asked in
The Wealthy Affiliate Platform
Updated

I've purchased a domain name that doesn't end in .com for my bootcamp training site because I couldn't find anything I liked that ended in .com.

Does anybody have any exp

Thanks for that answer, Derek. `Yet again, I have learned something new at WA.

Forever Grateful
Mojalefal

I have a couple of .co.uk sites which I use for things that are mainly used by a British audience. I also have .com and .org.
I find the .com site does better than the .org site although they both have the same name.

Derek

Thanks Derek - I've decided that I'm going to stick with the .uk domain initially to see how it performs (i.e. where my traffic comes from). If it's not doing so well, I can always register a .com or .org and set up a 301 to the new domain.

I agree with the others on here. I have both .com and .co.uk and some .org as well. My .org is in the yoga niche (a little side project) and the posts seem to rank well.
I would not see it as a game changer.

All the best with it

Thanks Jonathon - this is the specific feedback I was hoping for. Although I'm wondering if I should consider registering a .org instead of a .uk (that one is available for my domain).

It kind of depends on where your main expected customer base is going to be - USA or UK?

When you say .uk, do you mean .co.uk as I am led to believe that .uk does not carry as much weight as a good old fashioned .co.uk

If it is a .co.uk I would continue with that personally.

It's a .uk
I do have a .co.uk for the same domain that redirects to the .uk (I think it looks nicer).

As it's my bootstrap site, I'm expecting the user base to be from anywhere - which is why I'm concerned that I've made a faux pas.

Admittedly a .com would have been the ultimate, but as you are already into the project I am guessing you cannot go back to ye ole drawing board?

It also now depends on how you will be promoting the site. Organic SEO, FB ads, other PPC or what?

If you are going the SEO route, the UK domain may hinder you as Google now shows their search results as the most relevant to the person doing the searching. So, I would get a different set of results compared to you, whereas not long ago, people in the UK would see pretty much the same set of results.

If you are going the non-SEO route, I dont think it really matters.

I wish you every success with it

Uhhhh... it's looking like I might need to rethink my plan.

That is most unfortunate.

Or is it advantageous? Do you think Google would show my site to people in the UK over a .com or .org site?

I would say yes. This is kind of backed up by an article on iwantmyname(dot)com.

If you go to Google and do a search for "which tlds are the best"

It should be the top result - interesting reading.
All the best

Jon

Thanks Jonathan - that article was awesome. I'm going to post the link here because I'm not self-promoting and it's probably useful to anyone in the same situation that I'm in.

For anyone interested but you don't want to read the excellent but rather long linked article, the short answer is: commit to it and it doesn't matter.

If you drive traffic to your site using social media, the TLD is irrelevant and in time, organic traffic will come too.

https://iwantmyname.com/blog/how-to-pick-the-right-domain-extension

Have some of my web sites with .com and some with .co.uk, did the co.uk for my mainly uk products, but it should not make a lot of difference, just that .com is preferred the world over.

Yup - that's why I can't find a decent domain name available on a .com. :D

Have had that problem myself.

HI kettei.
Thank you for the post.
Now for a display of my ignorance about
being successful with WA
I have no idea what you are talking and asking about.
Therefore my help for you is limited to this.
I sincerely wish you the very best advice that WA
has to offer.
I do believe help is on the way to you and that
advice will be exactly what you are looking for.
Wishing the very best for you.
James







no, but a uk tld does tell people where you are.

I'm not sure if that's an issue... unless you think it might be (and this is where my concerns lie). I'm worried that I might miss out on signups because of the TLD I've chosen. :(

not an issue for the most part. I wouldn't worry about it.

It is not necessary, of course to success! The domain name is your property, should follow your decision. :)

That's what I'm hoping. I picked the domain because I wanted to establish a strong brand... assuming I can think of content to write for it. :D

That's good to hear Kettei! Keep moving, I want to follow your back! Wish you have a great day! :D

Definitely NOT, see my blog below:

Thanks Lanu -

I'm aware of the different domain names that are available (I even registered a .school one for a client recently) and I was asking if the letters at the end affected people's success as a WA affiliate.

