne
Just want to say tanks again for sharing all this. I Have started my business on many of these principles you discuss. And you are right about starting and failing, but failing really is such a negative word but one to get past because you know you just learned something from it.
why won’t lesson 14 video play now, it played before. (error not found)
It should play. Have you tried all these solutions?
http://www.ericstips.com/trouble-viewing-flash-videos/
This has been my no. 1 problem-finding the right niche. So like you said, I end up doing nothing. I hope, with your help this will finally help me develop a niche that I can have success with. So far your videos have been awesome and I can’t wait for the rest of them.