As an internet entrepreneur, you have to learn to love traffic. In fact, the more traffic the better. I’m not talking about a highway chock-full of cars at rush hour after work… or being stuck trying to get out of parking lot after a concert in a big stadium.

I’m talking about traffic to your website, your landing pages, eBay or Amazon store, your blog, or whatever other online real estate that you have put in place.Think of it this way. Your website is like a store in a mall. Hundreds to thousands of people walk through the mall every day. Each of those shops is vying for their attention. They’re counting on shoppers to see their store and make the decision to walk in and check out they have to offer.

So how do they make that happen? A variety of ways. They might have a big colorful sign, with window stickers talking about a sale. An employee could be out front handing out flyers or free samples… or personally inviting people in. The store could have sent out direct mail postcards about a special discount or special event on a certain day. Maybe they have an email list of customers that they communicate with regularly or are active social media and often promote special deals or sales.
You're going to the same thing, in a manner of speaking, with your online storefront. You’re going to deploy a wide range of strategies and methods for attracting the attention of your target market and compelling them to visit your site so that they sign up to be part of your email list (so you can market to them further) or browse your online shop and buy something.

Traffic Driving Tools

Driving traffic is an essential part any online venture. In fact, it’s the very first thing you must do for creating a profitable and productive marketing funnel for your online business.

Of course, not every “traffic driver” listed below is a fit for what you do. Some will work like gangbusters; some will be so-so.You never know until you try. And it’s also important to always avoid putting all your eggs in one basket so to speak.

You see, even though one traffic driving tool might be bringing in thousands of qualified prospects one day, you never know what could happen the next. So it’s important to have other sources of traffic, so you have a “backup” and your business doesn’t go under.
A quick example of this is when Google changes their search engine algorithm. This algorithm determines where pages online appear in the search engine results page.
In past major changes, businesses have failed because their whole model was based on getting traffic from Google searches, and when the algorithm changed they were no longer on page one - overnight. Don’t let that be you. And it won’t be, because you are going to use a variety of traffic drivers with your online business.

Search Engine Optimization

Speaking of Google, why don’t we start there. Search engine optimization, SEO for short, can be a key way to drive valuable, qualified traffic to your website. Here’s what I mean. When somebody

searches for a topic related to your niche (say you sell videos that help people improve their golf swing and they search for “improve my golf swing”), you want your website or landing page to show up as high in the search results as possible.Why? Well, the top three results make up 61% of clicks. Anyway, when somebody clicks on the link to your site on Google (or another search engine), they are more likely to sign up for your email list or buy a product.
This “organic” traffic is so valuable because people these people are actively searching for information or solutions to a problem they have. And when they see something that can help them, they are more likely to take action.
You make your site search friendly by including high-quality content and keywords and key phrases in your website copy that relates to your niche. You should also put those keywords in your site title, domain name, description, tagline, blog categories, page titles, and page content (this is “back office” work your web designer can do, or you can do yourself if run your own site).

Content Marketing

This is part of search engine optimization in a way because search engines these days value good content when determining results. Meaning, you can’t just stuff a page with keywords and expect to have a good ranking. You have to create informative articles for your website or blog that search engines find useful. But you can’t stop there. You should have compelling titles and include attention-grabbing descriptions, so that they are enticing when they appear in the search engine results. This is what will get the prospect to click and read your full article.
Then you have to follow through and provide a great experience to your reader so that the prospect is ready to take action or find out more about your business once they make it to your site.
The article could highlight best practices in your industry, or offer how-to tips, or discuss certain strategies that fit your niche. Whatever it is it should provide your prospect with valuable free information.

Get Social 

It’s unavoidable. If you do business online these days you have to get involved in social media. A huge amount of traffic goes to social sites and services like Twitter, ​YouTube, and Facebook. Millions of people log on every day. Why not take advantage of that and leverage that traffic for your own purposes? Your target market is definitely on social media… and in great numbers.
To do that you should maintain a robust social media presence. Put up a Facebook page for your business. Create a Twitter account. Post videos related to your business on YouTube (for example, if you had that golf swing business, you could post some videos where you show one or two tips).
Here are some best practices for when you use social media.

1. Post Often and Regularly

If you have a Facebook business page or Twitter account, you should be active. Post every other day or at least three times a week, if not daily. You’ll have to find what works best for your business. But the idea is to make sure your customers know you are alive, so to speak. They want to hear from you often, so indulge them. And be regular, set a schedule of sorts and follow it. Don’t post one day, then a second, and then not for a week - you’ll lose potential customers. That helps build the relationship between you and your prospects.

