How to Start A Niche Content Site(simonblogs.com)
simonblogs.com
How to Start A Niche Content Site
https://www.simonblogs.com/tutorials/how-to-start-a-niche-content-site
45 comments
One of my more favorite hobbies is complaining about star wars on the internet. I suppose I could just go and find all of my old forum posts and then create a website around them. lol.
The Last Jedi was truly an evil movie.
I actually like it because it created something to talk about. And if you watch other Rian Johnson movies, he's a rather competent director, so it's also interesting to watch him fail. He created something originally bad which is hard to do in today's focus group, board room designed, big tent movies.
Which Star Wars piques your ire?
You seriously probably could.
You seriously probably could.
Recently I flipped and tried to talk about the things I like. For example, have you heard of Waru? Waru is an interdimensional jelly being covered in gold plates that is in constant pain and wishes to go back to its own dimension but can't without taking the power of the force from children. This is probably the most creative nonsense ever thought of for star wars and it comes from one of the novels considered just absolute trash, the crystal Star.
One of the things I really disliked was how much the Jedi purge was interpolated in the original EU stuff before revenge of the sith. It really played on the idea that it was difficult and time consuming and oversaw by Darth Vader and the Emperor.
One of the things I really disliked was how much the Jedi purge was interpolated in the original EU stuff before revenge of the sith. It really played on the idea that it was difficult and time consuming and oversaw by Darth Vader and the Emperor.
That's one of the main reasons I have to go on living.
Let me know if you need collaborators.
Let me know if you need collaborators.
How to kill your favourite hobby
Then go and find some new ones with the $100k in your bank account
No time. Plus, it might not work.
sorry, i’m too busy making content for a hobby
The fallacy of this type of advice is that marketing a certain activity, in this case a blog, is a full-time job in itself.
> This is the quickest way to [...] create a sustainable additional income.
The entire blog post starts with essentially a lie. The following requirement:
4. Back-link building
> This is tedious work. Cold emailing, constant reminders and > outreach and content creation. This person would focus > entirely on growing your backlinks by creating > viral/shareable content and reaching out to partners who > might want to link to your site.
is all but "additional" income.
It reminds me of that famous guy, let's call Tim Ferrous for anonymity, who advertised the dream of a 4-hours workweek, while working himself 24/7 in order to market himself and selling his products. Not counting the fake website(s) and fake reviews he's commissioned as part of his marketing.
> This is the quickest way to [...] create a sustainable additional income.
The entire blog post starts with essentially a lie. The following requirement:
4. Back-link building
> This is tedious work. Cold emailing, constant reminders and > outreach and content creation. This person would focus > entirely on growing your backlinks by creating > viral/shareable content and reaching out to partners who > might want to link to your site.
is all but "additional" income.
It reminds me of that famous guy, let's call Tim Ferrous for anonymity, who advertised the dream of a 4-hours workweek, while working himself 24/7 in order to market himself and selling his products. Not counting the fake website(s) and fake reviews he's commissioned as part of his marketing.
That book written by that unknown author was pure drivel, how anyone was able to get through the whole thing, if anyone actually did, is beyond me.
The best sellers usually are left untouched on your kindle or even (physical) bookshelf if you fancy that.
I guess people just buys it and forgets about it
I guess people just buys it and forgets about it
Yup I feel like it would do the same. Adding money to the equation can ruin the fun in many things, unless money is your primary motivator of course.
Best advice I've read on this site: never ruin a perfectly good hobby by making it a job.
Some people are really passionate about earning money. But indeed I feel that for this to work you need to be passionate about a topic, and also about monetizing it, which is not everyone
That just sounds like work, you write and get money for it ... like a writer.
On top of that those websites are almost always terrible, full of long article saying nothing.
On top of that those websites are almost always terrible, full of long article saying nothing.
On top of that, how practical is it, really, to make over $100,000/year writing content for the web?
> If you convert only 0.1% of your traffic (30 users), you’ll yield $15 000 a month ($180k a year).
Well, how likely is it that you will reach that 0.1% conversion rate? 0.1% might sound like a small, easily achievable rate, but is it really?
If it were easy to make a good living this way, everyone would be doing it. The article doesn't seem to acknowledge that good writing is hard to do. It doesn't even mention the word 'skill', for instance.
> If you convert only 0.1% of your traffic (30 users), you’ll yield $15 000 a month ($180k a year).
Well, how likely is it that you will reach that 0.1% conversion rate? 0.1% might sound like a small, easily achievable rate, but is it really?
If it were easy to make a good living this way, everyone would be doing it. The article doesn't seem to acknowledge that good writing is hard to do. It doesn't even mention the word 'skill', for instance.
First-hand experience here.
It is not easy, at all. Especially because it takes time to bootstrap a niche website to a level of traffic that's monetizable to the level you mentioned.
