30 Comments
User's avatar
BowTiedAviator's avatar

Just read this after having done it in the slightly wrong order for my first site. Will check average commissions asap before committing further.

To come up with brandable names, use https://namelix.com/ . Note: They will suggest premium domains (normally .com) for several thousand USTT, but you can get the same brand at another TLD for much less (.io, .net, etc.)

Expand full comment
Tetra's avatar

Good find. I actually hadn't heard of Namelix before, it seems like a good tool if people are having a hard time coming up with something.

Expand full comment
Pete Winner's avatar

Hey BTT, quick question, I was planning on building a site in the pet dog niche, but it seems like that there is tons of competition out there. Should I focus on a specific breed (say French Bulldog which I own) or try something else please? I thought senior living but that would fall under YAML which you recommend against. Alternatively I thought LinkedIn Advertising - could do youtube walkthroughs without showing my face and could create a course

Expand full comment
Tetra's avatar

You could do the dog niche. Just because there's competition doesn't mean you can't beat them.

Expand full comment
Jack Bear's avatar

How do you tell if a trend is saturated?

I thought that green energy and living sustainably would be a decent trend. The government just passed a giant bill that will promote green solutions. This is a big theme that won't be going away any time soon. So I expect it to be full of opportunities, but I also expect a lot of competition.

The google trends for a lot of those works are all up upward trajectories, and there are tons of products with decent commissions.

But it's going to be crowded. How do you vet crowded vs. saturated?

Expand full comment
Tetra's avatar

You can play around with the keywords in Ahrefs and see if there's lots of low-competition keywords in that niche with low search volume (easy ones for a new site to rank for).

But the real answer is you have to develop a feel for it over time by paying attention and living consciously in your day-to-day life. Don't let anything blend into the background. You'll start noticing opportunities and making connections between things.

Curiosity is underrated.

Expand full comment
Bowtiedcorvid's avatar

Question on this: Looking at starting my first affiliate site. A topic I know a lot about and think there's potentially a substantial marketplace for is stress. It's something I've been exposed to an unusual amount of because of my background, and have deep knowledge of.

The issue is that a lot of the keywords are hyper competitive and are held by sites I probably can't compete with (WebMD etc). Would you advise avoiding this situation?

Expand full comment
Tetra's avatar

Yes, I would advise avoiding that niche for your first site. Anything health-related falls under the YMYL category (your money, your life). Google has MUCH higher standards for YMYL sites.

I only have YMYL sites atm but wouldn't recommend them for anyone unless they're experienced and want a challenge.

Expand full comment
Bowtiedcorvid's avatar

Thank you very much, another life saved. Boxing is the other thing I know a lot about and have a good understanding of - but I worry it's been done to death (bloody elbow etc)

Expand full comment
Dimitri Litvin's avatar

Great guide, it seems this is a major sticking pooint for many. Me too. Decided to go with the "outdoor home improvement" niche as a first experiment, subniche "balcony improvement". Would "balcony" be a silo or should I silo it down more, e.g. "waterproofing balconies"?

Thanks!

Expand full comment
Tetra's avatar

Balcony is a good silo. If you want to break it down into subsections within that you can and it won't hurt but for topical authority balcony should be niche enough to make Google happy

Expand full comment
Bowtied Farmer's avatar

Do you recommend affiliate marketing through substack?

Expand full comment
Tetra's avatar

No. You can earn some small amount of USTT through Substack but if you want to make real money you need a broad-niche website with a branded domain name.

Expand full comment
Bowtied Farmer's avatar

One more question, say you make a branded website, your main source of traffic is through blog/seo? Blog seems like it would take a long time to build traffic.

Expand full comment
Tetra's avatar

Yes, I recommend building for the long-term. You can do paid ads but I recommend all new people do it the hard way first.

Think about all of the normies you know who have a high time preference. Do you really want to be like them? Once you learn to have a low time preference you graduate into being a full Chad.

