In Step 1 of Video Cash Explosion, Shannon Lueck walks you through choosing a product from Clickbank.com. She also says you don’t have to use Clickbank, but that it’s a great place to start. Ultimately, you want to look for affiliate products that have a payout of $25 or more.

So, I went through Clickbank and found a couple of products I think I would enjoy promoting in the “Health and Fitness” category. I also did some other research by typing in a keyword plus the word “affiliate” into Google. (For example “running shoe affiliate”)

In total, I found 8 products that satisified Shannon’s recommendations of having a payout of $25 or more and that are products I would enjoy promoting.

Initial Goal: To earn $500 per month from affiliate marketing. This is a very reasonable and attainable $17 per day.

Methodology: Use the techniques outlined in Shannon Lueck’s Video Cash Explosion. Basically, I’ll be creating “review style” websites using simple PowerPoint-type video reviews.

Investment to Date: $97 for Video Cash Explosion. Purchased July 7, 2009, via Clickbank. Yes, just over 30 days ago.

Work Done Today: Re-watched “Step 1″ video provided with Video Cash Explosion. This video describes how to pick a product from Clickbank for promotion! Basically shoot for a choice with at least $25 per sale (or greater).

I’ve had a busy August with my other commitments (full time job, volunteer activities, family), so I haven’t made as progress as rapidly as I would have liked. However, here’s an update on what I’ve been working on.

I’ve started plowing through the list of potential topics that I detailed back on August 3 . On each topic, I’ve been doing the following analysis:

1. Look for Affiliate Programs for Each Topic

First and foremost, my goal has been to generate income from a new site. Sure, I could make money from a Google Adsense perspective, but I’m looking for larger sums of money. So, I’ve been taking each topic and searching for affiliate programs on each.

Basically, I’ve taken each topic and added the phrase “affiliate program” to it, and typed it into Google. So for example I would type futon affiliate program or rechargeable batteries affiliate program or whatever into Google’s search box and investigate the results.

As I analyze each merchant, I’m looking for several pieces of information:

• Does the merchant site look reputable, professional, and trustworthy?
• Is the site easy to navigate?
• Is the merchant part of a network (Commission Junction, Clickbank, ShareASale, Netshops, etc.)?
• What is the commission percentage they pay out on a sale?
• What is the average amount of a sale?
• How long does the cookie referral last? (Ideally, I’d like a 60-day cookie.)
• What is the Earning Per Click over 3 months? In other words for each “click” (visitor) to the merchant’s site, how much is that click worth? It’s kind of like a “conversion ratio” measurement. In general, the higher the EPC, the better the site does at converting incoming visitors into paying customers. I am personally looking for EPC’s over $10.00.
• Does the site provide good creative I can use? (Banners, text links, articles, keyword lists, etc.)
• Can I link directly to product pages (ideal), or can I only link to the home page (not so good)?
• Is it easy to contact the manager of the affiliate program?

In my word processor program, I created a table for housing this information. I printed it out, and I just fill in the information by hand for each of my topics. I’m averaging about five (5) affiliate programs for each topic, so it’s not a lot of writing.

2. Check if People are Searching for the Topic

Here I’m talking about keyword research. I don’t want to pick a topic that no one is searching for, no matter how passionate I am about it! There are lots of ways to perform keyword research. Here a few:

A. Use the Overture Term Suggestion Tool. This tool is not preferred since the numbers haven’t been updated since January of 2007. The site got abused by lots of automated keyword tools made for the internet marketing industry, so it’s not as useful as it once was. However, for getting started for potential profitability, it’s a good start. It should not be the only tool you use.

B. Use Wordtracker. This tool is much more accurate as to searches done in the last 60 days. You can get some limited information through the free trial, but it’s more advantageous to signup for a week to get the full benefit. Wordtracker is the preferred source for keyword information these days, and I can highly recommend it, being a subscriber myself.

C. Use NicheBot. This tool has all kinds of pieces that make your research so much more accurate and powerful. You can extract from Wordtracker here. You can tap into “Keyword Discovery” and see yearly popularity for terms. You can even crunch down the numbers by pulling from Google’s database. This is a seriously comprehensive keyword tool that is available on a subscription basis. I have the $9.95/month subscription and that works plenty well for my needs.

There are plenty of other sources to use for keyword research, but I’m not trying to be all-inclusive here. I’m telling you what I’m personally using or have personally found useful.

3. Sit Down and Analyze the Results

After I’ve generated a list of affiliate programs for each, and printed out some keyword lists, I sit down and apply some good old fashioned thinking power. I look to see if I can narrow down each topic even further based on the types of products offered, and the keywords people search for … and … by asking myself am I still interested in building a site around this topic and sticking with it over the long term?

