How to Make $500+ a Month in Passive Income with a Niche Site

By Sean Ogle •  Updated: 03/28/18 •  27 min read

This post was updated in April 2018 to ensure accuracy and relevancy.

How to Build a niche site that brings in 500 a month (1)How many times have you thought about (or even started) building a niche site with dreams of making thousands of dollars in passive income each month?

If you’re like most people trying to make a living on the internet, the thought has probably crossed your mind at least once, if not thousands of times.

For me, this idea of the niche website is one of the most fascinating anomalies on the internet.  It’s one of the hardest, yet stupidly easy things you can do online.

The steps to building a successful niche site that pulls in at least $500 a month are extremely straight forward, yet most people come at it from an angle of trying to game the system – they’ve lost before they even reached the starting line.

Sure, there are people out there who make hundreds of thousands of dollars off crappy sites and products – but most of them have some serious technical, spam, and SEO skills that let’s face it, we don’t have.

So we’ve gotta come up with a better way, you know, one that actually helps people.

Niche Site Video Tutorial:

Dig this video? See more lifestyle business videos on our You Tube Channel.

Niche Website Quick Start

This is the longest post I’ve written in a year.  I go into detail about what to do and why to do it.  Don’t have time for that?  Here’s the 14 step, quick start, Cliff’s Notes version of my strategy for building a niche site. If you have questions about something, then quit being lazy and read the rest of the article.

Step #1: Write out as many niche ideas as you can, using your interests as a starting point.

Step #2: Narrow down niche based on the following criteria:

Step #3: Setup your site using this tutorial

Step #4: Start creating content.  Here’s a good outline to get you going:

  • Write 5 articles reviewing 5 of the most popular items in your niche
  • Write 3 in depth tutorials on your niche (How to _______)
  • Write 3 list posts
  • Repeat

Step #5: Sign up for affiliate programs relating to your new site and content

Step #6: Do keyword research to find 5-10 of the best key terms/products to try and rank for

Step #7: Install Yoast SEO for WordPress and do on site SEO for all posts and pages. Also review “The Bootstrapper’s Guide to SEO Link Building” Some of this borders on the spammy realm, but pick and choose what you like.  I used a lot of these general concepts when I got going with my first niche site.

Step #8: Create a list of friends and colleagues to email and tell about your new site

Step #9: Setup social media for the site: Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest

Step #10: Sign up for HARO

Step #11: Make a list of all large blogs and syndicated publications you’d want to be featured on

Step #12: Start contacting previously listed blogs and websites offering guest posts or story ideas (here’s how to do it)  

Step #13: Create a high quality pdf or email series to collect email addresses. Add to site.

Step #14: Repeat Steps 4 and 12, while continuing to build your social media channels and links for SEO.

There you have it, 14 steps to a niche website that will make you at least $500/month.  Want to actually learn how to do this? Then keep reading.

Learn How to Make Your First $1,000 Freelance Writing (in 30 Days or Less)

Join over 40,000 people who have taken our 6 part freelance writing course. Sign up below and let’s do this together.

By entering your email address you agree to receive emails from Location Rebel. We'll respect your privacy and you can unsubscribe at any time.

My First Niche Site

Ok in this for the long haul? Cool, grab some coffee or a beer and let’s get going with this. A few years ago a friend of mine and I started a niche site called HDR Software.

For those of you who don’t know HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography is a process where you take 3 versions of the exact same photograph where one is over-exposed, one is under-exposed, and one is taken at normal exposure. The software then allows you to combine these images to take one perfectly exposed image.

Here’s an example:

Diamante-Sunset Hobby Hacking

This photo of Diamante Dunes golf courses is a great example of how I’ve used HDR

I’d already had a site based around this process, so it was a natural fit to jump into this market. For the first year we did very little paid SEO, wrote all of our own content, and really didn’t spend that much time working on it.

Within 6 months the site was making over $1k a month.

At it’s peak it was making closer to $3k/month. Things were great. We provided unbiased reviews of software, along with tips for HDR success, and were making good money in the process.

That’s when we started making mistakes.

We hired out two different SEO companies to do some link building for us – believing them when they said it was all hand built, non-spammy links. A month into working with both of them, we couldn’t believe what we were seeing when we looked at our link profiles – nothing but spam.

We canceled the accounts immediately – but the damage was done. A few months later the Google Penguin algorithm update happened, and our traffic dropped by about 75% overnight. The site still brings in sporadic revenue here and there, and with some attention, could certainly get back to where it was pre-penguin.

However the point of me telling you this is I know what works, and what doesn’t – both through my own experience, as well as that of close friends who have seen spectacular success, catastrophic failures, and many who just saw a whole lot of nothing when it comes to niche affiliate websites.

Today, I’m going to share with you, exactly how to build a successful niche affiliate website. More importantly, we’re going to do it in a way that would make your mom proud.

Crash Course: How Do You Make Money on Your Website?

Just to make sure we’re all on the same page, let’s talk real briefly about how we’re actually going to make money through this site. There are a lot of ways to make money on the internet, a few of the ones you’ll find on niche sites are:

  • Affiliate Links
  • Adsense Ads
  • Other Paid Advertisements
  • Paid Text Links
  • Direct product sales

However for the purposes of this post, we’re solely going to focus on affiliate marketing.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

When it comes to monetizing a niche site, affiliate links are the easiest way to get started.

What’s an affiliate link you may be wondering?

Glad you asked. Here’s the process in the simplest terms possible:

  • You have a website
  • Someone else has a product
  • You get a special link to their product
  • A reader clicks on the link and buys the product
  • You get a commission

Simple as that!

However for as simple as it sounds, actually getting traffic and getting people to buy products is a much more difficult task that we’ll be covering in depth in this article.

Now that we’re on the same page though, lets jump into exactly how to select a niche, and more importantly how we’re going to select the specific products we’re going to promote.

How to Find and Test a Niche 

I believe you can build a niche website around just about anything, assuming you’re passionate enough about the topic. The reason most people fail is because they choose a niche like “Swedish leather furniture” when they are nomadic and have absolutely no interest in what they’re writing about.

If you want to do this successfully, basically think of this new site like a blog. A blog where you have to write a LOT about one particular topic, and the content has to be really good.

If you don’t have a certain level of knowledge or interest in that topic, you’re going to get burnt out before you even make your first dollar. This is why niche selection is so important.

Check out this video for more specifics on finding a niche:

Action Item: Write out a list of every product, hobby, or interest you have that you might be able to build a site around.

Why? Because everyone always says they don’t have a good idea.  I’m willing to bet if you get a list of 50-100 possible niches you’ll be in good shape.

Need a jumpstart, here are some from my brainstorm list:

  • Tennis ball machines
  • Islay scotch
  • DSLR cameras
  • golf balls
  • tripods
  • travel credit cards
  • video editing software
  • travel backpacks
  • headphones

I could go on like that forever, as I’m sure you could too if you start thinking about it. Use this post to help with the brainstorm process if you get stuck on business ideas.

Now, with enough time, motivation, and passion, I think you could probably build a successful site out of just about any one of those niches I listed. But we don’t have all the time in the world, so we want to make sure we give ourselves the best shot at success possible.

How are we going to do that?  By running our list of niches through a few key filters.

Action Item: Narrow down niche based on the following criteria:

High Price, Low Volume

I’d rather make a bunch of money off one sale, than a little money off a lot of sales.

This holds more true for e-commerce/dropshipping websites – but I look at it like this: if I have a low priced product I have to get maybe 5 or 10 times as many people to actually whip out their credit cards and buy something, but if I only have to convince one person to make a good commission – it’ll be easier to make money over the long term.

Could I write 100 articles about the topic?

My strategy is all about creating incredibly useful, shareable content – so if I can’t see myself writing 100 unique articles over the next couple years then there’s a good chance I’m not interested in it enough to invest the time and energy into the project.

Don’t get me wrong, maybe you’ll be able to, but for me, this one’s a deal breaker. Note: If you have some money to invest, you can hire this out as long as you’re diligent about the quality.

Are there affiliate programs (with good commissions)?

There are affiliate programs out there that will allow you to sell just about anything.

The question is, what are the commissions like? The whole “high price, low volume” doesn’t work if you still only get a 1% commission off the sale. I generally won’t get into any market with less than a 10% affiliate commission unless I have a really good reason. I also shoot for at least 25-30% with everything I do.

It’s worth noting you generally won’t find commissions this high with physical products, but if you have a few good products that you can recommend with higher commissions, it can help subsidize the rest of the products that may have lower commissions.

Are there currently people making money?

This can be a tough question to answer definitively, but here’s how I go about it.

Come up with 5-10 keywords that people might search for when looking for your product. Let’s say it’s DSLR cameras, in particular let’s use the Nikon D7200 as our example. I might search for: Nikon D7200 review, Nikon D7200 sale, adorama coupon code (a site that sells the camera), Nikon D7200 vs. D610.

I’ll then run those through the Google Keyword Tool or SEO Moz to see how much traffic they each get. In this case, “Nikon D7200 Review” gets 6500-10k searches per month.

Nikond7200searchresults1 1

Nikon D7200 Search Results

Nikon D7200 Search Results

Note: Doing this will also provide you with a hundred other keywords that may be more attractive.

When I do a search for that (and all these other keywords), one site continually pops up: Kenrockwell.com This just so happens to be one of my favorite photography sites – where all he does is review Nikon camera equipment.

ScreenShot2017 01 10at8.32.19AM 1

Ken Rockwell Camera Review

This is Ken Rockwell’s affiliate site for photography and camera reviews.

Is he making money off the site? Yep. He even tells us he is at the bottom of every page.

ScreenShot2017 01 10at8.32.19AM 1

Moreover, he says the site makes him enough for him and his family to live off of. This is the perfect example of an affiliate site done well.

But, that’s just one guy.

Are other people making money?

Looking through some of the pages on the search results, there are other reviews with affiliate links in them, so I’ve gotta imagine that because there are so many people in this market reviewing this particular product, that people are making some decent money (especially if they are reviewing a bunch of other cameras and equipment as well).

