Real Life Case Study:Lifestyle & Biz By DesignWith Affiliate Marketing

Lynn Terryhttp://www.clicknewz.com

Vera Raposohttp://www.yourcreativebiz.com

Affiliate Marketing Case StudyLynn Terry & Vera Raposo

About Vera Raposo

I have been an entrepreneur since the age of 20 (1995),from owning 5 retail stores to discovering the beauty ofthe internet in 2004. I sold/closed all 5 locations andmoved my biz completely online in 2007.

My life and biz was completely overhauled when mydaughter was diagnosed with cancer. After her 2 ½ yearbattle (you can read more about it here) I sold my onlinebiz.

I then spent a couple of years with God, thinking,praying and just being with Him and discovering who I am and what Ineed to do in this world.

YourCreativeBiz.com was launched October 2012 with the goal todiscover the life and business of my own dreams. I hope to inspire manywomen to do the same.

My motto in life is, “Life is good! Best wearing flip flops and living mylife for others.”

Hebrews 11:1 – Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certainof what we do not see.

Affiliate Marketing Case StudyLynn Terry & Vera Raposo

Lifestyle & Biz By DesignWith Affiliate Marketing:Choosing Your Niche…Without Research?!

Written by Lynn Terry

As Vera and I continue to discuss Affiliate Niche Ideas for her to dive intoAffiliate Marketing full-time, you may have noticed that "niche research"or even keyword research haven't even come up yet. In fact, in her lastpost,

Affiliate Marketing Case StudyLynn Terry & Vera Raposo

Vera said:

"I think when many of us think about researching a niche our knee jerkreaction is to start with keyword research. It’s sooooo refreshing that wedidn’t start that way and almost seems odd to me (lol!)"In Part Two, Brainstorming Affiliate Niche Ideas, I talked about "thereality check" of an affiliate business model, suggested another nichebrainstorming exercise, and shared an idea for her affiliate niche - basedon her personality, her passions, and her true mission in life.

If you missed any of the conversation so far, here's a quick link list:

● Vera: Affiliate Marketing: Intro & First Question● Lynn (Me): Affiliate Niche Selection● Vera: She Says To Dream Bigger!● Lynn (Me): Brainstorming Affiliate Niche Ideas (Part 2)● Vera: Taking A Deeper Look

In my last post I gave Vera this affiliate niche blogging idea:

This was not based on keyword research, or niche research, but was

Affiliate Marketing Case StudyLynn Terry & Vera Raposo

based solely on Vera's personality and passions. It's a topic that would bewell-aligned with who she is as a person, and the people she truly wantsto serve in this world.

You may recall that I started a niche affiliate blog a couple years ago, alsowith no research upfront, which you can read about here:

Case Study: Niche Site With NO Research?

Isn't Keyword Research Necessary?

It is. But not necessarily at this stage of the process. If you KNOW youhave a market, or that you have a message that will be well received - andthat it's a buying market - that's all you really need to know upfront. Thekeyword research will come into play when you're ready to brainstormtopic ideas & create content.

Suggested reading on this topic:

Frustrated With Market Research or Finding Niches?Keyword Strategy: It’s Not Just Numbers!

There's so much more to a successful niche blog these days than just SEO.While you need to target keyword phrases your market is using so theycan easily find you in the search results, there are many other (easy!)ways to reach your market online now too.

I know this may be backwards from what you've heard or been taught byothers in the past. But you may have also heard that you should chooseyour niche based on keyword research and competition analysis - andpick a topic with high profit potential and low competition.

Affiliate Marketing Case StudyLynn Terry & Vera Raposo

Which often leads you to choosing a niche for your online business thatyou could care less about!

Passion Trumps Research.

Again, If you KNOW you have a market, or that you have a messagethat will be well received - and that it's a buying market - that's all youreally need to know upfront.

