Actually, I'd stopped doing Weird Wednesdays awhile ago, because they were taking too much time to write. But, then I was getting all kinds of great suggestions from people. (This week's site is from Tracy Roberts of MomsInABlog.com – thanks Tracy!) So, I'm bringing them back, but simpler. I hope you still enjoy what I dig up for you.

I didn't know whether to put this one in Marketing Monday or Weird Niche Wednesday because it's brilliant but wacky.  (My favorite combination of marketing.)

You gotta watch this video advertisement… It's awesome!

Their Story.

“I'm really lonely but I’m too busy to date during harvest season”
Thousands of singles sow the seeds of love on FarmersOnly.com

FarmersOnly.com launched just over five years ago and quickly became THE place for farmers and ranchers to meet like-minded people.  In the last five years, membership went from 2,000 to well over 100,000 members. Despite the name, FarmersOnly isn't limited to only farmers. The rapid growth is also coming from just good old fashioned, down-to-earth people who live in small towns and rural areas.

“There have been countless successful matches and friendships made on the site. I get thank you emails and phone calls almost daily. In fact, there have been hundreds of marriages since FarmersOnly.com began,” said Jerry Miller, Founder.

FarmersOnly.com is the brainchild of Jerry Miller who has done marketing and public relations for thousands of farms and ranches across the country.  While talking to one farmer, Jerry made quite a discovery.

“Recently divorced, she expressed her frustration of how difficult it was to meet someone new,” Jerry recalled.

“I'm ready to give up!”  She said.  “How am I going to meet someone working on a farm all day? I already know everybody who lives around here… which isn't many people!  Maybe I'll try online dating.”

She signed up on one of the biggest national dating sites soon after their conversation.

A month later, Jerry asked her how her luck was with online dating. She replied, even more frustrated, “The men who have been contacting me don't understand the lifestyle of a farmer,” she told Jerry.  “They don't have a clue!”  This would later lead to the site's slogan. “City Folks Just Don't Get It!”

Being in marketing, he wanted to see if there was a need for a new site specifically for single farmers. “I talked to farmers and ranchers all over the country and discovered they all had the same problems.  They already knew everybody in their immediate areas.  They didn't have enough time to socialize. When they did find time, they didn't want to hang out at a bar.  They wanted to find someone who understood their lifestyle,” he said.  “The need for this new online dating service became very clear and six months later, I launched FarmersOnly.com.”

What lessons can we learn from this weird website and their success?

1. KNOW your market. These guys obviously nailed that one.

2. Humor can be a great thing in marketing. You don't have to take yourself too seriously.

3. If you niche down in a proven market (like dating sites) – you can get attention. These guys have been featured or mentioned on –

• CNN
• USA Today
• Trumped (The Donald Trump Radio Show)
• Newsweek
• Smart Money
• NPR (National Public Radio)
• Here! (of course the coolest of all) 

You can see proof here: Farmers Only in the News

So, talk to me. What do you think about their story? I'd love to read your comments.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

Are You Still Trying to Find 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.)

Take it away, Susanne!

Niche Marketing: Mission Impossible Style

by Susanne Myers

Let’s have a little fun with niche marketing and approach it “Mission Impossible” style. I don’t know what causes me to come up with these quirky topics and analogies when I’m writing for Nicole’s blog, but I sure hope you’re enjoying it. With that said let’s dive right in …

Your mission, should you accept it, is to connect your readers with the best solutions to help solve their problems. Let me introduce you to your team:

• WordPress Site With Awesome Content
• Redirected Affiliate Links
• Autoresponder Messages
• Niche Research Packs

Let’s start with some good news.

Building a profitable niche website is not an impossible mission. In fact, if you assemble your team and put it to good use following the steps I’m outlining below, it won’t take you long at all.

Let’s say you want to set up a new site over the summer to help pay for that new car you want to buy (I know you’re car shopping Nicole). I like doing that anytime we have a new purchase coming up or even to save up for a nice vacation or a new laptop.

Every good mission needs some sort of mission plan. Here’s yours:

Start With The End Goal In Mind

I find it helps to set some sort of goal for the site. This could be making an extra $200 a month to pay for an upcoming vacation, $50 to cover the phone bill or $2000 to make your mortgage payment each month. Without a goal, you don’t know what you’re working toward. Having the goal helps you figure out how hard you need to work, how fast you need to build your site, how much traffic you need and how big of a list you want.

Once you have your dollar amount, it’s time to find a suitable niche to work with.

Find A Problem And Solution

As I mentioned before, your job on this mission is to help people solve their problems and since we are in the US,  that often involves our wallets and credit cards. Of course some of the problems are going to be solved by sharing a quick tip or explaining and idea. But since we’re in it to make a living from niche marketing, you also want to find good products to promote.

Build Your Site

Let’s bring some of our team members into play.

Team member #1 is a site (or blog) built with the free WordPress software. It’s quick and easy to install, very customizable and most importantly it’s fast and simple to add content to it. Use this team member to its fullest advantage by learning more about using wordpress and the various plugins available. For example there are quite a few good ones out there to help your readers share your posts via social media. (see those Facebook and Twitter buttons on this page for example).

