“How to Succeed in the Video Game Blog Niche” plus 1 more

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How to Succeed in the Video Game Blog Niche Posted: 18 Aug 2012 01:06 PM PDT This guest post is by David Edwards of A Sitting Duck. A screenshot from my game, Candy This year was a land mark year for A Sitting Duck. What started as a blog and creative community has evolved into a limited company that is on track to publish a multi-platform game very soon. As John mentioned yesterday, gaming is a large and growing niche, with a massive, very passionate audience. It’s a great space to operate in as a blogger, and a business person. Top tips for succeeding in the video game niche Over the last four years I’ve moved from illustrations to animations, and now to interactive gaming. I guess as a blogger/publisher the focus for me has always been to build engaging, free content which then makes it much easier to sell services and products. Here are my tips to build a successful blog in the video game niche. Start with big games: It's really important if you want search engine traffic that you write reviews on (or otherwise cover) the big games up front. Sure, the big blogs in the niche will cover them, and they’ll probably get first position in the search results. But often, you can get hits from angles they didn’t cover, like " How To Pass Level 50 On Angry Birds". Use big pictures and tweet them: By adding the picture from your latest blog post to Twitter, you'll get instant attention—and the chance to suggest that there are more to look at over on your blog. Embed game trailers from YouTube and describe what happens on the video: This is such an easy thing to do, and it’s sure to get you extra traffic that the video producers will miss out on, because they’re busy working on more videos!. Make your own videos: It’s no surprise that top video game blog IGN Entertainment  has produced thousands of videos: it works! Video gamers want to see how the game plays, and without actually playing it, a video is the closest they'll get to the experience. Your best bet is to have a look around for a high-quality capture to stream, and save footage from the XBOX, Playstation, Wii and so on. Trends do change with blogging, but from what I've seen in the video games market, the current popular formula is: upload a video to YouTube, produce a short post blog with extra images, tweet, and find another game to repeat the process with! Monetization The Candy menu When it comes to making money, development companies like Thegamebakers.com use a blog to capture a free audience to save money on banner advertising, and sell their own games. Large video game blogs sell ad space, from a bespoke full skin (like Pocket Gamer), where they fully re-brand the home page to promote the sponsor’s game, to the regular box ads at a more reasonable price. Monetization gets interesting when you look at the smaller blogs in this space (avergaing 5,000 – 50,000 hits a month). These guys usually go for the approach of selling paid reviews, where developers pay, say, $300 to look at your game and write a positive or neutral review of it (it’s never bad—hence the fee!). If you did ten or more reviews a month, it would start to work out as a full-time salary. Pocketfullofapps.com is a great example of this approach in action, and that blog’s founder is looking to expand quickly over the coming year. What are you waiting for? Overall I’d say you should start off by building up your volume of blog posts and video catalog, as this market is very much focused on quantity rather than quality, thoughtful stuff. Then, once you have that base, work with other active blogs on videos, get them in on the commentary, and you'll have the kind of banter that really brings in the video views (thousands, and in some cases millions!). David Edwards is the founder of http://www.asittingduck.com and produces animations over at www.youtube.com/asittingducktv. Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger How to Succeed in the Video Game Blog Niche

Stand Out in the Popular Pet Blogging Niche Posted: 18 Aug 2012 07:03 AM PDT This guest post is by Kimberly Gauthier of Keep the Tail Wagging. When I was planning the launch of Keep the Tail Wagging, I heard the question "Do you know how many pet blogs are out there?” As John pointed out yesterday, this is a big niche, with a lot of competition. But when I was asked this question, I would simply smile politely, while thinking, "Who cares?!” I'm not one to run away from a challenge; I'd been blogging since 2009 and planned to put everything I'd learned into practice on my new site. Keep the Tail Wagging launched January 1, 2012.  In less than six months, I had a page rank of 2 (I'm convinced I deserve a 3 or 4), over 5,000 likes on Facebook and over 5,000 followers on Twitter. Succeeding as a small fish in a big pond To anyone looking to start a blog in a popular niche, don't let the crowds discourage you.  It is possible to carve out your own section of the pond.  