By cecille.l
Two years ago, I featured cooking affiliate programs as my Niche of the Week. My cooking has improved greatly since I wrote that article, and so I have moved on to learning baking. I decided this week, while searching for yet another pastry recipe to try, that I might as well feature baking as my Niche of the Week. 2 topics, 1 round of research. Yes. Because it’s fun to multi-task. 
According to AmericanBakers.org, the baking industry accounts for about USD $300 billion in total economic output. More than a million Americans were employed, directly or indirectly, within the industry in 2010.
But never mind the statistics. Just head on over to Pinterest, or Google any recipe, and you’ll find plenty of websites full of baking recipes, clever decorating ideas, and tips to make your recipes turn out great. I’m telling you now, you’ll be competing with A LOT of other websites in this niche. A thorough research into the niche though will help you select a good angle for your site and map out a marketing strategy.
Keywords: Sharp and Piping Hot
Yes, that’s right. Forgive the mixed metaphors here, but the keywords in this niche need to be sharp, precise, on the point, like a good knife. You’ll know they are because they will be piping hot and highly competitive, too.
You can go for the general, information keywords like “baking,” “bread recipes,” or “pastry.” These are low competition keywords with good monthly search values.
If you make your keywords specific to the product you’re promoting, you are going to have the exact opposite.
How does this work then?
I suggest you get a good fusion of product-specific, buyer-intent, and informative how-to keywords. This means baking recipes and guides sprinkled with product reviews here and there.
If you find you’re running low on keyword variations, you can use Keyword Spy or Ubersuggest.org.
Baking Affiliate Programs
As you probably know, I always check ClickBank before I venture out onto the web in search of affiliate programs. The ClickBank Marketplace did not disappoint this time. I was able to find several baking affiliate programs in the MarketPlace that are worth looking into.
Keikos-Cake.com
Professional pastry chef and instructor Keiko shares her knowledge of how to create delicious baked confections through her website. She offers site members exclusive video lessons and unique recipes, too.
The recurring commission is 50% per sale.
The Macaron Master
If Keiko’s shows you how to make scrumptious bakery goodies, The Macaron Master shows you how to make delicate macarons. Their step by step guide shows you how to master macaron making and turn it into a home business.
Commission is at 35% per sale.
Turning Cupcakes Into Cash
Macarons not your thing? How about cupcakes? Turning Cupcakes Into Cash is for cupcake lovers what The Macaron Master is to macaron fans. Learn how to make cupcakes, and turn it to cash.
Unlike The Macaron Master, each sale of this product gets you 50% commission.
Cake Decorating Business Secrets
Another home business that stems from a baking skill: cake decorating. This guide to making a business out of decorating cakes offers affiliates 75% commission per sale.
MinimalistBaker.com
The MinimalistBaker.com stands out among these baking affiliate programs. The site doesn’t teach you how to set up a home business, for one thing. Another is that the recipes require 10 ingredients or fewer. The recipes are mostly vegan and gluten-free, too, so this would be a great product to market to people who are on those special diets.
The Minimalist Baker’s affiliate program is through ShareASAle, and commission is 30% of the product’s price.
SweetBakingSupply.com
Now, we come to the online stores that sell baking tools and supplies. First up is SweetBakingSupply.com. The site offers all things baking and candy-making: kits, cups, pans, cutters, cupcake toppers, and more. You can even get printable labels and books on baking and candy-making. (Editor’s note: I’ve been to one of Sweet’s retail fronts, and it’s like a Candyland for me! Pun intended.)
SweetBakingSupply.com manages its own affiliate program using iDevAffiliate. You can sign up directly as an affiliate through the website. Affiliates earn 10% commission for each sale.
Amazon.com
It’s not a baking site, but it’s a one-stop shop for just about anything: books, acne creams, cosmetics, clothing. And of course, tons of baking and kitchen supplies. The commission here is nothing to write home about, but it can add up when a user purchases several items through your affiliate link.
The good thing about Amazon.com is users can end up buying not just baking supplies, but other items too, increasing your commission for that sale with each item.
Let People Know What You’re Baking
You’ve put all the ingredients together, and are ready to build your site. Once you have the site baking in the oven, so to speak, what do you do in the mean time?
Map out your link building strategy. That’s what!
Similar to having a brick-and-mortar bakeshop, you need to drive traffic to your website. No traffic to the site means no sales, so it’s important that you start on this as soon as the site is up. Some marketers even start promoting their sites and social media presences as they are building!
So, it’s never too early to have a link-building strategy. This will be useful once your site is nearly complete. A few solid link-building methods to look at for this niche are :
Social Media Marketing
You knew this method will be part of our recommended link building strategy, didn’t you?
You can say that social media marketing is a link building “staple” in the Niche of the Week posts. It’s an excellent source of traffic outside of Google, with millions of users logging in daily. It’s a great way to interact with your target market. You can get information from people pretty easily, too.
You can tap into this market by creating a page for your site and building followers. You can do Facebook ads to help increase awareness of either your website or your Facebook page.
But really, the baking niche is also best promoted through Pinterest, another popular social media site. Share images of your recipe and connect with other people in community. This is not just an opportunity to build your site’s online presence. This is an opportunity to learn from other people in the community.
Press Releases
The baking niche might not be dynamic enough to require constant press releases. That’s true.
But there’s enough happening on baking websites that you can write a press release about. The brand you’re promoting may be having an end-of-season sale. Maybe this popular website is having a bake-off or recipe competition. The company behind one of the products you’re promoting may have won a special award.
You can write the press release and place a link back to a relevant article on your site or your affiliate link for the product. Then, distribute to press release sites.
Content Strategy
Even if you think that you can handle the research and the writing, even if you think you’ve got the routine down to a T: It still pays to have a content strategy in place.
Content strategy helps you map out better writing processes for yourself, or for your hired writer. With it, you will be able to continuously publish relevant, entertaining and informative articles in a timely manner on your site.
You want to build a following, gain a wider readership. A good content strategy can help you with that.
Baking Affiliate Programs: Stiff Peaks, Soft Peaks?
The percentage commissions may look tempting, but when you consider the average cost of the products in this niche, you’ll see that you’ll be getting less-than-spectacular payouts. Unless you have a ton of people purchasing through your site or links, that is.
And that could very well happen, but not within the first 6 months to a year. This is a niche that, like your bread or pastry dough, takes time to rise.
Add the competition and you’ve got one tough mix.
I wouldn’t recommend this niche to those just starting out, but hey, don’t let that stop you if the baking niche is truly your passion. If earning from your baking blog is only secondary, then go on ahead. Do your research, start building, and most importantly, keep baking!
If you have a baking website, well, what are you waiting for? Monetize it! There are plenty of home bakers like you that are earning on the side doing something they love. So, why shouldn’t you?
I hope you find this week’s Niche of the Week as delightful as I did! Be sure to share it using the Share buttons below.
Do you love to bake? Are you keen on starting your own site about baking? What’s your favorite dessert? Don’t be shy –— leave a comment!
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Source:: Affiliate Marketing Blog
The post Mixing Profits with Pleasure: Baking Affiliate Programs appeared first on Seo Land.