Waste Affiliate MoJo on Not-Your-Niche Products.

How to Waste Your Affiliate Mojo on Not-Your-Niche Products.

Just saw a post from Jeremy Vaught about sticking to your niche - and only niches. And this brings up how you can simply waste all your time trying to promote affiliate products you know nothing about and could care less - just the money, honey.

There is no - "just the money, honey" - in life. Check out Earl Nightingale's "Strangest Secret" or his "Lead the Field Series". You only get money after you've contributed something of value to someone else.

That's what I found on eBay - if your aim in life is to become a Big Box retailer, sure you can "make money" on eBay. You are retailing things/stuff/schlock for just above your cost to people who believe they are getting a real bargain. However, not all of us want or are interested in being the next Sam Walton.

Find your niche and market from there (niche-market). Sure, you can expand to related niches, but that's the point - you have an option. If you like retailing and selling - great, be that. But retailers and salesmen have their own niches they operate in. Wal-Mart doesn't try to cover everything possible - they have key items from most the key categories people want. The products are fair-enough quality, but are cheap enough so they can make a profit and still undersell just about everyone.

The story I tell, though, is about the Wal-Mart bicycle repairman. There isn't one, of course. This town was all up in arms because a Wal-Mart was coming in, just outside of town. Doom and gloom was settling in. This bicycle shop owner went in when they opened up, looked around, and came back to put a sign in his store. It read, "Can you tell me the name of the Wal-Mart bicycle repairman." And his business boomed. Sure, they might by a cheap bike at Wal-Mart - but they'd bring it to him to get assembled, and adjusted, and repaired. His traffic and income increased because he was able to amplify the demand in his own niche.

It's not like your mojo got up and went because you have some "new competition". The best way to deal with "competition" is to out-create them in your niche. Don't try to compete with them on their terms. Raising prices because you have much better-quality items and give real personal service and all sorts of qualified technical advice from your niche - that will bring tons of new and repeat traffic into your shop. As long as you mean it. But cutting prices when you can't possibly compete with a mega-store - where your product is just one of several thousand they stock... sure suicide.

Look Jack Humphrey is still pretty much unknown, although he cuts a wide swath in his particular niche. And pulls down 10's of thousands every month - because he is very good at his particular staked out territory in Internet Marketing. But you hardly hear a mention of him in social media circles - unless they are also into Internet Marketing. But Jack thrives on social media... that's what he's selling to people: how to market their stuff via social media.

Social Media, however, doesn't even see him. Because it is so vast it covers the entire realm of the Internet. And all the social media gurus have their own interests. Sure, they market, but few are devotedly into that niche - they are into their own niche.

And that's the point. Look, become an expert in one little thing and then find affiliate or your own product which solves that one little thing. And if you promote it right and get yourself known - everyone looking for that one little thing will come to you for your solution.

The guy who invented the better mousetrap and got the world stomping a new path to his door - he didn't also work on rat-traps, beaver-traps, bear-traps, politician-traps. He perfected his one little mousetrap. Now, once this is successfully bringing in income, he is able to perfect other models, and perhaps take on other denizens of the house - yes, rats, but probably cockroaches, flies, moths, wasps, spiders - and all sorts of things that people who want mice out of their house would also like help with.

So - invest you mojo in your one niche. And keep it there. Wild oats goes only so far when spread to the winds. Keep it in your own field and expect a grand and bountiful harvest.

Cheers!