I don't know if I can justify the cost of...

[ewwbags]

Good morning, all. I have been reading this forum all morning (glad I found it), and found a lot of great info. Great job!

However, I have not been able to find an answer to my question, which I hope some of you experienced folks can shed some light. I currently have a website on a very seasonal niche topic. I make "ok" money with the CJ and Shareasale affiliates - but again very seasonal, and the money drastically tapers off at the end of the season.

After a lot of soul searching and thinking, I discovered a new niche in which I would like to try affiliate marketing. I whipped up a website (looks good, I think), created some content, and placed some of the merchant's products on the site (not yet done, althought the site design and content were quick and easy). I have done some research regarding the amount of competetion, searches, potential traffic, etc...but I'm not 100% sure this niche is a "good" niche. I want to test it for a while. So my question/concern is: At this point, I cannot justify the expense related to starting a new website - the domain name purchase is a small enough expense, but I am reluctant to pay for hosting without knowing if there is a large enough market to make a profit. I don't want to use any of the free hosting accounts, as there is always a catch. I was thinking of creating a sub-domain of my first website, and market my new niche as such. Alternatively, I can create a new directory on my current site's host account (which would make the new niche site address look like this: www.originalsite.com/newsite.html). Has anyone had any experience in this? Does anyone have any info. and advice they can share?

Thank you.

[Linda Buquet]

Hi ewwbags,

Welcome to 5 Star.

Does your host allow multiple domains? That would be the 1st choice.
You know you can get decent hosting for around 7 a month right?

If the topics of the 2 sites are somewhat related you'd be better off doing a subdomain, if your host offers the option - most do. newsite.oldsite.com

If the 2 topics are not related at all, I would suggest looking at building a hubpage (free plus they pay you revshare). Hubpages get higher search ranking than a new site or new directory on an unrelated site would and are favorably looked on by both humans and search engines, whereas free hosting sites aren't. They have great site building tools that make easy too.

Another good option would be to set up a blogger blog.

These would let you test the water, see if you could build up traffic and interest and if so then launch your own domain. Keep using your hub or blogger blog to generate traffic and provide links to the new site.

[Genny]

Hi

You need to do your market research FIRST- before any keyword research. Keyword research only tells you what people are searching for - school projects, health worries etc - doesn't mean they're SPENDING money on these.

You can go to eBay, look at their categories & sub-categories - you can bet that if your chosen niche is found here, it's a hot seller.

You can also look at Amazon.com - if there are plenty of books about your chosen niche there - means niche sells well.

Even your local magazine stall will show you the good sellers. If a magazine has been around a long time - it's PROFITABLE. Then take a look at the ads inside its covers - it they keep appearing every week, then you can be sure they are not only making sales, but are profitable. There's no way the advertisers would pay this kind of money on advertising unless they're reaping great profits.

There are also many other online resources that will help confirm whether or not your chosen niche is a good one or not.

Hope this helps

Regards
Genny

[longroad]

I suggest getting a reseller hosting account for under $10/month at somewhere like Hostgator or Lunarpages, where you can host an unlimited number of domains.

[lovekissing]

oh i dont know that Hostgator allows people for that...

[patrick24601]

I would not trust any reseller hosting < $10 month. That definitely sounds like you get what you pay for.

[jumar112]

You can find a basic hosting package at godaddy for less than $5.00 a month if you purchase the 12 or 24 month plan.

I know many people do not like them, they are one of the hosting companies I use and have had no problems.

using hubpages and squidoo to test the waters is helpful to test products and such.

[niles]

I have been using Host Gator for about 2 years with no problems. I have a reseller account. It cost $25 per month. They have excellent customer service, and a real person actually answers the phone. With a reseller account, you get a cpanel with each account. I would give Host Gator a call, and tell them what you need. They are very helpful.

[lexiseek]

You know what they say.. If you never try something you never finds out what happens next.

I agree with Linda.. if you can put up a website on a new domain instead of tying it in with your existing site, it'll be better.

Good luck, no matter what you decide to do..

[Niche]

Hi, You need to spend some money to make some money, you know. Affiliate marketing is serious business. Yes you will run some campaigns that will turn out to be duds but no-one can predict how well or poorly a campaign will do until you run and test it.