This article explains how to select a profitable niche for your membership business.

First – Look for Fanatics

The number 1 thing you have to do is find fanatics if you want a profitable membership website. What’s a fanatic? It’s someone who is so excited about a certain topic that they will spend their time and money on information about it. Now that we know what we’re looking for, let’s talk about how to find them…

• One simple idea that’s easily forgotten is to scan the magazine racks when you’re out and about. Because it’s becoming harder and harder to keep print periodicals profitable these days, if you see a magazine on the shelves, you know it’s making money. And that means there are lots of people interested in it. This is a very good indication that it’s a good niche for you to go into.
• Watch and listen for fanatics in your daily life. Pay attention to conversations, social events, TV, restaurants, public places to see what people are talking about. If people are talking about it, they are interested in it. And that may also mean they’re willing to pay money to learn more about it.
• Again, looking in the physical world for clues you can tell there are lots of people interested in something if there are clubs and organizations around the topic. Conventions are expensive to hold and attend, so if one if going on that’s another strong indication of a good niche to go into with your membership website.
• And of course there are all the things you have an interest in, too! Chances are that if you like a certain topic or hobby, other people do, too. The icing on the cake here is that you get to build a business doing something you love.
• Google Trends. This is a great way to figure out what people are interested in. This service shows you the current most popular search terms. These topics are the hottest topics because lots and lots of people want information about them. Building a membership business around things people are actively searching for is a great way to ensure your success.

Next – Figure out if there’s money in it

Once you found a potential niche or topic to center your membership site around, you need to figure out if you can actually make any money in it. An easy way to determine this is to figure out if anyone else is making money in this niche.

Here’s a punch list for figuring out if anyone’s making money in your niche:

• First go to Google and type in the name of your niche followed by “blog” and “forum”. If there are blogs and forums related to it, that’s a good sign. This means there is a large group of people already assembled for you to market to.
• Search Amazon, Google shopping and eBay to see if people are creating and selling products in the niche. What you’re trying to figure out is if anyone is making money in this niche, and if people are selling products it means they are making money.
• Look at Google Adwords for the same ads are running over time. If people are running the same ad over time it means they are making money in the niche. They would not continue to spend money on the ads if there were not making a return from them.

Last, but not least… How hard will it be to break into this niche?

Once you’ve found a niche and figured out that there is money to be made in, you need to determine if you can break into this niche. How do you gauge the ease of entry?

• Figure out what kinds of products people are interested in. If it’s mostly physical products, coaching and live seminars, then it will be harder to break into this niche. The easiest membership website to create and maintain are information membership sites.
• The last thing you want is a marketing filled with tons of competitors. A few means it’s a profitable niche, but too many means you won’t be able to take a piece of it.
• Compare the size of the market versus the number of competitors. Some competition is a good sign – just make sure the market is big enough for you to join in.
• Market readiness. Are people ready to buy? Are the receptive to marketing messages? Some niches are made up of people who require lots information and have a very long lead time, and some markets are filled with people who will spend lots of money right now.

Putting it all together

So far, we’ve talked about exactly what it takes to pick a great niche: One with a hungry crowd of fanatics, who are ready to spend money on information about their topic. And you’ve determined your barrier to entry is small enough to give it a go. If you’ve done your homework, your business will be a success because you already know your market is a profitable one with room for you. Learning how to run a membership website is a topic for another article…

Visitors to your site are critical – getting them there automatically is even better. Here’s how…

But, first…

The first thing you need to do before you start going after any traffic is keyword research. This is because you will building your traffic funnels around specific keywords. This means it’s critical to select your keywords properly.

A couple things to keep in mind when doing keyword research:

• Are the keywords you’re interested in attainable? This involves doing some competitive analysis to determine the ease of entry for each keyword
• What kinds of visitors do these keywords bring? If you don’t do your research you’ll end up with a lot of traffic that doesn’t buy from you. What you want is buyers!
• Will these keywords bring affiliates? Generating your own customers is great – having other people do it for you is even better. So, it’s important to also target affiliates in the keywords you go after.