It's funny really, I know plenty about building websites (it's my job) but I have much to learn about marketing them! :)

Not really I suppose. The only one I know the dot affects is charitable organisation. For not for profit, its usually dot org, and people seem to trust those with dot org, than any other, although I do not know why.

Jay the trainer has a .org site and he seems to be doing well. :-)

I also googled about this topic ...lots of information online.

Thanks Jackie - I'm hoping it shouldn't matter. :)

Not sure if Neccessary is the right word Kettei, certainly its favoured, because its .com, however, if the domain you want is not available, then try a variation of the version your looking for

EG: My name just happens to be very popular, popular as in there are LOTS of Dave Hayes's so if the version I want is not there, I go with an initial or nickname initial in the middle, which usually helps

Ironically, I secured my personal name as .com years ago but I don't want to use that for my Bootcamping site.

I'm just hoping that I don't have to stick to .com, .org or .net
I'm not using one of the weird new TLDs, just .uk but I'm worried that might limit my appeal to anyone outside the UK.

As @JonLake says and I agree with, i don't see it being a game changer as such

See more comments

Is .com really necessary for success?

Is .com really necessary for success?

asked in
The Wealthy Affiliate Platform
Updated

I've purchased a domain name that doesn't end in .com for my bootcamp training site because I couldn't find anything I liked that ended in .com.

Does anybody have any exp

Thanks for that answer, Derek. `Yet again, I have learned something new at WA.

Forever Grateful
Mojalefal

I have a couple of .co.uk sites which I use for things that are mainly used by a British audience. I also have .com and .org.
I find the .com site does better than the .org site although they both have the same name.

Derek

Thanks Derek - I've decided that I'm going to stick with the .uk domain initially to see how it performs (i.e. where my traffic comes from). If it's not doing so well, I can always register a .com or .org and set up a 301 to the new domain.

I agree with the others on here. I have both .com and .co.uk and some .org as well. My .org is in the yoga niche (a little side project) and the posts seem to rank well.
I would not see it as a game changer.

All the best with it

Thanks Jonathon - this is the specific feedback I was hoping for. Although I'm wondering if I should consider registering a .org instead of a .uk (that one is available for my domain).

It kind of depends on where your main expected customer base is going to be - USA or UK?

When you say .uk, do you mean .co.uk as I am led to believe that .uk does not carry as much weight as a good old fashioned .co.uk

If it is a .co.uk I would continue with that personally.

It's a .uk
I do have a .co.uk for the same domain that redirects to the .uk (I think it looks nicer).

As it's my bootstrap site, I'm expecting the user base to be from anywhere - which is why I'm concerned that I've made a faux pas.

Admittedly a .com would have been the ultimate, but as you are already into the project I am guessing you cannot go back to ye ole drawing board?

It also now depends on how you will be promoting the site. Organic SEO, FB ads, other PPC or what?

If you are going the SEO route, the UK domain may hinder you as Google now shows their search results as the most relevant to the person doing the searching. So, I would get a different set of results compared to you, whereas not long ago, people in the UK would see pretty much the same set of results.

If you are going the non-SEO route, I dont think it really matters.

I wish you every success with it

Uhhhh... it's looking like I might need to rethink my plan.

That is most unfortunate.

Or is it advantageous? Do you think Google would show my site to people in the UK over a .com or .org site?

I would say yes. This is kind of backed up by an article on iwantmyname(dot)com.

If you go to Google and do a search for "which tlds are the best"

It should be the top result - interesting reading.
All the best

Jon

Thanks Jonathan - that article was awesome. I'm going to post the link here because I'm not self-promoting and it's probably useful to anyone in the same situation that I'm in.

For anyone interested but you don't want to read the excellent but rather long linked article, the short answer is: commit to it and it doesn't matter.

If you drive traffic to your site using social media, the TLD is irrelevant and in time, organic traffic will come too.

https://iwantmyname.com/blog/how-to-pick-the-right-domain-extension

Have some of my web sites with .com and some with .co.uk, did the co.uk for my mainly uk products, but it should not make a lot of difference, just that .com is preferred the world over.

Yup - that's why I can't find a decent domain name available on a .com. :D

Have had that problem myself.

