Internet Marketing Venturer

Hey guys,

After I’m (mostly) done with 30DC Day13, I may freely say it wasn’t that bad as I feared during the weekend. It really is easy to write articles. For my two niches I found plenty of hi quality 24k golden nuggets, and ideas were sparking instantly. Now, as with all new techniques we learn, it needs some brushing, but in a month or two from now, I can see myself exploring another set of niches, and maybe outsourceing article writing as Ed does. I hear there are people who’ll write articles for $6 a piece, but haven’t check the quality of copywrite yet.

And here is some inspiration for you guys:

“He created 38 niche sites, got them up to $53,000 dollars in profits and then sold them for 5 million dollars and he sold his first Internet Business for 3.5 million dollars. He’s also bought and sold $14 million dollars worth of web sites in the last 12 months”

Who do you think I’m talking about. Yeah, you’re right. Ed, you’re the man! Ed Dale Bio on Stompernet.

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While doing my 30DC key phrase research using ‘male yeast infection’, first thing that I noticed is a big disproportion in GTrends when comparing ‘male yeast infection’ with a know phrase that is rated No1 in Google.

Compared to a different, lower volume No1 key phrase it became even more confusing.

The first comparison

Looking at this graph you might think that the concurrent keyword has more or less the equal number of visits per day as ‘male yeast infection’ that is somewhere around 550. But in reality, on a good day it has 60, and on a bad day only 15 visits a day! We are talking HUGE difference here, ten times less traffic.

The second comparison

Now, the second keyword delivers an average of 33 unique visitors daily. So when I checked In Languages two days ago, this is very important, red bar representing ‘yu midi’ keyword was 11, ‘male yeast infection’ defaults to 100, so ‘yu midi’ should get 11% of ‘male yeast infection’ clicks. That’s 60 clicks. It was getting 33. By the way, I’ll show you the way how to figure out the exact percentage of lower volume keywords against higher ones, in one of my next posts.

Now what’s interesting is this: While I went to google trends today to get snapshots for this blog post my ‘yu midi’ keyword gets only 5%. How about that! What this tells us is that the English bar calculation is based on clicks from last couple of days, and that ‘male yeast infection’ is highly influenced by thousands of thirty day challengers that are using it in last three days.

Here is the google analytics data for ‘yu midi’ keyword to prove that ‘yu midi’ keyword, however, didn’t change it’s traffic dramatically in past two days:

Note that the last graph value is current day that isn’t over yet.

Conclusion

With a possible fluctuation based on assumption that not all users will click on the No1 rated result for a specific search term, the conclusions are:

• Google Trends is highly unpredictable tool for data analysis of low volume level keywords
• ‘male yeast infection’ has obviously lost some credibility in the past three days
• use your own No1 rated keywords (or the ones you have access to) to calibrate Google trends
• Even then, don’t take results for granted

I would like to hear from you if you have done your similar research, because together we can calibrate Google Trends more precisely if we’d all share our results.

Now we need to check if there are some affiliate programs for our 7 niche markets. This will tell us if the market is mature.

1. Matchsticks

As I thought, no real affiliates for this one.

2. Keyboard Labels

Some very nice affiliate programs here.

3. Picture Framing

Lots of affiliates, but a bit off track, as it seems that most popular are Digital Picture Frames. Maybe a potential niche? This is so great about this research, new ideas pop out all the time because we are still in ‘noticing mode’, not judging.

4. Wind Chimes

Lots of true affiliate programs, love this one. Looks like a really strong market.

5. Outdoor Umbrellas

Affiliate programs that sells outdoor umbrellas, what else?

6. Toothbrush Holders

Another mature market.

7. Sea glass

This is great. I might as well buy my wife a great birthday gift right now!

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OK, by now we have a list of keywords related to our niche market, so we’re going to check for competition. Not to judge if our niche is good enough, we’re just noticing if there’s competition, ’cause competition is good.