2. Be Consistent

It’s simple; you must be consistent as far as what you post. Stay on brand and on message and make sure anything you post supports your marketing goals. For example, if you have a site about radio control car racing, you don’t want to post something about your thoughts on politics.

3. Show Value

With your social media efforts, you want to make sure your prospects find something useful in what you post. Post how-to tips, valuable information, fun stuff… This will speed up the process of the prospect coming to know, like, and trust you. They come to view you as a source they can turn to when they need solutions.

4. Include Calls to Action

This might be the most important part as this is where you drive traffic! Whenever you post something to social media (or at least most of the time), you should include some sort of call to action; an offer or incentive for clicking over to your landing page, blog, or e-commerce site. It might be a sale… or the full text of an article… a free ebook. Whatever it is, this will ensure that your social media audience can actually become a customer.

5. Paid Ads

Although search engine optimization and the “organic” traffic it brings can be very valuable and you get it free… paid advertising can also be a good source of traffic. And the advantage is that you will get results much quicker. SEO, content marketing, and similar methods take a while to implement… consistent work over time.
With paid ads, you can expect instant traffic to your site. Here’s how it works. You buy a pay per click ad on Google AdWords for example. It will appear at the top of the Google results page for search related to your niche. When people click, they go to your website or landing page - and you pay per click. And it’s not as expensive as you might think. The key part here is to make sure you’re getting a return on your investment in paid ads, that what you spend comes back to you - and then some - in sales.
Quick tip: be sure you include strong attention grabbing copy and some sort of incentive to click - a free report, discount, or similar.
Other ads include banner and / or text ads on ad networks that post to a variety of blogs and websites and Facebook sponsored posts. The technology behind these services ensures that your ad only appears on sites or near content that is of interest to your target market. That means your ads get in front of the right eyeballs and those people are very likely to click and go to your site.

6. Forum Marketing

Online forums related to your business’s niche can be a great free way to drive traffic to your site. This is qualified traffic although the numbers will be relatively small. But there’s a right way to go about posting to a forum.
Number one rule is not to spam. You can’t just join a forum related to your niche and starting posting links to your website or offering products for sale. In fact, that’ll probably get you banned. Instead, you become a valuable member of the forum.
Answer questions, participate in discussions, post useful information, comment on industry trends… Depending on how the forum works, you can include a URL to your website in your signature or make your business name part of your username.
Those are subtle ways to drive traffic. Eventually, once you’ve become a trusted part of that forum, you can also be a bit more overt in posting links to your site. Don’t overdo it though.

Next Steps to Driving More Traffic

Now you have five solid ways to drive traffic to your online business. Remember, not all of them will be right for your particular business, and you'll always want to be researching more ways to drive free traffic to your website. So it’s important to test them out and see which ones bring in the most leads and/or sales. You’re sure to find the marketing mix that works for you.

Keyword-targeted campaigns are used to advertise on Google and across the Google Search Network. The ads are displayed on search results pages. When you do a search on Google and see the advertisements at the top of the page or in other locations; these are Adwords ads that other advertisers are paying to appear.
Google's network includes search sites like AOL and Ask.com as well. Ads are shown when triggered by search queries. If the search query includes keywords you've specified for your campaign, your ad may show up in the Sponsored Links section.
The main idea is that when someone searches Google with certain keywords, you can pay to have your ads displayed. For example, if you're in the golf market; when someone searches Google for "how to improve my golf swing", you can have your ad appear along with the search results.
Selecting accurate and appropriate keywords is crucial to running an optimized keyword-targeted campaign. Using Google's keyword tool can help identify additional, relevant keywords to add to your list. In addition, Google's expanded keyword matching technology may allow your ad to display based on a broad matching of keywords in a search query that may not exactly match your specified keywords.
You can see that Google Adwords is one of many powerful ways to drive traffic to your website.

How to Choose Relevant Search Keywords and Website Content

Not only can you select the keywords you wan't to bid on so your ads appear when people do a Google search, but you can also select the manner in which they did the search. Do you want your ads to appear only if they type an exact phrase or do you want to show your ad if they type a search phrase that includes any combination of keywords you selected.
Let's look at these options in more detail.