Here’s my basic formula for determining if it’s a profitable niche: Buying Keyterm Traffic + Lots of reviews with affiliate links + High priced product with good affiliate commissions = Good chance people are making money.

There are much more scientific and in depth ways you can research this, but if you’re just starting out this can help you get a good idea.

Why I Personally Wouldn’t Build Just an Amazon Affiliate Site

Before we start jumping into the specifics of getting your site setup, we should address one thing: Amazon. Amazon is the biggest and most well known affiliate program in the world – and for good reason: you can sell almost anything.

There are certainly people out there that make a good living off nothing but Amazon affiliate sales, and considering how easy it is to get setup – it’s an excellent starting point for new affiliate sites.

But for your first site, I don’t recommend going solely the Amazon affiliate route. Amazon starts you out at 4% and as you sell more bumps you up to around 7-8% commissions.

There’s a lot that’s attractive about it. If someone clicks a link and then buys anything you get paid.

So why not go that route? You need a lot of traffic to be successful. I’ve used Amazon links a fair amount across all my sites, and for the first couple years the most I made was around $200 in a month

These days I can regularly get up to over $1,000 on my golf site (and sometimes more), which has me feeling a little bit more bullish on Amazon – but this is really dependent on making sure you’re optimizing and ranking for the right key terms.

Amazon Affiliate Program Revenue

In December I earned over $2500 on Amazon alone from just one of my niche sites

If I had a whole site devoted to nothing but one type of item it might be different, but usually there’s going to be a more specific affiliate program for your product that will probably have higher commissions.

For instance I could sell the photography software I promote through Amazon and usually earn around 6% (much less now) – but if I do it through their own affiliate program I make 30%.  Hmmmm… Use Amazon as a supplement, not a primary focus.

Here’s exactly how to start Amazon affiliate marketing to set yourself up for the best chances of success.

What to Focus on When You’re Starting Out Building a Niche Blog

Ok, so you’ve done some research and selected a niche.  From there you’ve found some specific products you’re feeling really good about. Now what? Well you need to actually get the site up.

Action Item: Follow this process in order to get your hosting, domain and basic site up and running.

Don’t worry about spending tons of money on a custom design or anything like that.

Get a premium WordPress theme, hire someone on Fiverr to do a logo for you, and you’ll be good to go. Design is completely secondary at this point to content.

Action Item: Install these extra things you’ll want to make sure you have:

    • Yoast SEO Plugin. Search engine traffic is going to play a big role in the success of your site.  This is the best SEO plugin out there, and makes it extremely easy to see if your pages are optimized – even if you have no experience with SEO.
    • Sumo – I’m increasingly convinced in the importance of an email list for all websites and blogs. When it comes to growing your list, there is NO better product for the price than Sumo marketing tools. Oh, and they have a free version too.
    • Google XML Sitemap – You want to make it as easy as possible for the search engine spiders to find and categorize your site.

 

How to Create a Content Plan that Works for Your Niche Site

When you’re trying to drive traffic to a niche blog you can do so in two ways:

  • Legit Way
  • Spammy Way
We’re going to be doing it the legit way, which in turn makes the content on your site a thousand times more important.  We’re not just writing any content either, we’re being very deliberate as it has a couple specific goals we want to accomplish:
  • Extremely Sharable – Because we’re not going to be doing a lot of spammy link building, we’re going to need to get links by you know, actually creating something people want to share.  Brush up on your headline and copywriting skills, as this forms the basis for everything we create.
  • Content that Sells – The end result of all of this is you need to get someone to buy something, so your content should help sell them on why they should do that.
  • Ranks in Search Engines – You don’t want to write specifically for the computers, but like we mentioned above, you want to make it as easy on them as possible.

So, how do we accomplish this?

Well there are a few specific types of content that I’ve found works extremely well. Let’s go over what those are in detail.

Review Posts

One of the best ways to sell any product is to include an entire post that details how the product has had a personal effect on you.  How did it improve your life? What can you do now that you couldn’t before? What were the legitimate downsides of the product?

All of these things help make a buyer’s decision much easier – this is especially true if you create a brand built around quality and trust.

On Breaking Eighty, I personally review every product.  I give my honest opinions, I compare them to one another, and I do my best to allow the user to have a solid choice about what’s best for them by the time they’re all done.

Detailed Tutorials Showcasing a Product

Just as important as review posts, are posts where people can learn a thing or to – after all your readers won’t always be in a buying mode, so you want to get them to come back on a fairly regular basis and build loyalty to your brand.

The best tutorial posts feature a product in one way or another.

For instance this post about Black and White HDR Photography showcased a few different products that I use in order to create black and white HDR.  It’s not only educating, but it’s playing up the abilities of the software – hopefully making people realize it could be a good asset to their photo arsenal.

If you get detailed enough, these are also the kinds of posts that could get picked up and syndicated by larger blogs in your industry.

List Posts About Your Niche

Bottom line, list posts are easy to read and easy to share. People love them, even if they often don’t provide as much in depth value as the previous two kinds of posts.

If there are a lot of products in your niche, you can potentially make these posts profitable by writing articles with titles like:

  • 5 Best Point and Shoot Cameras for Low Light
  • 3 Best Golf Shoes for Playing in the Rain
  • 7 A/V Receivers That Will Make Your Neighbors Hate You

Posts like that are enticing, and if you do little mini reviews in them, you can generate some sales.

It’s also worth noting, not every single post has to be trying to sell something. Yes that’s the goal of the site, but you’re only going to make money by providing value, so make that the priority above all else.

Coupon Code Pages

This is less of a content post and totally an SEO play.

When you’re on a checkout page getting ready to buy, what’s the first thing you do when you see that little box  that says “discount code”?

You Google “product name discount code” – or something similar.

With many affilaite programs instead of getting an affilaite link, you get an affilaite code.

When the user enters in the code at check out, they get a discount and you get paid.

In addition to using your code in tutorials and review posts, you can create a page that walks people through exactly how to use the code.

Title the page “Product Name Discount Code” or some variation, and use some of your SEO resources to build a few links for that page.  Often people will see it come up and see the coupon code in the title, and without even coming to your site you’ll get paid – because you gave them what they wanted, a discount.

The Magic Words: “Best” and “Year”

There are two key terms that have absolutely drive more traffic to my niche and authority sites more than anything else.

The first is “best”.

I alluded to this above in the part about list posts.

Think about how you search. When you’re looking for recommendations or are considering buying something, I’d be willing to guess you have used the word best in dozens of searches.

Some examples:

You get the idea. They are generally high traffic terms, that indicate buying intention, and are generally pretty easy to write.

You can modify this even more by adding the current year.

  • best travel gifts for 2017
  • best business books 2017

Etc.

People want what’s current and with billions of outdated webpages in the world, you can score some major wins by optimizing for the current year (and updating old posts each year).

Action Item: Start writing content based on these types of posts. Here’s a good plan to get started:

  • Write 5 articles reviewing 5 of the most popular items in your niche
  • Write 3 in depth tutorials on your niche (How to _______)
  • Write 3 list posts using “best” and the current year
  • Repeat

How to Drive Traffic to a Niche Site

Bottom line, if no one comes to your site, you’re not gonna make any money (with the exception of the little tip above about coupon codes).

With the content strategies I’ve outlined, you’ll position yourself well, but in the beginning simply writing good content isn’t going to cut it.

Use the following strategies to help spread the word quickly and help you gain traction.

With a Little Help from Your Friends

Have any friends that do stuff on the internet? Great, give them a call or send them an email to let them know about your new project.  You don’t want to be the dude (or dudette) that’s constantly inundating all your friends with pitches and favors, but don’t be afraid to let them know what you’re up to.

Often they’ll be able to do something small like give you a link on their site, or mention it via Facebook or Twitter.  When you’re getting going anything helps, and it’s usually the people you’re already close to that will have the biggest impact towards getting on the right track.

If they have a blog, see if you can write them a guest post.  With almost every guest post I write I find a way to work a link back to my golf site.  It’s always relevant, but by doing this I’m not only building my blog, but my niche website as well.

List Out the Big Sites that Might Be Interested

Major blogs and news outlets are constantly looking for story ideas.  When they are posting dozens of articles a day at times, editors love it when people come to them with good ideas and make their lives easier.

Make a list of all of the big web sites or blogs directly related to your niche and send the editors an email telling them about your latest post or story ideas.

Need ideas on how to do this, read “Trust me, I’m Lying” to get the juices flowing.

If it’s someone’s personal blog, maybe you offer to write a guest post (here’s how to pitch it). Be persistent with this, and eventually you’ll have the BBC writing about your marathon or Psychology Today writing about your unique lifestyle.

Landing just one publication like this can be a total game changer for a small site.

HARO

Help a Reporter Out makes it even easier to find opportunities for press.  You sign up for the topics you’re interested in and receive an email or two a day from reporters looking for stories.

If you want to really dig deeply into exactly how to use it for media mentions, check out this post. Simple as that. This can help you position yourself as an expert on your topic, and potentially drive a lot of traffic to your new site.

Social Media

Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest – all of these can be huge drivers of traffic to a site.  Provide unique content via each of these mediums, and develop a little mini-community around each of them.

The better you are at this, the more interested they will become when you’re sending them back to your site to see your latest post.

I’ve personally found Facebook to be the best for traffic.  It’s easier to be seen and the ability to add a photo and longer caption to a post can be just enough to get people to click through more than say Twitter.

Although I will say, Instagram has been climbing the ranks lately.

Email List

Once you’ve done all the basics, you can hop into “niche site 201”, and come up with an email gift for people. Maybe it’s a 4 part email series educating users on your niche, or perhaps it’s a full on pdf ebook that teaches them something useful.

Either way, giving people something of value for signing up to your email list is helping you to build a huge asset.

Check out: How to Create a Killer List Building Offer (Even if You Have Nothing to Sell)

Like I said, traffic on our HDR site dropped nearly 75% overnight. Since we’d been building an email list though, we still had a way to connect with our readers.

