What is a niche market?

Niche markets, aka vertical or long tail markets, are market segments defined by how people search for specific products and services. This results in a narrowly defined, qualified, group of potential customers. Typically these markets are not served by mainstream advertising networks.

What is an advertising network?

The basic definition of an advertising network is; an online, automated agency or broker, that automatically obtains digital ads from advertisers and automatically places the ads on multiple websites.

What is a niche advertising network?

A niche advertising network is an advertising network dedicated to a specific market segment. Niche advertising networks aggregate publisher websites in a similar market providing advertisers an economical, focused advertising solution across a wide viewer base creating quality leads to fill the advertiser’s pipeline while improving brand recognition.

Niche Advertising Networks provide the publisher base with higher revenue for their ad space inventory on their websites as advertisers will typically pay more for ad views on market specific websites.

To lay the foundation for starting a niche advertising network there are seven questions you need to answer:

What are my personal and business goals? What niche market do I want to pursue? Will my market of interest support an advertising network business? How much does it cost to start an advertising network business? How long does it take to be profitable? How do I get started? What leads to success?

What are my personal and business goals?

In starting any business you’re personal and business goals are the first thing you should resolve. They must be aligned or you will fail. You start by generating a written list of your personal goals. You use this list as the basis for writing your business goals. Once you have both goals aligned you can then write your Vision and Mission statements for the business which should be your guide for all that you do going forward.

What niche market do I want to pursue?

To give you the best chance for success it should be a market you have work experience in, a hobby or a market you have a strong interest in and working relationships with others in the market that could support your efforts. Searching for niche markets on the Internet can provide a lot of potential opportunities but if you have no experience in a market your chances for success decrease and your cost for entering the market will be higher. Market knowledge is important.

Will my market of interest support an advertising network business?

Demand.. If the demand is there it will. Demand is determined from your knowledge of the market and good market research. This needs to be coupled with understanding the potential competition in the market. Demand should be determined before you commit to a market.

How much does it cost to start an advertising network business?

Costs vary with potential revenue volume based on niche market size, ad network platform licensing agreement, start up and ongoing marketing and support (needed and provided) for your business. Opportunities exist where you can start as a home business and test of your market for free before determining the level of commitment you want to undertake. Most niche market advertising networks can remain as home based businesses.

Actual costs would be determined during your business plan development and type of advertising network solution selected for your business model.

How do I get started?

Once you pick your market and understand the demand a business plan is a must and the next step. This does not have to be a large detailed document. In most case five to ten pages that cover your operating strategy will do. The plan should detail you’re operating, marketing and revenue plans. This will result in your cash flow which will tell you what type of investment you need to make to meet your plans goals or if it is a worthwhile business venture.

With your plan in place select an advertising network platform that matches your business goals and you are in business.

How long does it take to be profitable?

Good question.

There are a lot of variables that come into play that will determine when a niche advertising network might reach profitability. Your business plan should cover all the possible variables and give you the path to profitability. However, if you started with an entry level ad serving approach you could be profitable in 3-4 months. Most other plans can take 6 months plus. Market penetration is the pacing factor for determining when you will achieve profitability.

What leads to success?

Demand + Relevance + Desire + Knowledge + Planning + Perseverance = Success

Selecting and supporting the right niche market can provide an attractive income while building a valuable asset to sell or aggregate with other niche market advertising network businesses in the future providing an exit strategy if that is ones goal.

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Andrew Nester , President/CEO Biz Strategies, Inc. http://www.bizstrategies.biz  Biz Strategies provides business management consulting to online businesses and vertical market ad network business solutions http://www.verticalmarketadnetwork.com