Chapter 2

Brainstorm Your Site Concept

Everyone, absolutely everyone, has a special interest, a passion. Everyone knows something that is of value to others. Something that others on the Net want. Passion makes work fun and easy. What is it that you love to talk about? Read about? A hobby? What do you do for fun and games? What are your natural talents?

Don’t forget to look right under your nose! What special body of knowledge have you learned from your job? What do you do day after day, without even thinking about it (ex., child-rearing, taking care of sick parents, renovation contractor, customs inspector). Think about what you do in a typical day, and what you’ve learned from it. What sections of a book store or a magazine shop do you automatically gravitate toward? What kind of TV shows do you tend to like most? Movies? What activities do you enjoy most about your current occupation? Is it research? Helping customers achieve their goals? Managing other people? Teaching or explaining things to others? Making a process easier? Marketing products?

Problems are also a good source for ideas, because problems need solutions! What bugs you? What’s tedious? What does not work? We all encounter obstacles, problems, nasty people in the course of whatever it is that we do every day. What are the three biggest problems in your work place? What are your biggest pains as a parent, or as a step-parent, or as a gardener (etc., etc.)?

Your mission, and it is not as easy as it sounds, is to find a subject that you really know and like.

Here are a few examples of starting points to get your neurons firing.

Advertising	Disabilities	Minerals
Aerospace	Education	Music
Agriculture/farming	Electronics	New age
Antiques and collectibles	Employment	Office supplies
Apparel/clothing/fashion	Energy	Publishing
Architecture/buildings	Engineering	Real Estate
Arts & Crafts	Entertainment	Religion/Spirituality
Auctions	Environment	Research and Development
Automotive	Ergonomics	Retail management
Aviation	Financial services	Science
Beverages	Food	Security
Books	Gambling	Sex
Chemicals	Games	Software
Children/parenting	Government	Sports
Cleaning	Health	Telecommunications
Communications	Hobbies	Toys
Computers	Home/garden/flowers/plants	Trade
Construction	Hospitality	Transportation
Consulting	Information	Travel
Conventions/Trade	Jewelry	Video
Shows	Law	Weather
Design	Manufacturing

Take your time on this -- the final concept will, after all, form the foundation for your affiliate business. So, now that you have read this far, review all the above brain-stimulators with pen and paper (or keyboard) in hand.

Write down concepts as they hit you -- make as long a list as you can. Don’t censor yourself. Just write down ideas for Site Concepts as they occur.

Next, pick the three concepts that you love the most and that you think would have some appeal for others -- this is your “short list” of Site Concepts. Remember... if a concept really turns you on, you won’t be working. You’ll be playing. So focus on topics that you love.

You are now at a critical loop point. What do I mean by that? Well, at this point, there is no way to tell you which Site Concept to pick. You definitely know which Site Concept excites you the most, but you have no idea which one is most profitable. You do not have enough information yet. Simply start with the Site Concept that excites you the most. As you accumulate more information during chapters 2, 3, and 4, grow your concept so that you maximize its profit potential.

For example, let’s say that your passion is the Renaissance artist, Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510), a highly individual and graceful artist who fell out of fashion and died in obscurity. (Hey, in art, ya gotta be good to die broke!) It’s your passion to give this man his due on the Net.

At first glance, the focus is rather narrow. It might be difficult to develop enough high-profitability topics to attract sufficient traffic. And there may not be many affiliate programs to develop a good income stream.

On the other hand

that may not matter to you -- the passion may be primary, while the money is secondary to you.
since you really are an expert, you just may succeed in developing tons of Keyword-Focused topics to be able to create lots of high value Keyword- Focused Content Pages about Boticelli. You may end up “owning” this niche. And, while completing the prep work, you may discover:

a superb art gallery that specializes in Botticelli, but who gets zero Net traffic
a stock photo service that features a comprehensive selection of Boticelli art
a Botticelli museum in Florence

you conclude that, while you love Boticelli, there is not enough income potential for this narrow niche. So you expand it. How far?

Do you stop at Botticelli?
Or do you grow your idea to include all Renaissance artists?
Or do you grow your idea to include all artists?
Or do you grow it into a comprehensive art portal?

Of course, you don’t have to go “the whole hog” all at once. You can start with Boticelli and widen the scope of your site over time.

How big should you grow your Site Concept? How much should you change it? Only you can decide. And you’ll be able to do that when you finish.

Chapter 3 -- Develop high-profitability topics

Chapter 4 -- Grow, Prune and Group Best Affiliate Programs

If the financial potential seems limited after you have finished the above, you have three options:

OPTION 1	Expand the concept -- make it more general. But remember... you don’t have to start huge. Build it over time.
OPTION 2	Loop back to this point and try the next concept on your “short list” of Site Concepts.
OPTION 3	Recognize that you’re “in it” more for the passion than the money. Botticelli rules!

It’s all up to you. Let those creative juices flow. A word of caution, though. Before you decide on your final choice for Site Concept, read Chapter 3.

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