Expand full comment
Bowtied Farmer's avatar

Can you give me an example of a really good affiliat marketing branded website with everything you need? I have a drop shipping website I’m working on with blog capability, and I was wondering if I could incorporate affiliate marketing into it as well.

Expand full comment
Tetra's avatar

Nerdwallet is a good example in the finance niche. The best affiliate sites don't look like affiliate sites, they look like advice sites

Expand full comment
Ty Dolla Sign's avatar

Trying to avoid analysis paralysis…stuck between choosing dating niche or home decor. Can write lots of content with dating but can’t market lots of product. Home Decor I’m less knowledgeable so it would be a learning curve but more products to market with more potential sales. Any advice?

Expand full comment
Tetra's avatar

Do home decor

Expand full comment
Gar's avatar

Just found this post after being subbed for a month or so and been working on an "evergreen" website. (stats: 27 clicks, 436 impressions, in 3mo)

Got me thinking, I should explore the motorcycle niche. Something I actually like.

I initially didn't do it because I was following people preaching the "evergreen" strategy.

But with this article in mind, seems like if you create a brand like, "MotoManiacs", and write ALL things motorcycle...Then GTG?

Am I thinking about it right or moto would be a stupid niche since it's more of a visual, YouTube style niche?

Expand full comment
Tetra's avatar

Yes that niche can work.

Expand full comment
AutisticAlex's avatar

I went with skin care solutions for xyz problem. I can write about this topic for eons… but How do I go about finding products to promote with high AOV. All I see for high AOV on CJ is random equipment the average person cannot afford.

The rest are small products that earn way less than 50$ Commission. Maybe I should not do this niche. Also skincare is ymyl correct? Sucks because I already bought the domain ..installed Wordpress and plugins etc..and want to do this as a longterm brand.

This is the issue I see with other beginners. We get tripped up in the beginning.. not bcz of laziness but because we just need to be steered in the right direction abit. E.g I’m currently in amazing shape (8% bf year round) & I always give beginners who ask a list of shit I wish I didn’t do that would save me 2 years of worthless workouts.

Pointing the ship in the right direction can be the difference between going completely off course and wasting months of energy that could have been used the right way

I feel stuck and I’ve barely begun

Expand full comment
BowtiedAmadeus's avatar

Love this. Looking to go into spirituality/religion/psychology. Would you narrow it down for a niche before starting the work with surfer and creating silos, or start as board as "spirituality" etc.?

Expand full comment
Tetra's avatar

Yes it's good to start with something broad but work on it one sub-niche at a time

Expand full comment
BowtiedAmadeus's avatar

thanks, great

Expand full comment
BowTiedFalcon's avatar

Maybe, I'm reading this wrong...but it seems like the 50 USTT commission is high.

Looking at 3 month EPC against the sale %

Something like 3 month EPC of 78.46 and 10% commission only comes out to 7.846?

Expand full comment
Tetra's avatar

I mean you have to find a niche where the average order gives you at least $50 USTT. There are high-dollar products in most niches, you just have to find them.

EPC doesn't matter if you aren't doing running paid ads, which I don't recommend doing until you start earning money organically. Going the organic route at first teaches you so much more and forces you to create a high-quality website. If you want to supplement it with paid ads later then that's just a bonus.

Expand full comment
User's avatar
Comment deleted
Aug 28, 2021
Comment deleted
Expand full comment
Tetra's avatar

You're going to have to paraphrase other reviews and information from the manufacturer's site.

I recommend using Surfer SEO, it will let you know the exact phrases you should use in your article if you want to rank for a particular keyword.

It's also not just about what you write in the article, but other content on your site (you need to build out content silos around a particular topic) as well as backlinks. I recommend reading my article about building topical authority for more info.

Expand full comment
BowtiedAmadeus's avatar

Any suggested tools for paraphrasing? Other tools for the writing itself apart from surfer (grammarly etc.)?

Expand full comment
Tetra's avatar

Nah Surfer is all you need

Expand full comment