Find a Niche

In the affiliate marketing business you are going to see a lot of expensive tools that make big promises to help you find a niche. My advice -don't waste your hard earned cash. There are plenty of free tools available on the Internet to help you find a niche. If you have the money, then go ahead and spend it. If you are just starting out or want to test the waters first, then take advantage of free tools and techniques.

The best place to begin your research is to check out the sites that show hot items, trends, or searches. You can find these tools by doing a quick Google search:

eBay What's Hot - This list is compiled by the eBay marketing team and used to determine what they will promote.

eBay Pulse - This will show you current trends on eBay in various categories. You can click on the 'Categories' drop down and find out what is popular in a number of eBay categories. Pulse sites can also be found for the UK, Canada, and Australia.

Amazon.com Bestsellers - A list of Amazon's bestsellers in 32 categories updated hourly. These lists are also available for the UK and Canada.

Google Hot Trends - Shows what people are searching for on Google today.

Yahoo Buzz - This is a list of Yahoo's top 20 overall searches. You can also check out the top searches in various categories.

MSN A-List - Top searches on the MSN Live search engine.

AOL Hot Searches - Will help you find out what is hot on AOL Search.

With the tools I have just listed you should have no problem finding a niche. So you could either spend $100 - $200 on the latest and greatest niche finder but with a little creativity these tools will work just as well. I am sure there are other things you would like to spend your money on.