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34 part series

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Evaulting a Niche Market

This is part 3 of 34 in Poker and Making Money Online, a 34 Part Series.

If there are too many competitors (some irrational or inexperienced), even if you’re the best it’s a lot harder to win.

Being the best at something doesn’t mean you’re going to be #1.  Consider the 1980 Olympics when the USA Hockey team defeated USSR for the gold medal. The Russians were heavily favored, they were clearly the best, but in 1980 they weren’t #1.

1980 USA hockey Victory Picture

So what does it take to be #1? Hard work and picking the right horse. Some people think that determination will suffice with hard work, but you can be the most determined player in a niche market and still not be #1. There are people with more money, more time, a better team, an older domain, more backlinks, and an established foothold in your market.

Here are a few things I look at when determining if I can become #1 in a niche.

1. Number of SERP results. If Google lists 64 million results for your term, it might be time to narrow it down. Google “computer parts” vs “laptop computer parts”. Which do you think would be easier to become #1.

2. Is there a name brand involved? I always avoid a trademark because they’re obviously the market leader. Consider “laptop computer parts” vs “hp computer parts”.

3. Age and authority of #1 domain. For “hp computer parts”, HP.com is the #1 site. HP.com was registered in 1986, has over 1,000 Wikipedia mentions, is ranked in the top 200 for all websites by Alexa and is clearly the best choice for “hp computer parts”. What makes me think I can beat HP at their own game? What advantages do I have over them?

4. Knowledge of the industry. Do I know any other webmasters that own similar (but not competing) websites? Can I look to someone for a few links to kick start my link building? Am I familiar enough with the market to come up with creative link baiting and viral ideas? If not, what separates me from the other 1,000 niche sites in the industry?

When you find yourself stuck in a market where you’re the best, but not #1, consider this…you may never be #1. We like to believe that if we stick with a site long enough that we’ll eventually beat that big competitor, but you might never win. I’m not trying to be a downer, I’m just being a realist. That’s tough to handle news. You might never beat NewEgg, TigerDirect and Geeks.com for top rankings for “computer parts” no matter how determined you are.

So even if you’re the best SEO, link baiter and viral marketer, there is a great chance that you’ll still be ranked #12 at the end of the day. Switch to a niche or product with less competition, or weaker competition and become the top dog!

By |January 27th, 2009|General|2 Comments
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It’s OK to Switch Horses

This is part 2 of 34 in Poker and Making Money Online, a 34 Part Series.

It’s okay to switch tables if you discover it’s too hard to win at your table.

Horse Crossing River

We’ve all heard it said, never change horses while crossing a stream. In essence it means that when you’re in the middle of something, see it through. I couldn’t disagree more. I’m notorious for not seeing things through. A recent example is my free hosting website.

I designed a site, rented a full server, bought software, spent countless hours setting it up and then went live. I estimated that I would need 200 members in the first month, 600 after 2 months, and 2,000 after 3 months, in the 4th month I hoped to break even with 4-6,000 members. After 15 days, I had 60 members, and only 7 had actually taken the time to switch their domains to my free web host. So in reality, I was 193 members short, by the end of the month I had 14 domains switched and websites built and 7 subdomain websites created. So after 31 days I was 179 member websites short and couldn’t see how it was going to work. After the first month, I emailed the members that had created sites, and arranged a deal with another web host to get them set up somewhere else and closed 22Gigs.com.

I had thought about this idea consistently for about 3 months before diving in. I had done market research, had a plan, marketing lined up, sponsors, contests, etc. I realized pretty quickly that my horse wasn’t going to make it across the river. Should I stay on that horse and keep digging my financial hole, or should I get off the horse and find a stronger horse to cross the river?

So if you’re in a market that is beating you down and you can’t see an end in site, maybe it’s time to move on. Keep that site in the background and try something new for a while. You never know when you might want to give it another shot.

When the going gets tough, the smart find an easier way.

By |January 26th, 2009|Projects|0 Comments
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Choosing the Right Table to Play At

This is part 1 of 34 in Poker and Making Money Online, a 34 Part Series.

Table selection is the most important decision you can make.

Poker Room

When you first walk into a poker room, you’ll see tables, lots of tables usually. At these tables, you’ll find both fish and sharks. When you’re playing poker for money, you’ll want to find the tables with the most fish and the least amount of sharks. Unless you play every day at this poker room or casino, you won’t be able to tell just by looking at them.