HI kettei.
Thank you for the post.
Now for a display of my ignorance about
being successful with WA
I have no idea what you are talking and asking about.
Therefore my help for you is limited to this.
I sincerely wish you the very best advice that WA
has to offer.
I do believe help is on the way to you and that
advice will be exactly what you are looking for.
Wishing the very best for you.
James







no, but a uk tld does tell people where you are.

I'm not sure if that's an issue... unless you think it might be (and this is where my concerns lie). I'm worried that I might miss out on signups because of the TLD I've chosen. :(

not an issue for the most part. I wouldn't worry about it.

It is not necessary, of course to success! The domain name is your property, should follow your decision. :)

That's what I'm hoping. I picked the domain because I wanted to establish a strong brand... assuming I can think of content to write for it. :D

That's good to hear Kettei! Keep moving, I want to follow your back! Wish you have a great day! :D

Definitely NOT, see my blog below:

Thanks Lanu -

I'm aware of the different domain names that are available (I even registered a .school one for a client recently) and I was asking if the letters at the end affected people's success as a WA affiliate.

It's funny really, I know plenty about building websites (it's my job) but I have much to learn about marketing them! :)

Not really I suppose. The only one I know the dot affects is charitable organisation. For not for profit, its usually dot org, and people seem to trust those with dot org, than any other, although I do not know why.

Jay the trainer has a .org site and he seems to be doing well. :-)

I also googled about this topic ...lots of information online.

Thanks Jackie - I'm hoping it shouldn't matter. :)

Not sure if Neccessary is the right word Kettei, certainly its favoured, because its .com, however, if the domain you want is not available, then try a variation of the version your looking for

EG: My name just happens to be very popular, popular as in there are LOTS of Dave Hayes's so if the version I want is not there, I go with an initial or nickname initial in the middle, which usually helps

Ironically, I secured my personal name as .com years ago but I don't want to use that for my Bootcamping site.

I'm just hoping that I don't have to stick to .com, .org or .net
I'm not using one of the weird new TLDs, just .uk but I'm worried that might limit my appeal to anyone outside the UK.

As @JonLake says and I agree with, i don't see it being a game changer as such

See more comments

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asked in
Keyword, Niche and Market Research
Updated

After doing very little since I joined in 2016, I made a plan and got my niche site started four weeks ago.

Things were going well, I loved my design and I wrote some s

Phil, have you thought about inviting WA members who paint to do a guest blog. Whilst I paint as a hobby, it is very poorly, no that is not an offer.

Thanks Stuart, I'm actually very interested in getting guest bloggers involved. One of the ideas I had while brainstorming today was to interview or showcase artists in my area too.

Sounds like a plan. Are you from the UK! as there is a group called the Society for All Artists, used to be a member, but had to drop out, when I needed to get my money back in order.

I suggest that you reevaluate your morality.

What is the basis for your belief that you must personally hold the things that you review? I suggest that pride is at the root of your belief. If you can humble yourself, if you can compromise your standard, then you can still make a go of your niche.

But less of a go of it than if you build slowly and use the proceeds to Re-invest and actually have a hands-on review. Nothing Builds authority than knowing your Reviewer has handled the product.

Nothing makes me click away from a website faster than seeing the reviewer has done nothing more than google the product ... Amazon reviews say "this and this" ...Click the red cross in the corner.

Compared to I tried this product and the results were "this and this" ...Click the Referral/CTA link!

Non-hands on are a quick fix to get some money in. Hands-on is a way to sustained and high-level success.

In my travel Niche, this comes at GREAT expense...$1000's

But I can't review places I haven't been to! Not credibly anyway.

And I quite enjoy the Research lol

I still think it a pride issue.

All we need is know more than our readers and help them with this knowledge.

Unless you think that Kyle's training at WA is WRONG!

Hi Peter, I appreciate your observation. Were it just a case of pride, I'd happily swallow that and find wealth. :)

Holding the things that I review has nothing to do with my morals but claiming to write about something I have never touched, never used or never experienced, to me, feels like a deceit because of my beliefs.

If I openly said that I was collating the views of other reviewers, then I'm okay with that but to claim to be reviewing a product I have no tangible experience with presents me with an ethical dilemma.

The basis for that belief is the fourth precept of Buddhism:
https://www.thoughtco.com/the-fourth-buddhist-precept-450102

As I tried to explain to HeidiY below, I don't look down on people that ARE doing it because Buddhism is applied to the self, not to others. Everyone is free to live by their own path, just as I can choose mine.