If you setup the list to send emails for every new post, you’ll also drive more traffic back to the site in the process.

Action Item: Do all the things listed above:

  • Make a list of friends to contact about your new site – contact them.
  • Make a list of larger blogs and publications you want to be featured in – contact as you begin creating content
  • Sign up for HARO
  • Register social media accounts and star posting
  • Begin formulating ideas for your email list

A Quick Primer on SEO

So we talked all about how to build content that gets shared, leading to backlinks from others, which improves SEO, and ultimately makes you money.

In a perfect world, that’s all you need to do.

It isn’t always that simple however, and sometimes you just need a jump start.

Review this post: How to Become an SEO Freelancer in 48 Hours

This is one of the highest trafficked posts on this blog.  It’s a full overview on SEO and is worth reviewing as you’re getting your site up and running.

Yoast SEO for WordPress

As we’ve mentioned above, you’ll want to grab Yoast SEO for WordPress.  It’s free, and it makes it as easy as possible to see if you’re optimized for a particular key term:

Making sure you're niche site is properly optimized for on page SEO is really important. Yoast SEO helpd with this.

Yoast SEO Page Analysis Screen

Select your keyword, and use their handy system to see if the keyword is in all the right places.  Once you’ve got a “green light” you know that post is in good shape from an on site perspective.

The Backlinking Strategy that Works

Pay Flynn of Smart Passive Income, has also done a lot of research around link building and what works, specifically for these types of niche websites.

For years his post The Backlinking Strategy that Works was one of the best resources on the internet on the topic. It’s a bit outdated now, but this new one is worth checking out and reviewing.

The Bootstrappers Guide to SEO Link Building

We want to do our SEO in the least spammy way possible – however with these sites, the vast majority of your traffic and income is going to come from the search engines. So in order to help facilitate that process, you might need a little kickstart.

My friend Travis is the guy behind Supremacy SEO, and is one of the smartest people I know.

One of the best, easiest to digest blog posts I’ve seen on link building in a legitimate way is his post: The Bootstrappers Guide to SEO Link Building.

He walks you through what to do in very easy to understand terms, that won’t be daunting for a newbie.

This will help get you a good base, but it’s through high quality content, sharing, and larger media outlets that you’re really going to get the good links, traffic, and in turn money.

Action Item: Read both “How to Become an SEO Freelancer in 48 Hours” and “The Bootstrappers Guide to SEO Link Building” posts and begin implementing.

Does This Process Really Work for Building a Niche Website?

Well there you have it, this is exactly how to build a niche website in a non spammy way that will make you at least $500 a month.

Really? You might be asking “Is that all I have to do?”

That’s pretty much it. Don’t get me wrong though, you can sum up the process in 14 steps but it takes a lot of work and a lot of trial and error.

The main way you’re going to make consistent income is ranking highly in Google for buying key terms.  Spend extra time doing the research to make sure you’re link building efforts aren’t wasted on terms that won’t have much monetary benefit.

If it takes a few months to start seeing rankings or even your first dollar – don’t get discouraged.

With every piece of content you create you’re opening up the door for someone to find you.  This is not an overnight project – you’re in this for the long haul.

That said, if you’re willing to devote some time up front, in the end you’ll be rewarded with a business and an asset that will make you relatively “passive income” for years to come.

Want to Go Even More In Depth?

This article tells you all you need to know in order to get started.  But I’ve built an entire blueprint on affiliate marketing and niche sites inside Location Rebel Academy that will totally hold your hand if you want more help.

Want to know about the HUGE benefit of rich snippets? How about how to create an email campaign that sells? Google Authorship? The most up to date things I (and hundreds of others) have learned? 16 other detailed blueprints helping you build an online business?

For this, and so, so much more check out my private community and business building course Location Rebel Academy.

 

Sean Ogle

Sean Ogle is the Founder of Location Rebel where he has spent the last 12+ years teaching people how to build online businesses that give them the freedom to do more of the things they like to do in life. When he's not in the coffee shops of Portland, or the beaches of Bali, he's probably sneaking into some other high-class establishment where he most certainly doesn't belong.
Learn How to Make Your First $1,000 Freelance Writing (in 30 Days or Less)

Join over 40,000 people who have taken our 6 part freelance writing course. Sign up below and let’s do this together.

By entering your email address you agree to receive emails from Location Rebel. We'll respect your privacy and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Keep Reading

207 comments on "How to Make $500+ a Month in Passive Income with a Niche Site"

  1. Michael E says:

    Wow!! This is the the most actionable, detailed, honest and constructive (thinking and acting win/win) free guide to get to a muse-like niche site. Thank you sooo much for compiling and sharing all this!

    1. Sean says:

      Thanks Michael, I put a lot of thought into exactly what worked and what didn’t when I’ve gone through the process, so hopefully you’ve found it useful!

  2. Jason Hull says:

    Sean–

    Have you tried the Google disavow tool for the spammy backlinks?

    https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/disavow-links-main?pli=1

    I started getting crap backlinks from obvious spammers (a link to my website with a keyword of something like “there” or “it” which were clearly not relevant to whatever random words they’d thrown out) who were trying to get backlinks/trackbacks from me. I used the tool to disavow those junk links.

    1. Sean says:

      Yeah we’ve looked into it – that’s worth a whole post in and of itself 🙂

  3. Now this is a great post Sean! I wonder how many folks who really want to make money will follow these steps to achieve such income though? Hopefully many as it’s clear there’s lots of money to be made online.

    I’d love to get your insights on SEO and backlinking strategy given Google crushed niche sites and EMD sites last fall. It also looks like Google is slapping around sites again last week and will have more big updates against thin sites this year.

    Does it not seem like it’s now harder than ever to build a profitable niche site? Thx

    1. Sean says:

      Glad you liked it!

      As long as you build your links in the right way and avoid anything that seems like its potentially “gaming the system” you should be ok. Soon I’ll write an entire post on my experience with Google penalties and the effect it has on traffic/revenue.

      1. Sounds good. Very quickly, am I a being a fool for not building links at all? I just read another post talking about how some tool has really helped them build backlinks for $14/month b/c the tool submits your articles to all these directories.

        Do you think I could boost the traffic on my site if I just participated in what it seems like a large majority of web owners are participating in? I just haven’t been focusing my time on this stuff, and just writing content. I’m also increasingly wary of getting punished by Google, so I end up not doing anything at all except for the occasional guest post.

        1. Sean says:

          Frankly, I’d just keep doing what you’re doing. With your amount of traffic and exposure, you can keep putting out good content, getting good results, and never have to worry about the penalties.

          It’s more difficult, however, for sites that are just starting out. You need a good base of links to work from, which makes getting a high value link that much more useful.

          Sure over time you’d see some benefit by doing it, but unless you’re going to hire someone to do it for you, I don’t think it’s worth your time.

          1. It’s just weird not knowing what I do not know. Perhaps if I followed along and hired someone to build links, traffic would be 2X higher? Who knows. I even saw a testimonial from one of my PF blog peers how great so and so link building/SEO site was… and I was thinking…. man, what a fool I am to not participate and take the easier way. The site also is a PR5, but I don’t think the traffic is the same, but who knows.

            I’m fascinated with playing around w/ niche sites.

    2. Ryan OConnor says:

      Financial Samurai: please, please, please, don’t ever buy a $14.00 link package from anyone anywhere ever.

      Just try to think that through for a second. Google wants links that they see as natural and editorial. Do you think you could get a link on any well written valuable site (like Sean’s) for $14.00? Or without building a relationship and putting in some sweat equity or doing the site owner a favor first?

      Absolutely not! So what makes you think that something that claims to get you a ton of links for $14.00 is going to do anything but put your site in danger especially after Penguin.

      It’s hard work but what you need to do is build a prospect list of sites relevant to your own and form some kind of deal with them. That could be sponsoring the site, pitching a guest post, creating a great piece of content that you ask them to share, etc.

      Here’s an article I wrote on how to link prospect with free tools that I think could be helpful to anyone who’s trying to figure out how to do it without link networks and packages:

      http://www.seerinteractive.com/blog/crush-link-prospecting-with-free-tools

      Great post by the way Sean, I agree with you every step of the way except for the linkbuilding.

      1. Ryan, I agree with you, so why is it that there are so many link building services around? Why on earth are people paying to link build when Google is punishing folks who buy links left and right?

        I think the answer is that short cuts like this DO work, otherwise, such services wouldn’t exist.

        Ryan, one question I have for you as an SEO. If an SEO is so great at SEO, why not create their own mega trafficked site and make lots of money that way than bother doing SEO? Does an SEO need credibility (a highly trafficked site) to be a credible SEO?

        Thanks,

        Sam

      2. David says:

        Hehe, believe me or not, I bought many times links on fiverr for 5$ 🙂 And they worked 😀 Google is nothing but a big bunch of shitty programmed algorithms… Google is like financial software trying to find an “ideal” model to beat the market, but market always wins. So please stop speaking about Google as about a goodness… Google “wants” you to build natural links, bla bla..

    3. Ryan OConnor says:

      Hey Sam,

      I’m not going to come here and say that no cheap mass link building service could ever work as I think that would be ignorant. I especially think a well put together and closely guarded private link network could work as well as ever although I think it would be more expensive to run as you’d need to have higher quality content standards.

      As far as the cheap crap that will get you in trouble though, I think the services still exist because a lot of people are slow to adapt. Both the service providers and the people who don’t know what they’re doing who need SEO help but can’t afford an agency or aren’t sure what else to do.

      I think the important point though is you shouldn’t be penny wise and pound foolish. If you build up a site to the point that’s making $500 a month by spending a few hundred on cheap link services it’s eventually going to crash and burn especially if it’s not balanced out with high authority and more natural looking links. Then you lose that income and all the money you paid to develop the site and create valuable content. It all goes out the window unless you know how to get a penalty lifted which is really time intensive. Instead you could just spend more time and money up front building quality links.

