Make More Money By Establishing Niche Leadership
NICHE LEADERSHIP
Websites that make money are those that establish a place of leadership within their market niche. People want to feel that they can trust the author of a website. They want to believe in the “right-thinking” of experts in a subject area to lead them into a better outcome than what they are currently experiencing.
People who come to your website want to know that you understand them. It helps them to know that you have been in their shoes and have found effective solutions.
I find the easiest way to do that is to start with the big picture first, next make a list of questions people in the niche have a burning desire to know and then search until you find the optimal solution or solutions to the problem.
People want you to deliver the winning run for the home team. They want someone in the driver’s seat who will take them where they want to go. And yes, they want free beer on tap 24/7 so you have to be prepared to write a significant amount of free content and give away free stuff like training modules, well-written free reports, whitepapers or eBooks before you can expect a sale.
START BY ESTABLISHING YOUR POINT OF VIEW
Leadership in a niche is established by taking a stand and establishing a strong point of view (POV). Other terms for POV are bias or opinion.
POV is easily seen in the weight-loss niche. Some weight-loss leaders advocate a high protein, low carb diet while others have a bias toward a high-carb low-fat vegetarian diet of raw-foods and no meat. There is certainly a big starving crowd of potential customers for each opinion; but to create loyalty, niche leaders must confidently present one point of view and never waffle between the two.
You simply must take a stand without caving in to fear of going broke. Building your website is like declaring your religious or political beliefs. You are either a conservative or a liberal. You cannot support both parties wholeheartedly.
You could have a strong POV that working for an employer for 40 years and saving as much as you can is the best way to building true wealth. But you could just as easily adopt the bias that having the time freedom and potential of unlimited income is a better way to build true wealth.
If you want to make money with your website, be prepared to take a strong stand and stick with it.
Market leaders with a strong POV go the extra mile to substantiate their logic, find solutions and come up with innovative ways to deliver solutions to their starving crowd of people. The medium used to accomplish that objective is through website content.
CONTENT FOR YOUR NICHE
People are attracted to a website by its content and point of view. Content that establishes a strong point of view and is useful, informative, valuable and/or has a lot of entertainment value will attract and retain a starving crowd of people more than anything else.
Feature articles, editorials, substantive product reviews, videos, podcasts, interviews with other experts and interactive features like opinion polls, surveys, forums, discussions and debates all serve the needs of your website audience.
Before you settle on your website niche, take some time to study the content that has already been created from other webmasters. Watch their videos. Listen to a few podcasts. Read a few articles.
Know what others in your industry are saying and be prepared to cite references from their opinions to substantiate your own.
ANALYZE THE COMPETITION
One of the ways to establish yourself as an expert and market leader in your niche is to examine competitors within the niche. Determine what they are doing right and then ask yourself, how can I do it better? By doing this you eliminate the competition and instead turn them into "co-opetition". Whoa...now isn't that an abundant thought?
Even more powerful questions to ask, “What are they doing wrong and…
What are they not doing that my audience wants?”
By answering those questions, you can establish yourself as the “go to leader” in your niche.
Thanks for reading this article. I look forward to your comments. If you are looking for more information on a simple process for identifying the perfect money-making niche, check out my recent WA tutorial, https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/training/show-me-the-moneyhow-to-quickly-identify-your-online-money-making-niche
Recent Comments
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I just finished reading this. Sometimes taking a strong point of view can work against you, if you find the truth and you realize that you are promoting something that is different from the truth. Then you have to decide whether to change your views or keep on promoting a lie just for the sake of profits. Unfortunately, many institutions do this.
For example if you've always believed that margarine is better than butter, but find out later that natural butter from pasture fed cows are far healthier.
Anyway this is my two cents worth.
Overall, I really like your stance on authority in a niche, and yes, trust is needed before this can happen.
Thanks for your comment Lemm. As a website developer, you are in charge of the content and I know you would never knowingly promote a product that is not truthful. that's why it's important for you to have experience with a product before you recommend it to your web audience.
I have observed many big name bloggers who started out recommending a particular service that they have had good experience with and then later change their allegiance when a better version comes along. Don't be afraid to take a stand. ~Rebecca
Very helpful. I am having trouble finding my niche and you gave me some more things to think about.
Hi Nancy. Thanks for your comment. Two recommendations for you:
1) read through my training, Show Me the Money...click on the link above to access. 2) Locate the post written by BIS on how to break down a big market segment into a niche.
You will find it easier to build your online business if you choose a niche centered around your passion and life experience.
You are most welcome. I am happy to be of help. ~Rebecca
P.S. Check out my training on finding a money making niche.
It seems like you have a lot of confidence in the way you think. We need leaders like you to guide us through this learning process, I am glad to have read your blog, I will keep in mind your advice and try and use it as much as possible!
Alex,
Thanks for taking the time to read and add your comment, Alex. There are indeed some principles of internet marketing that I have been able to prove with first hand experience. Doing so builds confidence. Stay with Wealthy Affiliate. The knowledge you gain will help to build your confidence as well. ~Rebecca
Great advice! Reminds me of a post I just wrote!
Another good tip about being an authority early on is hosting lots of other experts on your site, so people will view your blogs as THE authority.
Absolutely BRILLIANT! Yes, sites who invite multiple "experts" to add content do indeed establish leadership as an authority in their niche much more quickly than DIYs...a concept I call "Co-opetition". >:o) Rebecca
Very sound advice certainly narrows it down for us and to focus on specific points thank you
My dear Katie....leadership in the niche you have chosen as perfect for you will lead you to success beyond your wildest dreams. Think deeply about who you would love to hang out with every day. Who would you love to help and/or mentor? That is who your niche is. Then think about what problems, issues, needs, wants and interests they have. That becomes your content. Once you've written your content and are getting consistent traffic you can then monetize your site.
Thanks for your comment! ~Rebecca
thank you I am starting to think the way I used when planning and seeing a wedding through the various stages, it is getting it into a format that makes sense in the written word, as I go I gain more insight and am gaining momentum
I found this to be extremely useful. I've been lax. It got me really thinking again. Thank you!!!!
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Thank you Rebecca.
You are most welcome. It won't be long before you see how everything fits together.