I get emails daily asking how I've managed to build Keep the Tail Wagging's following and it was actually pretty easy. I've boiled my success down to five things that I do consistently. 1. Keyword research Before Keep the Tail Wagging was launched, I downloaded a free version of Market Samurai to help me find an opening within the niche that could be monetized. I didn't find the opening I was looking for. But, using the free Google Keyword tool, I did find keywords with the right combination of competition and searches, and I apply these to each blog post I wrtie. It’s a thrill to know, for example, that a dog owner researching her dog food options found my site through a Google search; this let me know that I was choosing the correct keywords for my audience. 2. Simple SEO I remember the "Of course” moment that struck when I realized that I could put keywords in the captions and meta-tags of my images.  I'm not an expert in search engine optimization, but I do comprehend the basics and use the plugin WordPress SEO, and I invested in an SEO-friendly, premium WordPress theme. SEO doesn't have to stop on our sites; I send those keywords to every site that uses my content—Flickr (as in the image below), Pinterest, and Stumble Upon to name a few.  Any content or site that's going to be indexed by the search engines is another opportunity for someone to find my site. Not only is this great for Keep the Tail Wagging; properly tagging on social networks also benefits the pet companies that send me products to review. 3. Promote like hell I spent the first two months after launch on a PR campaign to make my site stand out.  To start, I told friends and family, handing out business cards, hung flyers, wrote press releases, and added links to my email and forum signatures. I paid for a Facebook advertising campaign during the first month my site was live. It asked people to click Like if they're tired of long commercials showing abused animals.  My first few hundred likes came from that campaign—and those clicks led to more referrals. Then I discovered Reporter Connection as unexpected PR sources. People became curious about Keep the Tail Wagging after seeing my regular inquiries and began to check the blog out.  During my second month, a PR professional was promoting my site to friends for free. I landed several interviews and, most recently, a monthly feature on a local podcast about pets through these sources. 4. Interact with fans I focus most of my time on the fans that liked my Facebook page, encouraging interaction, and getting feedback and article ideas.  Word of mouth is big on social networking sites and each week, friends of fans stop by to like my page. Creating that back-and-forth made people feel comfortable to email me with questions about their dogs, which inspired articles I wrote for Keep the Tail Wagging.  We're told to become authorities in our niche. Well, what better way to do that than to answer questions asked by our fans? Over time, I got over my shyness and started asking people to tell their friends about my blog, share a post, and comment on an article or status update. What makes a blog stand out is the blogger I chose to be more personable with Keep the Tail Wagging followers by sharing my daily life with them (pictures, stories, frustrations).  My followers came with me when we fostered our first dog, when we lost our puppy to Canine Parvovirus, and when Blue joined our family. Sometimes it's the person, their writing style, or their short and sweet posts that makes a blog sing. There's a reason why we choose to read some social media or photography blogs instead of others. I'm not the most popular pet blogger.  I need to work on my bounce rate and I'm on the lookout for regular guest contributors.  But as to my success in the first six months of blogging in this niche, I'd have to say "Not bad.” That said, we’re all learning every day. Do you spend any time on pet blogs? Do you operate in a similar niche? Share your tips for success with us in the comments. Kimberly Gauthier is the Editor in Chief of Keep the Tail Wagging, an online magazine for dog lovers.  She's also featured on Girl Power Hour as The Fur Mom and the podcast Your Pets, My Dogs. Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger Stand Out in the Popular Pet Blogging Niche

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“How Bloggers Can Profit from the Weight Loss Niche” plus 1 more