I'm not going to abandon my niche but I'll find a way to make it work - there's been some fab suggestions in here already.

I think I'd enjoy the research of travelling to different places too, sadly two young children, one of which has special needs somewhat tethers my freedom to roam! :)

I share your views, I must admit.

I'd rather read a review written by someone that's walked among the ruins of Teotihuacan and felt the age of the stones than someone trying to retell the experience someone else has written.

Hi peter, i didn't say your opinion was wrong i said it would be less effective. Building a brand based on real hands on reviews will lead to better trust. But its costly and time consuming.

One way is to leverage the wealth of online opinion for your review and this will work but you will get more people being turned off and finding a better source of review.

Kyle dosnt want to scare new marketers away by saying you must buy all your products to review. Can you imagine reading that while training? So the solution is to promote the non hands on method. As it is proven to work and only requires a time investment. That is why its taught like that.

But it does not mean its the most effective way. Long term. Think about how you browse the net? If you felt the reviewer had never seen the product in person would you really rate their opinion?

There is no right or wrong way but i respect the OPs choice to keep it pure. And by focusing on the technique and how to could build a very powerful trusted brand and keep to his morals

Well worded!

I don't think I could have explained it so well. :)

my niche is art/design as well so I understand... but art is a broad niche so you could do some technique pages promoting materials you have. do something new with them that might inspire someone to buy the materials that may not have been interested from previous articles. with art materials, as I have written - you can compare student grade with artist quality and without owning them you know which is better and how to explain to people why they want artist quality. maybe you have purchased other brands of brushes in the past you liked and have a couple different brands you use that you like as well - you can review those - also if you use art materials on a regular basis you can make a good review if you buy a tube of watercolor in different brands rather than every color.... there are ways to review something even if you dont own it all... I know. art materials are expensive! as a creative you can find a way and once you push through you will break into a whole world of new ideas!

Definitely some great suggestions here. I'm thinking of doing a round-up of different inks in the near future.

Well us artists need to stick together

That we do. :)

I must have no morals cause I have no problem reviewing products I haven’t personally tried. I don’t say I have owned them or tried them, and I am upfront about why I feel one would be better than another.

I just written a best of post for body protectors, there is almost $3000 worth of products I reviewed, I have no need for 8 body protectors and I couldn’t shell out that sort of money to buy and resell at a loss.

It took me a lot more time to research and compare them all than the one product reviews I have done on things I do own, but it’s an area of interest to my niche and I want to provide them with my opinion on what’s out there.

And in the end it is only my opinion :)

Thanks Heidi,

I don't think you no morals (hence my comment about not judging those that review items they haven't purchased. I didn't want to offend those that somehow manage it! :)

I just can't get my head around reconciling the process of reviewing something I've never handled, especially when I've been providing samples of what I've created with the product. :)

Elsewhere on WA someone suggested that I review items I've never owned by doing a best of type review (as you suggested).

It seems like a good idea and one that I'm considering for a new niche that will target big-ticket items as an experiment.

Lol oh not offended Phil, bit tongue in cheek really. I am very open with my readers, it might mean less sales but at least I can sleep at night :)

Phil, drop me a pm and I'll share my best secrets how I managed to get out of this exact thing. :) Don't worry, we'll get You rollin' in no time. :-)

Review online courses or clickbank products. You can buy those and often there is a 60 day money-back guarantee. Skillshare, Udemy have art courses.

A good suggestion - especially as one of my reviews is about the five best skillshare courses to get started with pen and ink. I have a Skillshare subscription so that one was easy (but sadly unproductive). :)

Udemy turned me down as an affiliate via Rakuten so I guess I need to develop my website a bit first. :-/

It looks impossible to review only the stuff you own. Not many people can afford it. I know some in my niche who use to buy a series of items, test them, and then make a "best of.." type posts plus individual reviews. Then they sell the tested stuff on eBay, or they just use them as they are all active in the niche. So nobody can compete with them, those are reviews based on a first-hand experience and they have millions of visitors monthly.

As I said, this is unrealistic if you have to build sites with hundreds of reviews. This is the only way to create a constant income from this activity.