Broad Match

This is the default option. If your keywords include general words or phrases like office supplies, your ads may appear when users search for office and supplies, in any order, and possibly along with other terms. For example, your ad may appear for buy office supplies and office chairs but not office buildings. Your ads may also appear on relevant variations of your keyword phrases and plurals, as well as some related keywords and phrases. Broad matches are often less targeted than exact or phrase matches and may result in a lower CTR because more impressions are served.
Your ads will be seen most often with this option but may not get the most amount of clicks.

Phrase Match

If you enter your keyword in quotation marks ("office supplies") your ad will appear when a user searches the phrase office supplies, in this order, and possibly with other terms in the search query. In this case, the search can also contain other terms as long as it includes the exact phrase you've specified. For example, your ad may appear for the queries buy office supplies and office supplies store but not supplies for office.
You'll get less ads shown with this than with broad match, but the ads will be more relevant and targeted to the search.

Exact Match

If you surround your keywords in brackets - [office supplies] - your ads will appear when users search for the specific phrase office supplies, in this order, and without any other terms in the search query. For example, your ad won't show for the query office supplies stores. Although you won't receive as many impressions, you'll likely get a higher CTR, because of its precise targeting.

Negative Keyword

These keywords trigger your ads NOT to display, even if other keywords in the search query match. To specify a negative keyword, place a negative sign (-) before the keyword. For example, you can add the negative keyword -used, so your ad won't appear when a user searches for used office supplies.
This is a great way to make sure your ads are not shown for searches that are not relevant to what you are offering and to disqualify certain types of searches.
Just knowing simple pay-per-click ad basics like this can be the difference between a successful and unsuccessful ad campaign.

Your CPC (Cost-per-Click) Rate is Determined by Your Quality Score

Keyword-targeted campaigns are charged on a CPC (cost-per-click) basis. You are only charged when a user clicks on your ad and is taken to your landing page. The CPC rate depends on your maximum CPC bid (the most you're willing to pay per click) as well as Google's internal system of scoring keyword ads. Not only do you set your maximum CPC bid, but you decide on a maximum daily budget, so you never spend more than you have. Once you've spent your budget for that day, your ads won't appear until the next day.
Google decides your CPC rate and how high your ads show by calculating a Quality Score and Rank Number (ad rank) for each keyword ad.
The Quality Score is based on several factors, including how relevant your ad text is to the keywords you've selected, the quality of your landing page, and your current CTR (clickthrough rate). CTR is the percentage of clicks you get when your ad is displayed. It is calculated by dividing the number of clicks by impressions (how many times your ad has been displayed). A high CTR indicates that your ad is relevant and interesting to users, and is rewarded with a better Quality Score which lowers your CPC costs and offers a higher ad position.
Using your Quality Score, Google assigns a minimum CPC bid for your ad. If your maximum CPC bid is less than the assigned minimum CPC bid, your keyword ad will be made inactive. You'll either need to place a higher bid or to raise your Quality Score by creating a better ad and using more relevant keywords to imporve the CTR.
The Quality Score is a great way to ensure that Google's customers are only seeing the most relevant ads providing a better user experience for them and rewards the advertiser's with lower prices for being more targeted with their ads.
A good Quality Score is just one of the ways you can improve your pay-per-click ad performance.

Your Ad Display Position is Determined by the Rank Number

The Rank Number determines your ad position. The higher the Rank Number, the higher your ad will show. It is calculated by multiplying your maximum CPC bid and Quality Score. This means that if you have a low Quality Score, you can still raise your Rank Number by placing a higher bid. Through this system, Google rewards high performing ads with low CPC rates, and makes low performing ads cost more for the same ad position.
The Rank Number is calculated for each keyword individually, and recalculated every time a search is performed. Google's Traffic Estimator tool in your campaign management tab will give you an estimate of what position your ads are likely to appear.
Again, there is an incentive for you to be very targeted with your advertising. Who wouldn't want to have their ads rank higher in placement and pay a lower fee at the same time?
Knowing these simple Google Adwords tips and tricks can greatly reduce your advertising costs.