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How Bloggers Can Profit from the Weight Loss Niche Posted: 17 Aug 2012 01:03 PM PDT This guest post is by John Smith of Weightlosstriumph.com. The internet is growing every day as more people hear about the concepts of internet marketing, blogging, and other ways to make money online that revolve around carving out their own niche. But one mistake is becoming very common. Due to the mass of examples and hype surrounding the marketing niche, most new bloggers believe you have to blog about blogging or making money online to succeed as a blogger. Wrong! If you've been reading Problogger.net for more than a while now, you'll notice that is contrary to what is taught here. The key to building a viable blog business is to having something to offer; you don't have to force a niche on yourself because it is profitable, nor should you go into a niche because everyone else is in it. The truth is that every niche has the potential to be profitable. 3 Powerful niches that prove every niche is profitable You've probably assumed from the title that this article will be focused on the weight loss niche and how you can profit from it. But since that niche is popular and competitive in itself, let’s first look at two other examples of niches that you can start a blog in today, and which will probably have more profit potential than a new blog in the blogging or make money online niche. Niche 1. Animal care This is an ever-growing niche, with increasing importance in countries like the U.S. According to 2011-2012 data from the APPA, 62% of U.S households own a pet; that equates to 72.9 million homes. Since this stat counts households with a pet, and there probably two or more people with interest in pets in each household, you can well expect the total number of people interested in pets in the U.S alone to be around 100 million. Of course, this niche covers various forms of pets, but this number alone proves that there's an audience for you irrespective of which pet you want to help people with. Not only is there an audience, there’s profit: more than $50 billion US was spent on pet-related services in 2011, and the estimate for 2012 is around $53 billion. Tomorrow, Problogger.net will look at the pet niche in detail—specifically, at a blog that focuses on domestic pets. If you’re interested in this niche, check back tomorrow for tips and advice that can help you harness the profit potential of pet blogging. Niche 2. Video games Another powerful niche you can tap into right now is video games. Almost everyone plays a video game today, so not only will you probably have more than enough to say about the subject, but there's an unlimited supply of people who will want to benefit from your advice. Over 67% of US households play video games, and the average gamer spends eight hours a week gaming. A lot of us barely spend eight hours a week tending to hour blog, so you can imagine the level of commitment you can get from an audience that spends an average of eight hours a week playing games—even when they have little or nothing tangible to gain from doing so. In terms of revenue, the gaming industry is worth $10.5 billion. Tomorrow, we’ll take a closer look at this fun, exciting, and quickly evolving niche—and see what it takes to build a successful, profit-producing blog in this space. Niche 3. Weight loss Today, there are more than 1 billion overweight adults in the world, according to Worldometer, and this number is increasing every day. Also, according to data from the CDC, 35.7% of U.S adults—more than one-third of the entire US adult population—are obese. The weight loss industry is now estimated to be worth $60 billion; a huge rise of around 200% from 20 years ago, when it was just a $30 billion industry. In other words, the weight loss industry is growing daily, and there's huge potential for you there. Just so you get an idea of how big this is, over $160 million has already been spent on weight loss related products today, and even more has been spent on treating weight loss-related diseases. The question is, how can you profit from such a massive industry? How to profit from the weight loss niche The techniques shared in this section are written with the weight loss industry in mind, but they can easily be applied to any other niche you can think about (including those we’ll discuss tomorrow). If you're familiar with the U.S weight loss market, then you probably already know of big commercial weight loss programs like Weight Watchers, Medifast, and Nutrisystem, which sell their weight loss solutions in the form of diet food (or meal replacements). But you don't have to have big budgets like they do, or open a retail chain, to profit from the weight loss industry. The non-medical people reading this will probably think you need a degree to pull off success in this niche, but you don't need that either! Here are my top tips to help you profit from the weight loss industry. 