Do what you love and the money will follow.

If you don’t already have specific ideas about what you might like to sell, consider the following questions and suggestions carefully. It will soon become clear that you are more inclined towards some avenues than others.

• Do you feel especially passionate about any subject in particular?
• Are you an expert in anything?
• Do you have hobbies or interests that you pursue regularly?
• Are you active in a sport?
• Ask your friends and family what they think you might be especially good at doing.
• What have you learned from your jobs, hobbies and general life experience? Do a skills and knowledge assessment.
• What problems have you solved in the past?

Brainstorm as many ideas as you can. Look at the following list. Are you knowledgeable in one or more of the following subjects?

Accounting
Arts and Crafts
Auto Buying
Auto Mechanics
Canning
Carpentry
Catering
Child
Development
Computers
Coaching
Cooking
Dating
Decorating
Divorce
Dog Training
Ebooks
Ezines
Fitness
Gardening
Health and Fitness
Home Business
Home Buying
Home Finances
Home Maintenance
Home Remodeling
Internet Business
Makeup Application
Marketing
Pet Care
Pet Grooming
Pet Shows
Plumbing
Program Scripting
Recipes
Relationships
Romance
Self Improvement
Sewing Tips
Single Parenting
Skin Care
Small Appliance Repair
Software Design
Teenagers
Traveling
Web Design
Weight Loss

Did that list spark any ideas?

Here’s another list. It’s Commission Junction’s merchant category list. There are products and services in each of the categories that can be sold by affiliates.

• Accessories – Cosmetics/Fragrance, Handbags, Jewelry – Shoes
• Art/Photo/Music – Art, Music, Photo
• Automotive – Cars & Trucks, Motorcycles, Parts & Accessories, Rentals, Tools and Supplies
• Books/Media – Audio Books, Books, Magazines, News, Television, Videos/Movies
• Business – Business-To-Business, Marketing, Office, Productivity Tools, Travel
• Careers – Employment, Military
• Clothing/Apparel – Children’s, Malls, Men’s, Women’s
• Commerce – Auction, Classifieds, E-commerce solutions/providers, New/Used Goods, Telephone services, Utilities
• Computer & Electronics – Computer HW, Computer Support, Computer SW, Consumer Electronics, Peripherals
• Education – Children, College, Languages, Professional
• Entertainment – Memorabilia
• Family – Babies, Children, Entertainment, Teens, Weddings
• Financial services – Banking/Trading, Credit Cards, Investment, Loans, Real Estate Services
• Food & Drinks – Gourmet, Groceries, Restaurants, Tobacco, Wine & Spirits
• Games & Toys – Electronic Toys, Games, Toys
• Gifts & Flowers – Care Packages, Collectibles, Flowers, Gifts, Greeting Cards
• Health & Beauty – Bath & Body, Cosmetics, Health Food, Nutritional Supplements, Pharmaceuticals, Self Help, Vision Care, Wellness
• Home & Garden – Bed & Bath, Construction, Furniture, Garden, Home Appliances, Kitchen, Pets, Real Estate, Utilities
• Insurance – Commercial, Personal Insurance
• Legal – Services
• Marketing – Business-to-Business, Network Marketing
• Medical – Equipment
• Phonecard Services – Online/Wireless
• Recreation & Leisure – Astrology, Betting/Gaming, Communities, Events, Matchmaking, New Age, Outdoors, Party Goods
• Shops/Malls – Virtual Malls
• Sports & Fitness – Exercise & Health, Professional Sports Organizations, Sports, WaterSports
• Travel – Accessories, Air, Car, Hotel, Luggage, Vacation
• Web Services – Advice, Banner ads, Domain Registrations, Email Marketing, Internet Service Providers, Intranets, Search Engine, Web Design, Web Hosting/Servers, Web Tools

You will spend many hours developing, nurturing and maintaining your business. It’s therefore important to choose a subject that you are keen to pursue if you want to succeed.

Make a list of all the topics that make you smile or cause your heart to beat quicker when you think about them. Don’t concern yourself whether or not there’s a market for your topic yet, just make your list. I’ll cover how to research demand for your topic in the following chapters.

So, for example, your list of interests may look like this:

• wine and wine making
• running
• Asian cooking
• golf
• Internet marketing
• motivational methods
• teddy bears
• singles and dating
• shawls & wraps
• cats
• yoga

Related posts:

1. 5 Things For Success In Affiliate Marketing
2. 17 Benefits of Being an Affiliate
3. 15 Fabulous Reasons to Affiliate
4. How To Succeed Online As An Affiliate For Under $100 – Part 8
5. How To Succeed Online As An Affiliate For Under $100 – Part 11