Ahead of Pat Flynn’s awesome Niche Site Dual 2.0 I thought it was a really good time to take a step back and see what is working.
To create a cubicle free life, I have immersed myself into the world of making money online for many years.
But more recently, like many others, I have been sent back to the drawing board since Google’s Algo updates.
And Things Have Changed – But The Opportunities To Make Money Online Are Becoming Way Clearer…. And Therefore I Am Loving It!
Now that the smoke has cleared A LOT, I am delighted to see that things are looking really good again. Certainly recently I have started seeing early signs of growth personally, but I also see others experiencing clear signs of success.
In this post I share my view of what I see working and provide the best resources so you too can build an awesome business.
#1 Keyword Focused Niche Site
Yep, I never thought I would say it but building a keyword-based niche site makes it into my list.
We all know by now that micro-niche sites where you build a bunch of spammy links are dead.
Well sort of….
Somewhat to my amazement you can still build value adding websites that rank highly and make money. These sites are light years better then one or two page micro-niche sites that used to make money but they share a common beginning – keywords.
The only real difference between and keyword focused niche site and an authority site is the approach – The way you go about finding opportunities is fundamentally different – Read #4 below for the difference.
When I started my site RSACoursesOnline.com, my main goal was to build a “Useful Niche Authority Website.” The idea was that by adding lots of value (through reviews) and I would rank long into the future because it would be easy to attract natural links. In retrospect however it is now clear to me that – I probably initially put in way more effort than is required by aiming too high initially. I should have just created a keyword focused niche site.
A better strategy I could have used was to build a Keyword Focused Niche Site (not an Authority Site – See #4) and add value incrementally as I generated income and grew. This method would have also enabled me to focus on other important things like keyword research, outsourcing your writing and link building. I would have more onto new projects long ago.
For example, I could have just compared a bunch of sites based on price and then awarded my top pick – based on my experience. As long as it was better then my competition, this would have probably been enough in retrospect and would have saved me a lot of work.
What I did was the equivalent of selling real estate in the projects in a limo when all I needed was a five-year-old Ford Taurus.
Not smart, but a great lesson that it is possible to over deliver without benefit.
WHAT I DID
- Tried to provide massive value and be an authority
- Tried to get natural organic links
WHAT I WILL BE DOING
- Still have a keyword focus
- Providing more value than currently is provided (in top 10 results)
- Having a plan to build links that are ideally organic
The sweet spot seems to be providing more value than is currently being provided and being very good at getting links that are (looking) natural. As usual I will try to move a little further up the value chain as I have always tried to do.
The really cool part for me is that I can see how you can also make a system out of this and do well by building a handful of sites.
Speed: Fast
Importance to Being aligned with your passion: Low
Importance of having prior knowledge: Low
Skill level: Medium SEO and Keyword + Monetization
Income Range: $50 – $500/month
Monetization Strategies: AdSense, Amazon Associates, Affiliates
Best Resources: Spencer at NichePursuits, Mike at TheFinancialBlogger, Tung at CloudLivingJourney
If it’s so good, am I doing it? Right now I am on the fence about Pat Flynn’s NSD 2.0 and even building a site like this at all but not because it not a great way to make money but because I have so much going on already.
#2 eCommerce Store
Way up the “building a long-term business” scale I think the misperceived barriers to entry for building an eCommerce sbusiness mean that many people simply don’t try. If I didn’t have my hands full already, this would be one of the first things I would do to build a long term awesome business. The cool part? There two people who I trust and respect that can steer you in the right direction and because there are some misperceived barriers to entry competition is relatively light.
Speed: Med
Importance to Being aligned with your passion: Med
Importance of having prior knowledge: Med
Skill level: Med (unless you get an education)
Income Range: $500 – $20000/month
Best Resources: Andrew at eCommerceFuel, Steve at MyWifeQuitHerJob
If it’s so good, am I doing it? Not for now. Focusing on what I am doing is more important, but if I was just starting out and serious about it, I believe this is a great way to go. The two guys I have recommended are also a great start.
#3 Blog or Audience Business
There are huge benefits to building an online business based around an audience rather than just visitors. The main benefit is trust. In business, trust is the currency you need to sell services and information products. The downside is that there is no fast money here – even if you have something truly remarkable to offer and can do a JV with someone else’s list there is work to be done!