So far, I’m only done with the first five topics on my list. As you can probably guess, this is a slow process given other priorities in my life. However, I’m working to build a sustainable business out of this, not a model built on “hit it fast and furious, then leave it alone to die out”. Therefore I want to be thorough, and I’m taking my time.

That’s the update for now. Your comments are welcome!

I admit that I went a bit geeky on the original list and put them into a spreadsheet so I could better analyze them.  I’ve uploaded the spreadsheet to Google Documents so you can view it.  Take a look at the spreadsheet.

I’m now down to 25 topics that are at least interesting at some level to me personally.  Some are still a little too broad in scope, but that’s okay for now.  Here’s the list:

1. Continuing education / online grad schools / online MBA’s
2. Bicycling (still too broad)
3. Cat furniture
4. Custom t-shirts
5. futons
6. gifts for men
7. men’s shirts
8. men’s watches
9. model train gifts
10. outdoor heaters
11. outdoor lighting
12. personal checks
13. prepaid cell phones
14. puzzles and games
15. rechargeable batteries
16. emergency kits (house and car)
17. recognition awards
18. robes and pajamas
19. getting a good night’s sleep
20. sofa covers
21. tech tools for small business
22. tech tools for enhancing a website
23. toys kids can ride
24. tools (way too broad)
25. health advice for people over 30 (or 40)  (still too broad) 

The next step is to dig a little more into each one of these topics, see which have affiliate programs that are lucrative, and get a sense of the popularity of each topic.  I will end up choosing my next site topic from the further analysis of the list above.

I have a busy weekend ahead, so I probably won’t get back to this project until Monday, August 6th.  Actually, this will probably work well because I can let this list percolate in the back of my mind. Chances are I’ll drop a few more from the list after a couple of days away from it. 

Another update next week! 

• Topics Chosen from Affiliate Networks: 12
• Topics Chosen from Giant Household Inventory: 63 (narrowed down from a list of over 670 different products!)
• Topics Chosen from “Top Links” Sites: 21
• Topics Chosen from Personal Skills, Talents, Hobbies and other interests: 20

So now, I have to narrow this down … WAY down. My goal is to get this list down to 10-15 topics that have potential and that I can investigate further for popularity.

If you’ve created a list like this yourself, you need to have some criteria to narrow the list.

Here’s my criteria for this step in the project:

Am I interested in the topic or product category enough to research it, “live with it”, write about it, and build a site around it over the next several months?

After I get the list down to 10-15, then I’ll investigate keyword popularity and affiliate providers.

Time will be tight over the next week as I have some other commitments during my limited “free time”, but I’ll make sure to squeeze in at least a couple of hours on this project this week!

I compiled a list of about 20 interesting topics from that exercise, so I think I’ll move on now to the final method of picking a niche topic.

Topic Selection Method #4: Your Hobbies, Skills and Special Knowledge

This final method of selecting website topics simply involves doing an inventory of:

• successes you have enjoyed
• challenges you have overcome
• hobbies on which you spend a lot of time, money and energy
• topics you like to read about, research and study in your spare time
• skills you have that you enjoy using

To start this process, I’ll list some examples of the above from my own life. This is only to help you understand the types of topics you might list.

Some Examples of Topic Ideas

My first example is from my job, career and related organizations:

For over 10 years, I have had a career in the field of training and development. I know how to easily put together interesting and informative training sessions, continuing education classes, and seminars and have helped other people to do the same. I’m a member of the American Society for Training and Development. I also am very skilled at helping people improve their existing public speaking skills and presentations. I’ve also won some speech contests through the Toastmasters International organization. This could easily lead to a whole site built around improving one’s public speaking skills.

My second and third examples are from one of my hobbies:

Since 1984 (23 years), I have hosted a weekly radio show on which I play music from Broadway, Hollywood, and London musicals. I’ve seen shows in New York City, plus seen dozens of shows as they tour through Cleveland, Ohio. This could easily lead to a whole site built around musicals, musical theater, songs from musicals and other related topics. (A couple of years ago, I built a website around my musicals radio show, but that’s only meant as a support site for the show.)

In addition, I’ve worked behind the scenes at the Cleveland radio station where I host the weekly radio show. I help on the technical repair crew by selecting, purchasing, installing and maintaining radio broadcast equipment. I have already built one website on a related topic, web audio, using some of my audio and technical knowledge. It doesn’t get a lot of traffic, but it was a good way to get started in building affiliate websites.

My fourth example comes from the things I like to read about:

If you were to browse my personal library, you would find dozens of books on self improvement and self/business success. I like to joke that I have the "largest collection of partially-read self improvement books". I have a lot of the seminal works by well-known authors such as Dale Carnegie, Tony Robbins and Jack Canfield, plus a multitude of other offerings from first-time authors. So, I could easily create a website around the topic of self-improvement, goal setting, time management, or any of a dozen other topics I frequently read about.