Here goes:

1. Matchsticks

I could as well skip this one, but here goes: keyword is all over the place. It’s funny that real matchsticks are not in top results.

2. Keyboard Labels

Nice, lots of keyboard labels of all sorts and kind.

3. Picture Framing

Uh… tons of websites. There’s even a magazine on the subject: www.pictureframingmagazine.com

4. Wind Chimes

Very nice results.

5. Outdoor Umbrellas

Not so much DIY results as I expected. Lots of paid ads.

6. Toothbrush Holders

Expected something like this. Seems like this is a larger niche market.

7. Sea Glass

Nice. Lots of hobby websites here, some shops. This is my favorite niche candidate. I’d love to work on this one, but if the numbers say don’t, I won’t waste time.

Here are my niche market candidates as seen by wordtracker. The number before keyword indicates estimated search volume per day:

1. Matchsticks

Wordtracker results (cropped):

188 pictures of matchstick men
93 matchstick men
61 matchstick lighter
59 matchsticks
45 status quo pictures of matchstick men
42 matchstick
42 matchstick blinds
37 matchstick puzzle solutions
33 matchstick puzzles
29 pictures of matchstick and francis rossi
28 matchstick productions
22 frances rossi- pictures of matchstick men
22 status quo pictures of matchstick men mp3
21 matchstick shades
21 status quo matchstick men
19 matchstick art
17 matchstick curtains
17 matchstick kits
17 pictures of matchstick men status quo
15 matchstick man
15 tin matchstick holder
14 matchstick roller shades
12 hans uit hoogeveen muziekgroep matchstick
12 matchstick roll up blinds
10 bamboo matchstick window blinds
10 how are matchsticks made
10 instructions for matchstick cross
10 matchstick people
10 pictures of matchstick men status
10 status quo pictures of matchstick man
10 toy matchstick car chevy nov

I thought that people might be interested in matchstick tricks like I am (silly me!) but no! They are only interested in “pictures of matchstick men” which is a 1968. Status Quo single! I’m disappointed.

2. Keyboard Labels

Wordtracker results (non-cropped!):

7 protools keyboard label
5 computer keyboard labels
3 keyboard labels

What? “Is that possible?” - I thought. We’ll it seems that not many people are using specialized software like 3DS Studio MAX, Adobe Photoshop, or Cakewalk SONAR or ProTools, and are aware of fact that you can make your life a lot easier if you’d get those keyboard labels that tell you which key is connected to which shortcut. Pity. I won’t be the one to promote, I’m in for the sure thing.

3. Picture Framing

Wordtracker results (cropped):

167 picture framing
153 picture framing supplies
67 diy picture framing
44 picture framing materials
26 custom picture framing
26 picture framing tools
22 do it yourself picture framing
21 creative picture framing
21 picture framing new hampshire?
21 white mule picture framing
19 picture framing los angeles, ca? ca california
19 picture framing orlando, florida fl
17 picture framing classes in miami
17 picture framing hardware
17 picture framing jacksonville, florida fl
17 picture framing new york?
15 picture framing business
15 picture framing tampa, florida
15 used picture framing equipment
14 homemade picture framing
14 picture framing orange county? ca california
14 picture framing ?? philadelphia, pa?? philadelphia
12 big picture framing
12 framing and picture matting
12 picture framing connecticut
10 lark designs picture framing
10 picture framing colorado springs
10 picture framing equipment
10 picture framing florida
10 picture framing georgia
10 picture framing jacksonville, florida
10 picture framing orlando, florida
10 picture framing tampa, florida fl
10 saint george ut picture framing

Mmmm… interesting. But we are not to judge jet. Just observe.

