micro_niche_affiliate_marketing_strategyInternet marketing is a huge industry. There are many different types of affiliate marketers out there, each of which has it’s own unique set of strategies and tactics they use in order to make money online.

The micro-niche affiliate strategy is one popular, time-tested approach to earning money with affiliate programs. In this post I’ll give an overview of the micro-niche approach and what to look out for if you’re considering getting started as an affiliate.

What is the Micro-Niche Affiliate Strategy?

Firstly, it’s important to understand what, exactly, the micro-niche affiliate strategy is. Basically, these marketers take a portfolio approach to earning money online by creating a number of small, extremely targeted websites.

Any one site in the portfolio may not produce a lot of revenue, perhaps as little as a few hundred dollars per month, but the business model scales through a large breadth of sites and topic areas.

Usually, under this model, the affiliate site only promotes 1 or 2 products per site. While this reduces the number of prospective customers that might come to the site, it earns money by ensuring that the traffic generated is the right traffic.

For an example of micro-niche affiliate sites, you may want to read more on the Niche Profit Classroom approach to affiliate marketing.

Pros and Cons of Micro-Niche Affiliates

Like any marketing strategy, there are both pros and cons to taking this approach.

The biggest benefit of micro-niche sites is that the business model is portfolio based. Like a venture capitalist investing in a large pool of startups or an index fund invested in hundreds or thousands of stocks, the success of the company does not rely on 1 or 2 websites.

This means that overall, a portfolio is less likely to be subjected to dramatic spikes or losses, and instead enjoy a smooth, consistent revenue stream. If something happens to one part of the portfolio (for example, an algorithm change drops traffic dramatically), the rest of the portfolio remains intact and largely unaffected.

The downside, however, is that this approach is really only available to people who can work full-time on their projects. The large number of sites means that, even for established sites, the ‘low maintenance’ gradually adds up and takes significant time to address.

The time required to build these sites is even more involved. Although the sites tend to be smaller, there is still an upfront investment involved, and as a marketer you need to be sure that the investment you put is going to pay off over time, because any inefficiencies in your process will prohibit achieving the scale needed for success.

Overall, whether you choose to use the micro-niche affiliate strategy is a decision only you can make. You need to weigh your time and interests. If you’re just getting started with affiliate marketing, I recommend you work through 1 or 2 sites first to gain the experience needed for the micro-niche approach.