2017 was a fun year of digital marketing with everything from “Fred” and quality updates to the idea of mobile first indexing. There were new algorithms added for social media channels providing huge opportunities for affiliates as well as new technologies and advancements in how consumers and content users absorb information. All of these provide new niches to make money in and opened the door to established markets for someone new to take over.
If I was planning on moving into something new for 2018, here are the niches and markets I would begin building a presence for.
Harry Potter Game
Niantic (makers of PokemonGo) announced a Harry Potter augmented reality game. Although it sounds like they’re recycling the PokemonGo model, Harry Potter has a huge cult following and tons and tons of merchandise being sold regularly. With the new game you can expect devices to be released for purchase to enhance game play, you can expect fan gear and funny clothing to be in demand so people can “fit in” while playing, and since there is not much competition yet for “Wizards Unite” terms and phrases, it is an open market if you can be in there first.
I have a plan mapped out in my head but unfortunately no time to implement. It includes everything from finding phrases and answers about strategy using trends, cross promotions for shoes to wear for comfort and long stretches of play time and a lot more. This could be a huge one. I get into the biggest reason I would do this below.
DraconiusGo
Speaking of PokemonGo, DraconiusGo has launched as an alternative to this still popular game. It looks and feels similar to PokemonGo, but there are huge differences. The main one is that this game gives you numerous features you hoped for in PokemonGo, but Niantic never released.
They include player to player combat, mini quests, hunts where you have to problem solve maps, room for new and rare creature releases without following a series, combined rewards (with spells you can launch with friends) daily challenges and more. I use both of the games to help keep track of my running (by using the 2K, 5K and 10K eggs) and have now switched to Draconius Go for the majority of my runs since their egg hatching is more accurate.
Why is this a niche to go into? There isn’t much competition in the search engines and it has an ever growing fan base. If it takes off and you have the resource guide, you can expect merchandise and CPM ad sales. Collecting the information from avid gamers is an extremely valuable list to have.
Capturing emails on a newsletter list can be cross promoted, uploaded to social media and remarketed to, and you can sell or recommend games and downloadables on a CPA basis. Not to mention there are a ton of other ways to make money with a very niche and spend friendly audience of gamers. I would start with a strong Q&A about the creatures and focus on how to guides. If you do a few searches on Google you’ll see there isn’t much competition but there is starting to be more search volume. You could even focus on voice search traffic and build a fan base that comes to you while playing. That list is the big valuable thing from the Harry Potter “Wizards Unite” game as well.
Vineyard Photographers
Lets’ change to something not gaming. Go to Google US and look for “vineyard photographers”. You’ll see there are very few solid rankings and the ones that do rank are not that strong. This gives you an opportunity to move into this niche.
Vineyards have begun to update their websites more steadily in recent years. If you do a lot of wine tastings you’ll see the improvements. This also means they’ll need new photos and work shot, especially as they release new vintages. While doing your keyword research you’ll also see the sub-categories like “vineyard wedding photographers” and events terms have little to no competition because of the types of sites currently ranking.
This is an easy market to take over if you’re a good photographer and you also have some basic to mid-level SEO skills. Another option is to rank your own website and then sell leads to photographers. Having a list of vineyard owners or wine fans, you can market to a high-end and potentially high income niche which can be stable revenue for many years to come.
Theatre
Whether you’re a DIYer or a theatre blogger, one place that has a ton of room to take over and also monetize with affiliate links is set and prop design. There are search queries by high schools, community theatres, colleges and others looking for this information and there is very little that is useful and easy to access. This is where you can shine.
Post an image or sketch of the stage, then talk about each piece, how it is relevant, multi-functional and add in sections on how to build key elements. From there break it out into individual posts with clear, concise and quick loading how to guides.
If there is something like a barber chair whose seat drops and a razor that squirts blood in Sweeny Todd, add the how to build guides under Sweeny Todd in the directory. If it’s a production of Phantom of the Opera, talk about ways to stage the famous two way mirror scene or boat with dry ice going through the floating candles. You could even add in how to make canes that shoot sparks and fireballs like in the show.
These posts could be:
- How do I create the mirror from Phantom of the Opera?
- How can I build the barber chair from Sweeny Todd?
- Ideas to stage Wicked
- Idea for creating the set for Avenue Q
- Ways to build a set for XYZ show on a budget
- Where can I find the monkey music box from Phantom of the Opera
Each of these will let you optimize for the show, and also tie in the supplies to make the products with affiliate links. You could also sell tickets through affiliate links, sheet music, pre-made props, costuming, etc… This is how you can both provide a resource that adds value and make money without being spammy or too salesy.
Other things I would pay attention to are large pop culture releases, especially new blockbuster movie releases with characters that could have a following. Look for new TV shows or streaming series that could have a cult following and build resources for them. There are a ton of options and if you start now, you can be first to market and have a good chance at building a resource site that can make money now and be used to make money for many years to come.