But there is also experience, and research, as an alternative, this is what I do. After a few decades of mountaineering, I can feel if an item is good or not. I do not have to carry a pack to know it is good. Have carried them a lot, for 30 years. I recommend only the stuff which I would use myself. So does it work? Absolutely.

The problem I have is the practical demonstration aspect.

As you say, with experience, you know if something is good or not but I got into the practice of demonstrating the item in my reviews which I can't do if I don't have the product (hence the painting myself into a corner).

I also take my own photographs as I'm worried about re-using images from elsewhere, so sourcing product photos could be a problem too.

Kudos on your niche - I'd imagine the average price on products there would be high enough to attract a reasonable commission.

So these are unique items? Not possible to put a hand on it somewhere in a gallery, make a picture, etc? This is what I do sometimes, enter an outdoor shop and check an item if there is a detail I need to know more about.

Not really - they're pens, brushes, that sort of thing.

Unfortunately, in my zeal to produce the very best review I could, I included sample drawings etc that I created during testing so readers could see how it performed.

I think that technique posts might be my way out until I think of something better.

just keeping going you never know where your ideas will take you.

Thanks Steven.
I'm not planning on abandoning my niche site as it started as a passion project when I couldn't decide on a niche (which is ironic as I clearly had one all along).

I just need to create a tangible plan to keep going so I don't quit!
Fortunately there are some ideas here that have got me thinking. I love this community. :)

I don't have time to do it now but you should conect with Frank who is a characature artist in Hawaii. He has a really interesting site.

check out 1signbanner that's his screen name here

Thanks Steven - I'll get in touch. :)

OK, my standard niche advice is here: Then, to speak to your specific situation. I, like you, never review products that I don't own, so I'm right there with you. However, what I do is use the site to teach, your technique posts are the direction to keep the site going. Provide lots of value to your readers and you'll make more sales. Continue looking for great keywords to build your traffic.

You can always 'punt' and move to the next idea, after all, you get 25 sites here.

Thanks Mel - I think you're right about the technique aspect. I've focused so much on my reviews since I started that I think I lost sight of what my niche is really about.

You seem to have answered your own question ...at least in the short term.

Technique and how to posts (potentially recommening a reviewed product) sounds like youtube could be huge for your niche. That should keep you busy for a while and hopefully to the point of drawing some revenue to re invest in materials to review.

Got to say i share your moral view on non hands on reviews ...something i struggle with morally...

You're totally right - and technique posts would enable me to start feeding into internal links (which apparently is good for SEO).

YouTube scares me. I did create a video class a couple of years back but I don't know why I've not been able to create one since.

Have you checked out jays live classes last month. It was a YouTube special.

You could even do youtube mute / subtitled just focussing on the brush stroke or whatever. I am too shy to stand in front of a camera but there are always other ways to make youtube content !

I bought a drone, it wouldn't work for you but my travel niche its great!

I'll have to watch that. I've not taken the time to watch Jay's training yet but I've heard it's excellent.

The YouTube themed content could be just what I need to get going. Thanks Stephen!

See more comments

How have you handled painting yourself into a niche corner?

How have you handled painting yourself into a niche corner?

asked in
Keyword, Niche and Market Research
Updated

After doing very little since I joined in 2016, I made a plan and got my niche site started four weeks ago.

Things were going well, I loved my design and I wrote some s

Phil, have you thought about inviting WA members who paint to do a guest blog. Whilst I paint as a hobby, it is very poorly, no that is not an offer.

Thanks Stuart, I'm actually very interested in getting guest bloggers involved. One of the ideas I had while brainstorming today was to interview or showcase artists in my area too.

Sounds like a plan. Are you from the UK! as there is a group called the Society for All Artists, used to be a member, but had to drop out, when I needed to get my money back in order.

I suggest that you reevaluate your morality.

What is the basis for your belief that you must personally hold the things that you review? I suggest that pride is at the root of your belief. If you can humble yourself, if you can compromise your standard, then you can still make a go of your niche.

But less of a go of it than if you build slowly and use the proceeds to Re-invest and actually have a hands-on review. Nothing Builds authority than knowing your Reviewer has handled the product.