      As for the question on why don’t good SEO’s make their own mega sites I think it’s a very valid one. I got into working at an SEO agency because I was struggling to learn this stuff on my own and separate the wheat from the chaff. After working at an agency for 1.5 years, managing clients with big multi million dollar businesses and being somewhat of an expert on linkbuilding I think I could definitely create a huge site that’s majorly profitable. The two things I lack though are the time and resources to do it the right way.

      That’s why for now I have two niche sites and one big site that I focus my time away from work on. I think others in the SEO industry either do have their own sites or get lured in by freelance work. I love the goal of more long term passive income but I have friends who work at agency’s who get easily lured in by making huge hourly rates for freelance projects and rather get the money up front instead of putting the time in to develop a site.

      1. Sean says:

        So many of the good SEOs I know simply enjoy being employees. It’s just like being good at accounting. Why dont most go start their own businesses, and end up working for someone else? It’s easier, pays way better up front, and carries none of the perceived risk.

        I think there are a lot of mass link building strategies that will be effective for a period of time – especially private link networks, which are a bit of a different story. But most of those strategies will lose value over time at best, or ruin your site at worst. That’s why I do my very best to build links through good content and networking as much as possible.

      2. David says:

        @Financial Samurai

        I think your question regarding “Why SEO makes SEO and doesn’t build own website” is quite out of place. First of all many SEOs have own website or websites (niche, affiliate… whatever)

        second: I was reading the post of Sean (managed only 1/3… ) ) and wondered, who the hell needs to write 100 posts, repeat all those 14 steps again and again… to earn 500$!! To have some kind of “normal” income I have to create and manage 8 blogs like this. That’s incredible effort!

        Third: SEO is nice business, it has huge market (also huge competition), there is some good money moving around, you can work as freelancer, or you can build own busness with hiring people and outsourcing activities… And it is scalable!

        And updates of Google make me laugh 🙂 honestly

        Cheers

        David

      3. Thanks for the response. Fair enough. I’m sure you are probably aware though that after a couple years, a successful bloggers income far surpasses a rank and file SEO’s income. Guess it all depends on what one wants.

    4. Casey says:

      I’m so sick of people spouting this EMD bullshit. I have a bunch of sites, all of which are fairly new and using EMDs. They didn’t get whacked and are making me a regular income via Amazon. Just because you didn’t have success a bunch of asshat spammers on webmaster forums failed with them doesn’t mean that they don’t work. I’m not saying that they give you a boost or anything; simply that they don’t get you slapped.

      1. Sean says:

        I completely agree, I don’t think they get you slapped by any means. They just aren’t as effective as a boost as they were two years ago. I still believe there is actually some benefit, as long as you diversify the anchor text of your backlinks.

  4. Monique says:

    Looks great! Optin’s price is $67 for me. I don’t see a $49 version.

    1. Sean says:

      Ooh, they may have raised the price since I last checked. I’ll double check and update it.

  5. Liz says:

    Perfect timing, I have a niche site I want to bring back from the dead!

  6. Hi Sean, great post!

    One other thing I’d add is that it’s important to understand the requirements for getting into the affiliate programs before choosing your niche. I am learning this the hard way right now.

    I’m a professional web developer and have a personal interest in travel hacking so I decided to build a credit card search tool specifically for travel hackers. Before officially launching the site, I applied for entry into the affiliate programs of all the major credit card companies but each company denied my application because I did not have enough traffic. I later came to realize that it is actually very difficult to get into these programs and that I’d have to generate a large amount of traffic before even being accepted.

    Now I’m not sure how to proceed. Do I spend money and time attempting to drive traffic to the site and just hope that I eventually get accepted into the affiliate programs or do I rethink my monetization strategy completely? Since the site is a tool rather than a collection of information articles, it’s more difficult to generate organic search traffic so paid advertising may be the best option. It’s hard to spend money on advertising though when you aren’t sure if it will ever result in earning money.

    Do you have any experience with web applications as opposed to traditional niche sites? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

    1. Sean says:

      Unfortunately you picked the absolute hardest niche to get into. Credit card companies are EXTREMELY selective about who they bring in, and if you don’t make sales during your trial period, they’ll boot you out (as I learned).

      I’ve rarely had much trouble getting into other affiliate programs, and often if you have traffic on one site, you can leverage those traffic numbers if you’re starting a new site. If not, maybe you know a friend who has a site with some traffic.

      I think in your case paid traffic is probably the way to go, or possibly trying to partner with someone that already has an established brand.

      1. Thanks a lot for the reply, Sean. I had thought about teaming up with one of the big travel blogs so maybe that’s something I’ll explore further. Thanks again

  7. Mark Conrad says:

    This is just what I need right now. I’m working on a travel niche site. Thank you so much for putting all these together. I’ll use it as a checklist of the things I need to do.

    Your lengthy posts are always the best! 😀

    Thanks again Sean!

    1. Sean says:

      Thanks Mark, hope to make the more detailed posts a fairly regular thing!

  8. Nate says:

    Great Sean! I’m working on my first batch of niche sites and have pretty much been following a similar process. Thanks for sharing HARO! Excited to get started with it.

  9. Mark says:

    This is exactly what I needed to take my first “real” stab at a successful niche site. I’m not so sure that the topics I’m most experienced with translate to niche sites all that well. Has anyone out there had success with a topic they decided to learn as they created the site, blogging along the way to show progress?

  10. Great tutorial, Sean! With a post this long, I’d expect an ebook or something. Just goes to show how much you are willing to go over the top in providing value for your readers.

    1. Sean says:

      Doing my best to try and put more stuff like this out there 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it!

  11. Heilene says:

    Thanks Sean for for a great summary of niche site building. You really kept it simple! I am inspired to jump in.

  12. Damn solid post bud.

  13. Darren says:

    Hey Sean,

    Great post as all ways. I’ve just started to work on some of my nearly dead sites. I found the Back-link Strategy from Pat Flynn, and have been half following it, so yes it works. I kinda worked out that I had only been doing half the job, by writing the content, and some basic social media links and pinging.. It is a lot more work then that, that’s for sure.

  14. Tim says:

    Hi Sean,
    Thanks for writing. Some great specifics in here (always love those). I had a question about your keyword numbers. You said the term “Nikon D700 Review” gets 27,100 searches per month, but when I checked that on Google’s keyword tool, it was much lower. The phrase “Nikon D700 Review” only got 3,600 global searches and other combinations didn’t seem to get close to the 27,100 figure you mentioned either (screen shot here – http://gyazo.com/0b4e5cfc18c2d650549e5fb9391004e5). Thanks in advance for clarifying – just wanted to be sure I was looking correctly.

    Tim

    1. Sean says:

      Tim, that’s because I’m not talking about the D700, I’m talking about the D7000. The 700 is an older model, which is why the results are lower.

      Thanks for keeping me honest 🙂

      Here’s the screenshot of my results:

      http://www.seanogle.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Nikon-D7000-Search-Results.png

      1. Tim says:

        Haha, not trying to keep you honest, just wanted to be sure I understood. 🙂
        I see you changed it from 700 to 7000 in the search term (I missed that too!) – all makes sense now.
        Thanks for clarifying!

        Tim

  15. WishyAnand says:

    Hi Sean, great post. I have an old site that provides original information, and I make $700 a month from it despite the site being just very very basic html and my having limited SEO skills (although the site ranks well for most secondary keywords due to decent content and the fact that its been online for a number of years). The subject matter of that site holds very limited potential for a higher income, so I was too lazy in trying to improve it in terms of look (learning CSS, WordPress, Joomla etc…), ranking, social media and so on.

    I now want to create a new site on another subject that interests me, and decided to buy the domain from the evil godaddy this time (first site domain purchase and hosting plan is from another company that is so-so). What do you think of godaddy’s hosting services? I keep getting their e-mails with discount offers. Is WordPress really as simple as you make it out to be for someone not really into tech? Am already mildly stressed with so many separate accounts (domain, hosting, e-mails, control panel, phpbb forum login etc…)!

    1. Enwil says:

      Wow! If your basic site can earn $700 then well designed site will definitely earn more.

      I’ve heard many complaints from my friends regarding go daddy but I don’t mean to say it’s really that bad. It’s average and might give you trouble sometime. I’d try and go with FatCow if I were you.

      Actually, I’m also thinking of creating a niche site. I had my own blog which I thought would bring me some affiliate income but it didn’t. I was only able to earn some from setting up WordPress websites.

      What was your previous site about (if you don’t mind) ?

      1. WishyAnand says:

        Enwil, my first site is about a “niche” medical condition. People visit the site for the large amount of original information I have on there, but I can add no significant useful information on there anymore:-( Improving the look of the site, adding videos, graphs, diagrams etc… will not increase the traffic in any significant manner. Less than 1 percent of people have this condition.

        The only way I can stay interested in this kind of website building is if I am passionate about the subject matter. Luckily, the second subject matter I have in mind for my new site can bring me much more revenue due to the more rewarding and popular keywords in that area (and in this case, a better looking site will also help the traffic due to the nature of the subject matter). I have a lot of original content ideas for this new site.

        Ranking high on google will be difficult without hiring an SEO expert, but based on my experience with the first site, lots of original useful content and a 5 years plus web presence will at the very least make me rank high for secondary keywords. I am aiming for the mid/long-term as far as the revenue goes. Anything significant within the first year will be a bonus and might make me afford to hire an SEO expert.

    2. Chas says:

      Despite the political fallout surrounding GoDaddy, from a purely technical perspective, many of their sites load extremely slow(this could be the result of trying to cram as many sites on to the same shared server for maximum profitability). I know of several Web Designers that refuse to have their clients hosted on GoDaddy just for this reason alone. A few months ago, several sites that were hosted by GoDaddy went down and despite the rumors, they weren’t hacked; but, it was an internal technical issue as admitted by them. Not exactly a glowing testimonial as a reason to use their service.

  16. Mans says:

    Sean,

    To be honest, you can really have a huge advantage if you work a more grey approach to the SEO. One tactic I found relevant is to do SEO based on your specific articles rather than on the main site as well. There are fewer people searching, but it is far more niche specific AND google rarely penalizes you due to the plethora of content on the page.