Displaying Your Ads on Contextually Relevant Websites

In addition to Google.com and the Google Search Network, your keyword-targeted ads run on the Google Content Network, too. While search sites will only display your keyword ads if particular keywords are a part of a user's search query, content sites deliver your ads if a page contains content highly relevant to your ads. This is also called contextual advertising. Google analyzes the content, theme, text, and language of the page, and serve ads that closely match. Google will automatically format your ads, and they are always labeled as an advertising/sponsor link. Text ads share the ad unit with up to three other ads on content sites.
You are opted into the content network by default. You can decide to opt out by changing the setting in your account. You can also set a different bid for ads delivered on content sites. To maximize effectiveness, consider creating separate campaigns for search and content networks.
The CPC rate can vary between search and content sites. Google's smart pricing lowers the cost of clicks from ads shown on certain content sites that are shown to have lower conversion rates than ads on search pages. Also, the CTR on the content network has no affect on the ranking of your ad on search results sites. The CTR reported for keyword ads in your account only reflects search network clicks. Because the CPC rate varies between search and content sites, a keyword ad that doesn't meet the minimum CPC bid for search sites may still run on content sites with a lower minimum CPC bid.
Running ads on Google's partner sites can be less expensive. If you are just getting started and not ready to invest in Google Adwords you can try some of these ways to advertise your business on a shoestring budget.

 

Monitor and Optimize to Maximize the Results of Your Contextual Ad Campaigns

Use the tools provided by AdWords to get the most out of your campaigns. You can target your ads to any language and location worldwide. AdWords also provides daily budget recommendations based on historical click data for the same or similar keywords.
You can choose between two delivery methods. Standard delivery will show ads evenly over time (so that you don't use up your whole budget at the beginning of the day). Accelerated delivery will show your ads as quickly as possible if you decide to test how quickly your budget runs out.
There are also two ad serving options. Optimize will show better performing ads more often, while rotate will show them evenly. The second option is best to use for testing different ads for the highest conversion rates.
Monitor the different campaigns and track changes as you test out different ad units, keywords, bids, daily budgets, and other options.

There’s no getting around it. If you have an internet business these days, you need to have an effective “funnel” to capture leads and keep a constant stream of potential paying customers coming in.
A well-designed funnel builds a solid relationship with your prospects and engages them with your company … enough that they turn into paying customers.

The Sales Funnel

Think of the funnel like an upside-down pyramid:

• The largest number of people are those who click on an ad (or some other part of your marketing campaign) and are taken to your landing page or website.
• Fewer people submit their email address to you so you can send them free information, as well as marketing messages.
• Even fewer buy your “front end” (lowest cost, introductory product — like an e-book). And fewer still go on to buy your more expensive “back end” products.

The fact is, with a funnel you can’t expect 100% of the traffic to your website or landing page to turn into a customer.
It sounds horrible, but it’s actually okay. More than okay. Because even if a small percentage of people go all the way through your funnel, you can still be very profitable as those people are spending a good amount of money on your products. In fact, you’re counting on only a small percentage of your traffic turning into customers. That’s just how internet marketing works.

But because this is the case, it’s important that you keep large amounts of new people coming into your funnel all the time. The fewer people who enter your funnel, the fewer come out the end as customers. It can’t stagnate. So that means constantly refining your marketing approach and keeping an eye on your traffic.If it starts to dip, it’s time to tweak or change your marketing campaign or advertise in a new place.

The great thing is that once you have your marketing funnel in place, it runs on autopilot. Leads come in and are converted into customers without you actively having to do anything. You should be monitoring the funnel closely to make sure it’s all working and that your numbers aren’t slipping. But other than that it’s money while you sleep.

The “Mouth” of the Funnel

The first step in creating your funnel is to drive traffic. Your goal is to get them to a landing page or your website. You can draw prospects into your funnel from a variety of free and paid sources.
On the free side you have social media posts on social networks like Facebook and Twitter, blogs, YouTube videos, and content websites that draw the attention of search engines and as a result a lot of traffic. These traffic drivers are very cost effective. And because they are content-oriented, they tend to be more effective at getting your prospect to take action.

For paid traffic drivers to your funnel you have pay per click ads via search engines like Google, paid social media ads (like sponsored posts on Facebook), and banner ads.It’s important to watch how much you spend on paid efforts. Make sure it’s effective, and you’re getting numbers you need before rolling out a full campaign.

In all cases, you need compelling web copy to capture your prospect’s attention; a headline on your ad that draws the eye, for starters. All your copy must be benefit-oriented — the prospect should know how the product you are promoting will change their life. You also want to create curiosity. Don’t give them the whole story — leave them wanting more. Finally, you also need a call to action. You have to tell the prospect what to do to find out more. When they click, they enter your funnel.
Here’s a quick example of a possible ad for a weight-loss business to see how you might draw prospects into your funnel:

The Three Foods You Should Never Eat If You Want to Lose Weight
Free Report on the latest scientific diet breakthroughs from Harvard. Recent study shows there are three foods that make you fat no matter how much you exercise.
Go here for all the details and to get your Free Report.

