Controversial Niches and the Future
There’s been some “buzz” in the industry recently related to ringtones and payday loans.
Rumors are going around that ringtones are going to be changing soon, that a new step will be added in to again confirm the $9.99 charge made to their mobile account. A lot of people out there are stupid, and for some reason don’t realize they’re being charged, even after they read a text message that says “9.99/mo”. I guess it’s all a little shady, but the shadyness is going to start to go away, and this may have a big impact on conversions. Let’s take a look at the trends for “ringtones” :
As we all know, ringtones have been on a steady decline and have started to level off. I don’t think that’s going to change, ringtones will still be in demand. But it may have an effect on the publisher side of it, as you may have to play the game and started shifting your campaigns to be more overt about the fact that they’re getting charged.
Another niche that’s getting some attention recently have been payday loans. Payday loans are short term cash loans with HUGE interest rates…and I mean huge – and it’s screwing a lot of people. Just search “payday loan scam” and you’ll see what I mean. Being one of the niches that I run, I was a bit bummed when I got a call from Azoogle on Friday telling me that all their payday loan offers are gone. I moved over to Hydra, which wasn’t a big deal, and then a day later the offer I’m running drops in payout drops 20%. Payday loans are another “controversial” niche, and changes may be coming to payday loan companies. In the future, many states may ban payday loans…something to keep your eye out for. Checking out the trends though :
Payday loans look to have a healthy increase in trends, so for now hopefully we’re still in the clear.
The point I’m trying to make with this post is, I always try and have some “safe” niches that I’m running. Sales where the future looks stable, and nothing is too shady. That way, you don’t lose a niche making a lot of money due to volatile changes in the industry. I’m not saying that these niches aren’t worth any time, because shady offers convert the best :). I’d just try and work on offers that look like they’ll be clean and healthy for the long run.
That’s the problem I have with actively promoting these niches.. sometimes the people don’t actually know what they are getting themselves in for. Bad for the conscious…
that’s everybody’s problem with niches. what bloggers need to do is be aware of trends
I am totally limiting my possibilities by only promoting stuff that I’d sign up for, myself.
It is true that these offers do appeal to a lot of people, so why not make them available and earn some money?
Hopefully the long term prospects for ringtones and payday loans continues toward less shady deal, but there will certainly be new products and people will sign up for them into the future.