    Try it and you can get a bit more aggressive with your strategies.

    1. Sean says:

      Totally agree – you can, but at a cost.

      2 years ago, no one saw anchor text diversity being a big deal, and look how hard some people got hit. If you’re operating in a grey area, you’re still susceptible to changes like that.

      There can definitely be value to you, but the lack of value to everyone else, and the potential to hurt you long run makes it a little bit more questionable as a long term strategy.

  17. Leigh says:

    Awesome post Sean, thanks for posting!! Has definitely got my mind going into overdrive with ideas!!

  18. Matt says:

    Definitely one of your best posts Sean! I like the combination of “thinking” and “doing” something posts 🙂

    2 quick questions – do you recommended any particular sites for finding affliate programs? And which WP theme are you using for HDRSoftware?

    Many thanks,

    Matt

    1. Sean says:

      Matt,

      I’ve found it better to find a product first, and then you can usually either Google to find out their affiliate program info or contact them directly. Another way is to find someone else who is an affiliate and then look at their affilaite link – which can often tell you.

      The theme is custom designed by my partner, but it was originally on Thesis.

      1. Matt says:

        Thanks Sean 🙂

        With youe SEO head on, do you think it is important that the domain name contains your niche site’s keywords as much as possible?

  19. Matt M says:

    Sean-

    Great post! I am going to use the information you provided as a blueprint to build my own niche site with. Thank you so much for the high quality information. You rock!

    Also, I am looking for someone who has similar goals as me to help keep me motivated. I wrote a post about it here: http://www.undertheclearbluesky.com/wanted-accountability-buddy

    If you know of anyone who might be interested, it would be great it you would point them my way! (Although I’m hoping I’ll find someone just by writing this comment.)

  20. Chris says:

    Epic post Sean!

    Curious about choosing a niche, would you recommend using Google’s keyword tool to make sure there’s some minimum number of monthly searches for relevant terms? At what search volume does a niche become viable?

    Cheers from a Portland native :).

    Chris

  21. Jessie says:

    After reading “How to Become an SEO Freelancer in 48 Hours,” I was left with a lot of questions about how to go about designing my own website and -most importantly- how to make it generate revenue. This post answered all of my questions! Thanks for the info!!

  22. Russell says:

    Wow this post is awesome, the best bath time reading I ever did. Thanks!:)

  23. Toyiah says:

    Ok, so I have a question… I have an entertainment news website and we get about 6,000 page views a day we get paid from ad networks, direct ads and sponsored posts. We average close to $800 a month but, we’re trying to bring that number up. How could we implement something using this platform or is it doable? Just wondering. We’re PR3

  24. Siegfried says:

    this is the niche article I’ve been looking for!!! Thank you!
    Best Regards!

  25. One thing I’m hoping everybody who is reading this post and planning on working on their niche site is to report back in 3-6 months how it went.

    We all know that Google is moving away from niche sites and thin content with the EMD and Panda updates, so I’d love to hear about your experiences and see if it was worth it as opposed to working on a Prime site.

    Thanks everyone!

    Sam

  26. Rob says:

    Nice post and good luck getting your HDR site back to its former glory.

  27. Missy says:

    I think (niche) is an extremely important factor in this exercise. From what I have noticed the sites that are doing well are in a somewhat specialized niches and also one that the big boys aren’t necessarily going after.

    Your HDR Software site is one good example, as you picked a good niche. So I would gather that before anyone get into this, they find a niche that is:

    1. Popular, but only to a very fragmented demographic
    2. Big boys are not competing in it (yet, or ever)
    3. Is a product based niche, as opposed to informational
    4. Has good affiliate program, merchant, etc – you did cover this above
    5. Competition is not stiff, or at least beatable

    Niche is extremely important in this exercise.

    Thanks for sharing, Sean. Great tutorial.

  28. Nick says:

    Hey Sean,

    I’m really enjoying all of your work. Between your site and Ferriss’ 4-hour workweek, I’m doing everything in my power to start my own location independent business. I’ve got plans for Germany and Austria for the end of April/beginning of May. I’m in the beginning stages of starting my own SEO business, and I’m a bit confused about incorporation. What corporate entity do you recommend for such a business?

    all the best,
    Nick

  29. Jason Hill says:

    Epic post Sean! I wish I had this info when I got into blogging several years ago and more recently niche sites.

    I pretty much did all the things you shouldn’t do and made all the common mistakes. I’m feeling pretty good about my niche site strategy moving forward.

    I totally agree with you about Amazon. It should be used as a supplement not primary! I didn’t realize that four weeks ago when I launched my first Amazon focused niche site reviewing electric shavers. I only made 2 commissions so far and the total wasn’t even enough to cove domain registration lol. Now I’m looking at eBay and other affiliate programs to boost sales on that site.

    I will definitely be bookmarking this page and coming back often, there is just to much good stuff here!

    One thing I really love about the whole niche site thing is there’s really no limitations. I mean sure there’s some competitive niches out there, but there’s always money to be made. Everybody in the world could have this information, but there’s only a handful of us that will really do something with it, and even less that will stay the course no matter what!

    Thanks again for such an awesome post, hope to connect with you on Google Plus, take care Sean.

  30. Jan says:

    Wow Sean, thank you very much for this awesome article. It helped me a lot building my blog and I followed many of the steps you mentioned here.

    Can you recommend any alternatives to Amazon? My blog is about different fun activities like skydiving, surfing, etc. and I also want to write articles about games you can play in your garden or in your house with your friends. Basically everything you can have fun with.

    I would be pleased if you had any recommendations.
    Thanks, Jan

  31. Rich says:

    Sean, thank you. This post is just what I was looking for – spoke right to my problem, where to start. I’m going to lock myself in a room this weekend and get to those steps.

    One question though. If you are writing a review on products, does that mean you have brought each of those products and used them? Depending on the products I can see that being a very large up front cost.

    Cheers, Rich

  32. Samuel adgam says:

    thanks. This publish is exactly what I had been searching for – spoke to my problem, how to start. I will lock myself inside a room a few days ago and obtain to individuals steps.

  33. Lior says:

    Quick Question Sean,

    I want to go super in depth on some posts and give some good content, but I feel I will have nothing left to offer in an ebook that I plan to sell on the niche site. Everything on the topic will be have covered in my posts…

  34. For people just starting out with niche sites I think it’s important to do the math before selecting a site. Find your 3 or so main keywords and see how much traffic they’re generating per month in Adwords Keyword tool and RankCheckerAce. Then multiply it by your expected conversion rate, say 2% and the affiliate commission you’ll make. Some people build sites that end up not getting enough traffic to justify the time put into it, even if it does rank well.

  35. Mike says:

    Brilliant! More information in this article then I’ve learned in over one year working in digital marketing… Will definitely put some of these strategies to use into our side project – a hyperlocal niche blog/digital street press that promotes local live music and creative output in the city where I live (Melbourne, Australia) – Thanks Sean!

  36. ted says:

    What a great post. Epic post motivated me to start researching my second post

  37. Robert Gee says:

    I have to say I have join a lot of programs studying and learning about keyword research, monetization and everything above. I have never found such a detailed article about what I basically paid $30 per month for. GREAT Article.

    Robert.

  38. AZGame says:

    I heard that niche sites are killed by latest google updates. How do you think ? any test so far ?

  39. Hey Sean,

    Thanks for this. I’m fairly new with Niche sites, (got introduced through Pat Flynn’s NC Duel). I was skeptic about it at first since the “make money online” has always been there but a lot of people are complaining that it takes a long time, or that it’s a scam. Anyway, I’ve decided to try it. Thanks for this guide!

  40. Hi Sean,

    Your article has been a great read, especially as someone who has just started seriously blogging. I had a few questions that I wanted to ask you. You write that bloggers should find a niche, and I wonder…how specific does that niche need to be? My blog is a “lifestyle” blog in that it covers fashion, decor, food, and travel. The goal of my blog is to show that people can lead interesting and sophisticated lives by creating luxury through simple comforts in all the related categories I cover. I am very passionate about this idea. There are many blogs like this out there, and I know ultimately it will be my content and voice that set me apart. However, do you think this style blog is unproductive in terms of monetary gains? Is this blog more hobby-geared and going to be impossible for me to ever make a career out of? There are a few very successful blogs like this out there that I know of (such as cupcakesandcashmere.com) that have had tremendous success, but it seems they racked up an audience of readers just through word of mouth (aka social media FB, Twitter, etc), rather than specific techniques like you have outlined. One blog, which is geared towards fashion is just photos of herself in different outfits and has no textual content at all, minus the brand/designers, so I wonder how her blog gained such a huge following?

    I also am using Tumblr with my own custom domain since Tumblr allows for using custom domains free of charge. I am not familiar with SEO at all, with the exception of what it actually is. But other than that, I don’t understand how I would go about adjusting my site so that it is more successful in terms of SEO. I downloaded the plug-in you suggested, but have no idea how I even go about installing it or whatnot on my site. Do you have a tutorial for this?

    I’d appreciate any help at all since I am so very new with all this and in desperate desire to make a career out of something I am so passionate about! Thanks anyways for a great article!

  41. Paul Hill says:

    Hi Sean,

    Great post packed full of high value content. I have just started my own niche challenge and have picked up a few tips from this post, Thanks!

    Only found your blog this evening and I really like what I have read so far. I am not quite at the stage where I can quit work just yet but hopefully that day will come soon 🙂

    Keep up the good work and I hope everything continues to work out for you

    Paul H

  42. Jan Koch says:

    Sean, you totally rock!
    I’m creating my first niche site right now and this post simply guides me through the whole process 🙂
    Can you tell me how I should spend the time I planned for research that you just saved me?
    Thank you very much!

    Best regards,
    Jan

  43. Ben Troy says:

    Wow, this was such a detailed and informative post! Unfortunately I didn’t do any of the suggested things when I launched my site last year. I am wondering if it will be ok to relaunch? I wasn’t clear on my mission as I am now. I would love to hear what the community think!