However, in the niche I have a website in, myself and many competitors are definitely reaching these levels and expenses are rather low. The problem is that we are at the mercy of the few strong ad and affiliate networks. So it's very uncertain (without even getting into SEO and Google's changes).
Many of my writers left me to do it on their own (i.e. write their own niche site) but came back after losing patience (for the right or wrong reasons).
The best niche sites are those having a balanced range of income streams, and their own products. But that's not easy.
It is not easy, at all. Especially because it takes time to bootstrap a niche website to a level of traffic that's monetizable to the level you mentioned.
However, in the niche I have a website in, myself and many competitors are definitely reaching these levels and expenses are rather low. The problem is that we are at the mercy of the few strong ad and affiliate networks. So it's very uncertain (without even getting into SEO and Google's changes).
Many of my writers left me to do it on their own (i.e. write their own niche site) but came back after losing patience (for the right or wrong reasons).
The best niche sites are those having a balanced range of income streams, and their own products. But that's not easy.
Please rather do the opposite of all of this :( Sure a lot of this "works" if you want to make a quick buck, but at what price?
"Content farms" like this are related to the "tragedy of the commons" problem from Game Theory. Yes, you can do your part to make the internet a worse place by using these methods (invasive tracking, hideous pop ups, sneaky ads, spamming people for 'backlinks'), but you're also helping to destroy people's trust in free content and swamping search engines results with typically "bad" content. You're weakening the foundations of what you're building on: a trust-based internet with easy access to good content.
Rather try focus on craftsmanship[0]. Write content that you enjoy, or work with people who are creating content about things that they are passionate about and enjoy creating. It doesn't have to be a conveyorbelt. You don't need Facebook Pixel.
It'll take a bit longer and it won't make quite as much money, but it'll also survive longer. If you believe in any kind of deity, karma, or other spiritual authority, you'll also be better off in their books.
[0] https://manifesto.softwarecraftsmanship.org/
"Content farms" like this are related to the "tragedy of the commons" problem from Game Theory. Yes, you can do your part to make the internet a worse place by using these methods (invasive tracking, hideous pop ups, sneaky ads, spamming people for 'backlinks'), but you're also helping to destroy people's trust in free content and swamping search engines results with typically "bad" content. You're weakening the foundations of what you're building on: a trust-based internet with easy access to good content.
Rather try focus on craftsmanship[0]. Write content that you enjoy, or work with people who are creating content about things that they are passionate about and enjoy creating. It doesn't have to be a conveyorbelt. You don't need Facebook Pixel.
It'll take a bit longer and it won't make quite as much money, but it'll also survive longer. If you believe in any kind of deity, karma, or other spiritual authority, you'll also be better off in their books.
[0] https://manifesto.softwarecraftsmanship.org/
My thoughts exactly. A site dedicated to a craft that is then filled with hundreds of poorly rushed articles rather than a few good quality ones without being invasive is contributing to the shitshow. I wish that there was an alternative index that valued quality rather than gamification of the crawlers.
Can’t imagine having to write 100 articles a year for some kind of niche, lets take electric mountain bikes, most of the articles would have to be reviews of some kind and that means first getting your hands on them.
Maybe I’m missing something.
Maybe I’m missing something.
They hire people to write "reviews" of products they have never touched. Maybe one in ten reviews is based on genuine experience. The rest are just product review fan fiction.
You're probably right, but I believe mountain bike owners search for things like "how to change tires effortlessly", or "how to take care of mountain bike injuries". Maybe "how to paint your mountain bike", "how to remove adhesives from a mountain bike".
Things like that. You can write 100 of those and people will find it.
Things like that. You can write 100 of those and people will find it.
The original title is "How to start a niche content site", which IMHO accurately reflects the contents of the blog post.
I don't see the word "hobby" anywhere on the page.
I don't see the word "hobby" anywhere on the page.
[deleted]
He uses interests instead. "This is my unconventional advice: Start with your interests." To be fair he doesn't say to use your favourite hobby either - he says use the best combination of your interest in it, how niche it is and how good it is for easy high volume search keywords. Which seems like a reasonable enough criteria for a topic you can make a spammy content farm about.
Understood, and the focus appears to be very much on the creation of a content site and its monetization, rather than the hobby/interest bit.
I don't think that's inherently bad, but the (now updated - thanks whoever did that) title better reflects the content IMHO.
(For me at least, the original title was a bit click-baity too).
I don't think that's inherently bad, but the (now updated - thanks whoever did that) title better reflects the content IMHO.
(For me at least, the original title was a bit click-baity too).
I see this exact thing with a lot of artists I’ve known. To be fair most of them are trying to make it their livelihood rather than just a hobby they’re monetizing. Anyway they’ll start hustling on twitter and Instagram, trying to build their follower count and drive people to their Patreon.