The same is true when deciding on a niche. When you first start building websites and working on affiliate marketing, you don’t know how to evaluate competition. You don’t know which backlinks are strongest, and which SERP’s you can overthrow. The more experience you have, the better suited you are to choose a table or pick a niche.

Take this example, you see Paul, a guy you’ve played with before at a table. He knows you, you know him. At his table are a bunch of fish that you don’t know, that are consistently losing hands and folding to bluffs. At another table are a bunch of unknowns. Which table would you prefer?

Personally, I would rather play against known competition. I know that “Paul” is my only competition. When niche marketing it’s just as important to know your competition and know which markets you can stay alive in.

In my experience, technology related fields are like sitting down at a table with Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson and Gus Hansen. Would you sit at that table? Only for two hands to say you played with the big boys right?

Jumping into a niche like iPods, computer parts, or laptop batteries is just as bad. Those markets are flooded with superstars that, as good as you might be, you’ll always be fighting a seriously uphill battle with.

Don’t get me wrong, picking a popular niche isn’t a bad idea, you might be able to do really well in a niche like Acai Berry Supplements even though it’s flooded, but when there are so many tables full of fish, why take your chances with a shark?

By |January 26th, 2009|Projects|1 Comment
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Poker and Making Money Online, a 34 Part Series

I hope I don’t burst your bubble, but this post is not about playing poker to make money online.  While it’s possible to make money playing poker, there are people better at poker than I am and I’m definitely not ready to put my money on the table for a flop that might totally negate my pocket aces!

Zappos.com (Shoe store) CEO Tony Hsieh wrote a great post about how playing poker relates to business.  The problem with the post is that it didn’t go into any detail, just brushed the surface.  I will take his point and expand on them as they relate to making money online, affiliate marketing, niche websites and why I do what I do. You can read Hsieh’s original post here.

I realize, in all honesty, that I will most likely never finish all 34 parts of this series (I get bored and don’t finish many things), but as I finish a post, I’ll link it from this page, so bookmark this page!

Here are the posts I’ll be writing:

EVALUATING MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

* Table selection is the most important decision you can make.
* It’s okay to switch tables if you discover it’s too hard to win at your table.
* If there are too many competitors (some irrational or inexperienced), even if you’re the best it’s a lot harder to win.

MARKETING AND BRANDING

* Act weak when strong, act strong when weak. Know when to bluff.
* Your “brand” is important.
* Help shape the stories that people are telling about you.

FINANCIALS

* Always be prepared for the worst possible scenario.
* The guy who wins the most hands is not the guy who makes the most money in the long run.
* The guy who never loses a hand is not the guy who makes the most money in the long run.
* Go for positive expected value, not what’s least risky.
* Make sure your bankroll is large enough for the game you’re playing and the risks you’re taking.
* Play only with what you can afford to lose.
* Remember it’s a long term game. You will win or lose individual sessions, but it’s what happens in the long term that matters.

STRATEGY

* Don’t play games that you don’t understand, even if you see lots of other people making money from them.
* Figure out the game when the stakes aren’t high.
* Don’t cheat. Cheaters never win in the long run.
* Stick to your principles.
* You need to adjust your style of play throughout the night as the dynamics of the game change. Be flexible.
* Be patient and think long term.
* The players with the most stamina and focus usually win.
* Differentiate yourself. Do the opposite of what the rest of the table is doing.
* Hope is not a good plan.
* Don’t let yourself go “on tilt”. It’s much more cost effective to take a break, walk around, or leave the game for the night.

CONTINUAL LEARNING

* Educate yourself. Read books and learn from others who have done it before.
* Learn by doing. Theory is nice, but nothing replaces actual experience.
* Learn by surrounding yourself with talented players.
* Just because you win a hand doesn’t mean you’re good and you don’t have more learning to do. You might have just gotten lucky.
* Don’t be afraid to ask for advice.

CULTURE

* You’ve gotta love the game. To become really good, you need to live it and sleep it.
* Don’t be cocky. Don’t be flashy. There’s always someone better than you.
* Be nice and make friends. It’s a small community.
* Share what you’ve learned with others.
* Look for opportunities beyond just the game you sat down to play. You never know who you’re going to meet, including new friends for life or new business contacts.
* Have fun. The game is a lot more enjoyable when you’re trying to do more than just make money.

By |January 26th, 2009|Projects|0 Comments
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