Although this is an essential step, doing it all by hand can take a very long time. Hiring someone else to do it costs a lot of money. The upside is that these two factors keep most everyone from even doing their keyword research. If you’re smart you will use website traffic software to help you with this process. Using tools like this speed up the process and improve your results, too!

OK, now we can talk about traffic…

Now that you’ve completed your keyword research, you can begin using these keywords to get traffic to your website.

Here are a couple of clever ways to do this…

• Most people overlook the power of Surveys!
• “Answer” Sites
• Video

Surveys

Here’s the thing – people love surveys. It’s human nature. You can use this fact to provide “sticky” content for other website owners. They benefit by getting free content for their site and you get a link to your site under the survey. This allows you to get free website traffic from other people’s sites! Using just this one extra idea will put you ahead of your competition . . . who think surveys are for gathering information! So, get creative and make up a survey that’s wacky to get other people interested in putting it on their sites.

“Help” Websites

Maybe you’ve seen these help sites where people post questions and other people answer them. But, like the surveys, that’s not why you’re going to pay attention to these sites. You are going to generate traffic, leads and sales from them. Of course, the process of digging through these sites and pulling out the content info of leads for your business is very time consuming. The good news is that it’s easy to find website traffic software that can do this automatically. These tools put the whole thing on auto-pilot and just deliver the leads to you each day.

Video

Video is huge and sites like YouTube and Vimeo are extremely popular. These sites generate massive traffic and people watch over 2 billion videos a day on YouTube alone . So don’t miss out of this incredible source of free website traffic.

You don’t have to be able to make awesome videos for this to work. One super easy thing to do is take an article or website you’ve written. And use free screen capture software to record yourself reading it. You can even get software that will automatically do this for you.

The Bottom Line…

It’s not that hard to get traffic to your websites. Just be a creative and think outside the box a bit. Plus, there’s lots of great software out there to help you.

Get started right away:

• Keyword research first is key
• Then create some surveys born to go viral
• Take advantage of the “help” sites
• And don’t forget about video

Copyright © Margie Franklin

What is Facebook FarmVille Zynga?

It’s an online game, played by over 70 million members of Facebook, which allows participants to maintain their own virtual farm.    Players may plant trees, grow virtual crop, harvest flowers, and take care of their livestock.  The ultimate goal is to build better farms and earn prestige in the farming community.

Although, I just recently started playing FarmVille, my research shows me that it’s the most popular application in Facebook history.  Who knew that so many people had a secret desire to become farmers?

Another attraction of FarmVille is that it touches the Humanitarian side of folks.  By this I mean that you can be a “Good Samaritan” and help your neighbors or friends by giving gifts of trees and livestock.  You can also celebrate someone else’s achievements of earning ribbons.   Earning ribbons are crucial because FarmVille rewards you with virtual money.

My impression of the Facebook FarmVille game is that it motivates you to develop and utilize your people skills.  It challenges the mind, relieves boredom, and provides yet another avenue of interacting with friends and family.  Plus it’s just plain fun!

The top 5 things I’ve learned from reviewing the Facebook FarmVille game are:

The Crunchies Award.  Facebook FarmVille Zynga received the prestigious Crunchies Award.  This was presented to FarmVille for  being the best social application of 2009.  The FarmVille folks didn’t hoard this award or forget about those who helped them achieve this honor.  Instead they shared the wealth with the millions of  people who play FarmVille. Each player received a virtual Crunchie Award statue in their gift box.

I would be remiss if I failed to mention that Facebook won the Crunchie Award for the category of Best Overall Startup or Product for 2009.  Facebook is the largest social network and has over 350 million users.