1. Make value your philosophy What is your philosophy? What are the set of beliefs that guide your existence, especially as a blogger? I'm sorry, but if it's just to make money then you're going to suffer. We’ve talked about how big the weight loss industry is, but that doesn't mean there's easy money here. The reality is that the weight loss industry is one of the most competitive industries online, so unless you can "out-value" your competitors, you're probably not going anywhere. Even if you're not a weight loss expert, your desire to help others change the way they view their lives and health can make a huge difference. You've probably tuned in to the TV to see that expert that lost a lot of weight in three months, or read about the expert who gained weight just to show others how to lose it, via a major digital platform. The common thread between those stories is that they offer value, and people will be willing to follow the experts as a result. Of course, the value you offer doesn't have to be this obvious—or tangible, for that matter; even if you’re just giving someone the motivation to lose weight, it will be a great help. 2. Lead by example Success in this niche isn’t just about talking the talk, but about walking the walk. While photoshopping earning and traffic screenshots might work in the make money online niche, people are probably too smart for that in the weight loss niche. Of course, you'll probably get a follower or two no matter what you do, but it's only a matter of time before you get kicked out—unless you can walk the walk. The key is to create a brand that people talk about. Don't just give people advice and tips that can help them make weight-related changes. Lead by example: let them see that you've experienced the same thing as them, and help them find the motivation to make the hard decisions that they—and you—know they need to. 3. Make an offer Don't wait for people to start begging you before you make an offer, because they probably won't. Make an offer right from the beginning, and make your position clear. The thing with the internet is there are a lot of freebie-seekers, who want more no matter how much you give. While it’s always recommended that you give a lot of free value before expecting something in return, it’s important to ensure you have the right people in your audience to begin with. You have to make money because it's the only way you can keep adding more value to people's lives, and there are various ways to do this. A few top ways to make an offer in the weight loss niche are: Recommend a product:This is especially easy if you have no expert status in the weight loss niche but want to help people nonetheless. There are a lot of quality weight loss products out there, and you'd have tried a few of them if you really know what you're doing.You can make an offer by creating a list of your recommended diet, and then reference products you've used and trust as an affiliate. This is something I do on my weight loss blog, and the results have been awesome. Of course, it’s important not to just recommend a product because you're an affiliate. Yes, you have to make money, but your end goal should be to change lives. If you find a product very helpful but are not an affiliate for it, recommend it nonetheless. When your readers learn about this, their respect for you will only increase. If you don't know whether your favorite program has an affiliate system, you can check to see if it’s listed on Amazon. If it is, then you can make up to 5% commission just by referring someone to purchase it via your Amazon affiliate link. Darren once wrote about his experience with making money from products on Amazon a while ago, and even though the article was written in 2009, the tips in it are invaluable and still apply today. You should read the post for a head start. Offer and package your advice:This could be in many forms. You could offer health consulting to others, you could give speeches to organizations and groups on how to lose weight, or you could create your own product.Not everyone has this option, though, because you have to be actually qualified to give health-related advice. But this shouldn't be a problem if you know your stuff. There's a great market waiting for you somewhere! Your own experience You've probably heard more than once that it's a good idea to start a blog in the blogging or making money online niche, yet you know within you somehow that it’s not right for you. Do you have any experience with succeeding in a niche other than blogging and making money online? If you do, share your experience with us in the comments below. And don’t forget to check back tomorrow, when we’ll look at building a profitable blog in the pet and video game niches in more detail. John Smith is an expert weight loss blogger who likes to help others. Some of his must read posts are on Weight Watchers discount for September, and bistro md delivery discount. Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger How Bloggers Can Profit from the Weight Loss Niche

