Article Marketer Blog

We are going to continue on with finding and supplying products for a niche market today. We have one more installment in this section, so be sure to come back next week.

Supply & Demand

Nothing happens until something moves. Marketing is a zero sum game of give and take between a buyer and a seller. Both sides must be present in a niche to successfully prosper there. You may have the finest, automatic blue fuzzy widget in the world, but it's useless if no one wants blue fuzzy widgets.

On the other end of the same stick, if the demand for blue fuzzy widgets is high, but none are available, there's not much opportunity to prosper there either. That doesn't mean, however, that it's a lost cause. Many marketers who find a demand for a product will often create a supply of them to fill the void.

Everyone has their own way of doing things, but I typically look for the demand before considering an actual supply. If there is no one searching for a product, there is no opportunity to sell it to anyone. It's as simple as that: you must have a demand for it. How many tales have you heard of great bargains made on warehouses of stuff, only to discover why too late.

Supply, on the other hand, is easier to accommodate. If the demanded product does not exist, the opportunity is there to create it yourself. Supply can come from you if needed. You see this often in ebooks and software packages.

Using keyword tools is great way to find out whether demand exists or not. Here are some good tools:

1. Google keyword tool
2. WordTracker.com
3. Alexa.com

Let's say you find a niche market that receives good traffic but no product is offered out there to promote. You have two options: create a product or miss an opportunity. There are two types of products that may be built to satisfy a demand: digital products and tangible goods.

A digital product, usually e-books, software or a membership site, allows you to charge for information or services. Tangible goods, things like baseballs, candles, or iPods, are sold through storefronts or private ecommerce sites.

Creating A Digital Product

Many informational niches are extremely difficult to find good for, unless you know where to get it. People will gladly pay information when they can't easily find the information for free, or maybe not at all. Software that would benefit a large segment of a special group is also an option.

You don't have to necessarily saw the boards and drive the nails to build a product. There are many services to outsource work. They are usually available at great savings over high-dollar copywriters or software developers. Here are several you can check out:

* Elance.com
* Rentacoder.com
* Scriptlance.com

To market your product, offer it through network services. They will handle all the backend responsibilities and you get to set the price. You will still be responsible for the marketing aspect of it though. Here are some services to use for digital products.

* ClickBank.com
* Paydotcom.com
* RegNow.com

Creating a Tangible Product Business

There is always a high demand for certain niche tangible items. Find the demand first and then a supplier or producer for the product you need. Many of them make and ship them for you. Once all of that is set up, you're in the retail business. The first and probably best place to go with a tangible product is eBay. It's the largest online marketplace in the world and perfect to sell tangible products through.

That's enough for one day, I suppose. Be sure to come back next week when we will discuss niche research and research tools a little more in depth.

To your success,

Brad

Brad McGovern is the Marketing Manager at Article Marketer, and offers advice and news of note to article marketers. Watch for more from Brad in the coming days!

That got your attention, huh? No tricks, just treats. Well, maybe just one little trick: that's in how simple, fast and easy is it to do. And the treats are in the form of 8 separate streams of income all pointing in your direction. You can't beat that with a stick.

Last week I told you about the partnership Article Marketer struck with AffSphere.com. A conference call was held last Thursday, with founder Anik Singal, for Article Marketer affiliates and explained the great earning potential AffSphere offers them. Pick up a recording of it on your Article Marketer affiliate page if you missed it.

AffSphere is not just for affiliates. Article Marketer authors are encouraged to take advantage of this powerful new program and claim their share of the profits as well. Simply follow this link and sign-up using the same email address as you used on your Article Marketer account. That's it, you're done. Every time you submit an article at Article Marketer, it's sent to AffSphere earmarked with your account information. Your portion of any profits it earns is automatically credited to you.

What Is AffSphere.com and How Will It Make You Money?

AffSphere is an article directory much the same in concept as many popular directories. Authors submit articles and they are listed under the appropriate category for public access. People take and use the content freely but must leave the article intact; to include the author's resource box.

So, how is AffSphere different from other directories? Most directories forbid the use of affiliate links in articles they publish. AffSphere embraces affiliate links and encourages affiliates to use them. Article Marketer authors should note that affiliate links are still rejected by our Review Team. Authors wishing to add affiliate links to articles on AffSphere must access their account there and edit them in.

AffSphere allows authors to monetize their articles in more ways than any other directory. Not only do they share their traffic, they share the revenue the directory earns as well. This is how it works:

8 Ways to Make Money with AffSphere

* Traffic - As with all other directories, you'll attract targeted visitors to your website.

* Banner Ads - You earn credits for everything you do (submissions, reading, etc.). Trade these credits for targeted banner advertising on the site; promote your website, an affiliate program, anything you want.

* AdSense - Not in place at the moment, but coming soon. We will say this much: it's going to be a very fair AdSense share with all active authors.

* Downline - You get credits for what YOU do, plus you get credits for what people you refer do (5 tiers deep).

* Viral Recruiting - Don't know how to promote AffSphere? Don't worry about it; they'll do that for you too! All the links to join AffSphere on your article pages are automatically coded with your affiliate links. The more great content you submit, the better your recruiting opportunities through your articles!

* Affiliate Classroom Commissions – AffSphere is sponsored by Affiliate Classroom and promotes Affiliate Classroom on all of their pages. If you add your AC affiliate link to your account, all the promotions on YOUR article pages will be automatically coded with your Affiliate Classroom affiliate link.

* Affiliate Links - Unlike other directories, you are encouraged to place affiliate links in your resource box. Go for it! It's a quick way to test programs and a great way to start earning money right away.

* Sales Commissions - Now and then, AffSphere promotes reports and other marketing resources. When they do, you'll automatically earn affiliate commissions on sales you generate. In fact, the first such report is being released at noon tomorrow, 12 August, 2008, and offers affiliates 100% profit on its sale!

All you do is just write great articles. AffSphere handles all the rest automatically. Write great articles and nothing more. The more prolific your content, the more views they'll get, and the greater your earnings potential.

Promote AffSphere and Reap the Benefits

Have a website with traffic? Have a newsletter with subscribers? Great! Tell them about AffSphere and you'll REALLY see the viral aspect of AffSphere kick in.

* Earn advertising credits to promote anything you want

* Get a much larger "revenue share" from the author pool

* AffSphere is promoted on your behalf on all your article pages

So sign up today, get your AffSphere referral link and start earning your piece of the affiliate pie.

To your success,

Brad

Brad McGovern is the Marketing Manager at Article Marketer, and offers advice and news of note to article marketers. Watch for more from Brad in the coming days!