  44. Moin Ramiz says:

    if its so simple why 90% people fails?

    1. Sean says:

      Dont mistake simple and easy 🙂

  45. Wow. Really in depth post. Tons of great content. If you aren’t part of the Niche Site Community on Google+, you should join it, you would be a great asset!!

  46. Mark Stone says:

    Damn! this was really an awesome post. Got to learn a lot from this post. I still do not believe i read every bit of it, in fact several internal links too. Thanks Sean for sharing this precious information.

  47. Scott says:

    I love how optimistic you are. While I know it’s a long hard road, it’s not impossible and you make this clear.

    My wife and I are forever travelling the world by the skin of our teeth, and it’s only recently that we’ve thought of generating a passive income to fund our travels. You’re post has really motivated me to get a website up and running, though the tricky thing is not falling into the bottomless sea of travel website/blogs. This summer we’re living in Croatia and I’m sure there’s a niche just starring me in the face.

    Thanks Mate. Love ya work !

    Scott

  48. Eddie Gear says:

    I am participating in the niche site duel conducted by Pat Flynn. There are a lot of good tips here. Thanks for putting it out as a post. Are you participating in the niche site duel as well? Thanks for the info.

  49. John Fisher says:

    Sean, Thanks for that in-depth look at niche site building. It made me realize that one of the big flaws in the sites that I have built is that they are far too broad in their scope and I need to learn how to do a better job of drilling down to make my sites work to my advantage.

  50. Ron says:

    The key here is not having too many sites just for the sake of it. Find a niche and give it all you’ve got! Online is just one way for marketing your website. The smartest thing I’ve done was having a corrugated sign printed out and “H” staking it on the corner of this very popular intersection where I live. SEO, link building and content sharing is the law, but traditional marketing (for the appropriate niche) can yield wonderful results. Combine both, and you start to feel the “business” aspect a lot more which motivates you to keep going during the uncertain times.

  51. Hey Sean, building sites for Amazon specifically isn’t bad. The problem is that your niche of HDR software just simply isn’t a good fit for Amazon.

    I built and sold a site about netbooks in late 2010 in a six figure deal (link here: http://entrepreneurboost.com/how-to-sell-a-website/) with most of the earnings coming from Amazon. In total I’ve sold over $1.5 million dollars worth of products using Amazon’s affiliate program and earned over $100,000 in commissions (and that doesn’t include the sale of the aforementioned website).

    Ultimately with any niche or authority website it all comes down to the monetization strategy that best fits that specific topic and a niche site about software just doesn’t really fit as well as a niche site about physical products.

    (Feel free to remove my link to my blog post not sure if you want people linking to articles in your comments or not. Just trying to add to discussion.)

    1. EJ says:

      Wow Chris that is amazing and exactly what i would like to be doing. Did you have any IT background before you started doing this kind of sites to sell?

      1. Yes I did! I guess it’s pretty easy to see huh?

  52. Keng says:

    Thanks for a very very good idea.

  53. I have really enjoyed reading about how to build a niche site. I have tried and failed so many times. At the moment i am changing my website because i have tried to be a jack of all trades and obviously that doesn’t work. So my website is going to be taken offline and changed and now i have a better understanding from what you have just wrote i can do a much better Job. I also tried to do a lot of work with Amazon personally but i understand why you say not to.
    Thank you very much
    Michelle.

  54. Josh says:

    This is possibly the best guide to affiliate marketing I have read. This is really going to help me finally get started and jump right in. Thank you.

    1. Mike says:

      agreed, very informative site. Also check out Dealer Dan’s affiliate bible site. helped me out a lot too.

  55. EJ says:

    I am so pleased I came across your site. Having been blogging for a few months now I have been wanting to find other avenues online where I could be making money and potentially faster. I will be following this formula and have loved the language in which you have put it in, perfect for newbies like me! Thank you so much.

  56. Brett says:

    Nice tips. And if anyone is thinking of starting a site but is short of niche ideas, then check out my site.

    I’ve built all kinds of useful tools to find forums in a whole load of niches. I’ve only included big forums, and that means the niches are good ‘n’ lucrative.

    1. BrettB says:

      I’ve now built a second niche finding site: NicheIdeaOfTheDay. Click my name to visit (it’s absolutely free).

  57. Bloodhound says:

    Nice read…and the HARO idea is something I can use…but if a person has been at this for a while some of your ideas happen naturally from just using your brains…when I started I thought I didn’t have a creative bone in my body and I got so aggravated with the advice of…”Do what you are passionate about”…I wasn’t passionate about anything…making money was my passion…and as you know that is one of the toughest niches to get into…but I kept trying and I refused to give up…I started noticing what other so-called experts were doing and how they were doing it and I started developing my own strategies based off of different internet marketers (like your HARO idea I am gong to use…email lists and how marketers built them…thinking about what made me sign up for a list…also thinking abut would I really buy that and use that…also what type of problem was that marketer solving…like you right now are helping to solve a money problem people may have…your catch is….make $500.00 dollars… that gets INSTANT ATTENTION…finding stuff I could give away…finding coupons for stuff…the ideas and list is huge when you pay attention)…so that led me to analyze other marketers success…I found out about how to get my own software idea done…I found out who was who in IM and I subscribed to a bunch of lists with the intent of just seeing what other expert marketers were doing and before I knew it I learned what they were doing…I guess my passion turned out to be “learning”….I have taken so many ideas and formed them all into one or two I can’t even call them my own…I guess you can say I have put together a bunch of hybrid ideas from expert marketers and then using tools I needed to make it all work…if it’s one thing I have discovered about making money online it is there is no absolute one way of doing this… what works for you may not work for the next person and it’s simply putting together what works for you….I’m an expert at not being an expert….I guess you could say I am an expert copier of other marketers…read and study has been the way for me…and the thing about that is I never run out of ideas or ways to do things….I don’t overwhelm myself and try and do them all… I have taken about 4 strategies that I use that make money for me consistently…I am under the radar and that’s where I want to stay…I help my friends when they need money…I actually do it for them because I have it so structured it doesn’t take me very long and they are so lazy they don’t want to maintain the sites I build for them…I just have them pay the cost of the domain until they let it expire…anyway I guess my long rant here is because when I hear “do what you are passionate about” or “do whatever interest you” just makes me a little crazy….and I know you gave some examples of different ideas for niches but I am one of those people if you had given me that advice early on I would have wanted to jump out of a window…so I’m just letting you know that does not work for everyone and just because it doesn’t I’m letting some one else know that making money online does work it’s just a matter of how you want to approach it….

    1. Joy says:

      Well written. That’s awesome. It’s like you were reading my mind. Learned a thing or two from you. Mostly don’t give up.

    2. Stepo says:

      Omg! That`s what i keep saying. My passion is freaking MONEY. Well actually the freedom that comes with it but anyways. I would seriuosly like to talk to you and how you got passed that bump of not having a passion to build a niche around.

  58. Thank you for the clear, concise road-map for building a successful monetized site without relying on spam. Since my retirement from teaching in 2012, I have been freelancing as a writer/photographer and have had some success, but my ambition is to have my own website up and running so that I can write for myself and still earn money. I have not dedicated enough time to writing quality content or marketing my website, but this article has inspired me to dig in and get it moving in the right direction. Again, thanks for an article that was worth reading and may you continue to have great success with your endeavors.

  59. Glenys says:

    Great step-by-step checklist of what to do. A lot of posts swamp people with information overload but this post gets right to the point and provides a workable blueprint on how to build a niche site and start generating income.
    You are very correct about niche selection. This is the step that is often rushed. It pays to spend several days, maybe longer, doing your research before jumping into a new niche.

  60. TJ says:

    Extremely in depth article that covers all the necessary tips needed for niche success. I’m looking into starting a new site soon around a specific niche so this has helped.

  61. Chris says:

    WOW Sean! I am thinking of creating a blog in the “men’s shaving” niche. It’s something that I’m pretty passionate about and I know there are tons of products that I could review and tons of small tips I could share. This post had so much great information and I feel I learned more from your blog than from any information product I could have paid for about the subject. I can see you are very knowledgeable about the subject and very passionate as well. I’m thinking my two main forms of monetization for the blog will be Amazon and Adsense. Do you have any advice on what theme I should use or any plugins out there that might make it easier for me?

  62. leon says:

    Sean, great article.
    Forgive my bad english, i’m Dutch so english is not native language . I’m reading a lot about niche marketing but never read such practical tips.
    I like to know what affiliate program you advise. You write something about codes instead of links. Can you be more specific?

  63. David says:

    Sean I really appreciate this great generosity. Thanks a lot.
    I am working on a new site that would look like gsmarena.com, its going to be a phone and accessory review site. Is it a good idea for me to add affiliate links to the products? I’ll gladly appreciate your suggestions and criticism.

  64. Naeem Malik says:

    Niche sites can do wonders; and they are easy to rank if you did keyword planning. This article summarizes it all; what is to be done to start a niche site.

    Thanks…!

  65. This was a good article on niche sites but I am still confused on how to find the best keywords that Rank and gives out good money.

    Niche try and surfing more posts 🙂

    1. Phillip says:

      Anchit…have you heard of Market Samurai (http://www.marketsamurai.com) or Google Keyword tool (https://adwords.google.com/ko/KeywordPlanner/Home)?

      You can try Market Samurai for free for 14 days and Google Keyword tool is free. Just use your Gmail account if you have one already or sign up for an Adword account.

  66. Kyle Sisson says:

    Sean,
    Thank you for the great article and advice.

    Well done!

  67. Paul Sarwana says:

    Sean, your presentation is very comprehensive, especially for those who are looking to make extra income on the web. Your step-by-step tutorial is actually good as a “product development” stage of the overall business development, suitable for (aspiring) entrepreneurs looking to build a serious business online. If the niche site works we can grow it up for selling our own products or services.

    Also, I agree with you regarding building a site around amazon. From my experience, to reach $500 monthly commissions you have to generate at least 100 unique visitors per day for products with price range from $50 -$300 — or $2.77 per visitor.