Zynga’s Relief Fund for Haiti.  FarmVille found an easy way for the FarmVille players to contribute funds to the Haiti’s disaster.  When a farmer buys White Corn 100% of the proceeds go to the Haiti Relief Fund.  This contribution is sent directly to those suffering from the Haiti earthquake.

FarmVille Forum.  There’s plenty of support in the Zynga Community Forum.  If you run into an obstacle and require someone else’s expertise at solving the problem, there’s lots of resources.  The Forum Moderators, Zynga Staff Members, and other FarmVille farmers are glad to pitch in and provide advice.

Youtube Videos. You could peruse youtube.com for videos about FarmVille.  I found one which I feel provides great information.  It’s called   “Do You FarmVille? Addictive Social Facebook Flash Game” This video was created by Duncan Maile or “DuncanM.”  Duncan also followed up with more detailed instructions on his website.  Just click  here to view Duncan’s site:  Duncan’s farmville-tips-to-level-up quickly.

E-Books.  There’s also a plethora of ebooks with tips and secrets for FarmVille lovers.  One that I sell is the Official FarmVille guide called“How to Become a FarmVille Expert. “ It has up to date tips and tricks for teaching you to become a FarmVille superstart.  I’m an Affiliate which means I do receive commissions when someone buys this guide from me.

There is a down side to FarmVille.  Not everyone wants to play the game.  In fact some Facebook members get quite annoyed when the FarmVille updates over shadow their Live News Feeds.  For those who find themselves in this category help is on the way.  You have the option to prevent FarmVille updates to your Live News Feed or “Hide” them.

If you want to prevent Facebook FarmVille Zynga applications, click on “Settings”, then“Application Settings.” After clicking here you should see FarmVille.  Click on “Edit Settings” followed by the “Additional Permissions” tab.  Remove the checkmark from the box.  Going forward all of the FarmVille farmers will no longer touch your Facebook real estate…so to speak.

Alternatively, you may wait until a FarmVille update appears in your Live News Feed.  At that time, simply click on the “Hide” tab that’s located on the top right side of your friend’s comments.  By following these instructions you will have successfully prevented further FarmVille updates.

Facebook FarmVille Zynga can be lots of fun.  Over 70 million people find it fascinating and I recommend it too.  It’s not for everyone, but why not give it a try and make the decision for yourself.

About the Author

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Margie Franklin is the owner and webmaster of Live The Dream With Faith Home Biz Options and Shopping Deals. She also is a firm believer in giving back to the community. You too can join her efforts to help fund non-profit organizations and change the world by shopping online.

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Copyright © Margie Franklin

Are you a Blogger, Testimonial Writer, Celebrity Endorser, or Advertiser?  If so, the FTC could be targeting you.

We recently were made aware that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) revised Guides are more strict and could have a negative impact on people who endorse products or services in exchange for a monetary reward or other type of incentive.

The FTC is a watch dog for people who are considering purchasing or have purchased products or services.  It’s their job to keep unscrupulous people from making false promises about items or services they are selling, promoting or endorsing in ads, blogs, commercials, or testimonials.

Effective December 1st, any gifts or money received in exchange for writing  testimonials or endorsing  products, must be properly disclosed.   Also, when making endorsements, you must reveal your connection, if any, to the seller of that product or service.

Caroline McCarthy, author of the Blog called “the social,” gave a great example of one of the ways an unsuspecting celebrity or high profile person could unwittingly violate the revised FTC’s Guides by using Facebook’s Fan Page.  Her article is titled “Yes, new FTC guidelines extend to Facebook fan pages.”

Following is an excerpt of Caroline McCarthy’s article, dated October 5, 2009:

“Prominent users of Twitter and Facebook won’t be exempt from controversial new Federal Trade Commission guidelines that keep tabs on blogger freebies and giveaways, according to Richard Cleland, associate director for the FTC’s advertising division. The agency absolutely plans to keep tabs on social networks as well as blogs in accordance with revised regulations that could see violators fined up to $11,000, he said.