Do you see how that ad has a compelling headline, offers benefits to the reader, uses curiosity, and finally give a very clear call to action? Read more about three proven ways to market your business on the internet.

The Next Step — Converting Traffic into Prospects

Once you have a steady stream of prospects coming into your landing page or website, you want to capture those leads.
The key thing here is that you want to have your visitors sign up for your email list. In general, a great way to do this is to give them something useful in exchange. It could be a free report, a video, a webinar… something that gives them valuable information and is also a subtle advertisement for your business. For example, if you’re in the organic gardening niche, you could offer a special report on “5 All Natural Pesticides You Can Make in Your Kitchen.”
Or, if your business lends itself to this type of offer, you could even include a free trial for your service, say seven days or even 30 days.
Essentially you’re giving your potential customer a sneak-peek. This will speed up the process of getting them to know, like, and trust you, which is essential to turning them into a buyer down the road. For that reason, the freebie or trial offer should be valuable and packed with useful goodies. Don’t worry about giving stuff away - it’ll more than pay for itself when you take on a new customer.
The freebie offer is so important that it’s a good idea to have a landing page that is simply about offering a valuable free report or some other item in exchange for their email is so powerful. You don’t necessarily want to send them to your main website — it could be too distracting. Although if you do, you want to make sure your freebie offer is shown prominently. Once they’ve signed for your list, that sends a powerful signal they are interested in your products or services.
It’s important that you use a program like InfusionSoft or AWeber to keep track of your email list. This will make it easy for you to send messages to your list — mass mailings at the click of a button. But you’ll also be able to see who buys and who doesn’t, who clicks on your emails and who doesn’t. You could even send customized marketing messages to different parts, or segments, of your list. Once your list grows this ability to customize messages will be invaluable. So it’s important to start off right with one of these email services. Explore  five ways to add email subscribers to your email list.

Converting Prospects into Customers with Front End Products

Now that you have a growing list of emails from prospects, it’s time to turn them into customers. But you have to approach this with finesse. You can’t just barrage them with sales messages. You can’t “spam” them. You have to strike a balance between valuable free information, tips, strategies, or whatever else that they can use and advertising: marketing messages, product offers, etc.
There are a couple of different approaches here and it’s important to consider which one is right for you. Some marketers send out a newsletter by email. Others send a simple email with a useful nugget. You have to figure out what your audience would like to see. The basic idea is that you have to build a solid relationship with your prospect. You do that by giving them plenty of free stuff, enough that eventually a percentage of those people will be ready to buy a paid product from you.
That first product is called a “front end.” It’s low-cost, which makes it more likely the prospects will buy it. A low barrier to entry, in other words. Your marketing efforts to new folks on your list should be towards buying a front end product.
You’re not going to make a ton of money on a front end product. In fact, you should be happy if you break even. But the whole point is to make your prospects into paying customers — as many as possible. Once they do that, they’re more likely to buy higher ticket products later.
So what do you offer as a front end? It could be a monthly email newsletter for $29 a year. Or an ebook for $19. Remember, you just want to get them into the front door, so to speak. Your product still should be valuable. You want to overdeliver so that your front end customers continue to think highly of you. That helps you prime them to buy again down the road.
That means, of course, you don’t stop marketing to these front end buyers. But instead of sending them offers to buy a front end product, you now step up the game. But as you do that, don’t forget to keep sending them valuable free information in the form a free letter, articles on your website, or some other source.
Another option is to promote information products as an affiliate if you don't have your own products or services to promote. If you need more ideas, here are  five simple ways to make money online.

Taking It to the Next Level — Back End Products

Once you have prospects in the door and they’ve bought a front end product, now it’s time to sell to them again. And this is where you make your money — with back end products. Back-end products should be related to your front end product and be in your business’s niche, of course.
Going back to the organic gardening example, say your front end product is a monthly newsletter that goes out by email with gardening tips, interviews with experts, etc. Your back end product could be a series of books showing organic gardening planting techniques. You could sell it for $99.
The next level up could be an in-depth course with videos and printed guides, on a membership website, showing gardening techniques but also including a forum for asking questions and networking. The price point could be $299. Taking it to an even higher level, you could have a conference a few times a year at an organic farm where you offer workshops and guest expert speakers. You could sell that for $899.
All are hypothetical examples. But you get the idea how there is a progression from low-cost front end product to back end products of increasing prices. Explore more about  how to start an online business and make money online.