5 Reasons to Start a Niche Blog, and 3 Niches to Consider Posted: 17 Aug 2012 07:06 AM PDT When the opportunity came up for us to do a series on niche blogging here on ProBlogger, I jumped at the chance. Blogging isn’t what it was. I mentioned recently how blogging has changed so much that these days we may not even realise we’re looking at a blog as we use the web. Image courtesy stock.xchng user Rbut This weekend’s little series of posts are a testament to that kind of variety. But niche blogging is also a topic that’s important to me. My main blog, dPS, is a niche blog that started as a personal passion of mine. There are a few things I love about niche blogging, and that’s at the top of the list. 1. Niche blogging lets you indulge a passion It’s true that if you blog about something that you have a passion for, you’ll probably find it easier to write posts and establish your authority within that space. But for me, the greatest advantage of niche blogging is that it’s allowed me to really indulge myself in an interest that captivates me: photography. Talking, reading, and posting about something I love—and which really intrigues me—is a great way to spend my work day. 2. It’s easier to create emotional engagement with a niche blog I honestly believe this is true—and I’ve got a long list of now-defunct blogs to back me up! If you blog on a topic you genuinely care about, that will come through in your posts. Your readers will be able to see instantly that you know where they’re at, and that’s the fastest way I know to lay the foundations of a strong emotional connection. Over time, you can build upon that connection to create loyalty, and hopefully give readers good reasons to subscribe or buy what you offer. 3. Niche blogging “feels” more creative This is just my opinion, but I find it easier to be more creative when I think about personal-interest or “hobby” topics than when I’m blogging about business topics. I think this might have something to do with our natural affinity for the hobby topics we choose to blog about. That passion is innate for most of us—I know my interest for photography is—and so a lot of the creative spark comes from an unconscious place. Often, it feels like it just happens—and I think they’re the moments of true blogging inspiration. 4. Niche blogging can seem more manageable Cutting down your blog to concentrate on your chosen niche can help you focus your attention and efforts. It can make the often daunting task of blogging seem more manageable, because that focus can help you make decisions and prioritise the things you need to do. Niche blogging can also help you to home right in on an audience, which, again, can reduce the burden bloggers often feel. If you run a niche blog serving a tightly defined audience, you know you don’t need to meet everyone’s needs. The tighter your audience definition, the more clearly you may be able to picture your readership—which can only help you to create content, as well as products and services, that those readers want. 5. Niche blogging is fun This is true for all the reasons I’ve already mentioned, but also because your niche blog will allow you to connect deeply with readers who can relate to your passion, who understand your interest in the topic, and who can expand your knowledge, networks, and experience within the niche. Niche blogging lets you dedicate yourself, your time, and your energies to something that really matters to you—and to help others while you’re doing it. What could be more fun than that? Carving out three niches If you think that this all sounds very fun and altruistic, don’t forget that many niche blogs are strong money-makers. This weekend, we’ll take a tour of three specific blogging niches in which you can make money. And none of them is the “make money blogging” niche. We won’t cover online marketing or business blogs either. What we’re looking at in these posts are genuine, personal-interest niches that attract strong audiences who have a deep passion for their topics and are willing to spend money on them. Those three niches are: weight loss pets video games. While our intention with these posts is to profile each of the niches, and provide a bit of market-specific information for those who might be thinking of targeting them, the posts also shed light on key blogging tactics that any blogger can use—no matter which niche you’ve chosen for yourself. This series is a little different from our multi-topic blog weekend project. You could say that it sits at the other end of the spectrum, since this weekend’s posts focus on picking a specific niche, rather than combining many topics into a single blog. While the latter approach might be more complex, I think that both single-topic and multi-topic blogs can be used to target a given audience niche. One of the great things about blogging is that it allows us to connect with people who share our interests from all over the world. And as this weekend’s project shows, no matter how particular you feel your interests are, through blogging, you’re sure to find others who share those interests. Moreover, you might be able to make some money at the same time. I hope you’ll enjoy this weekend’s series. First up, though, I’d love to hear in the comments which niche you blog in (or if you’re a multi-topic blogger)—I’m hopeful that we’ll see an interesting cross-section of topics. To get us started, I blog in the amateur photography niche. What about you? Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger 5 Reasons to Start a Niche Blog, and 3 Niches to Consider

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