This guest post is by John Smith of Weightlosstriumph.com.
The internet is growing every day as more people hear about the concepts of internet marketing, blogging, and other ways to make money online that revolve around carving out their own niche.
But one mistake is becoming very common.
Due to the mass of examples and hype surrounding the marketing niche, most new bloggers believe you have to blog about blogging or making money online to succeed as a blogger.
Wrong!
If you’ve been reading Problogger.net for more than a while now, you’ll notice that is contrary to what is taught here.
The key to building a viable blog business is to having something to offer; you don’t have to force a niche on yourself because it is profitable, nor should you go into a niche because everyone else is in it.
The truth is that every niche has the potential to be profitable.
3 Powerful niches that prove every niche is profitable
You’ve probably assumed from the title that this article will be focused on the weight loss niche and how you can profit from it. But since that niche is popular and competitive in itself, let’s first look at two other examples of niches that you can start a blog in today, and which will probably have more profit potential than a new blog in the blogging or make money online niche.
Niche 1. Animal care
This is an ever-growing niche, with increasing importance in countries like the U.S. According to 2011-2012 data from the APPA, 62% of U.S households own a pet; that equates to 72.9 million homes.
Since this stat counts households with a pet, and there probably two or more people with interest in pets in each household, you can well expect the total number of people interested in pets in the U.S alone to be around 100 million.
Of course, this niche covers various forms of pets, but this number alone proves that there’s an audience for you irrespective of which pet you want to help people with. Not only is there an audience, there’s profit: more than $50 billion US was spent on pet-related services in 2011, and the estimate for 2012 is around $53 billion.
Tomorrow, Problogger.net will look at the pet niche in detail—specifically, at a blog that focuses on domestic pets. If you’re interested in this niche, check back tomorrow for tips and advice that can help you harness the profit potential of pet blogging.
Niche 2. Video games
Another powerful niche you can tap into right now is video games. Almost everyone plays a video game today, so not only will you probably have more than enough to say about the subject, but there’s an unlimited supply of people who will want to benefit from your advice.
Over 67% of US households play video games, and the average gamer spends eight hours a week gaming.
A lot of us barely spend eight hours a week tending to hour blog, so you can imagine the level of commitment you can get from an audience that spends an average of eight hours a week playing games—even when they have little or nothing tangible to gain from doing so.
In terms of revenue, the gaming industry is worth $10.5 billion. Tomorrow, we’ll take a closer look at this fun, exciting, and quickly evolving niche—and see what it takes to build a successful, profit-producing blog in this space.
Niche 3. Weight loss
Today, there are more than 1 billion overweight adults in the world, according to Worldometer, and this number is increasing every day.
Also, according to data from the CDC, 35.7% of U.S adults—more than one-third of the entire US adult population—are obese.
The weight loss industry is now estimated to be worth $60 billion; a huge rise of around 200% from 20 years ago, when it was just a $30 billion industry. In other words, the weight loss industry is growing daily, and there’s huge potential for you there.
Just so you get an idea of how big this is, over $160 million has already been spent on weight loss related products today, and even more has been spent on treating weight loss-related diseases.
The question is, how can you profit from such a massive industry?
How to profit from the weight loss niche
The techniques shared in this section are written with the weight loss industry in mind, but they can easily be applied to any other niche you can think about (including those we’ll discuss tomorrow).
If you’re familiar with the U.S weight loss market, then you probably already know of big commercial weight loss programs like Weight Watchers, Medifast, and Nutrisystem, which sell their weight loss solutions in the form of diet food (or meal replacements). But you don’t have to have big budgets like they do, or open a retail chain, to profit from the weight loss industry.
The non-medical people reading this will probably think you need a degree to pull off success in this niche, but you don’t need that either!
Here are my top tips to help you profit from the weight loss industry.
1. Make value your philosophy
What is your philosophy? What are the set of beliefs that guide your existence, especially as a blogger? I’m sorry, but if it’s just to make money then you’re going to suffer.
We’ve talked about how big the weight loss industry is, but that doesn’t mean there’s easy money here. The reality is that the weight loss industry is one of the most competitive industries online, so unless you can “out-value” your competitors, you’re probably not going anywhere.
Even if you’re not a weight loss expert, your desire to help others change the way they view their lives and health can make a huge difference.
You’ve probably tuned in to the TV to see that expert that lost a lot of weight in three months, or read about the expert who gained weight just to show others how to lose it, via a major digital platform.
The common thread between those stories is that they offer value, and people will be willing to follow the experts as a result.
Of course, the value you offer doesn’t have to be this obvious—or tangible, for that matter; even if you’re just giving someone the motivation to lose weight, it will be a great help.
2. Lead by example
Success in this niche isn’t just about talking the talk, but about walking the walk.
While photoshopping earning and traffic screenshots might work in the make money online niche, people are probably too smart for that in the weight loss niche. Of course, you’ll probably get a follower or two no matter what you do, but it’s only a matter of time before you get kicked out—unless you can walk the walk.
The key is to create a brand that people talk about. Don’t just give people advice and tips that can help them make weight-related changes. Lead by example: let them see that you’ve experienced the same thing as them, and help them find the motivation to make the hard decisions that they—and you—know they need to.
3. Make an offer
Don’t wait for people to start begging you before you make an offer, because they probably won’t.
Make an offer right from the beginning, and make your position clear.
The thing with the internet is there are a lot of freebie-seekers, who want more no matter how much you give. While it’s always recommended that you give a lot of free value before expecting something in return, it’s important to ensure you have the right people in your audience to begin with.
You have to make money because it’s the only way you can keep adding more value to people’s lives, and there are various ways to do this. A few top ways to make an offer in the weight loss niche are:
- Recommend a product:This is especially easy if you have no expert status in the weight loss niche but want to help people nonetheless. There are a lot of quality weight loss products out there, and you’d have tried a few of them if you really know what you’re doing.You can make an offer by creating a list of your recommended diet, and then reference products you’ve used and trust as an affiliate. This is something I do on my weight loss blog, and the results have been awesome.
Of course, it’s important not to just recommend a product because you’re an affiliate. Yes, you have to make money, but your end goal should be to change lives. If you find a product very helpful but are not an affiliate for it, recommend it nonetheless. When your readers learn about this, their respect for you will only increase.
If you don’t know whether your favorite program has an affiliate system, you can check to see if it’s listed on Amazon. If it is, then you can make up to 5% commission just by referring someone to purchase it via your Amazon affiliate link.
Darren once wrote about his experience with making money from products on Amazon a while ago, and even though the article was written in 2009, the tips in it are invaluable and still apply today. You should read the post for a head start.
- Offer and package your advice:This could be in many forms. You could offer health consulting to others, you could give speeches to organizations and groups on how to lose weight, or you could create your own product.Not everyone has this option, though, because you have to be actually qualified to give health-related advice. But this shouldn’t be a problem if you know your stuff. There’s a great market waiting for you somewhere!
Your own experience
You’ve probably heard more than once that it’s a good idea to start a blog in the blogging or making money online niche, yet you know within you somehow that it’s not right for you.
Do you have any experience with succeeding in a niche other than blogging and making money online? If you do, share your experience with us in the comments below. And don’t forget to check back tomorrow, when we’ll look at building a profitable blog in the pet and video game niches in more detail.
John Smith is an expert weight loss blogger who likes to help others. Some of his must read posts are on Weight Watchers discount for September, and bistro md delivery discount.