My fifth example (and final for this post), comes from a hobby my wife and I enjoy

Since 2003, my wife and I have been avid gardeners. We have built flower beds and vegetable beds. We have experimented with growing all kinds of different flowers and vegetables in our Zone 5 climate. We have had a few failures, and several successes. So, we could create a site on some aspect of gardening. We’re not professionals by any means, but we just have fun growing things.

Other topics

• We have owned two cats, so any site on a niche portion of cat ownership might be successful.
• We took a road trip to Salt Lake City and back. I can tell you how to save money and have fun!
• I’ve been a corporate interviewer and could provide assistance to job seekers on how to write a resume and interview properly with confidence.
• … and much, much more.

Your own personal list might include some of the following topics:

• Building your own motorcross bike
• Thoughts and advice on choosing and repairing lawn mowers and riding mowers
• The things you learned while finding appropriate long-term care for an aging relative
• Secrets to researching the obscure branches of a family tree
• Your big travel trip to China where you only spent pennies a day, but ate like a king
• How you take such great photos with your digital camera
• The successes, failures and advice you would tell others about renovating a home
• The fun you had planning a friend’s wedding and what you learned in the process
• The history of reggae music, plus some recorded interviews you have done with famous reggae stars.
• Advice for Little League coaches on how to turn a losing Little League team into the winners of the state championships (and how to keep parents happy!)
• Creative birthday party ideas for kids.
• Creative birthday party ideas for adults.
• Creative birthday party ideas for the elderly.
• … and much more.

The idea is to make a list of all the things you know about, read about, and spend time with on a regular basis. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a "professional’s lifetime" worth of knowledge. If you enjoy the topic, even in a cursory way, write it down! You’re only creating and brainstorming a list of possible topics, not making a final choice. Only focus on making a big list.

By choosing topics you are intimately familiar with, you just might have an easier time building a website around the topic because of your natural inclinations. Whether or not the topic will be financially worthy is another story. (That will be the topic of a future post.)

Off I go to add more to my ever-growing list of topics. I suggest you do the same!

In the second part of this topic, I did a household inventory using a method championed by James Martell. Turns out this was a bigger project than I thought.  It took me a couple of hours! 

In total, I wrote up a 13 page inventory, with each page containing two columns of items!  In total, there are over 670 different products on my lists .  Granted, there is some duplication, but there have to be at least 500+ possible niche site ideas.  Obviously, I’m going to have to narrow this down, and Martell’s suggestion is to pick 25 topics that look interesting on the list.  

Before I do that narrowing down, though, I’m going to keep generating niche site ideas.  

Topic Selection Method #3: Browse Top "Most Popular" Lists and Sites 

In this third part of my topic research, I was going to write about the resources that Dr. Andy Williams writes about in his free ebook, "Building Fat Affiliate Sites." However, while I was browsing around looking for ideas, I came across a link for a great YouTube video on how to research niche topics!  The video is by Steven of AffiliateMarketingDiary.com and is very comprehensive. 

In this video, Steven highlights 10 websites you can go to in order to find ideas for website ideas based on the "most popular" topics that people are actually searching for.  The video lasts about 10 minutes.  Below, I’ve listed the links to the sites he references in the video. 

Here are links to all the sites Steven mentions in the video:

• About.com Sitemap
• eBay Pulse
• eBay Pop
• Google Product Search (formerly known as Froogle)
• Google Directory (like the dmoz.org directory)
• Google Zeitgeist
• Amazon.com top sellers
• Amazon.com new releases
• Magazines.com (if there’s a magazine on the topic, it’s financially viable to pursue!)
• Yahoo buzz

Wow!  Great information, and a whole boatload of site ideas popped into my head from this exercise.  Gotta get them down on paper! 

I’m seriously at NO LOSS for site ideas.  The problem will be picking "just one" to start with! 

My results? I am attracted to the idea of sites built around the following topics:

• robes and pajamas (sounds impossible, but fun)
• sofa covers (we have a couple of them at home)
• gifts for men (I’m a guy and could help women shop)
• model airplanes (used to build them as a child)
• sleds and toboggans (always loved sledding in winter)
• patio heaters / fire pits (I want to stay warm outside, too)
• custom t-shirts (sounds like fun)
• futons (we have one ourselves)
• toolboxes (I’m a guy who likes tools)
• toys that kids can ride (sounds like fun)
• candelabras (just sounds cool)
• credit cards (very popular because of the high commission rates)

In the above list, I’m just choosing based on the fact there is at least one website that sells the above products. I’d like to have more than one vendor to promote, so I’ll have to do some more research on each of these topics.

However, I’m just assembling a list right now and these topics are interesting enough for me to pursue further. More research ahead!

Topic Selection Method #2: Create a Big List of Products

This method is taken from James Martell’s Affiliate Marketers Handbook. The core idea is to walk through every room in your house and make a list of everything you see. The goal? Just to make a list of possible topics without trying to filter out or restrict any ideas.

