One of the most common questions I get asked is, “What is the best way to make money as an affiliate marketer?”. This is usually followed by, “What is the best niche to make money as an affiliate.”
Unfortunately, or perhaps, fortunately, there is no single answer. The explanation is quite simple: practically any niche that has a lot of customers and quality affiliate products to sell can be profitable in the long term, provided you take a smart, systematic, business-like approach to your affiliate marketing activity.
That being said, classifying various niches can help identify your interests and strengths. After all, it is your job to make your niche choice as profitable as possible.
The biggest mistake I see most people making when picking a profitable niche onlineis that they look for smaller “niche” markets or try to go into niches that don’t currently exist; thinking, “if nobody is doing it I can be the only one making money in it”.
The reality is that you want to go into big, proven, profitable markets. A lot of competition is a healthy a sign of a healthy market where there is plenty of money to be made by everyone.
Profitable Niches that Never Go Out of Style
“Shooting star” fads come and go, but the following three (3) niches are going to be popular forever because as consumers, we will always need and desire information in these areas. Let’s take a look at the top three niche markets you should consider as an affiliate.
- Romance: Online Dating, Attracting the Right Partner, Marriage Counseling, Reconciliation (Getting Your Ex Back), etc.
- Health and Fitness: Diet and Weight Loss; Healthy Eating; Quit Smoking; Group Fitness for Women, etc. There are many opportunities to start an online business in the health niche.
- Wealth and Money: Making Money Online, Foreign Currency Exchange Markets (Forex), multi-level marketing, real estate, jobs/careers, credit repair services, etc.
Products and services in these evergreen niches are always in demand because people are always looking for solutions to specific problems in their day-to-day lives. You’ll want to operate in one or two sub-niches, to begin with, because it is impossible to make meaningful offers in such gigantic broad categories. In the example above, “group fitness for women” is much more targeted than “how to lose weight”. It’s easy to tackle a sub-niche within a large niche then grow from there.
Internet marketing itself is a special niche where your expertise with specific skills (e.g. sales copy, getting website traffic, search engine optimization, etc.) can make you money. If you start a successful online business in any of these markets you can always create a side business showing others how to do it as well. It can also be a niche where your reputation allows you to market high-ticket items yourself of as an affiliate – in other words, you can still brand yourself or your business as an affiliate marketer.
Hobbies and Extracurricular Activities where People Spend Money
Whereas health, finances, and romance are affiliate-friendly niches because they touch our daily lives, you can also be successful if you target popular hobbies. Sports are a good candidate, because many of them extend beyond state and national borders, giving you a massive audience from the outset. However, be careful to choose hobby-oriented sports instead of big-time spectator sports like football and basketball.
Some good choices include golf, sailing, hunting, fishing, and camping.
People just love to indulge themselves by purchasing equipment, tools, and gear to better enjoy their passions. More often than not, they will find the money for training, accessories, “how-to” guides and other things that promise to help them with their activity of choice.
The key here is you are looking for markets where people are accustomed to and willing to spend a lot of money without thinking about it – as these purchases bring them joy and pleasure.
The Pet Market
Finally, I’d be remiss if I did not mention the pet market. This is a market where people are willing to spend unreasonable (by a lot of people’s standards) of money on their pets; including high end food products, luxury clothes and accessories, grooming, etc.
It’s safe to say that some pets live a better lifestyle than their human counterparts – there is money in this market!
Any Affiliate Niche with High Payouts
Marketers willing to learn about new niches and develop their expertise have the freedom to seek out areas that offer large commissions and big upfront payments for directing paying customers to their sites.
Bloggers who have high traffic websites can translate their blogging success into membership to exclusive affiliate networks. If you have a high traffic blog, making money with your blog with affiliate marketing is one of the easiest ways to get started online.
These networks may offer high-end continuity programs, home study courses, or items typically associated with the good life (e.g. travel-related charters, luxury cruises, casino vacations, luxury goods, etc.).
Final Thoughts on the Best Niches for Affiliate Marketing
Profitable affiliate marketing niches become profitable with effort, passion, and good old fashioned hard work. Go into niches with a lot of demand and a lot of customers. Obscure niches may earn you income as well, but eventually, the competition will jump in and take away your short-term low-competition advantage.
Look for niches where there are a lot of customers who make many purchases and repeat purchases (high volume niche) or niches where customers spend a lot of money on higher priced products and services.
In short, stick to the basics (proven evergreen markets) because demand is forever in those niches. Stick to hobbies and extracurricular activities that give immeasurable pleasure to people – upper-income people in particular. Finally as a last resort, and if you are willing to learn and think “outside the box”, look for the biggest payouts available and become the niche expert that draws in sales like a magnet!
