Making a success of a new affiliate site with a limited budget in a crowded market is a tough proposition, but it’s not impossible, says Matej Novota, head of the Casino Guru online review team, who has been there and got the t-shirt.
Entering the world of affiliate sites with the intention of earning money may seem like a near-impossible task. To call the market saturated would be an understatement. However, as someone who has managed to do that very thing, I can give you the necessary advice to help you conquer this daunting task.
Let’s get straight into the meat of the subject. Your success is predicated on your skills, available resources and determination. Keep in mind there’s an indirect proportionality between skill and resources, where more resources can make up for lack of skill, and it works the other way around as well. But being determined is a must, in any case.
“You must be better than your competitors, pure and simple”
In my opinion, starting a multilingual, international, and data-oriented site like casino.guru
within the current industry landscape would seem like a suicidal proposition. We achieved
success only thanks to the skill and resources accumulated from our numerous programming projects. If you lack these, you are much better off starting out with a more narrowly focused site.
If you aim to get into the top 10 SERPs in any given niche, you must be better than your
competitors, pure and simple. This is why it’s imperative that you choose your niche wisely.
Though a David and Goliath scenario is not entirely impossible, it is not very likely either. So look for a niche which offers value, is not too overcrowded and where you can either be the best, or at least offer a unique take on the subject.
My advice is to start by looking at the following basic niches anyone can explore:
- Subjects related to a smaller country, not world superpowers.
- A smaller language group, offering content to an audience who may lack resources in their native language.
- Any more specific sub-group of a topic, which enjoys a limited, but devoted cult following. As an example – a niche game in the online gaming market. Once you’ve chosen the topic you would like to explore and build your site around, it’s important to consider the things you’ll need to have to see your project to its fruition. The key capabilities you are looking for are:
- Programming – because you do need to build that website somehow, after all.
- Copywriting – without copy, there can be no content, and without content, there is no
audience. - Translation – assuming you either want to create content in a language other English or source information from differently-speaking sites, this is a must.
- SEO – there is no point just talking to yourself, you need to be able to build an audience
- Link acquisition – Similarly to SEO, this is vital in getting you content in front of people.
All these skills are necessary to build a successful platform. If you don’t have them, there are two options open to you. Either you hire someone who has them, or you learn them yourself. I can vouch for the value in the latter option – though it may be time consuming, it’s entirely worth the trouble. Not to mention the fact that later down the line, you’ll be able to make better hiring decisions, as you’ll know how the job should be done and what you expect of your employees.
“If you choose your subject wisely, challenge yourself constantly to learn”
It’s also a good idea to choose a topic that is close to your heart. The better informed you are about it and the more passion you have for it, the easier it will be to actually create content that other people find valuable. Your main advantage against big affiliates with tens of employees is that these companies don’t have the capacity or interest to cover the more specific stories.
Their focus was, is and always will be on the “big game”, as it is difficult to find employees with a passion for the niche subjects. Your focus and passion for your subject of choice will be reflected in the content you create, and your audience will be able to feel that.
If you choose your subject wisely, challenge yourself constantly to learn, and always be passionate in everything you do, then you might just have a chance.