Team member #2 is Redirection. Redirection is a simple plugin that helps you to redirect your affiliate links from within the WordPress dashboard. Of course any other way to redirect your links will do – just make sure you get it done.

Built Your List

Team member #3 is your autoresponder. 

My favorite autoresponder to use is Aweber. (Both Nicole and I use it.)

Set it up right away and start creating autoresponder messages that send subscribers back to your niche website, share additional tips and of course make offers. Your list will be one of your biggest assets so get started here as early as possible.

Your Secret Weapon – Niche Research Packs
Last but not least, I would like to introduce you to a secret weapon – or an ace up your sleeve – Niche Research Packs. They help you set up niche websites on the fly with all the time-consuming research already done for you.

Nik says:  If you use Susanne's Niche Research Packs, it's a heck of a lot faster than doing it yourself and a heck of a lot cheaper than hiring someone!

In each niche 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 to check those out: Niche Research Packs

(NOTE: Use coupon  61414 – to save $20 off any niche pack)

Please show Susanne some love and comment below.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

Want to see more posts from Susanne? Check these out…

• Online Success Interview: Susanne Myers
• How to Create Niche Products
• Reinvent Yourself
• What is Link Building and How Does it Impact SEO?
• Before Building One Way Links – 3 Things You Need To Have In Place First
• Link Building Frequently Asked Questions
• How to Declutter Your Online Business
• How to Create Passive Income and Summer Fun
• Affiliate Marketing Lessons That I Learned at The Bowling Alley
• Skip The Latest And Greatest Marketing Techniques and Stick With Stuff That Really Works

This week's Weird Wednesday Website was suggested by my mom, Patti Winker, of RemarkableWrinklies.com in this post: If I Should Die Before I Wake – Having The Last Word

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 about a morbid topic, with a clever solution. And, of course, there are lessons to be learned, as always.

The site is MyObitList.com – and it's one duty is to deliver, upon your passing,  a notification to your contacts. The emails are written by you and can be either sent via bulk to your distant friends, or they can be customized (with a personal note of love) and sent individually to your dearest friends and family.

Yeah, I told you that it was morbid. However, it's oddly comforting, as well.

Here's a video about their service:

What I like about this from both a business and a person aspect:

1. There's a story behind the business.

The owner of the site – Steve Naremore, lost his father-in-law unexpectedly and was given the task of contacting all of the 60 people who would want or need to know. It was not only an incredibly time-consuming and arduous task, but it was also emotionally draining for him, too. He sought a solution to help others who end up in that position so they can avoid some of the pain during such a difficult time.

Lesson: Always look at problems that you face in your daily life. Problems = Potential for Profit.

Lesson: From a business and a person perspective, stories sell. My best-selling products always have a story behind them. People can relate and connect to you as human and you have more credibility, as well, when you share a story that explains why you're doing something.

2. Not everything has to be a continuity program.

Another aspect of this website that I really like is that it's a one-time fee. I would be uncomfortable charging people from today until their passing in order to maintain their contacts.

Lesson: Consider the feelings of your customer when designing your pricing structure.

3. Video can help to break the ice.

You notice that the video is made from cartoon drawings? You don't always have to push emotional buttons to get people to take action. And, in fact, I would have been VERY turned off had they had crying people in the video.

Lesson: Video marketing works.

4. Turning a negative into a positive.

The people who sign up for this service can send personal notes to certain contacts. I love how they emphasize that this is a way to tell those you love that they're important to you – one last time, when they might need to hear it the most.

Lesson: Yes, I'm a big sap.

So, let me have it. What are your thoughts on this website and on this niche?

• Would you use it?
• Would you tell others about it?
• What do you think of their marketing?

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.)

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.)

I thought I'd do a quick link roundup to share so they were all in one place for you.

Here you go…

How Do You Choose a Profitable Niche? 
This is an Expert Briefs blog post that I really love.
Each person answered the question “If you were going to start over in a new niche (not internet marketing or business related) – how would you choose which niche? Also, how would you know that it would be profitable before jumping in?”

Niche Research – A Step-By-Step Approach To Creating A Niche Website 
Written by Susanne Myers.
Quote from this article “Before you start building your new site, I want you to check on one more thing… Are there any products (eletronic or physical) that you can sell to this market? “

3 Easy Ways To Create Niche Products
Written by Susanne Myers.
Quote from this article “I know it can seem a little intimidating to create your own information product, especially if you’ve never done it before. Here are three different ways to create niche products that are all very simple and straight forward.”

How do you decide which idea to turn into a product?
Written by Erica Douglass.
Quote from this article “It’s awfully hard to sell a niche product if there’s just no one out there looking for the information you want to sell.”

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.)

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

PS. I can't talk about niches without mentioning Weird Niche Wednesdays. From handerpants (underpants for your hands) to bacon candles – there's a niche for that.