While working in the affiliate marketing industry, you’ll probably have heard many veterans and publishers use the phrase: “Always pick a niche”.
Have you ever stopped to think about why picking a niche is so important? Instinctively it might feel limiting. Advertisers will invest money to create marketing content and brand advertising that reaches the masses. The beauty of affiliate marketing is that you can drill deeper into your customer niches and leverage partnerships to drive hyper-personalised messages into these audience segments, on your behalf.
We have a list of reasons why picking a niche might be the best step forward for you, your content and your brand as a content creator:
Targeted audiences
You might find, when creating content for an audience, that selecting a niche will be better at grabbing attention. Generalising your content to suit everybody simply results in your content becoming bland. It can be a watered-down approach. Everything you do can’t be “too much” of anything and therefore isn’t appealing to a section of your audience or groups of your users. It doesn’t dive deep or dig deep enough.
Instead, by hitting a dedicated audience with what you know they will love, you will please a core audience that will then expand as word-of-mouth does its job. You might be sacrificing reach, but you’re increasing engagement and loyalty. According to Universal Creative Solutions, 40% of consumers prefer a targeted message that speaks to them, and in principle targeted messaging or ads have a 5.3% higher click-through rate than other generic messaging.
Less competition
Additionally, if your niche is niche enough, you might be one of only a few people doing what you do. YouTubers, for example, have come out with many genres of content that would be unlikely to make it through an elevator pitch for a TV station. Some examples include ASMR, mukbang, game streaming, or even podcasts that are centred around two people talking about whatever is on their minds. These are big genres now, but if you were in on them in their early days, you would have been one of about three creators followed by millions of followers.
Building authority
You can quickly gain a name for yourself as one of the most knowledgeable people in your subject, or at the very least the person that is most passionate about it and willing to learn more. This is important for marketing because it inspires loyalty in your followers. You will be the person that your audience goes to for tips and recommendations, such as product recommendations, that you might earn commission on in your affiliate program. With this consistency on the same topic and consistency in your content output, you will build authority on what you’re selling.
More effective marketing
As your credibility and your followers grow, you can use tracking software to study the behaviour of your audience to create a more effective marketing campaign. In aiming for a specific set of people, and avoiding a catch-all, you can increase your conversion rates with hyperpersonalisation of your content. In turn, you’ll spend less and improve your ROI on earnings.
Potential for passive income
Even better, you might tailor your marketing campaign well enough that it becomes a passive income. With commission on evergreen products and services, you can simply create content to keep your users incoming and allow your products and services to sell themselves.
Conclusion
With a niche as your content genre, you can focus on a more loyal audience that is more likely to engage with your brand. There are two main ways you can choose your niche: follow a passion or shop around for a gap in the market. If you’re lucky you’ll hit both points.