4. Wind Chimes

Wordtracker results (cropped):

1151 wind chimes
343 unique wind chimes
245 outdoor wind chimes
112 indoor wind chimes
86 metal wind chimes
75 bamboo wind chimes
70 glass wind chimes
67 garden wind chimes
65 making wind chimes
59 music of the spheres wind chimes
58 make wind chimes
56 woodstock wind chimes
54 best wind chimes
52 how to make wind chimes
51 affordable wind chimes
49 instructions on making wind chimes
49 quality wind chimes
47 feng shui wind chimes
45 musical wind chimes
35 corinthian wind chimes
33 large wind chimes
33 wind chimes projects
31 old bottle wind chimes
31 tuned wind chimes
29 big wind chimes
29 ceramic wind chimes
29 dog wind chimes
29 large bamboo wind chimes
28 personalized wind chimes
28 wooden wind chimes
26 cathedral wind chimes

Cool! Go Wind Chimes!

5. Outdoor Umbrellas

Wordtracker results (full list):

204 outdoor umbrellas
15 outdoor rectangular umbrellas
12 outdoor patio umbrellas
7 cafe outdoor umbrellas
7 colorful outdoor umbrellas
7 metal outdoor umbrellas
7 umbrellas for outdoor patio table
5 garden outdoor decor umbrellas and sun shades
3 adjustable outdoor umbrellas
3 commercial outdoor umbrellas
3 freestanding outdoor umbrellas
3 garden outdoor decor brookstone umbrellas and sun shades
3 garden outdoor decor frontgate umbrellas and sun shades
3 garden outdoor decor frontgate umbrellas and sun shades fine
3 garden outdoor decor umbrellas and sun shades gardenside
3 metal outdoor restaurant umbrellas
3 outdoor furniture and umbrellas
3 outdoor furniture umbrellas
3 outdoor umbrellas for a pub
3 umbrellas outdoor patio table

Oh, that’s a bit scarce. OK, we’ll see.

6. Toothbrush Holders

Wordtracker results (full list):

54 toothbrush holders
12 ginger toothbrush holders
8 medicine cabinet toothbrush holders
7 pictures of toothbrush holders
3 ceramic toothbrush holders
3 wall toothbrush holders

Hmmm… not a very popular one, but I always hear people complaining that most toothbrush holders are no good because they are to wide or too narrow, that bacterias invade your toothbrush if a holder is opened one or so.

7. Sea Glass

Wordtracker results (cropped):

421 sea glass
181 sea glass jewelry
37 private sea glass collections
19 glass door with sea glass inside
17 questions about sea glass
15 antique sea glass
15 sea glass hardware
15 sea glass wind chimes
14 great beaches in maine to find sea glass
12 bead glass id lanyard sea
12 clay and sea glass
12 glass tile sea grass
12 newfoundland sea glass
12 sea glass jewelry handmade
12 sea glass san diego tide
12 yellow sea glass
10 creativity for kids jewelry designer sea glass and wire
10 door with sea glass
10 how is sea glass made
10 pre-drilled sea glass for jewelry
10 sea glass beach in southern ca
10 sea glass crafts
10 sea glass england
10 sea glass for aquariums
10 sea of glass
10 sterling silver sea glass bracelet
8 decorative sea glass
8 free stained glass patterns - sea shells
8 how to find sea glass
8 sea glass anklet
8 sea glass bead id lanyard

This one is cool. I got to tell you that I had no idea that such a hobby as sea glass collecting exists until I started roaming those niche-idea-givers websites mentioned in my previous post. Now I can tell that people are really into this! Great!

So that would be Wordtracker’s advice on our ideas, now let’s explore deeper into those niche markets.

Brining my blog up to speed, I’ll do a quick recap of 30DC Market Research phase. That would be Day 1 - Day 6.

Finding Niches

If you look up definition of Niche on Wikipedia you will see that “A niche market is a focused, targetable portion (subset) of a market sector.” That’s what we are looking for. Not a market, not a product, we are looking for a niche market. To find some inspiration and data on what are people into now, we use some great free tools:

• eBay Pulse - What people are buying?
• Technorati - What people are talking about?
• Google groups - What people are passionate about?
• Google Trends - What is interesting daily
• Yahoo Answers - What answers do people want?

