I bet more than once you’ve laid in bed thinking “Man, that would be an awesome idea for a website!” or “If I start an online business, it should definitely be about something I have a passion for.”  Often when those thoughts enter your mind it is at a moment of pure creativity, and rather than supressing those feelings you should get your ideas down on paper – because that is how genius is born!

If you’re thinking of starting an online business within a niche market, one of the most profitable platforms is to make it a membership site.  In theory, a membership site is a website in which users pay a recurring monthly fee in order to access your articles, tutorials, videos and any other content they deem to be valuable.  Often combined with list building and email marketing, a membership site can be a very lucrative online business model – especially if you’re targeting a specific niche.

Building an online business in a saturated market like “depression” or “weight loss” will take forever to become profitable, and that’s if you know what you’re doing.  So rather than leaning towards the heavy traffic, break down those bigger markets and uncover the targeted niche “pockets” because this is where the real money is hidden.

The basic steps to online niche marketing are as follows: find your niche, research your competition, create your list of keywords and develop your income streams.  For that last step, it’s completely up to you, and depending on your market you might do better with affiliate marketing, creating your own product or a combination of both.  Private advertising arrangements also do quite well with niche marketing online – especially if your niche is geographically targeted.

Remember, the ideal online business is one which is hands-off; meaning a business model which runs on auto pilot.  Though no online business is ever 100% auto pilot, due to maintenance and updates, make it your goal to eventually remove yourself from the equation – whether it be done through outsourcing etc..

Having a niche membership site is very low maintenance, and extremely profitable.  If you can find a need within a hungry niche market, you will do very well – and often have very little work to do once it’s initially set up!