Weird Wednesday: Hello Kitty
Hi again. It’s Weird Wednesday time.
If you're new to Weird Niche Wednesday, you're in for a treat. I find weird niches and websites and we get to discuss whether it may be a viable niche and also have some fun.
Today's Weird Niche Wednesday is all about Hello Kitty – a trend that I know nothing about, nor do I wish to. 🙂 However, I did enjoy researching it!
You can find anything with Hello Kitty's face plastered on it – from Hello Kitty Wedding Dresses to Hello Kitty Hand Grenades to a Hello Kitty Bee Hive. (Unfortunately, I'm not kidding…)
The best part of my research is in finding this site:
www.KittyHell.com
(Note – not G rated.)
Yes, one man got totally sick of his wife's Hello Kitty stuff, so he set up an entire website just to bash “Hello Kitty” — and, honestly, I kind of admire him for it. 🙂
The weird part? His “Kitty-bashing” attracts Hello Kitty fans. And, they get REALLY frustrated because he does NOT post where they can get the items he posts on the blog.
Like the Water Dispener and the Lawnmower and the Urinal Cakes and the Dentures.
He even gets emails that tell him to die. (And, here I was under the impression that Hello Kitty was peaceful and loving. GEESH.)
Yet, his site is a PR5 and he's getting free press from bloggers like me.
So, my question for your today is this:
If you have the “guts” to do it… (I personally don't.)
Is there an “anti” to a niche you're considering?
Or is there a niche or trend that kind of makes you gag that you'd love nothing more than to rip on it for profit? For instance, I really hated BRATZ – those slutty little dolls for young girls. (hint, hint)
I'm curious about your thoughts both for choosing a niche you love and one where you choose a niche that you can't stand. Talk to me. 🙂
Warmly,
Nicole Dean
Where Can You Learn More about Finding a Hot Niche Market?
Recommended Resource #1
My friend, Susanne creates Niche Research Packs and can help you to determine if you’re entering a profitable niche or not. She’s done the research for you.
In each pack, you get…
- Detailed niche description
- Who your target market for this niche is
- List of affiliate products available
- 100 domain name ideas (plus list of modifiers for hundreds more)
- Detailed keyword report for over 1000 keywords
- 100 article and blog post ideas
- 15 different author resource boxes
- 2 different detailed marketing plans (beginner and advanced) with action steps to get you up and running right away.
- List of available PLR products for this niche
- Recommended tools and resources
Here’s the link: Niche Research Packs
Recommended Resource #2: Free Webinar by Kevin Riley
Click on the arrow to go to the page where you can listen.
(You’ll find this hour long webinar free to listen to on that page.)
Sandy Halliday
October 26, 2011 at 8:46 amMy granddaughter is mad on Hello Kitty but I had no idea it was that big or popular. Hello Kitty is even a public figure on Facebook with 5 ½ million friends!
Maybe weird niches are an idea for Facebook fan pages. You could probably do a roaring trade with affiliate links. I wonder why the Hello Kitty Hell blogger is not monetizing his blog more? I think he’s missing a trick there.
I had never considered weird niches before. This has been an bit of an eye opener for me. I chose my first niche blog because it was something I was passionate about and knew a lot about. The best way to go as far as I am concerned.
Nicole
October 26, 2011 at 9:21 amThat’s definitely another consideration for whether this is a viable niche or not.
How many of those 5 1/2 million people actually are adults and have a credit card to order online? Great point! 🙂
Jill
October 26, 2011 at 9:24 amHi Nicole,
This is interesting but confusing to me. So I don’t understand how this Hello Kitty guy makes money- since it doesn’t look like you can click on the urinal cakes or whatever and buy the items. I only see one advertising area in the sidebar and think it may be adsense. Do you think this site makes decent money- and if so how?
Nicole
October 26, 2011 at 11:56 amI was wondering, too, Jill. How cool is it that he commented below? 🙂
The Mom
October 26, 2011 at 10:04 amHoly H…………….! I LOVE this!
You know, Nik, you come by your “snarkiness” honestly. 😉 Yeah, that Hello Kitty thing puzzles me and makes me a bit nauseous, too.
So, blogging about something you’re passionately in HATE with is just as cool as blogging about something you’re passionately in love with. Very interesting concept, and apparently it works! This guy’s blog is incredibly funny and disturbing at the same time. (I understood his thinking on the urinal cakes. Yikes.)
I don’t know what disturbs me the most – that his WIFE (not daughter or granddaughter) collects Hello Kitty or that she’ll be investing in the Hello Kitty dentures when she’s an old lady.
I really like that this guy found a niche that he could make profitable as well as a place to vent his frustrations about this Hello Kitty fetish.
I also love that Hello Kitty fans get all upset with him because he won’t tell them where to buy this stuff. I do think he’s missing a market there. Why isn’t he selling to them? Maybe it just is too disturbing for him – it would be like feeding their addiction.
Anyway, this is a very good topic. Find an “anti-niche” and run with it. hmmm…
Nicole
October 26, 2011 at 11:56 amInteresting, mom.
Scary that you read this though… I’m not sure I want to know the “anti” niche you’re going into. (Although I’ll end up being the one setting it up for you. lol!)