In addition to that, you can and should always use real life as an inspiration and a resource. Look around, see what’s hot, avoid what’s not.

THE STATISTICS

After finding some niche markets, hopefully lot’s of them, we have to pick 7 of them and make a list. Now using Wordtracker’s free keyword tool we shall see how popular these 7 niche markets are. We just type in the niche name or the term you would enter for example in Google search if you want to find that specific niche market.

I saw somewhere in 30DC Forums that people should never reveal their niche markets. This may be true, but I’ll go public with mine, we’re all here in one giant Internet Marketing experiment, or school if you prefer:

Matchsticks
Keyboard Labels
Picture Framing
Wind Chimes
Outdoor Umbrellas
Toothbrush Holders
Sea glass

That’s it. I think these are a very good niche market candidates, but let’s see what happens in the next post.

OK, got some catching up to do on my blog posts, so first I’ll review Thirty Day Challenge pre-season. I won’t go in detail here, so what we did was:

Team building

As suggested by Ed best team size is 4-5 people, but to my knowledge many teams are larger then that. My team NYUK for example has 15 members. During last year’s challenge there were no Facebook group rooms, as my group mate Shamir said, which seem to serve well in team chat, so larger group may just do well this year.

Firefox tuning

Firefox is what dr. Ed prescribes as the right tool for Internet Marketer, and by all means he’s right. The true power of Firefox lies in huge number of Firefox Add-ons and some of them will be more then useful for our cause:

• Del.icio.us Bookmark managing website
• Google Notebook Online notebook
• Scribe Fire Post to your blog quick and easy from within your Firefox add-on
• Search Status Shows website performance
• SEO for Firefox A very nice Search Engine Optimization tool
• Session Manager Saves and restores the state of all Firefox windows
• Stumble Upon One tool we don’t use for it’s intended purpose which is displaying random pages to user
• Twitterbar Post to your twitter.com account from Firefox address bar

RSS Feeds

RSS or “Really Simple Syndication” is a form of web feed used to publish frequently updated content such as blogs. User gets to see all different RSS feeds he’s subscribed to in one well organized place such as Bloglines , so browsing through new daily posts is an easy task. You want to be informed.

iTunes

iTunes is a great tool for Mac, available for PC as well. Not a must, but if used to download all new podcasts you’re subscribed to, acts similar as RSS aggregator. It keeps all your podcasts in one place available for playback anytime.

Skype

A great tool for communication, especially for our Thirty Day Challenge; that’s Skype. Live calls, text chat, group text chat… all is possible from within this one cool piece of software that you surely heard of before.

Facebook

One of the fastest growing online community websites. Facebook is a place to meet 30DC team mates and other 30DC challengers as well.

Twitter

Twitter can easily be called the internet phenomenon. It allows you to post short 140 characters messages to your twitter account. Your friends can then track your posts online and even on their Cell phones! You can even post using your Mobile phone, and I hear that Orange mobile operator charges nothing for SMS sent to twitter number. This becomes highly addictive after just a couple of days of twitting so beware!

YouTube Film Competition

Uh, this is a cool one! We were invited to create a promotional video for Thirty Day Challenge and the winner will be announced these days. If you want to see my humble contribution checkout my Thirty Day Challenge Promo Video . And my favorite is of course my team mate Phill’s video. Check it out and give it a five’r!

Hey guys! I decided to leave the default Wordpress title as is, as this is truly my first post, and a big hello to You all!

In the next thirty days I will be commenting on the Thirty Day Challenge, the biggest and greatest ever free online Internet Marketing course. This year’s 30DC competition is rocketing sky high, entering 1000 most visited websites according to Alexa

Since today is officially a Sunday break after Day 3 of the challenge, I will comment on previous three days in my following posts.

Until then Happy Marketing!

Tihomir - I’mVenturer.com!