Making sites your interested in

[Mike]

Hi all,

Ok, I've had enough with making sites that I'm just there to make money from. I'm bored. I cannot force myself to do anything with them now, and that's affecting my earnings.

So last night I thought, why not make a big site on something that I'm really interested in. Then again, there's so much competition, would it get any traffic? Let alone make any money.

I'd like to hear everyone elses views on this. If your interested in something and would be more inclined to put hard work into it, is it going to be a success if there's a lot of competition? The thing that I don't want is to put a lot of hard work into a site, only for nobody to visit it. What I want is to build a site thats about something I enjoy, one that can steadily build up traffic for a year or two before then perhaps making good money from it. I don't want to put loads of hard work in, only for it to get 50 uniques a day.

Get what I'm saying? To sum up, is it best to make a site about something you enjoy? :)

Mike

[Chris]

I would say yes... however a problem many people have is non-diverse interests.

For instance, video games, if you're really into video games that's great, but it might not be the best niche for a new site.

So really... its best if you have an interest that is not shared with other web developers, so you end up with less competition.

[MarkB]

Mike I know something you may be interested in which you may be able to do a site about - I'll MSN you tonight :)

[Mike]

Heh, cheers Mark :)

The idea I have in mind is one that there is a fair number of the sites, but a lot seem a bit too corporate meaning there aren't really many communities. I'm hoping that would be my big advantage over them...

[chromate]

I'm not sure about this. It's an issue that comes up time and time again. Newbies are always advised to produce sites based on their interests. But like you say, often there is too much competition or the revenue potential is not proportional to the effort required.

I think it really depends what your motives are. If you simply want to make money, then just doing a site on something you're interested in might not always be a good move. If there isn't much money there, or there's too much competition, then you could be working and working without ever satisfying your primary motive - income.

Alternatively, you could work hard on a site that you're not so interested in, but that you know has potential. So the satisfaction comes from getting closer to that goal. Then when it starts generating revenue, outsource further development. Net result is your site grows and you don't have to spend time producing stuff you're not interested in. You're free to move on to your next site / build links etc.

Of course the ideal is to make a site around something that interests you on a topic you know has good money making potential. Those might be few and far between though, depending on your interests. However, I've been finding that whatever topic I choose I can always find something of interest in it to keep me going to the point where I'm happy to start outsourcing. I like to get sites started myself though before doing that so I get a general appreciation for the topic.

[Skeewe]

Hi all,

Ok, I've had enough with making sites that I'm just there to make money from. I'm bored. I cannot force myself to do anything with them now, and that's affecting my earnings.

So last night I thought, why not make a big site on something that I'm really interested in. Then again, there's so much competition, would it get any traffic? Let alone make any money.

I'd like to hear everyone elses views on this. If your interested in something and would be more inclined to put hard work into it, is it going to be a success if there's a lot of competition? The thing that I don't want is to put a lot of hard work into a site, only for nobody to visit it. What I want is to build a site thats about something I enjoy, one that can steadily build up traffic for a year or two before then perhaps making good money from it. I don't want to put loads of hard work in, only for it to get 50 uniques a day.

Get what I'm saying? To sum up, is it best to make a site about something you enjoy? :)

Mike


Wanna change? I am quite tired after making a site about something I like, but no money.
Now I would like to do something profitable.... :)

[Cutter]

how are you doing for traffic?

[cameron]

My skateboarding site is my largest and most profitable site. If some of my other sites had the same kind of traffic they would be earning a lot more though.

I think the major thing is being able to offer something original or of higher quality than other sites out there. There are lots of skateboarding sites that teach people how to skateboard, but mine does a better job. I wrote my instructions with more detail and they are worth reading for that reason. That's one thing I offer that other sites don't.

I can also say that working on my skateboarding site, even though I like skateboarding, often seems as much like work as working on sites that I made just to earn money.

[Skeewe]

how are you doing for traffic?

About 1500 uniques monhtly :(

[Mike]

I think the major thing is being able to offer something original or of higher quality than other sites out there.

That's something else. I'm thinking because I have such an interest in the topic, I'll be able to collect more original ideas etc. Because I don't know that much about the topics of my sites now, it is hard to expand them...

[AndyH]

About 1500 uniques monhtly :(
Sort of related. I read a bit of your website as I like cruises*. Looks good. :)

*Can't go on any overseas until i'm 21 though :(

[izwar]

my site, is my life i love it and i love working on it everysingle day i guess i just got lucky well we shall see how it keeps on doing.

the niche im in is my favorite hobby as well lol.

[Cutter]

21? Is that a law in Australia Andy?

[Emancipator]

I have a new test site i setup and in its second month with no effort it did 30,000 unique visitors. You can do a site that is crammed full of other sites on the same topic key is to distinguish yourself. I am by no means an expert, nor do I want to claim to be one. I do however consider 30,000 unique visitors in the second month for a small site is good traffic.

My biggest problem is I dont know anything about good ad placement, or good money making methods so I can generate traffic but not so much dollars :)

[cameron]

Emancipator, would you mind sharing the url, or at least the general topic?

[Emancipator]

I am gonna be completely honest Cameron, No. lol. Its nothing personal its just people try to leach ideas. I dont blame people for doing it either, we all are here to make a buck off other peoples ideas.

Seriously though the site is nothing special. The topic is one i know alot about, the design is very very plain and simple. I just tried to think up what i hate about other sites in the genre, and what i like and see what happens. I invested $200 in content, domain, hosting, etc. Made that back the first 30days. I just gotta keep learning so I dont spin my wheels trying to profit. Its why i read here and Cutters blog daily :)

[AndyH]

21? Is that a law in Australia Andy?Nah, all cruises that sail from America have terms along the lines of "You must be 21 to book, or with someone who is 21".

Oh and I don't really feel like paying ~$6k for a trip I can't even drink on, or gamble.

[John]

I am gonna be completely honest Cameron, No. lol. Its nothing personal its just people try to leach ideas. I dont blame people for doing it either, we all are here to make a buck off other peoples ideas.

Seriously though the site is nothing special. The topic is one i know alot about, the design is very very plain and simple. I just tried to think up what i hate about other sites in the genre, and what i like and see what happens. I invested $200 in content, domain, hosting, etc. Made that back the first 30days. I just gotta keep learning so I dont spin my wheels trying to profit. Its why i read here and Cutters blog daily :)

I don't blame you at all, and unless I dominated a certain niche I don't think I would post my sites at all.

[Emancipator]

I just love going to RentACoder to see who all is asking for a "complete copy" of my website. Its funny how many folks read rentacoder and email me about that sort of thing. I have even had people call me to tell me "dude this guy is paying somebody to steal your entire database".