For example, in my kitchen I see:

… and more items are in the cabinets . Lots of individual products!

You probably have the same items in your kitchen plus maybe even a coffee maker, under-the-counter radio, hanging pot rack, roll around cart, pasta maker and more!

All of these items can be bought online, some at the providers listed at Netshops ! Therefore, all of these items could be potential topics of niche shopping websites.

In other words, you could create a whole site devoted to "hand towels", including an area on "hand towel racks" "hand towel holders", and maybe, for variety, a separate section of your site for "aprons".

Or you could create a whole site devoted to "popcorn poppers" OR "bread boxes" OR "woks" OR "refrigerators" OR "stand mixers". (Note: the operative word here is "OR" … as in one of these topics OR another one of these topics … not "AND".)

Of course, you could create a broader site around the idea of "cooking utensils" on which you could promote pots, pans, oven mitts, cookie sheets, spoons, drawer organizers and other related topics.

However, building a site around the topic of "kitchen stuff" would be too big and broad, unless you’re willing to make a site that covers every single thing a kitchen can contain. Too much work, and too diluted to be effective.

Inside, Outside and at Work

Martell’s home inventory method involves going through every room of your house (or apartment), including the basement, closets, and garage or carport. Include anything used for hobbies and recreational interests.

Once you’re done inside, then you go outside and continue the list being sure to include patio furniture, benches, patio umbrellas, individual gardening items, replacement windows, doors, gutters and even siding or bricks.

Once you’re done at home, then you repeat the process at work! You’ll find your list includes items like computer, monitor, keyboard, mouse, monitor stand, laptop docking station, filing cabinet, fax machine, picture frame, desk, shelving, rolling office chair, carpet protector, and much more!

As Martell writes in his Affiliate Marketers Handbook, the idea is to "become very, very product focused! And stay there." He also says the list will easily go on for several pages! (In his handbook, Martell even gives a "form" you can use for your list, but you can also just use any regular pad of paper.)

The general idea here is build a site around something you already know about and use. Chances are, the things you buy are the same things that other people buy just in different models, colors and varieties!

After doing the home inventory, then I can start analyzing which look like winners or not.

Wow, have I got a list to make! Off I go!

My Criteria for Picking a Niche Topic

The challenge here is to pick a topic that’s not too broad, and also that’s not so narrow that no one searches for it. The overriding qualification factors for the new site are as follows:

1. Am I interested in the topic or product category enough to research it, “live with it”, write about it, and build a site around it over the next several months? For me, this is most important!
2. Is there a suitably sized market of people searching for information on this topic?
3. Are there any affiliate programs on the given topic?

(As a sidenote to #1, I could outsource all the content to writers using Elance.com or Rentacoder.com, but for this new site I want to write as much as possible myself so that the content is truly unique.)

So, how to pick a topic? I’m going to use a variety of techniques to find a suitable topic, and I’ll itemize them here over the next few days.

Topic Selection Method #1: Browse through catalogs of vendors at niche shopping sites and affiliate networks

Affiliate Networks are organizations that handle the affiliate programs for other people and organizations. One of the biggest such networks is Commission Junction and they handle affiliate programs for thousands of vendors. All you need to do is sign up with CJ, browse through various categories, and you’ll find vendors you can associate your site with.

For example, under the category of “weddings”, CJ has relationships with MyWeddingFavors.com, Bachelorette.com (bachelorette party supplies) and KitBiz.com (a site that sells an “Official Bride Name Change Kit”). Commission Junction handles all the link building, link tracking and sale processing on behalf of these websites.

I also enjoy browsing the shops at Netshops. Netshops has over 150 different specialty niche shopping sites. For example, there is a site on bathrobes. Yes, a shopping site focused solely on bathrobes. They also have shopping sites on kitchen pots and pans, patio furniture, and toys that kids can ride. Wow! Promoting any of these alone or in combination, would make for a great affiliate site.

Lots of other affiliates directories, like those at Clixgalore.com, ShareaSale.com, Linkconnector.com and NCSReporting.com and dozens more all are great fodder for ideas around which to build a specialty shopping site.

Steven over at AffiliateMarketingDiary.com has a assembled a great list of over 35 affiliate marketing networks .

Also, Allan Gardyne’s Associate Programs website has a great catalog of different possibilities to browse through.

Picking a topic using this method would satisfy criteria #3 (Are there any affiliate programs on the given topic?) and probably criteria #2 (a market to sell to) as well. After all, there probably wouldn’t be a shopping site for a product that no one is searching for, eh?

The question is, do any of the sites/topics uncovered through this method hold my interest enough to want to research it, “live with it”, write about it and build a site around it?

Needs more investigation, for sure. I’ll start browsing using this method and see what I come up with!