  68. Trevor says:

    Sean, I enjoyed your article. Very informative for those like me just getting started. I’m currently in my third month of my first niche site. I’m mainly using amazon affiliate. Traffic is building now but sales are slow. Hoping to use some of your tips to get things moving a little faster.

    Best Regards,
    Trevor

  69. I am so, so thankful I found your website and started reading this article. The internet is full of dishonesty and discouragement, but this was enlightening and empowering and I can’t wait to start applying these methods to my own website/niche blog.

  70. dheeraj jain says:

    Hello Sean,
    I’ve never seen such an article, which starts from the abc of website and teaches you everything about it. It is really superb. HARO and YOAST ideas seem to be really helpful. There are lots of topics, words and ideas in the article, which are new to me but are really great.
    I’m sure this post will be helpful for the green horns as well as the experienced people of this field as there are so many ideas.
    Thanks for sharing.

  71. Michael says:

    Hi Sean,

    First of all, I would like to thank you for sharing this great article. It’s really useful for me.
    I accidentally read your post three months ago, and I think I was inspired. So I decided to give it a try to build a website by following some of your advised steps.
    After some try and error, the website started get some traffic, and I earned about $80 last month. So I think your methodology is working for those who want to earn some extra money via the internet. Of course, I hope I can reach the goal of $500 /month in the near future.

    Thank you so much.
    Michael

  72. livingstone says:

    shaving and razor bump stopping and control. is this a good niche?

  73. The tutorial is in deep very helpful. I know a few bloggers that earn quick money by spamming and keyword stuffing with their niche sites and thus people like us, who use legit ways to get things done are left behind. How do we deal with that?

  74. Nancy Powell says:

    I like in-depth tutorials and this is one of them. I would have loved if you could show some statistics on your niche site so we could get an idea. Also, does link building helps in ranking high?
    I would also like to suggest that please increase the font size of the blog, makes me difficult to read! Thank you!

  75. Afiq says:

    Great article!

    I’ve been searching the guideline on how to make passive money using a blog. And found this article and its really inspired me to continue my journey make living on the internet.

  76. So, i only have one questions that is bugging me, plz solve this :

    I have a free domain name and a free web host, the domain name is not a subdomain and i get full customization with my host,

    I’ve installed wordpress and working on the site, can it rank on google for something
    or the free host and domain name are a waste of time, if I want to earn.

    Plz clear this out to me

  77. there is one more crucial thing it’s ” anchor text ” when building links
    the exact match keyword shouldn’t go over 5%

  78. mayank says:

    Awesome post…
    Keep up the good work. 🙂

  79. Ann Sherwood says:

    I enjoyed reading your post on how to build a niche site. niche or not, it is not as easy as people make it; whatever you think of doing; someone else is already doing it, and as markets get tougher, then everything else gets harder also; Most of my sites are amazon based, and no bucket of joy either; all of my amazon sites are in decline, so much that I am starting to think about dumping them, as they cost me more to keep them then what I am making….

  80. Christopher says:

    Sean,

    Thanks for this post, really useful advice.

    Chris

  81. John says:

    I am in the process of setting up a niche site right now, and this post has been very handy as a check-list to make sure that its on the right track.

    The seo post was good also – picked up some bad advice on how to do this, and this put me straight.

    John

    1. Brock says:

      Hey John,

      If you’re just starting out wanting to learn the ins and outs, right now there is a pretty damn good internship that a group of SEO’s are putting on. I started about a year ago and without much success until I went through one of the internships. They cover niche website building start to finish so I highly recommend it. Just give me an email if you are interested. [email protected]

  82. Eddy says:

    Hey Sean!
    Amazing article, I definitely got something out of it.
    Glad that there are still people like you helping out other people 🙂

    One thing i would like to address though:
    You’re saying a beginner should stay away from the amazon affiliate program, because of the low commission-rate.
    I think it depends on the price.
    When I promote a product that costs more than 100$ the 4% commission are actually good.
    Of course its more reasonable to go with a higher commission-rate if possible (with another affiliate program).
    But the damn good thing about amazon is the phenomenal trust people put in this company.
    If they “could” choose between amazon and “yet another online shop” it will most likely be amazon.
    That means after clicking on your affiliate link they might think “Oh no, i don’t know if this shop is legit, I even have to sign up to buy my desired product, at the same time I already have an amazon account”.
    Another thing as far as you already mentioned: you get commission for products bought within that 72h timeframe, which is another awesome aspect.

    So given you promote a product that costs 100$+ would you still say amazon is the wrong choice?

    I would like to hear your opinion on that.

    Thanks in advance!

    1. Susan says:

      On Amazon.com, a session lasts 24 hours, not 72, except for one condition. Items are tagged with your associate ID at the time they are placed into Amazon’s shopping cart. Then, the items remain tagged for up to 89 days, giving the buyer a chance to complete the purchase at a later date, at which time the Amazon associate would earn a commission.

  83. Moe says:

    Hi Sean…love the article. I have been trying to come up with a good strategy for coming up with a solid niche that I can be successful with and your article has helped me tremendously. I have combined your advice with the advice from another article and I think I have about 3 ideas that I will try to narrow down to 1. Do you have a timeline of how many articles you get up with a new site and the money that you will make on average per month for the first 6 months?

    Thanks…Moe

  84. I still confuse how to put the ads for best CTR, but thanks for share, I got something new here.

  85. Very detailed guide on how to build a niche site Sean. Exactly how people wan’t to move forward when trying to build a niche site. I have seen people trying to succeed without proper keyword research, spammy content.

    Some of them build a site, never notice it again. They keep earning for few months and then lose their rankings.

    The guide you have put up here is very useful and the right path to succeed. But I also feel newbies can own successful amazon affiliate sites making a decent income if they chose the right product and setup a proper website. @Aaslin

  86. Tanja says:

    I am so thankful for reading this post.

    I started a blog that I still haven’t given up on, but I’m terrified of ads/Affiliates,etc. And i would like to make money with it.

    I think I’ll have keep this post as i restructure my blog a bit.

  87. Sumit Thakur says:

    It is good to look for the search count to find your niche but it is also very typical to rank for those keyword. I suggest to write what you like and choose only that niche. With this you will never get bored ( A big problem in writing).
    You are spreading relly great stuff andrew 🙂

  88. Josh says:

    Great writeup! I’ve made a couple of websites now but this is a great page I bookmarked to look back on. And now just so you know, Yoast SEO plugin now has a xml sitemap settings and if you install both that the google plugin, they can conflict with each other.
    Thanks

  89. Robert says:

    Wooow, some solid piece of advice. It’s midnight overhere so I will have to read it tomorrow thoroughly again. I just wonder at this moment what I can sell with my niche, Land Rovers? Thank you for taking the time explaining all this.

  90. Robert says:

    Hi Sean,
    I wrote a comment last night but it vanished into cyberspace. I hope my ip is not somehow blacklisted?

    Thank’s for the article again.

    Robert

    1. Sean says:

      First comment just has to be approved first 🙂

  91. Enozia says:

    Probably the only post I came across that has literally ALL the information I’ve learnt over the past few months in one single go- pretty impressive.
    It always helps reading posts like that and getting motivated to get your website going!
    Kudos to Sean!

  92. Michael .O. says:

    l really took my time reading this piece, it was on of the best l have seen recently, very down to earth and practical,,, l would love to start trying some of your advice out, although earning a living from my location (Nigeria) is one of the most difficult things on this planet earth. but many thanks to your article.

  93. Megan Pangan says:

    Thanks Sean!
    This was really informative. I was wondering, what’s your opinion on using Weebly over wordpress. I’m a big fan of wordpress, but I more just want to focus on content than worry about design.

    1. Amy says:

      Hi Megan,
      Can I offer you some advice? Lead Pages has good ideas for layouts. Canva can make you a designer. If you look around the web, most of the logos are pretty basic. Find a WordPress theme that you like the layout of. What I did for my website was find a theme with the colors that I loved and then designed a Canva logo that complimented it. I still use a free theme but it looks nice. You can even do black and white and then add colors from Canva.
      Hope this helps!
      Amy

  94. I still confuse how to put the ads for best CTR, but thanks for share, I got something new here.

    This is possibly the best guide to affiliate marketing I have read. This is really going to help me finally get started and jump right in.

  95. Neeraj says:

    Sean you have mention all the things in a proper way in this single post …..I really like your way to describe all the thing short and simply.

  96. Erik says:

    Hi Sean,
    awesome information!
    At beginning of this year, I started using LongTailPRO.
    I found a profitable keyword, I used to build a niche site from scratch.
    Now, after 3 months of natural link building, I rank #4 for its keywords for Google U.S.
    Feeling proud!

    Thanks for sharing your guide, Sean.

  97. Sameer Sahil says:

    Hello,This is the best guide for Building Niche Site i must say.I’ve seen hundreds of case studies over the years,but this one is really good.I’ve recently made a Entertainment niche site I’m currently monetizing it using Adsense and Amazon Affiliate and I’m already making 3 figure income which is good for the first time.

  98. osas says:

    i need to start small good business

  99. Raini says:

    Great article! The only question I have is how do I go about setting up commissions?

  100. Jenny says:

    Very useful list to follow. Thank you. I have started a niche site but not earn money. I will try to do again with your detail guide

  101. Mike says:

    Thanks for the insightful post! Very easy to follow guide. I am in the middle of building my own niche site, and have no background in any sort of online business. I have been running into some smaller problems such as, where do I get pictures to put on my website and include with my posts? Do you know of any resources or guides that address this or other small problems people may run into when they begin building niche sites?

  102. Lourensia says:

    Thank you so much for sharing this awesome and practical post!

  103. Chris says:

    Thanks. This is a really helpful post. I’m just starting out and there’s a tonne of useful stuff here.

  104. Thanks for a useful article. I built a lot of niche sites in 2010. Loads got killed off by successive Google updates. However, some sites are still doing well. The key really is to provide USEFUL services in less competitive niches.

    When I mean useful services, I mean moving away from just writing articles, and provide real value for your site visitors.

