So you’ve found that first money making idea, you’ve exploited it for all it’s worth and now what?  Back to square one eh?  Lost and desolate in the affiliate wilderness without so much as a blinking map to lead you to that next oasis like pool of lovely money.

But like most navigators of any kind, you’ll probably know exactly where you are with your current niche.  Time and time again I see people forging out on their next venture, which ends up being completely different from what has been recently successful for them or something related that has been chosen without reference to their current position.  This is a recipe for getting lost in the affiliate wilderness good and proper.

With this in mind I decided to provide an outline of how to engage in a bit of what I like to think of as “Affiliate Orienteering” – a great way to make sure that your next big idea is located in a more educated way than sticking a pin in a map!

Think About WHY Your Most Recent Venture Was Successful

If It’s a Single Product…

• Why did people buy it?

• What features did it have? For example, a while back chocolate fountains were suddenly all the rage.  People bought them because they were a great food related novelty, a nice way to finish off a dinner party with some table top cooking, or an interesting feature on a party buffet, some of their popularity came from the “staying in is the new going out” vibe that has become popular in recent years as the cost of living has increased. They also got a lot of coverage on the telly and in glossy magazines.

• Was it a standalone product?  Or are there any accessories for it that you might be able to promote?  Are there any similar products that are cheaper or have slightly different features?  i.e going back to our chocolate fountain idea, could you sell posh chocolate fondue sticks and recipe books as an addition to your current site?

• If it was a product with a specific purpose (like a chocolate fountain) what else is there out there that will appeal to people for the same reasons as they rushed out and bought a chocolate fountain? With that in your mind, do a bit of research.  The best place to start is probably the merchant or merchants you’ve already had success with. If I’d had a big success with chocolate fountains I’d immediately look at other single purpose cooking gadgets, particularly ones that might get wheeled out at parties.
• Here’s what my list of next niches to explore would be:-

• Fondue sets
• Stone Grills
• Popcorn makers
• Pizza makers
• Indoor BBQs
• Any other single purpose food gadget I could think of.

Armed with my list, I’d then approach some merchants and just plain outright ask them about the performance of any products they stocked that were on my list.  Questions would include: – “How do these sell?”, “Do you find these convert for you?” If they’re not converting now, will they convert at Christmas?” and finally “How many do you sell?”

If It’s a Broader Niche Site…

You’d follow the same process but the selling features would be more general.  Questions you’d ask yourself would be as follows: -

• Can I make a similar site and target a different country?
• Can this product area have variations that appeal to a different group of people?  i.e. I created a successful womens underwear site and then used a similar structure to create an underwear resource for men.
• If your site converted really well, why do you think it converted well? If it was targeted at a certain group of people i.e. silver surfers and you successfully created an appealing resource for them to use – have a think about what other product groups appeal to them.  After all you are already well experienced at selling to them.

Your Next Niche is Never as Far Away as You Think…

The majority of the successful niche areas I’ve tapped in the last few years have been related to one degree or another.  I’ve found that once you start to follow a “mapped approach” that creating useful resources that add value to the user and convert well gets easier and easier.  I suppose the best anology is that I have gotten familiar and comfortable with my local neighbourhood meaning that these days I very rarely need to use a map at all.  I just know where I’m going.

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