With my low carb blog for example, I knew I had a unique angle in themarket. I don't cook. LOL. I'm constantly traveling or on-the-go, so Ishare ways to eat low carb conveniently. I didn't bother with "nicheresearch" (upfront) because I knew "travel" and "weight loss" were bothobviously successful buying markets online. Duh.

In fact, buying market or not, this is truth: If you can build up a hugeaudience, and a loyal readership (and social media following)... you canmonetize your affiliate blog. Period. The options will be endless if youhave an audience. Merchants and Advertisers will be coming to YOUwanting to get exposure to your readers.

So there ya go.

Vera loved my Affiliate Niche suggestion! ...Now what?

Blogging as a "spiritual adventurist" is right up her alley. It's in line withher mission in life, with her true passion, and with who she is as a person- and the people she can best serve in this world. If you've been followingour conversation, I'm sure you would agree.

Affiliate Marketing Case StudyLynn Terry & Vera Raposo

Once she got excited about the idea, and agreed it was a perfect choicefor her, we brainstormed available domain names. I happen to be prettygood at this.

Note: You can get my Domain Name Brainstorming Guide as a freebonus here.

SpiritualAdventurist.com was already taken, so I suggested one of thesethree: BoldSpirituality.com, AdventurousHearts.com, orFaithAdventurist.com - she liked the last one best.

The idea being that she can use this blog to discuss expanding your faith,the journey to peace & joy through faith, discovering your calling,stepping out in faith, her missions of course, and to motivate and inspirepeople on a spiritual level.

If you know Vera, you know this is the very core of who she is as aperson.

That domain leaves her open to be "adventurous" too, which is one of thethings she said she really wanted and needed in her life: FUN. She cantravel, try new things, and take photos and share her experiences alongthe way - tying them in with her inspiring messages, of course.

She took immediate action and registered FaithAdventurist.com.

In her last post, Vera said:

So here’s my next question to you Lynn…

Affiliate Marketing Case StudyLynn Terry & Vera Raposo

When you say this, “helps people get way outside their mental comfortzone and embrace life more fully” I actually start having a vision ofretreats as well, but for now I want to focus solely on affiliate marketing. Ineed this peace in this time of my life, that’s why I don’t even want tocreate products or do any coaching.

Do you think it’s unrealistic to not include product development and it’sok to focus just on affiliate marketing for this kind of venture?

Absolutely! You're putting the cart before the horse anyway. Your initial goal is to create content and build a readership. Period.

Down the road you may very well want to include products and services,as a means of serving your market even better, but to start you simplywant to get your message out there and start engaging your targetmarket with your topics.

This may seem backwards to you too! Usually when you think aboutstarting an online business, the initial research and brainstormingincludes... How am I going to make money with this blog? Right?

In my next post in this ongoing series, we'll walk through the actualset-up of Vera's new niche affiliate blog. The nitty gritty details n stuff.But let's fast forward for a second so you (and Vera!) can start to see thepotential here...

This is Vera's homework. And yours too!

Imagine your target market. Who are they? Who do you most want tohelp, and how? What types of products and services do they use, or would

Affiliate Marketing Case StudyLynn Terry & Vera Raposo

you recommend, relevant to your blog topic? Which merchants andbrands would interest them?

Don't let this exercise stump you! (It's really not that hard.)

Let's say you have an affiliate blog all about kitchen gadgets. How can youserve THAT market?! Easy. They want the coolest gadgets, they want thebest deals, and they need help making an informed buying decision.

Ideally you are your own target market. That being the case, what do yousearch for online? What products do you use and love? Whatrecommendations do you make to your friends or peers, or topical onlinegroups where you participate?

First, forget whether there's an affiliate program or not. Just brainstormfreely about products, brands, merchants, services, etc.

I'll close there for now, and we'll see what Vera comes up with.

This is fun, don't you agree? I would love to hear your thoughts, so besure to leave a comment below if you have a question or want to add tothe discussion...

Affiliate Marketing Case StudyLynn Terry & Vera Raposo