ONLINE BUSINESS IDEA #1 - EXAM PREP NICHE

This is my favorite niche site idea. I used this idea to create a small, but incredibly profitable business.

I call it the “exam prep niche”. In the exam prep niche, we are creating a business by providing study material, guidance, and advice to those pursuing a particular set of exams, designation, certification, or licensing. If you’ve been following along with the niche site ideas case study, then you already know all about the exam prep niche, my website AssociaePI, and how I’ve generated over $160,000 in passive income in the past three years with this one simple niche site idea.

There are THOUSANDS of niche exams, designations, certifications, and licenses with hundreds of thousands of people taking the exams each month. Off of the top of my head, I think of the CPA, CFA, CNA, Real estate license, underwriter licensing, Fundamentals of Engineering (FE), and CLU. And those are just the big-name designations and licensing that I could think of without doing any research!

Use your day job, use your college exams, use the designations you earned five years ago, use any exam you have taken to create exam prep materials that you can sell online. It’s such a simple, small, profitable business idea that not enough people take advantage of.

It is the perfect opportunity to leverage the niche nature of these designations to create your niche business that generates tens of thousands of dollars in passive income per month. It’s possible. I’m doing it now

Exam Prep Niche Site Idea – Pros

There are six reasons why this is my favorite niche side idea, and why I strongly believe you should take advantage of this opportunity:

• Validated Market – With the exam prep niche site idea, the market is validated for you. If people are searching for this designation and studying for these exams, then there is a clear need for study material.
• Easy to Niche Profitably – These sites are easy to niche. There is typically not much competition (depending on the designation that you choose). Even if there is competition, it’s easy to differentiate yourself and find a niche within a niche.
• Easy to Differentiate – Creating a niche site is all about providing a unique product with a unique value proposition that differentiates you from the competition. In the exam prep niche, this is easy. There are a number of ways you can differentiate yourself. Just think about how you can differentiate yourself by offering a different type of study material. You can offer textbooks, online courses, study guides, flashcards, 1×1 coaching, practice exams, etcetera… You can pick one product and become known as the go-to resource for CPA flashcards.
• Easy Email Opt-in – With the exam prem niche site idea, it’s easy to create an email opt-in to collect those valuable email addresses of potential customers. You can do this with a free course, free practice exam, free study guide, or free exam tips. With AssociatePI, my exam prep niche site, I offer a free practice exam as my email opt-in lead magnet. I generate around 300 new email leads every month just by giving away a free 10 question PDF practice exam.
• High Price – Exam prep material is expensive. Just look at the competition. Typically, you can sell study material for around $500 per course or around $200 for practice questions. Some of the bigger courses like Bar exam prep and CPA study materials can go for over $1,000. Personally, I price AssociatePI courses at $425 per course. At $425 per course, with a required eight exams to earn the CPCU® designation, that’s $3,400 from one person if they take all eight exams with my program. Not bad for one lead!
• Free Study Material – If you are selling exam prep materials, you need to study and take the exam before you can begin creating stud material. But, there is one added bonus to the exam prep niche site idea. Your employer will pay for your study material. Exam prep material is expensive (as we covered above), but if you are employed in the industry your employer will probably pay for you to pursue a designation or training. Meaning your employer is literally paying for you to start a business!

Exam Prep Niche Site Idea – Cons

There is one major con to the exam prep niche. You have to actually study, pass the exam, and THEN create the study material. Starting a business is never easy. So, like any business, with the exam prep niche, you need to put in the work, study and create a better (or different) study material. For me, it took me one month to study and about one month to create the study material. During these two months, I was talking to prospective customers, building a following, and driving pre-sales. You can do the same.