Nothing makes me click away from a website faster than seeing the reviewer has done nothing more than google the product ... Amazon reviews say "this and this" ...Click the red cross in the corner.

Compared to I tried this product and the results were "this and this" ...Click the Referral/CTA link!

Non-hands on are a quick fix to get some money in. Hands-on is a way to sustained and high-level success.

In my travel Niche, this comes at GREAT expense...$1000's

But I can't review places I haven't been to! Not credibly anyway.

And I quite enjoy the Research lol

I still think it a pride issue.

All we need is know more than our readers and help them with this knowledge.

Unless you think that Kyle's training at WA is WRONG!

Hi Peter, I appreciate your observation. Were it just a case of pride, I'd happily swallow that and find wealth. :)

Holding the things that I review has nothing to do with my morals but claiming to write about something I have never touched, never used or never experienced, to me, feels like a deceit because of my beliefs.

If I openly said that I was collating the views of other reviewers, then I'm okay with that but to claim to be reviewing a product I have no tangible experience with presents me with an ethical dilemma.

The basis for that belief is the fourth precept of Buddhism:
https://www.thoughtco.com/the-fourth-buddhist-precept-450102

As I tried to explain to HeidiY below, I don't look down on people that ARE doing it because Buddhism is applied to the self, not to others. Everyone is free to live by their own path, just as I can choose mine.

I'm not going to abandon my niche but I'll find a way to make it work - there's been some fab suggestions in here already.

I think I'd enjoy the research of travelling to different places too, sadly two young children, one of which has special needs somewhat tethers my freedom to roam! :)

I share your views, I must admit.

I'd rather read a review written by someone that's walked among the ruins of Teotihuacan and felt the age of the stones than someone trying to retell the experience someone else has written.

Hi peter, i didn't say your opinion was wrong i said it would be less effective. Building a brand based on real hands on reviews will lead to better trust. But its costly and time consuming.

One way is to leverage the wealth of online opinion for your review and this will work but you will get more people being turned off and finding a better source of review.

Kyle dosnt want to scare new marketers away by saying you must buy all your products to review. Can you imagine reading that while training? So the solution is to promote the non hands on method. As it is proven to work and only requires a time investment. That is why its taught like that.

But it does not mean its the most effective way. Long term. Think about how you browse the net? If you felt the reviewer had never seen the product in person would you really rate their opinion?

There is no right or wrong way but i respect the OPs choice to keep it pure. And by focusing on the technique and how to could build a very powerful trusted brand and keep to his morals

Well worded!

I don't think I could have explained it so well. :)

my niche is art/design as well so I understand... but art is a broad niche so you could do some technique pages promoting materials you have. do something new with them that might inspire someone to buy the materials that may not have been interested from previous articles. with art materials, as I have written - you can compare student grade with artist quality and without owning them you know which is better and how to explain to people why they want artist quality. maybe you have purchased other brands of brushes in the past you liked and have a couple different brands you use that you like as well - you can review those - also if you use art materials on a regular basis you can make a good review if you buy a tube of watercolor in different brands rather than every color.... there are ways to review something even if you dont own it all... I know. art materials are expensive! as a creative you can find a way and once you push through you will break into a whole world of new ideas!

Definitely some great suggestions here. I'm thinking of doing a round-up of different inks in the near future.

Well us artists need to stick together

That we do. :)

I must have no morals cause I have no problem reviewing products I haven’t personally tried. I don’t say I have owned them or tried them, and I am upfront about why I feel one would be better than another.

I just written a best of post for body protectors, there is almost $3000 worth of products I reviewed, I have no need for 8 body protectors and I couldn’t shell out that sort of money to buy and resell at a loss.

It took me a lot more time to research and compare them all than the one product reviews I have done on things I do own, but it’s an area of interest to my niche and I want to provide them with my opinion on what’s out there.

And in the end it is only my opinion :)

Thanks Heidi,

I don't think you no morals (hence my comment about not judging those that review items they haven't purchased. I didn't want to offend those that somehow manage it! :)

I just can't get my head around reconciling the process of reviewing something I've never handled, especially when I've been providing samples of what I've created with the product. :)

Elsewhere on WA someone suggested that I review items I've never owned by doing a best of type review (as you suggested).