Trust = Sales
Speed: Slow
Importance of Being aligned with your passion: High
Importance of having prior knowledge: Low
Skill level: Med
Income Range: $0 – $50000/month
Best Resources: Danny Iny at ABM (Aff Link), Matt at MatthewWoodward.co.uk
If it’s so good am I doing it? I am a student of Danny’s excellent Audience Business Masterclass. Not surprisingly, I am seeing the best results from my application of his course to established websites but I am also applying what I am learning to this blog which has started to generate some income.
#4 Authority Niche Site
This has been and continues to be my favorite way to build an online business because of its ability to generate income long into the future. It is also the least talked about method.
My plan for my RSA Courses site in time is to move firmly into this category and to take what I have learned and apply this to other sites in much bigger markets.
What’s the difference between #1 and #4?
- A Keyword Focused Niche Site generates its income from attracting traffic based around a keyword phrase – usually two or three words – and some content to add value.
- An Authority Niche Site generates its income based around a highly competitive yet highly lucrative subject.
My current income comes from some traveler/job sites that fit somewhere in the #4 mold, but I am building in elements of an audience business – #3, where I believe the big money is online.
In this instance keyword selection is not so critical but monetization is. The key here is lots of content in a niche where there is money. This means affiliate programs or products and services with an order of magnitude far greater than AdSense or Amazon. We are talking about $10-$75 affiliate conversions and information products with high margins. Think longtail keywords and lots of content that converts. But also think YouTube, SlideShare and other powerful ways to generate leads from customers who will buy.
Although I am a huge fan of affiliate income and email marketing is a focus for me. I also can see how YouTube and podcast content will bring traffic and more conversions. The real beauty of having the ability to make good money.
Speed: Slow
Importance of Being aligned with your passion: Med
Importance of having prior knowledge: Med
Skill level: Med
Income Range: $0 – $10000/month
Best Resources: Jon at Authority Site Income, Steve at SteveScottSite
If it’s so good am I doing it? Yes. I am pretty focused on my existing sites right now but I have identified new opportunities to roll out in the future.
Conclusion
Each of these solutions alone could become a great business. If you are just starting out, I would pick just one.
Skill Level and speed to making money are important factors. I think its important to reassess what might be right for you based on what we now see to be working and then develop some goals to measure your progress. Also focusing on just one project at a time is vital for the feedback loop you need to improve and progress.
Also worth noting that outsourcing is really the only feasible way to help making these strategies into lifestyle changing powerhouses of passive income. The sooner you start the quicker you can focus on adding value where it counts.
So, which strategy do you like best?
What or Who have I missed as great examples?
Jeremy says
Thanks! I will be visiting some of the resources you have mentioned. I hope that you do go into NSD 2.0 – Would love to see how you go. I think I like #1 best which is the way a lot of people seem to be going lately. Great Post!
cubiclefree says
Thanks Jeremy – I appreciate that! Having a good look into some ideas for NSD 2.0, but just want to make sure I am not compromising my other projects. I am a big believer in “Validated Learning”
One of my travel sites is having a major overhaul which should make it into a respectable long term income stream. Quinn
Tung Tran says
Thank you Quinn for this post. I’m interested in doing ecommerce as there is a huge potential. Maybe I will try it when I set up a system for my niche site business.
cubiclefree says
Sounds like a good way to diversify. There are actually a lot of similarities to many of the skills you are gaining now.
Matthew Woodward says
Thanks for the mention 🙂
Jon says
Hey Quinn, thanks for the mention! Appreciated. I think the best would be to have a balance of a few…having all your income from any one system leaves you exposed to Google Updates.
cubiclefree says
You are welcome! Yeah I totally think so too. One of my main travel sites traffic growth has been coming for sources other then Google lately and it is a very good sign that things are working beyond search.
Theodore Nwangene says
Quite interesting post Quinn,
All the 4 methods you mentioned here are really what is working today. Among all of them, i like the 1st and the 4th one more but, i also like the first one.
Recently, I’m following Pat’s niche site challenge because, i know it will motivate me more to get the works done. A friend of mine just introduced me to a guy that is writing for him for $2/500 words and above article. I’m still trying to see if i will use him though.
My plan is to start from the number one method of making money and if it becomes successful as i’m expecting, i will now grow it more to the 4th method.
I also know almost all the guys you mentioned here and, they really rocks :).
Thanks a lot for sharing.
cubiclefree says
Hi Theodore, Hope you exams went well! If you are planning on starting with Method 1 and moving to Method 4, just remember you will need to have a medium level of passion for the subject right from the outset. Therefore when you are doing your keyword research also rank your ideas according to how passionate you are about them, otherwise you will be making it challenging for yourself to make the transition. – Its a great plan in general though! Quinn