When you first venture into affiliate marketing, you want to choose the niche that will be the best place for you to begin. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office">

There are two basic reasons to put a lot of effort into choosing your first niche:

1.     There’s a lot to learn about the business of affiliate marketing, so if you choose a niche you’re already proficient in, you can spend your time and effort on learning affiliate marketing rather than learning about the niche topic.

2.     You’re going to spend a lot of time immersed in the topic of your website, so you need to like the niche. You’re going to think about it, write about it, and look at it from more angles than you ever imagined existed in order to make money.

So how do you choose your first niche? There’s an ancient Greek adage that says, “Know Thyself.” It’s the one you should apply when choosing your first affiliate marketing niche.

Step #1: Make a List of Things You Like to Do or Are Interested In

What you like to do is reflected by the things in your living space. You’ll find books and magazines you read and the music you listen to. You’ll find things you collect. You’ll find pictures of places you’ve been or mementoes of experiences you’ve enjoyed.

Step #2: Make a List of Things You Do Well

Sound redundant? It isn’t. There are things you like to do that you’re not very good at, and there are things that you’re good at that you might not particularly like to do.

For example, you might love to paint, but you know you’re not likely to become one of the great masters. On the other hand, you might be really good at accounting but really hate doing it.

Step #3: Make a List of Ways You Can Make Money on the Internet

Some obvious examples for this list are affiliate sales, AdSense, subscriptions, classified advertising, etc. But you shouldn’t stop there.

Could you write a how-to ebook? Could you draw designs related to an interest (birdhouse designs, wind turbine design)? Are you proficient enough at anything to sell your services as a consultant (dog training, accounting)? Let your imagination run wild. Write down every moneymaking possibility that you can think of.

Step #4: Find the “Sweet Spot”

You now have all of the information you need to choose your first niche. Take a look at the three lists. You’ll find areas that overlap. The ideal, of course, would be an overlap of something you like to do + something you’re good at + something you could make money doing. That’s probably not going to happen, so you need to find a niche that overlaps on two of your lists.

For example, you might find a niche on your “like to do” list that also appears on your “good at” list. If making money is secondary to enjoying what you do, this is the niche you should choose. You’ll be happier in the long run, and maybe you can find a way to turn a profit.

However, if making money is your primary objective, you’ll want to choose niches that appear on either your “like to do” or your “good at” list that overlap with niches on your “make money” list.

Choose your first niche using these criteria. While success is never guaranteed, you’ll be much more likely to succeed if you’re confident when you take your first steps into the wonderful world of Internet marketing.

Yours in knowledge and success,

Phyllis Jordan
http://TheOnlineMarketingBlueprint.com