The Mom
October 26, 2011 at 9:07 pmPoor you. 😉
Sharyn Sheldon
October 26, 2011 at 10:30 amThis is definitely a weird one. Personally, I don’t think I could ever passionately hate something enough to blog about it. What an unhealthy way to live your life. The closest I ever came to despising something like this was when my kids were very little. Did you ever see the tv show Teletubbies? That was worth a rant or two, or three.
Nicole
October 26, 2011 at 11:58 amI don’t know if it’s truly “hate”. I meant Hello Kitty isn’t real, so I don’t see any real harm.
I think it’s a therapeutic alternative to hitting things with a baseball bat. Have a bad day? Go post Hello Kitty pictures and taunt fans by not telling them where to get it. Could be worse. lol!
vernon
October 26, 2011 at 10:38 amI haven’t had the pleasure of reading about Hello Kitty so will have to take a
look and see what your talking about.
Vernon
Nicole
October 26, 2011 at 12:03 pmYou’re in for a treat. lol!
kimberly
October 26, 2011 at 11:03 amIt’s definitely not a healthy way to live your life. You would have to have hatred in your life constantly to come up with ideas to blog about. I’m not sure I want to live like that.
Nicole
October 26, 2011 at 12:01 pmHi Kimberly,
I definitely understand. And, I’d feel the way if it were a site that was trashing a person. But, since Hello Kitty is a toy. I feel ok about it. However, I respect your view, too. 🙂
Warmly,
N
Hello Kitty Hell guy
October 26, 2011 at 11:43 amheh — appreciate the write up. More than happy to answer any questions that you may have. I am actually a pro blogger and this is one of several blogs I write. I started this blog as a joke, but then it sort of took off and even though I would prefer not to write it anymore, it brings in enough money that it doesn’t make sense to retire it.
I do not do any affiliate advertising — just too much time and effort and I try to spend the least amount of time i can on it. The ads in the side are from Blogher ad network and are impression based — the blog brings in quite a bit of traffic — so that is how i make most of the money. I also have adsense display at the top of each post for those who come to the site through search — doesn’t make much, but adds a bit. Could I make a lot more if I did affiliate? Probably, but the thought of spending that much time on the blog kills me.
It’s actually a pretty easy site to run now because the readers email me all the strange things they find so I don’t have to spend any time on that end — just write disparaging comments about it 😉
Nicole
October 26, 2011 at 12:05 pmThanks so much for popping in to give us an inside peek into the rantings of the Hello Kitty Hell man, himself.
What you didn’t figure into your income, though, is the money you saved on therapy (and beer) by having such a great outlet! I love it! Heck, I’d be 20 lbs thinner (and a lot richer) if I had a Hello Kitty Hell blog to vent on rather than having my wine every night. 🙂
Appreciate the insight and the great humor, too.
Warmly,
N
Hello Kitty Hell guy
October 26, 2011 at 12:22 pmThe sad thing is that there is Hello Kitty wine (along with assorted other alcoholic beverages).
Although I never really thought much about it, looking at the sites and blogs I run, the “anti” theme has been a pretty profitable niche for me. I may have to look into starting more with that in mind rather than just happen stance…
The Mom
October 26, 2011 at 9:13 pmNo. That can’t be true. Hello Kitty wine?! No. Is anyone on the Hello Kitty marketing department checking these things? Are they frickin’ nuts?!
I just gotta say, Hello Kitty Hell guy, you really have the ultimate cathartic blog. I like and understand it.
Edie Dykeman
October 26, 2011 at 4:45 pmThis site is hilarious. I was wondering how he earned any income, but having him add his comments was a great plus. Sounds like choosing the right anti-type site might be the way to go if someone could find a topic they hate, but could still live with blogging for any length of time. From the looks of it, some months he spends very little time on the site and it still gets a lot of visitors. Plus, he has had it going since 2007 – that’s pretty impressive for a topic the webmaster dislikes.
I love that you are sharing these sites with us!
Amy Harrop
October 26, 2011 at 5:34 pmI think Hello Kitty is pretty cute!
I am not a fan of the super sexification of Halloween costumes…I am starting to see some backlash against those, which is great. Why does every costume for women need to be sexy?
As far as choosing niches, I am also a used book/media seller and I often come across some great books that are hot sellers, so if I am selling a lot of actual books in a certain niche, I certainly think of its online potential. I am actually seeing a trend of popular websites publishing books-I just sold a hardcover book from the Cakewrecks site, for example.
Loretta
October 27, 2011 at 2:15 amThis is awesome! What a fun way to approach a niche. I could totally be anti-DragonBallZ, or anti-Bakugan, or anti any of those other shows that make no sense whatsoever.
Sylvia
October 27, 2011 at 3:12 pmHi, Nicole,
I love the Hello Kitty Hell site. I agree with you that it’s better to write than go for the baseball bat. Pre-easy-WP, I had the idea of creating a blog, that invited wives to do a little husband bashing. I was particularly perplexed that day because of some silly thing my husband did, (and always does) like leaving the top off the toothpaste.
I thought it would be better to write about than be angry for something that is never going to change.
The world might be a better place if we had more “anti” blogs, instead of regrettable violence.
Love the wierd Wednesdays, keep up the good work.
Sylvia