Most of them can only survive this grind for a year or so before they just implode from stress and depression and whatever else. It turns out to be less lucrative than they were expecting. If you sink enough of yourself into a particular identity (like being an artist) it can be an enormous blow to your ego to “fail” like that.
Most of them can only survive this grind for a year or so before they just implode from stress and depression and whatever else. It turns out to be less lucrative than they were expecting. If you sink enough of yourself into a particular identity (like being an artist) it can be an enormous blow to your ego to “fail” like that.
Ha, this reminds me of the "How to get rich quick" books that start off with "To get rich, write a book on how to get rich."
Besides that, I loathe """content""" sites. There may earn $10k a month, but they aren't adding 10k worth of value to the world. Their motives are clearly in money-making, not in informing, and the huge swath of them on Google search has drowned out everything that isn't SEO-optimized. Man, I miss the old internet. Please don't make things worse.
Besides that, I loathe """content""" sites. There may earn $10k a month, but they aren't adding 10k worth of value to the world. Their motives are clearly in money-making, not in informing, and the huge swath of them on Google search has drowned out everything that isn't SEO-optimized. Man, I miss the old internet. Please don't make things worse.
There is definitely a pattern where people make a small amount of money on some initial content site, but they make their big bucks on courses that teach _you_ how to make passive income with a content site. Props to them for being able to successfully build online businesses, I just find it funny that the real money is in selling the dream onto the next person.
A side hustle would be great but I hate websites that throw a pop up in the users face and ask them to subscribe. The quality of these sites is often quite low, but they often rank near the top because they have good SEO. I wouldn’t feel great about putting out a site like this, especially if I was pushing products I had not personally used, which I think you would have to do if you were going to write dozens of articles on a niche topic.
I think a SaaS is a be a better way to go, but it’s probably a lot harder.
I think a SaaS is a be a better way to go, but it’s probably a lot harder.
It’s exactly this type of thinking (and acting) that created the dismal state of search, especially in the product review space. I can’t find anything but “content sites” when what I really want is genuine reviews or experiences from people who use the products I’m considering purchasing. It’s obvious that most of the sites in the top results for almost any product search are using a playbook similar to this. I can almost never find trustworthy, real reviews.
Now I try to find communities on Reddit or elsewhere to find real information and opinions. In some cases I’m sure my purchases have been influenced by some marketing drone that gets paid to post positive reviews on Reddit as well. Finding and supporting great makers and products shouldn’t be this difficult!
Please don’t make everything worse by following any advice in this article. If you truly want to turn a hobby into cash (a potentially fun-killing enterprise as others have mentioned) then let it happen organically, or at least keep the end users’ experiences in mind. For every person making $10k a month on terrible content sites there are thousands of people wasting their time sifting through hundreds “content” pieces in an attempt to find reality.
Now I try to find communities on Reddit or elsewhere to find real information and opinions. In some cases I’m sure my purchases have been influenced by some marketing drone that gets paid to post positive reviews on Reddit as well. Finding and supporting great makers and products shouldn’t be this difficult!
Please don’t make everything worse by following any advice in this article. If you truly want to turn a hobby into cash (a potentially fun-killing enterprise as others have mentioned) then let it happen organically, or at least keep the end users’ experiences in mind. For every person making $10k a month on terrible content sites there are thousands of people wasting their time sifting through hundreds “content” pieces in an attempt to find reality.
Reddit is also swarming with sentiment analysis by boths who downvotes anything negative, or even removes it. It's becoming a serious problem everywhere now.
Ironically SEO farms like this will cause a return to the Yahoo model of search, where everything is hand-curated instead of relying on an easy-gamed algorithms.
There is a reddit community all around this kind of approach:
http://www.reddit.com/r/juststart
However, as in all these things, the money is in selling the shovels.
http://www.reddit.com/r/juststart
However, as in all these things, the money is in selling the shovels.
Fill the internet with crap for advertising cash. What a great model.
Ik hate articled or books where people try to explain hoe to get rich OR succesful. The purpose of those articled is usualy not to educate other people, but for self gaining purposes.
My hobby was and is creating software. 10 years ago I was extremely lucky to be into apps and I created a very profitable business arround it. Made more money in those ten years than a normal person in the US would get in a lifetime.
But it all comes down to luck. I was lucky to be born in a rich country. I was lucky to have parents giving me endless oppertunities, I was lucky to have the right friends, I was lucky to have normal set of brains, I was lucky to be not a lazy dreaming person playing computer games 12 hours a day.
I dont say you have no control in your path of life. But much is depending on external factors.
An article or book will change nothing.
Some useful stuff in here, will bookmark.