Here’s a sample scenario: a celebrity or other prominent figure with loads of friends on Facebook receives free hotel says from Hotel Chain X in exchange for running Hotel Chain X ads on his or her blog. If that person then signs up as a Facebook fan of Hotel Chain X–which, remember, could mean that the person’s name can show up for his or her Facebook friends alongside Hotel Chain X display ads on the social network–he or she could be held liable by the FTC.”

Caroline McCarthy’s article may help bloggers  get a better understanding of the Federal Trade Commission’s revised Guidelines.  I recommend interested parties take a few moments to read it in it’s entirety.

The FTC’s revised Guides also go as far as to indicate that they will no longer tolerate or allow the well used phrase “results not typical.”  This phrase was seen quite frequently, in small print, at the bottom of a Sales Page.

The same applies to companies who use the results from research to prove that their products work.  If that particular company has a relationship with the research organization, that info must also be disclosed to the public.

You may read the actual revised Guides issued by The Federal Trade Commission at their website.  http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm.

Want more information?  Joel Comm, author of “Twitter Power,” and Atty Kevin Houchin are conducting a webinar on Monday, November 9th to review how these changes will impact your business.

Joel and Kevin will also provide advice on the necessary steps to take in order to be compliant with the new guidelines.  Obtain the link from “Friends of Joel Comm” on Facebook.

Don’t be the one to get slapped with a fine!  Take the time to educate yourself on FTC’s revised guidelines, as well as preventative measures that will help keep your hard earned dollars in your pocket.

Oh, and by the way, I’m not associated with Caroline McCarthy, Joel Comm, nor Atty. Kevin Houchin.  No compensation or freebies are being received for mentioning them in my article.   (I have read “Twitter Power” by Joel Comm, which I also recommend.)

Margie Franklin is the owner and webmaster of Live The Dream With Faith Home Business Opportunities. She also is a firm believer in giving back to the community. You too can join her efforts to help fund non-profit organizations and change the world by shopping online.

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Copyright © Margie Franklin

Hey guys, have you heard about “My World Plus?” It’s all about helping the common folk save money in this tough economy.  And it’s so easy.  All anyone has to do is just shop online or use their membership discount card, or coupons when going to a movie, traveling, buying fast food or groceries.

This isn’t like most offers you see online where the promoter just wants to line their pockets with your hard earned cash.  In fact, I recommend that you only spend money on the items you would normally buy, just remember to use your coupon or discount card.

If you enjoy shopping at stores, such as Target, PetSmart, Gap, Starbucks, AMC Theaters, Lowes, and hundreds of others, you owe it to yourself to check this out.  There’s over 600 online stores and over 175,000 retailers worldwide in which to choose.

Are you a little short on funds?  Is there too much month left at the end of the money?  In addition to shopping discounts, MyWorldPlus also provides an opportunity to earn money from home.  Soon your bank account will have a positive cash flow again.

The best part is you can watch your income explode quickly.  Don’t take my word for it.  Research it at here or  watch my short video.

Try it out, take it for a test drive and kick the tires.  If it looks like something that would benefit you and your family, go for it.    You don’t have to join today, but if you do you can start saving money immediately.

Those who wait may end up making money for you because they hesitated.   Just think of all of those people who had the opportunity to be in on the ground floor of Google, Yahoo or Microsoft, but failed to see the big picture.

Well, you can’t change history, but you are in control of the here and now.   Earning cash rebates by simply shopping online at MyWorldPlus can relieve your financial stress, help you put your kids through college, take extra vacations, or simply put food on the table.

If you have ever bought or thought about buying travel, flowers, electronics, sporting events, gift baskets, clothing, Christmas presents or birthday gifts online, why not do it thru MyWorldPlus and watch your income explode quickly.

About the Author:

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Margie Franklin is the owner and webmaster of Live The Dream With Faith Home Business Opportunities. Margie focuses on providing easy work from home opportunities to people who wish to supplement their income.