The Funnel and Your Profits

Not all of those people who join your email list will buy a front end product, and decreasing numbers will buy the higher-priced back end products. But that’s the nature of a marketing funnel. And why you must keep a steady stream of prospects starting their journey through the funnel.
In the end, it all works out as that relatively small numbers of buyers spend enough to keep your profitable, and then some.
Sales funnels are one of the most effective ways to build an online business. Best of luck with yours.

Video rules! Americans alone collectively viewed over 38 billion videos in the second quarter of 2014 (Adobe Digital Index, Q2 2014). Lead by Google (YouTube), Facebook and a wide range of alternative video platforms, visual content consumption has become an important part of life in the United States and the rest of the world.

Trouble is, it is extremely difficult to hold the attention of the average viewer for very long, let alone convince them to act on your suggestions (i.e. call to action) in a video.Before committing a large chunk of your budget to video marketing, it would be wise to look at important trends and related strategies to improve your engagement and conversion rates.

Warning: Don't Upload a Video to YouTube Without Doing This!

1. Integrating Automated Marketing Techniques with Video

Companies large and small look to automate their business processes, video marketing being no exception. Already, various agencies are able to offer integrated video marketing services such as:

• Customer information retrieval and analysis.
• Lead generation and sorting techniques to better isolate desirable prospects.
• Detailed and instantaneous viewer metrics that help determine habits and tendencies.

This will no doubt continue in the future.
See also: How to Protect and Monetize Your Videos

2. Learning to Exploit Mobile Marketing

Given that one in five video views, today occur on mobile devices, early adapters to this technology will be well-positioned to built strong business relationships with all types of people regardless of niche.

The growth of tablets as a mainstream device is well-established and practically guarantees the future of video for years to come. So internet marketers must continue to adjust their thinking to become more mobile-friendly. This necessarily will involve better collection and analysis of user data, innovative web-based branding of your business and of course laser-targeted mobile advertising that makes consumers take notice.See also: How to Optimize Your Email Marketing for Mobile Devices

3. Interactive Video to Raise Conversion Rates

As part of the move away from “one to many” marketing, interactive video is seen as the most powerful way for marketers to communicate with past customers and new prospects in the future. It can appreciably increase a company's return on investment (ROI) and make consumers feel better appreciated for their loyalty and commitment to its product/service lines.

4. Video Marketing as a Better Targeting Option

The refinement of advertising techniques on visual media over the years (television, movies, Internet) has proven its worth for mass marketing purposes. However, the increasingly fractured viewer space has caused a shift in how businesses approach their audiences. Led by Facebook and Google, today's video platforms are more conducive to shorter, targeted marketing campaigns.
Internet marketers, in particular, can use video to build more personal – even one-to-one – relationships that encourage not only one-time sales but valuable relationships that lead to more profitable conversions (e.g. monthly continuity programs).

5. Emergence of Digital Video for Higher End Niches

The days of questionable, grainy Internet video and low-quality ads are quickly fading away.Original digital video from the likes of AOL and its competitors is quickly raising the bar, and inevitably economies of scale will allow smaller entrepreneurs to gain access to this premium digital technology as well.

Digital video will be a boon to native advertisers in particular since native advertising platforms cater to exclusive clienteles. It can also help internet marketers attract specific demographics like the Millennial generation (i.e. people born between 1980 and the early 2000s).
So there you have it! Video is definitely hear to stay, and although it is impossible to predict the future, incorporating it in some way will broaden your marketing reach in many ways. Various strategies can be used to overcome uncertainties associated with changing viewer habits, growing expectations, and emerging video technologies.

Choose the message and medium most appropriate for your needs.

If you're interested in using video marketing in your business you may also want to learn how to use webinars to promote your business, products, and services online.

There’s a famous line in the movie Field of Dreams, which you no doubt know even if you haven’t seen it:
“If you build it, he will come.”
It's a great, iconic line. However, it should not be your motto when building your internet business. In fact, when it comes to building an online business, it’s pretty awful advice. And it’s a mistake I’ve seen many would-be Internet entrepreneurs make.

Build It and They Won’t Come… 

Some people, when first starting their online business, focus on creating a product, building their website, planning marketing campaigns, and setting up an online shopping cart/store.They have this great idea for a product. It’s a sure winner. So they develop a whole business around that product.

