Is affiliate marketing right for me? I would welcome your opinion!

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Hi all,

I had planned to write my first blog posts on my niche sites tonight, but instead I've decided to write this message, because I've been facing motivation issues these last few days. My plan was to go yearly this month, but all of a sudden I'm wondering if this sort of thing is really meant for me after all.

My biggest issue is with the two following principles:

1 - In order to be successful, it will be much easier if you choose for your niche a subject you're passionate about or are interested to know more about.

2 - You must write a lot of helpful content on the subject and become sort of an "expert" on said subject.

My problem is that I fail to see how I can meet both principles at the same time. The things I'm passionate about or am interested to know more about are mostly in the recreational/entertainment domain, and I don't thing there's much to say to help people in that domain, to say nothing of becoming an expert. Professional sports team players and popular singers are making millions and they don't seem to "help" a lot of people, do they? Other things I might grow an interest in are beautiful things that could make great gifts, for example. The same reasoning applies here too.

To illustrate my point, the first two niches I have selected are jigsaw puzzles and cuckoo clocks. I didn't put a lot of thought into these choices, my idea was to get started, and then later I could always add or change niches. I simply jotted down a couple of ideas and then selected two of them after doing a quick search for their potential. The first one, jigsaw puzzles, is actually probably a bad niche, because although there seems to be lots of different searches in that niche, there's probably not a lot of money to be done in it as an affiliate given that the price of jigsaw puzzles is not that high. From that standpoint, cuckoo clocks are already better. Anyway, the fact remains that at least, they meet the criterion that I am interested in them; jigsaw puzzles are recreational stuff, cuckoo clocks are beautiful things (to the eye as well as to the ear) and both can make interesting gifts.

But what can I write about such subjects that "helps" people? Apart from giving tips how to solve puzzles and talking about side stuff such as boards, tables, etc. I can't see what I could say to "help" people with jigsaw puzzles. And I don't know about you, but when I want to purchase jigsaw puzzles, I don't need much "help", I just need to find an interesting one. Likewise, with cuckoo clocks, I can discuss the kinds of clocks and their features, pieces and after sales service, but what else? And unless I purchase an IKEA-like cuckoo clock, I don't think I would need much "help" in that case either.

When it comes to writing reviews, there's little to be said about jigsaw puzzles. The only issue that can probably arise is quality - the material, and whether the shapes fit together easily or not - and as far as the image is concerned, I can suggest the ones I find original and/or beautiful, but there's no accounting for tastes. In the case of cuckoo clocks, I would have to rely mostly on other people's advice, for I don't think one can make educated guesses about them just by looking at them, and on the other hand, I cannot be expected to purchase tens and hundreds of models solely in order to compare them. Therefore, my intention was mostly to discuss the different kinds of puzzles and clocks, to present, in both niches, models I find interesting and to request other peoples' advice about them. But if I am to offer help and to become an expert, I'm baffled as to what it means and entails. I must say I would probably face the same problem in most other niches I've considered or might be interested in. Does it mean these are bad niches to select?

(And If I'm being honest, I should add that if I read and wrote so much about a subject to be considered an "expert", I would probably consider this as a second job and certain not as "passive" income. There's nothing passive in it if you must work as hard (if not harder) as in your ordinary job.)

While we're at it, why would anyone looking for a jigsaw puzzle or a cuckoo clock go to a blog to purchase one? I for one would rather head straight away to a store site (such as an equivalent of Toys R Us or whatever else still exists today for jigsaw puzzles) or to EBay, Amazon, Wayfair and the likes; I extremely seldom look for advice on blogs, except for information about products I am extremely skeptical about in the first place.

(I must also add that when in a negative mood, I feel a cognitive dissonance of sorts, because I feel that as a society, we consume way too much, and I feel guilty of encouraging it by promoting products...)

For all these reasons, I'm not sure I'm on the right path. That's why your advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!
Guy

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Recent Comments

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Thank you both. I think I will heed todaymatters's advice from this post and simple take action and see what comes out of it. After all, as Sherlock Holmes said to Dr. Watson, "work is the best antidote to sorrow". Thanks again!

That is such a good quote, guy and the truth is it actually works best wishes.

It looks like affiliate marketing is indeed for you. The point is you can write well. That's basically what it takes to be engaged in affiliate marketing.

Your doubt is based only on the conclusion that right now you are interested only on two things to market -- jigsaw puzzles and cuckoo clocks and that you can't seem to appreciate how to promote these items.

But assuming these two items are indeed difficult to promote in the sense that you seem to be facing a blank on on how you can help people with them, it doesn't mean that you cannot find any other interesting items or products to promote.

Passion for anything or something can be developed. When we say you ideally should promote something that you are passionate with, we don't necessarily mean that that passion is existing now. You can go on and research what products you can possibly develop passion for!

For example, recreation and entertainment are very broad categories. Can't you find niches within them? It seems to me that you appreciate these two broad categories in terms of people who are involved in them -- like sports people or people in the entertainment industry. But how about special gadgets or equipment that are used in sports and entertainment?

You can certainly drill down and find something interesting and therefore, something you can develop a passion for!

Wishing you luck. :=)

Hi Guy, in the beginning, it can be as much about getting our moral compass to spin the right way, as selecting that lifetime niche so to speak. part of the journey is learning about the how to create a website, building a foundation.it takes a skillset and one that we can learn by going through the training here in WA.the knowledge once gained can be what drives us forward initially it will take time to create that site and business around it. If we work for ourselves it can take a lot of time, more than if we work for someone else the thing to bear in mind is that we are working for us and not making someone else rich.
Don't get too concerned in the initial phases, try coming from a slightly different angle, to use your one of your examples, of cuckoo clocks, the folks that are into them will be into them in other words they will have a passion for them as content and website creators we can feed off of their passion, we don't have to be that passionate initially. just a thought.
In our world, there are buyers and sellers, coming to WA it is possible that we are exploring the possibility of becoming a seller as opposed to a buyer if we create and present reviews to folks that are buyers it may help them to make an informed decision, in the terms affiliate marketing a win-win.

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