NichePursuits.com - Affiliate bloggers are 😨

Yesterday, I was on 2 different mastermind group calls with a bunch of bloggers.

Most of the bloggers on the calls are making money through affiliate marketing and display ads.

...And about 50% of those bloggers seemed extremely worried about the future.

The sense I got from the call is that SOME felt that with all the recent Google updates, ChatGPT, and the recent drop in ad rates...it's just a sign that affiliate sites are quickly becoming a thing of the past.

I disagree. And so did about 50% of the other bloggers on these calls.

Some sites are losing. Some sites (including mine) are winning big with all the updates.

I think a lot of comes down to building a real brand, producing actual quality content, and diversifying traffic sources.

But is ChatGPT going to kill blogging?

No.

I'm not sure if some affiliate marketers are worried that the entire world will use ChatGPT for answers...or if they are worried that other site owners will use ChatGPT to start outranking their sites with mass produced content.

While there's an argument to be made, I don't think either of these worries will pan out...if you build a real brand and have a real voice.

On the other hand, AI can be harnessed to grow your brand in so many creative ways (beyond copying and pasting ChatGPT articles...which is a terrible idea in my opinion).

For example, the Washington Post and many other newspapers have been using AI to programmatically report on sports results, stock updates, and more.

They've been very public about this...everyone knows they've been using AI to do this.

One concern about AI is whether your authors are using ChatGPT or other tools to produce articles for your site...without your knowledge!

Now this is a big concern. First, the content usually isn't great.

Second, OpenAI has stated there will eventually be some sort of watermarketing that search engines and others will be able to use to see if content was produced with AI.

And third, AI content is detectable with other tools.

For example, I'm a strategic investor in a tool called Originality.ai.

It was created to specifically check if content was produced with AI (including ChatGPT) and if content was plagiarised.

Want to check if the content on your sites (or any other sites) was produced with AI?

Well, I'm happy to share that an Originality Google Chrome extension was just released that allows you to simply right-click any webpage and check the article for AI content.

(Or you can copy and paste the content in the online Originality tool).

Here's a quick example of the Originality AI tool detecting an article on the Washington Post:

​Download the free Originality Google Chrome extension right here.​

(It does cost money to run scans, but the Chrome extension itself is free).

For a limited time, we are offering 10 free credits for those that download the Google Chrome extension here.

Overall, do affiliate bloggers have a right to be scared of the future?

I think affiliate bloggers should be willing to adapt and change, but humans are going to want to read from humans forever. That's not changing.

If you have a real brand and a real voice, people will want to keep following your blog.

If your content has always been sub-par...maybe it's time to change.

How Chad Brinkle Makes $4k/Month Dropshipping Car Parts and Accessories

Would you leave a 6-figure corporate job to go off and start your own online business?

That's what our guest interview today on Niche Pursuits did and it's starting to pay off!

Chad Brinkle started an eCommerce store for off-road enthusiasts in January 2022. Thanks to SEO, he now makes $4k per month and expects to 2/3x his corporate job in the next 2-4 years.

Today he shares:

• How he got into SEO
• His top marketing strategy
• How he builds links
• His keyword research and content creation strategies
• His favorite resources
• The tools he uses every day in his business
• The biggest challenge he's faced
• The main mistake he made
• His advice for other entrepreneurs

​Get the tips that helped Chad grow his site so quickly here!​

New Niche Sites Available on Motion Invest

This hunting niche site has just been added to the marketplace. The site is just over 1 year old and has 44 articles live.

Currently, the site is only monetized by Amazon and is estimated to have only 38% of its ranking keywords targeting an informational intent. So this presents a great opportunity for a new owner to flesh out more informational content in different silos.

​Get more details here​

At 1 year and 8 months old, this tech site is slowly but surely growing. The site already has 240 posts live and traffic is nicely spread out across pages.

The site is currently only monetized via Adsense though. And over 70% of content is estimated to target an informational intent. This creates a great opportunity for a new owner to create more affiliate-focused content.

​Get more details here​

This 2 year old audio niche site is also new to the marketplace. The site has 103 articles and the keywords target a nice and healthy balance between informational and affiliate intent.

The site is currently monetized via Amazon and Ezoic with room to expand into other opportunities. And the new site owner can work on optimizing existing content for both monetization and search.

​Get more details here​

Thanks again for reading!

Spencer