It sounds like these folks are covering all the bases for a thriving business. But the all-important first step is missing: figuring out if there’s a market for that product. Are there actual customers out there who want to buy it? That’s the first thing you must determine.
The reality is, in business, if you want to have the best chance of succeeding, rather than coming up with a great idea that nobody has come up with yet and hoping there is a market for; instead find out what people are already buying and create a service/product that fills that existing need.
The truth is, in most cases if something isn't being done already; it's not because nobody has thought of it before, but rather people have already tried it and it's failed because there is no market for it.
With that said, if you want to go where the sales are, you need to know the best-selling niches online and get in on that action.

You’ll discover your unique place in that overall niche, whether it’s with your own product or with someone else’s through affiliate marketing. 

These niches aren’t “trendy.” They’ve been best-sellers for a long time because they appeal to people’s deeply-held wants and desires. The products may change, but these are core niches that will never go away and will always be part of the human experience.In most cases, these categories have been around long before the internet and are popular offline in bricks and mortars stores as well. And that means they’ve got staying power. 

If you want to start a profitable online business with the best chances of succeeding out the gate; you can't go wrong entering a market that is already proven to be profitable.
These are the 10 most profitable niches on the Internet:

1. Fitness and Weight Loss

P90X, Weight Watchers, the Atkins Diet, the South Beach Diet… the list goes on. For centuries, people have been obsessed with losing weight and getting in shape.
Companies have been right there with them with products helping them do just that: supplements, diets, weight loss programs, exercise programs, and more. As a marketer, you can’t ever go wrong on this niche. Just about every demographic in every country in the world is into this.
Again, don't let the idea that this market is very crowded fool you into thinking you can't compete in it. Where there is a lot of competition there are plenty of profits to be made. Even if you only get a small piece of the pie; the market is so big you can build a six or seven figure business in this market.

2. Health

This is closely related to the fitness and weight loss market and there is some overlap, but it’s different enough to merit its own entry onto the top 10 list.People these days more than ever are taking their health into their own hands. They don’t automatically trust what the government or their doctor tells them about their health or what they should do to be healthy. You’ve seen products in this niche everywhere: gluten-free, herbal remedies, supplements, detoxing… healing arts and products of all types. Anything that will promote a healthy lifestyle that helps avoid disease and makes you live longer.
Alternative health is extremely popular here. We’re not talking about mainstream medicine. These are cures the pharmaceutical companies don’t want you to know about after all.
The opportunities to profit here are endless: books, supplements, information products, physical products, coaching, etc.

3. Dating and Relationships

Whether someone is looking for love… is into online dating… or is in a relationship but struggling and looking for a way to rekindle the passion, a whole range of products in the dating and relationships niche are there to help.

People always need advice when it comes to this area — one of the essential elements in life but so difficult to navigate.

Possible businesses here include promoting dating websites, many of which offer commissions to marketers who send them new sign-ups. You could also promote “pick up” guides, books on building stronger relationships and communication, and more.
Dating and relationships, whether for single people are couples will always be a huge market full of profit potential.

4. Pets

People love their pets. There are estimated 180 million dogs and cats in the U.S. alone. That’s not even mentioning all the snakes, guinea pigs, parrots, and other more exotic creatures people keep as companions. And if you’ve been to a pet store lately, you know that pet owners will spare no expense and will buy just about anything pet-relate. Gourmet dog food, pet toys, healthy treats, Heck, I’ve even seen dog strollers and cat leashes. Maybe a bit silly, but there you go.
Dog training is also a huge market. When people get a puppy, they want to potty train the dog. For older dogs, people also want to train them for obedience, security, even to do tricks. If you have a passion for pet training you could create your own information products - like ebooks. Or you could simply sell books and courses of others as an affiliate.
The reality is many people treat their pets and spend more on their pets than they do on themselves; I've seen dogs that eat better than I do!

5. Self-Improvement 

Also known as self-help, this is a huge niche online. There are courses and programs, books, videos, online training, coaching. Whether someone wants to build self-esteem, experience career success, increase their confidence, set and achieve goals, overcome adversity or obstacles… there is a self-improvement product out there.
You’ve heard of Tony Robbins. Same sort of deal. It’s a $10 billion a year industry, and always growing. People want to feel happy, satisfied with life, and stress-free. And they almost never buy just one book or program, which lends this market well to repeat purchases and higher-ticket programs.
Again, you don't have to be a big name like Tony Robbins, Jack Canfield, or have a big brand like The Secret. A small piece of this big market can provide for a very successful online business.

