Affiliate newbie: The saga continues

Choosing a category of products to sell

[Nick_W]

Okay,

I've done a lot of reasearching in the last 24hrs and am beginning to lean towards consumer electronics.

In particular: Gadgets and gixmos suitable for 'gifts for men' or 'boys toys'

The reason I'm headed this way is that I have very little interest in much else other than the internet and have ruled out web related stuff for want of a change.

Also I see the the following good points to this category:

• $30-$60 price range (good low risk online buy)
  
• Plenty of manufactures in lots of different but related (as far as my idea goes) fields
  
• Good potential for writing targetted copy about something I like
  

The downside is that it is a highly competitive market and possibly a bit ambitious for an affiliate newbie.

What do you think? My web skills are good but is this a bit too much for me?

Nick

[Drastic]

The first thing you want to do before making an affiiate jump into a topic - make sure there are good merchants that pay their affiliates on time. Also check their financials, as companies going under are the first ones to stop or hold payments.

On your specific topic, the only problem I can see would be commission rates. Electronics is a very competitive niche and affiliates usually get low commissions like 5%.

However, you've got to start somewhere, and building on a topic you enjoy is the best place to start. You'll learn the ropes and be able to apply your knowledge in other niches. Affiliates rarely make big money on their first venture, but they always learn from it.

[Nick_W]

Right!

I love it ;) I've been a newbie at quite a few things over the past few years, css being the latest. Now I consider myself pretty expert at it and hope to do the same in this field...

I should have been a student, I like learning but I was a somewhat wayward child and left school at 15, never to return... Oh well, I've learnt more here than I've done anywhere else ;)

Nick