It seems like a good idea and one that I'm considering for a new niche that will target big-ticket items as an experiment.

Lol oh not offended Phil, bit tongue in cheek really. I am very open with my readers, it might mean less sales but at least I can sleep at night :)

Phil, drop me a pm and I'll share my best secrets how I managed to get out of this exact thing. :) Don't worry, we'll get You rollin' in no time. :-)

Review online courses or clickbank products. You can buy those and often there is a 60 day money-back guarantee. Skillshare, Udemy have art courses.

A good suggestion - especially as one of my reviews is about the five best skillshare courses to get started with pen and ink. I have a Skillshare subscription so that one was easy (but sadly unproductive). :)

Udemy turned me down as an affiliate via Rakuten so I guess I need to develop my website a bit first. :-/

It looks impossible to review only the stuff you own. Not many people can afford it. I know some in my niche who use to buy a series of items, test them, and then make a "best of.." type posts plus individual reviews. Then they sell the tested stuff on eBay, or they just use them as they are all active in the niche. So nobody can compete with them, those are reviews based on a first-hand experience and they have millions of visitors monthly.

As I said, this is unrealistic if you have to build sites with hundreds of reviews. This is the only way to create a constant income from this activity.

But there is also experience, and research, as an alternative, this is what I do. After a few decades of mountaineering, I can feel if an item is good or not. I do not have to carry a pack to know it is good. Have carried them a lot, for 30 years. I recommend only the stuff which I would use myself. So does it work? Absolutely.

The problem I have is the practical demonstration aspect.

As you say, with experience, you know if something is good or not but I got into the practice of demonstrating the item in my reviews which I can't do if I don't have the product (hence the painting myself into a corner).

I also take my own photographs as I'm worried about re-using images from elsewhere, so sourcing product photos could be a problem too.

Kudos on your niche - I'd imagine the average price on products there would be high enough to attract a reasonable commission.

So these are unique items? Not possible to put a hand on it somewhere in a gallery, make a picture, etc? This is what I do sometimes, enter an outdoor shop and check an item if there is a detail I need to know more about.

Not really - they're pens, brushes, that sort of thing.

Unfortunately, in my zeal to produce the very best review I could, I included sample drawings etc that I created during testing so readers could see how it performed.

I think that technique posts might be my way out until I think of something better.

just keeping going you never know where your ideas will take you.

Thanks Steven.
I'm not planning on abandoning my niche site as it started as a passion project when I couldn't decide on a niche (which is ironic as I clearly had one all along).

I just need to create a tangible plan to keep going so I don't quit!
Fortunately there are some ideas here that have got me thinking. I love this community. :)

I don't have time to do it now but you should conect with Frank who is a characature artist in Hawaii. He has a really interesting site.

check out 1signbanner that's his screen name here

Thanks Steven - I'll get in touch. :)

OK, my standard niche advice is here: Then, to speak to your specific situation. I, like you, never review products that I don't own, so I'm right there with you. However, what I do is use the site to teach, your technique posts are the direction to keep the site going. Provide lots of value to your readers and you'll make more sales. Continue looking for great keywords to build your traffic.

You can always 'punt' and move to the next idea, after all, you get 25 sites here.

Thanks Mel - I think you're right about the technique aspect. I've focused so much on my reviews since I started that I think I lost sight of what my niche is really about.

You seem to have answered your own question ...at least in the short term.

Technique and how to posts (potentially recommening a reviewed product) sounds like youtube could be huge for your niche. That should keep you busy for a while and hopefully to the point of drawing some revenue to re invest in materials to review.

Got to say i share your moral view on non hands on reviews ...something i struggle with morally...

You're totally right - and technique posts would enable me to start feeding into internal links (which apparently is good for SEO).

YouTube scares me. I did create a video class a couple of years back but I don't know why I've not been able to create one since.

Have you checked out jays live classes last month. It was a YouTube special.

You could even do youtube mute / subtitled just focussing on the brush stroke or whatever. I am too shy to stand in front of a camera but there are always other ways to make youtube content !

I bought a drone, it wouldn't work for you but my travel niche its great!

I'll have to watch that. I've not taken the time to watch Jay's training yet but I've heard it's excellent.

The YouTube themed content could be just what I need to get going. Thanks Stephen!

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