A Ha - Help, Please!
Hi Everyone!
I have had a bit of an "a ha" moment that is both good and bad - good that I think I have worked it out and bad due to its repurcussions.
My niche is leadership books and my website has content that I write about leadership topics. My intent was to have affiliation/s so that I could sell books, ebooks, leadership courses and office equipment/supplies.
I have noticed through research, that the "traffic" statistic that shows what traffic to expect to my website should it get ranked on the first page of Google, is about one sixth of the "average" hits per month statistic.
Hence, picking a keyword with "average" of 40 per month will only produce about 7 visits per month onto my site. That wouldn't even generate 1 sale per month.
If I published a post every day, I would have 365 posts on my website after 1 year. If each post generated 7 visits per month, I'd get 2,555 visits per month.
If I achieved a conversion rate of 1:50, that's 50 sales per month. Amazon pays about 6% commission, according to the training, and let's assume a book averages $20...then I'm only earning $1.20 per sale...or $60 per month. Ouch...I wouldn't even be earning $1 per hour of my time.
So, I'd have to either generate a massive amount of visits to my site and drive up the conversion rate considerably to make this niche worthwhile.
Yes, there is the opportunity to sell office equipment, but I don't really see that happening, as people would more likely buy from an affiliate who publishes content about office equipment...or they buy directly from a supplier (like Dell or Lenovo).
Hence, I think I have the wrong niche and should cut my losses now, stop working on this niche and re-focus my efforts on finding a niche that drives much, much more traffic via keyboards and pay a higher commission.
I would appreciate comments from experienced people.
Many thanks
David
Recent Comments
26
David,
For keywords of 40 searches per month you can end up with 400 traffic!.
True, you might end up with only 6 visitors for that particular target keywords but you will rank for many more keywords, known as LSI (latent semantic indexing) keywords or related keywords that are in your content.
You rank for all the words that you rank for.
What if I told you leadership niche is worth hundreds of millions per month (Source: Statista) and you have way more products other than books to offer. Like video training programs.
Your monetization strategy does not end there - Personal coaching and mentoring on leadership attract huge rates for well established sites and coaches - taking five figures for personal 1 on 1 skype chats for 50 mins bi weekly for a year!
Not to mention the possibility of corporate leadership training or making your own digital products in the area.
that said, you can't sell everything to everyone. Be more focused in your exact niche selection.
Market --->Submarket-->Person user
Eg,
Digital courses-->Leadership--->Leadership training for Business executives
Or
Digital courses-->Leadership--->Leadership training for unassertive folks.
Hi Derek
Would appreciate your views on the best digital courses for "leadership for business executives" and "self development for everyday people".
Many thanks!
David
Well, calculations can sometimes be misleading. And it may not give you the big picture of your earning potentials.
You're estimating the traffic based on the primary keyword. As time progress, your article may rank for related keywords, including the title of the book itself.
Besides earnings from books, you can also get your readers to sign up for Kindle. Amazon offers a bounty of $5 per sign up. That's a good source of extra income.
Your primary niche may be about books. But think about what the same group of audience may need, a book rack, reading table, standing desk, LED lamp, etc. these are higher priced items and may actually sell.
And the fact that you make commissions on other products that your audience buy on Amazon, it's definitely going to be higher than what you estimated. In fact, a greater portion of my Amazon earning is from 'Other products'.
Thanks @KennyLee - some good ideas.
Would you personally recommend signing up as an affiliate of amazon.com directly, or via an alliance network like Awin?
SIgn up with Amazon. In the future, if you're building another website, you can use the same account. Unless you're having a massive traffic flow, Amazon is the best way to start, at least that's true for me.
Thanks again - I have taken your advice!
One thing I noticed is that I have to sign up as an Amazon Associate in multiple countries - does this mean I need to put in multiple links in my posts and pages so that I can earn money from visitors in different countries...or does one link suffice and Amazon works out the rest? Thanks again :)
Just focus on Amazon.com first. There's where the most traffic is. When you're making decent amount with Amazon.com, you can register with UK, Canada or others, and use plugins like EasyAzon to automatically divert users to respective sites. Right now, I'm still focusing on Amazon.com only. It's good enough to earn a decent amount.
Hi David
you are still relatively new to building content and I am sure with this niche there are all sorts of amazing posts you can write to help people
Down the track, you might want to consider Hay House, Joe Vitale, and I will pm you if I come up with more.
