Selecting your niche in affiliate marketing is the make or break phase and will depend the campaign as a whole if it will be profitable for you. Get into the wrong niche at the wrong time is devastating and may ruin your self motivation to work on it and in worst case scenario, quit and find a full time job instead.

The Fugly Girl Scenario - Low Competition Niche

Fat or ugly girls are almost all the time NOT taken. This is where I compare to a niche that is not competitive. It only means that it is not that profitable for the big gamers to spend in their time. BUT, is a good training spot for newbies.

Like ugly girls, low competition niches require not too much effort to get into, and the return of your time is not that rewarding. You’ll soon realize that you need to hit that hot niche someday.

Do you have the guts to stay with an ugly girl?

The Hot Girl Scenario - High Competition Niche

Always remember that a hot girl is always taken. If she isn’t taken, there’s something wrong or she’s lying. Same goes for a niche, a hot and profitable niche is always competitive (or taken) its up to you if you want a piece of nice ass.

The same mentality is needed to take on a competitive niche like hitting on a hot woman with a boy friend. It’s all about the confidence in yourself that you’re man enough to take on the challenge. Never be afraid to take on competitive niche. Having a niche with tons of competition only means that its profitable!

Do you have the guts to hit on a hot girl?

Ms. Right - The Jackpot Niche

The jackpot niche is the niche in which less competition but highly profitable. These are like women that you know are beautiful but doesn’t dress right or not groomed well or she (really) has no boyfriend. You know they have beauty and having them as your girl is a true jackpot. You know that sooner or later other guys will hit on her, so be sure to get to her first and give a good fight with the competitors. Just like in a niche, you want to be the first and demolish competition before they get the largest share of the profit.

Do you have the guts to keep a hot girl?

Affiliate marketing is a competitive field, playing safe in this industry will not do you any good return. Always remember that a highly competitive niche is where the money’s at. That’s why there are lots of people there. Don’t be afraid to take on competitive niche.

ICANN promised a new web boom that will totally change, not just the web design industry but the way internet real estate goes. The president of ICANN announced that domains will not be restricted anymore by predermined suffixes. Meaning, no more .com, .net, .org, instead, they will make if flexible to the point that you can make any suffix of your own!

Think of it like name.surname or basket.ball as an example. This will gonna be a HUUUUUUUUGE opportunity. Are you ready?

The recent decision to open up the domain naming system will create the largest boom on the internet since its creation, according to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

The group approved a measure on Thursday which will remove the restrictions on domain suffixes, allowing companies to register any word as a URL suffix. Where users were previously limited to 21 suffixes, such as .com and .net, sites will now be able to use such domains as .news or .bank.

ICANN expects the new rules to go into effect some time next year.

“The potential here is huge. It represents a whole new way for people to express themselves on the net,” said ICANN president and chief executive Dr. Paul Twomey.

“It’s a massive increase in the ‘real estate’ of the internet.”

ICANN plans to allow non-Latin characters as well, opening the door for domains with Chinese and Arabic characters for the first time.

The company also provided further guidance on how the new domains will be distributed and managed. By the second quarter of 2009, ICANN plans to begin accepting applications for new domains.

In the case of a trademark or cyber-squatting spat, the company plans to allow trademark holders to file appeals. The appeals will then be reviewed by ICANN and a decision made.

A similar system will be put in place for dealing with attempts to register potentially offensive sites. Users will be able to file an objection which will then be passed on to an independent, international review board which will base a decision on international treaties.

Source : vnunet dot com

We know many people earned billions in the domaining industry. porn dot com, pizza dot com and such, have been sold millions of dollars. Are you ready to take a piece of this pie of billion dollar industry?

There’s no doubt that freelance web design is the cheapest service to avail compared to a web design company if you want a web site done . As a freelancer you will only work by yourself thus, limiting your expenses and clients having to pay less. That’s why big companies sometimes outsource and stick with freelancers to do their job. Look at India and the Philippines for example, these countries are two of the most outsourced countries with regards to IT, call centers, and programming.

Now that we know that freelance web designers have an edge over companies with regards to price. How much do you have to charge? Well, that is one of the most asked questions by new web designers. And to tell you the truth, the answer lies in your own capabilities as a web designer.

Points To Consider When Pricing

1. Consider All Your Expenses In The Design - In web design, you are pretty much zero in on the expenses as you may already have a computer. You may put in the electricity spent when working on a particular design if you can compute it. But, there are times when you will really have to spend some money like buying stock photos, fonts, software tools, icons and more. Keep in mind these things to add on your pricing.
2. How Much Time Will It Take You To Finish The Work - Most of the time, programmers are paid by the hour and so are designers. But also, most of the time, designers are paid per project. So, consider how much time will it take you to finish this web site. The longer, of course the higher. You’re time is pretty much important here, you might turn down some clients while a project is still on going and you may lose more money than earn if you’re price is wrong.
3. Research About Your Competition - Web design is a competitive field so there will always be a competition. Know the price of other freelancers and compare the quality of their work with yours. Then decide whether you deserve a much higher price than them or lower. You decide.
4. What’s The Cost Of Living - This is probably the most important. Set a price that’s just about right to help you survive in this world. Don’t go dirt cheap just because you want clients. Don’t “whore” yourself if you think you can attract clients by lowering your price. Be sure to set a minimum price that you can afford to help sustain your business. And also, don’t go overboard in raising the price. Some people would raise their charges just because people from other countries are charging this kind of amount. Always remember that in other countries, the cost of living is different from yours. They need that price to sustain and continue running their business.

Although I didn’t exactly said how much you should charge your web design services, I know you could come up with really good and reasonable prices for your clients using the pointers I laid out. All these things depend entirely to you and your skills. If you think you should charge x10 than the competition, you are free to do that no one’s stopping you. Someone out there might avail that services if they feel its worth it. Don’t be afraid to ask for a certain price of web design, especially if its reasonable enough for you to sustain your business.