My wife spent a lot of time a few years ago putting together content for a book targeted at new parents, aim was to be practical tips/tricks/do's/dont's rather than than a theory book (plenty of those out there). It was based on her 10 years experience in childcare and input from some co-workers. It was bit of a hobby but the goal was to monetize it at some point.
Then kids came along and she parked it but now we are looking at how she could extract some value from the collateral that's sitting there in a word doc.
Aside from the obvious publish an ebook we started to toy around with extracting and using the collateral in a blog style publication with revenue coming from products, being conscious that the goal should always be to recommend what she thought was the best product (even if that means making no money from it as not all products have affiliate scheme).
We somewhat tested this by putting out a piece in certain forums for car seats offering specific advise to certain problems people were having. From a handful of posts she is making ~$30 a month from amazon. Nothing to shout about but it was very little work just highly targeted to certain demographic with a specific challenge. I guess message being here good content in the right place can help you win but yea its a lot of hard work to scale this to a $10K a month.
My wife spent a lot of time a few years ago putting together content for a book targeted at new parents, aim was to be practical tips/tricks/do's/dont's rather than than a theory book (plenty of those out there). It was based on her 10 years experience in childcare and input from some co-workers. It was bit of a hobby but the goal was to monetize it at some point.
Then kids came along and she parked it but now we are looking at how she could extract some value from the collateral that's sitting there in a word doc.
Aside from the obvious publish an ebook we started to toy around with extracting and using the collateral in a blog style publication with revenue coming from products, being conscious that the goal should always be to recommend what she thought was the best product (even if that means making no money from it as not all products have affiliate scheme).
We somewhat tested this by putting out a piece in certain forums for car seats offering specific advise to certain problems people were having. From a handful of posts she is making ~$30 a month from amazon. Nothing to shout about but it was very little work just highly targeted to certain demographic with a specific challenge. I guess message being here good content in the right place can help you win but yea its a lot of hard work to scale this to a $10K a month.
While I agree with most posters (content farms are bad; sounds like a great way to kill a hobby) - I thought the post was a nice shortlist of how to build an audience and options for monetizing - and while the tone is a tad optimistic - it does manage to indicate that it likely is a lot of work.
Could do with some better proof-reading.
I'm also a bit surprised about:
> 6. Without a doubt, Wordpress is the best option for a quick and easy setup.
> Your domain/hosting provider will likely have some sort of installer for Wordpress available in the backend (Softaculous, usually) which will do it for you.
Why not recommend (paid) hosting on WordPress.com?
Self-managing WordPress (properly) is a lot of work, and with the poor quality of plug-ins almost impossible to do in a somewhat secure manner?
Anyone familiar and up to date with (hosted) wordpress/ghost/netliftcms vs self-hosted WordPress?
Could do with some better proof-reading.
I'm also a bit surprised about:
> 6. Without a doubt, Wordpress is the best option for a quick and easy setup.
> Your domain/hosting provider will likely have some sort of installer for Wordpress available in the backend (Softaculous, usually) which will do it for you.
Why not recommend (paid) hosting on WordPress.com?
Self-managing WordPress (properly) is a lot of work, and with the poor quality of plug-ins almost impossible to do in a somewhat secure manner?
Anyone familiar and up to date with (hosted) wordpress/ghost/netliftcms vs self-hosted WordPress?
Wordpress.com has a lot of limitations:
- You can not run Google Adsense or other advertising programs to serve ads on your WordPress.com blog. - You can not write paid posts, sell links, review products, etc. - You can not extend the functionality of WordPress.com by uploading plugins. (it comes with a certain set of plugins, but you can't add just any plugin). - Same applies to themes as to plugins.
These were gleaned from https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/what-are-the-limi... which lists others also.
- You can not run Google Adsense or other advertising programs to serve ads on your WordPress.com blog. - You can not write paid posts, sell links, review products, etc. - You can not extend the functionality of WordPress.com by uploading plugins. (it comes with a certain set of plugins, but you can't add just any plugin). - Same applies to themes as to plugins.
These were gleaned from https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/what-are-the-limi... which lists others also.
Appears you can use adsensense on business plan and up?
https://wordpress.com/support/monetize-your-site/#advertisin...
https://wordpress.com/support/monetize-your-site/#advertisin...
Hm, I see the story is flagged now - anyone know why? It certainly is a bit click-baity - but I don't think the article itself warrants flagging? Some vote-ring/spam thing going on - or just enough readers feeling it deserves flagging?
While I think these affiliate sites ruin the internet, I can some value in this technique.
What is you are doing something truly amazing for the world? What if you are providing some amazing value? But, no one knows you exist because you do not know how to market your site.
Here is where I think this method could add some value to the world.
What is you are doing something truly amazing for the world? What if you are providing some amazing value? But, no one knows you exist because you do not know how to market your site.
Here is where I think this method could add some value to the world.