Is your website idea a "bad" idea?

I've gotten many emails lately from people that were having
trouble figuring out what topic they should develop their
website around.

One even stated that every time s/he came up with a great
idea, then did some research on it, the topic would come
up as having too much competition, or already over-populated.

This is a very interesting point because everything you read
tells you to find a new, un-tapped niche and become the top
expert, and then dominate that niche.

We are told that this is the ONLY way to make money on the
Internet.

Finding a niche CAN be very profitable, but it is also very
difficult to discover a new niche.

Why?

Because it isn't as simple as just finding a topic that
no one else has found yet: That topic also has to have
people dedicated to it that have money to spend, that want
the products that you are selling, and that are willing to
buy anything to begin with.

It is very difficult to find that perfect mix... especially
now that there are so many other people online trying to do
exactly the same thing.

When I started AffiliateMatch there were already a ton of
affiliate program directories. There were also several "big
players" out there that dominated the market.

I still managed to do the things necessary to build it into
a profitable website.

Did I bump any of the "big players" out of their positions?

No. But I realized that I didn't have to.

There are many, many, many people surfing the Internet today.
And even though you may have a competitor that has better
search engine positioning, or more newsletter subscribers,
you can STILL reach people that have never heard of your
competitors.

You don't have to concentrate so much of your time and effort
trying to find that undiscovered niche. If you have an idea
that you like, and that you feel you would enjoy trying to
make money from... go for it!

Figure out if there is a way that you can do things a little
better, or a little different from what your competitors are
doing.

Find a slightly different, more focused aspect of the subject
area that want to go into.

For example: Instead of tackling "Real Estate", try "Real
Estate for Texans", or whatever state you live in.

By narrowing your focus you can greatly decrease the number
of competitors that you will have.

If you can't narrow the topic down any, that's ok. As long
as it is a subject you will enjoy learning more about, go
ahead and do it anyway.

As you learn more and get more experience you will start to
see niches form that you would have never been able to spot
in the beginning.

Don't hold off your online business while you wait to
discover the next million dollar niche. This approach is
like putting off enjoying life until you have won the
lottery.

The problem with this is that if you never actually win
the lottery, you will have missed out on some great chances
to enjoy life.

The Internet is the same way: Don't risk passing up great
opportunities because you were on the sidelines trying to
find that ONE idea that will make you rich.

So, when you ask me if your website idea is a bad idea...
my response is: the only bad ideas are the ones that never
get acted on!