6. Wealth Building Through Investing

Let’s face it, people want to make money. And they know that stocks, bonds, options, forex (currency trading), futures, and other investment products are a way to do that. They’ve seen the news and all those hedge fund billionaires and super-successful investors cashing in. They want to get in on the action.
Unfortunately, most people don’t really know what they’re doing. So they have to educate themselves. They need advice on which investments to make. That’s where a variety of products related to investing come in. Trading services, financial newsletters, trading systems… all different ways that show people how to invest successfully - whether it's basic budgeting and investing advice or advanced day trading strategies and speculative penny stock recommendations.
Whether the market is going up, down, or sideways… whether it’s a recession, depression, or boom time… bull or bear market… investment products do well. Because people always want to make money in the markets and you do so no matter how the economy is doing.

7. Make Money on the Internet

This is a way you can share your expertise about making money on the internet. You could create your own information products, courses, ebooks, or coaching programs. And if there are any programs or courses from other big-time marketers that have been extra helpful… you can promote those too as an affiliate. You could be part of the next big launch campaign.
You could also get into network marketing (no, not all these “multilevel” marketing companies are scams). Some are actually valid ways to make money if you do it right.
Even if you're building an online business in any of these other niches, you can teach others the strategies and tactics you've used online to build your own business, creating another side business of your own teach internet marketing.

8. Beauty Treatments

Having smoother tighter skin, being more radiant, erasing wrinkles. Looking younger and more attractive is a goal of many people. So any sort of creams, formulas, or similar products that promise to eliminate or reduce the signs of aging are very popular.
Anti-aging cosmetic treatments, skincare products, and more are a huge business. Industry watchers say it will grow to nearly $200 billion in sales annually by 2019.
With more and more baby boomers aging and looking to reverse the signs of aging this is potentially one of the largest markets on our top 10 list of profitable niches.

9. Gadgets and Technology

Whether it’s a tablet or smartphone, computer speakers, mp3 players, smart devices for the home, thumb drives, cellphone cases, earphones… people are in love with gadgets and accessories. Everybody wants the latest technology (can anyone say new iPhone). And you can capitalize on that in a few ways.
The easiest would be to sell the products as an affiliate through an e-tailer like Amazon. Or you could import products through a site like Alibaba.com or Aliexpress.com, which link you to manufacturers and wholesalers abroad.
Once you have the products sorted out, you have to focus on marketing. One approach is to make money blogging where you highlight all the latest tech and products coming on the market. You could also have a review site in which you offer reviews on several different products in a category. Every product has a link to buy (with your affiliate link), of course.
You could also create your own tutorials, information products, and such as well.

10. Personal Finance

Credit scores, mortgage refinancing, debt relief, personal loans… there is a shortage of needs when it comes to the personal finance niche. People need help managing their money or securing money they need for important expenses.
Maybe they’re in debt and need help paying it down or getting a lower interest rate. Perhaps they’re facing bankruptcy and need help navigating that process. In severe cases maybe they’ve gotten that dreaded letter from the IRS saying they owe back taxes.
In any case, you won’t be offering legal help. But you can connect your prospects with expert providers, promote information products as an affiliate, or offer products like credit monitoring as an affiliate. This is a huge niche with a lot of opportunities.
You can also create e-learning and education products to help people navigate these issues and improve their financial situation.

How to Get Started Making Money Online With Niche Marketing

1. Go through the list of top 10 best-selling niches. Figure out what piques your interest the most or what meshes with your product idea.
2. Explore affiliate networks like Clickbank.com, CJ Affiliate or Amazon for products in those niches. Note the best-selling products in the best-selling niches.
3. Check out other online businesses in that niche to see what they’re doing to promote their products, like email marketing, marketing funnels, social media, etc.
4. Model your new business on the “winners” you spot out there. Remember that affiliate marketing is a great way to get started with low risk. You could also develop your own products as you grow your business online.

Going for It

Focusing your efforts on building a business in an already-popular niche is a great way to get your online venture off the ground. There’s no guesswork here. You know these are products people want… and they’re based on innate human desires and needs that are never going away.
You’ll have a huge head-start in your market research and that means you can be making money online sooner than you thought possible. Whether you sell as an affiliate or create your own products, you’re sure to have the makings of a profitable online business.