I am a Professional PD/Success Coach and have been for 18 years now and I am An Affiliate for Joe and Hay House but it has taken a lot of content to be accepted that's for sure
All the best in whatever you decide to do.
If something else brings you more passion then run with it I say as it is your passion that will bring you success
Vicki
Thanks Vicki - I appreciate your comments. I am more than happy to do the work - got to this stage pretty quickly. I just want to target my efforts best for the right return....and test that my thinking is correct (e.g. if the 40 average figure actually meant 40 thousand, then it totally changes the picture!
David and Kelly, First I would like to say I am quite impressed with your ability to figure out what you will make. I haven't considered doing that kind of thing or even know how to do it.
Secondly, Is this niche a passion or something you picked thinking it would drive revenue?
If it is a passion then I would continue with this niche because people will trust you and you will generate revenue.
But you may consider setting up a second site that will drive more revenue. I know some will tell you not to do 2 sites at first but I disagree.
I have 2 sites. One is my poetry and a passion to help others through my writing and getting them through hard times. My second is a money making site.
I could not give up my passion even though it will not make much money.
This is a tough decision. But FYI, I did start a different site and give it up because it was not a passion and I knew people would not trust me as an authority on the subject.
I am not sure if my 2 cents will help you or not.
Laura
Thanks Laura - your comments do help. I chose the niche as it is my passion. I just want be realistic and target my efforts best for the right return....as well as test that my thinking is correct (e.g. if the 40 average figure actually meant 40 thousand, then it totally changes the picture!).
David, I read the other replies. They all are great answers. I think the bottom line is, don’t over think and concentrate in writing. All the best to you.
Laura
You might googhttps://www.tonyrobbins.com/tony-robbins-affiliate-program/le “leadership and affiliate programs” and see what other products besides books you can promote. Also check out clickbank products to see if there are some you could promote in their market place.
Also Udemy might have online training classes you can promote through their affiliate program.
Check out this:
https://www.tonyrobbins.com/tony-robbins-affiliate-program/
Thanks! I am still concerned that my content simply won't drive enough traffic, irrespective of the affiliation programs I am linked to...or can the affiliate programs themselves drive traffic to my site?
Hi David:) My niche is centered around children's reading programs, so I know where you're coming from.
However, when I was with Amazon, there were months when some visitors would click through my site, and then order other things. I still got the commission for those items:). One month, I made quite a bit from products I was promoting, and also other things that were apparently in their shopping carts!
If you're really interested in promoting leadership skills, you might see if you can find affiliate programs that offer online leadership classes, etc.. That way, in addition to earning commission sales with Amazon products bought through clicks off your website, you will also have the advantage of earning more through other things besides books:). This will also give you so much more to write about, as well! All the best to you:)
Blessings:)
Suzi
Thanks Suzi - but is my problem still that the number of searches each month is too low to generate enough traffic to make joining affiliate programs worthwhile?
Hi David,
I'm sorry. I am just now able to read some of the other comments from other members.
I agree with so many of them. I think that if this is truly your passion, it will definitely come out in your writing. I know that people search Google, Bing, etc., using keywords, but I really think you can be successful if you branch out to other affiliate programs, and add things, other than just books:) Sometimes, a little imagination can go a long way!
It's amazing how we may choose one keyword, but then...pick up traffic with so many other keywords:)
If this is what inspires you, I would stick with it:) Think of how many people you will be able to reach with content that's coming from your heart:)
Blessings to you!
Suzi
David,
Sounds like you are very knowledgeable in the niche you have
selected and spent some time searching and researching the
numbers.
But instead of wasting all that hard work why not keep the
website as a second source of income diversification is a
good thing.
Then pick another niche to promote on a new site while
you are researching and looking at that this site can still
use attention just not as much.
Just a thought :)
Thanks Marley
I have been thinking of that, but don't want to end up wasting my tiome...or earnng a very low amount per hour :)
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Hi David,
I have read the other comments and have to agree......you underestimate the size of the leadership products market. If you write consistently and use relevant keywords throughout your posts, you will start to rank for other keywords as well. Also, the leadership books niche is much bigger than just Amazon. Many publishers on JVZoo, ClickBank, etc pay much higher commissions than 6% to affiliates (and particularly in the self help area). Keep your chin up, take a deep breath and write great content. This is a successful niche.
Cheers,
Gary
And underestimating how google ranks pages. 365 posts at mimimum 15k sessions...and that is modest traffic a very conservative estimate.
Thanks for your reply @gmcwilliam. Am very interested in what you mean by "minumum 15k sessions" and the assumptions behind it?