  105. Ben says:

    Hi everyone, just an open question anyone can answer if you please:

    I was going to build a site around my hobby, kitesurfing, not necessarily to make money but as it is time consuming it would be good to make a return on it.

    Following the research steps I’ve come to realise that there are no affiliate programmes in the niche, only retailers selling products themselves. There are also not a high number of buying keyword searches in the niche each month.

    As a result the only income I can think of would be Google Adword clicks and direct advertising if the site became more popular, possible free samples of product later down the line.

    The question: Is it inadvisable to develop a site in a niche in this state?

    Thank you all.

  106. Rahul says:

    Thats is very nice working on a micro niche sites because these kind of blogs take less time and produce great results.I really like this task. Thanks for the informative article. 🙂

  107. Rohit Singh says:

    Thanks for this post and I think that niche sites are good way to make money if you are able to rank them successfully in Google

  108. @199flags says:

    These are the kinds of write ups that make the internet a better place. With the huge boom it’s tough to sift through everything. I’ve been fighting tooth and nail to get up to speed after coming late to the party. Thank you for your post! I myself am trying to become travel independent, but my niche is a tough one.

  109. Is there a reason my comment didn’t make it through moderation?

    1. Sean says:

      Sorry just hadn’t checked it yet 🙂

      1. @199flags says:

        My apologies for being impatient.

  110. Cally says:

    I am so dumb,I kept reading your name as Seanogal and was fully convinced that you are a die-hard Tolkien fan and your favorite character is Smeagol 😀

    Great article by the way, you described about a year’s worth of work in a light positive way, I liked your style of writing, so clear, coherent and the content was very helpful as well.

    Thank you

  111. Tim says:

    Great read Sean.

    You mentioned “buy key term traffic”.

    For the life of me I cannot find what this means on Google… And you don’t explain it in more detail. What’s key term traffic? Targeted traffic for chosen keyword? Cheers!

  112. Shameem Reza says:

    This is just an awesome guide I was looking for. Basically I am a programmer but as writing is my hobby, I was thinking about to start Affiliate marketing. Trust me this your this article just save 80% of my time. Thanks, Thanks a lot.

  113. Miro says:

    This is really great post. Long article but going right into the point of choosing and building the niche sites. I definitely got some good ideas, and could see where I do the mistakes.

    Thanks Sean

  114. Ajay says:

    Hi Sean, awesome information. Always look forward to read your posts.
    Thanks 🙂

  115. Eren says:

    He,
    You said that Amazon isn’t a good start for beginners, but what do you think of Azon Authority, hence in gives 90 days for the consumer, and if they pay within the 90 days, you will get your comission. And they have other things that stand a out. My question is, is this a scam-thing, because it is just too good to be true, I think. Well thank you for your time,
    Best regards,
    Eren

  116. I’ve maid a blog with multiple niche. And I’m getting a hard time thinking and starting a articles for each niche that I have on my blog. When I just rear this article from you, I got sad and realize my mistakes but at the same time excited to revise my blog =).

    This was really helpful for me!

    Thanks

  117. Omar Saady says:

    Hi

    Thanks for sharing this awesome post

    Yes it seems to be the ultimate affiliate marketing training report specially for newbies

    I think that affiliate marketing is all about pinpointing the right niche – the one that you’re willing to pour hours of your life into. Yet, at a certain point, you need to choose one in which you’ll be able to find solid, willing prospects.

    Thanks again
    Omar Saady

  118. Chris says:

    Just curious, how much time would you say it would take the average person who has a decent understanding of how to do much of what you covered to get through all of these steps? Just a rough estimate. And how long, again, on average, after doing all of this would it take before that person starts seeing $500/month in a medium competitive niche – one that you would consider being pretty ideal?

  119. Karthik says:

    Complete post for Build a Niche Webside… I have learned lot from this article. Now i can understood about niche blog..Thanks for Sharing..

  120. Sam Torres says:

    Thank you for this article. I have created a niche blog following most of your guidelines. Which would be the best affiliate system that you recommend for a website focused on gardening tools?

  121. Building niche site is a wonderful way to earn decent amount of money in shorter periods. Also, you do not have to use many strategies for making them creative and user friendly.
    Thanks for your detailed information about building a niche site. Although I was having adequate information of building a niche web site but I was not aware about the step by step procedure..So, your article had inspired me to build niche websites for my online business..
    Can you explain about benefits of HARO strategy? How it help us in our business?
    Thanks,
    Jennifer

  122. Luana says:

    This is a great list, find good niche ideas has been one of my major difficulties, because not all we find has a good search volume and at the same time with low competition. I like these ideas. Thanks for sharing.

  123. Mark says:

    Hi Sean,

    Thanks for a great article. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and I’m following al of your steps.

    Just one question. I have visited your site where you are currently making $1000 a month, and I cannot see any links to purchase software or goods.

    Can you please tell me how your website generates so much money when the links are not clear to see?

    Thanks!

    1. Sean says:

      There are affiliate links and affiliate coupon codes in each of the reviews.

  124. Henrique says:

    Great tips, I’m looking for good niche markets to build a money site and I found your page. Interesting ideas I’ll try some of them. Now I’m looking for something that is related to some of my passions and hobbies and you have possibility for monetization

  125. Pavlos says:

    Hi there,
    I have a question for you my friend. Is it writing content the only way to earn money through affiliate marketing? What if I am not the best copywriter out there? Is there any other form of marketing that dosn’t require rich content? For example, which is the model of platforms like Gadget Flow?
    Thanks!

  126. Great tips, I’m looking for sensible niche markets to make a casting website and that I found your page. Interesting ideas I’ll strive some of them. Now I’m trying for one thing that’s associated with a number of my passions and hobbies and you’ve got risk for monetization

  127. Jonathan says:

    Great post, Sean! Do you still think this works now after all the animals Google released lately :)?

  128. zach says:

    Hi Sean-

    My passion is golf and watches. The 3 niches I’ve narrowed down are:

    1) Vacation golf packages
    2) Golf Simulators
    3) Luxury watches

    What niche would be a good way to start? Also, do you focus content on brands or do you create a umbrella name and affiliate market off of that i.e..

    Create a golf site that follows the outline you’ve provided regarding content, but link to golf simulator affiliate sites, golf club affiliate sites, etc..

    or..do you stay more focused? For example, only do a golf club site, or only do a simulator site , or only do Rolex luxury watches.

    All feedback is appreciated!

    Thanks,
    Zachs

    1. Sean says:

      haha you and I would get along well.

      I have quite a bit of experience in all of these niches, so if you want to talk in more detail shoot me an email at [email protected].

      But here are some thoughts:

      1) golfvacationinsider.com does this really well. Where the real money is, is building up your email list and getting the resorts to do direct mailings.

      2) The high end market is tough with this, I make a nice affiliate income from reviewing some of the lower end products: http://breakingeighty.com/optishot-2-review

      3) Luxury watches are tough – because most people will buy them through authorized dealers, and with so many fakes out there, you have to overcome quite a bit of skepticism from anyone who is not authorized.

  129. Kunal says:

    I was searching for Amazon niche and got this wonderful article. I must say that my thinking regarding niche marketing has widened after reading this post. The idea I had thought of working is mentioned in much more elaborated form.

    Thanks Sean!

  130. Sarah says:

    This article is the most helpful one I have come across so thank you. I’m in the planning stages of my site. I didn’t think I’d be able to make money out of my interests but it makes sense that it is the best way to go. Thanks to you.

  131. Joseph Moran says:

    Hi sean,
    Your article is really really great …Information you have shared is very useful for me..I have just bookmarked your post and also forwarded this to my friend…Much thanks for sharing 🙂

  132. Rich says:

    Great article Sean – I’ve added it as a resource to my business idea directory.

  133. Jamie Hill says:

    Great tips, I have been following your advice and finally started to work on my own website – I am wordpress newbie – and it is now finally starting to take shape. I have learnt that it is a marathon not a sprint when it comes to a niche website.

  134. Jenny says:

    Hi

    Thanks for sharing this good article, I am thinking of starting a niche blog and your article gave me fruitful info.

  135. James Reilly says:

    Brilliant. I love the Purest Form.

    There are some really great tips and ideas for people to really grow their sites. You have gone a lot more indepth on this post. Niche sites, everyone wants, so thank you for this post.

    James
    P.S Love LOTS of Steps lol

  136. Great video and written blog! I completely agree with everything you said. I think one of the main reasons (besides not listening to you) that people end up not making any money is that the real way to make money online is to create great products, services, content, reviews, etc that are actually useful to people. Most people have enough experience surfing online that they can see someone trying to game the system a mile away. Honestly, I’m glad the focus is getting away from that anyway. If we’re not here to help people, then why are we here?

    Thanks so much for your hard work. Although I’ve never met you, I have an idea how many hours your put in to make your life go in the direction you wanted it to go.

    Keep up up the great work and positive vibe!

  137. Juho-Pekka says:

    Hi,

    Thanks for the great post. I have some questions related to the programs like Google Keyword Tool and Market Samurai. When I try to register for the Google Keyword tool it asks for my website. However, I haven’t created a website yet. I just wanted to check how it works. Do I have to create a website before using these programs or can I just practice and check some statistics before getting serious?

    Other question related to costs of these programs. I guess none of these programs is free to use, right? How much money would you suggest a beginner to use when starting to create a website from scratch?

    Thank you for your answer,
    Juho-Pekka

  138. Craig says:

    Really awesome article and I love it how you give a brief guide at the top and the go into the nitty gritty details below. It makes coming back to see the steps a lot easier and I can draw up a list of items that I need to take action on!

    Cheers

  139. Great article. I am a bit late to the party. I have been cruising along as more of a hobby but am now looking to get more $ serious. Thanks for all the tips.
    Tommy

  140. Hi
    Looks great! Optin’s price is $67 for me. I don’t see a $49 version.

    Thanks

  141. Minhaj Uddin says:

    Hi Sean!

    What an amazing detailed post on building a niche site that makes good money! Loved the post very much reading till end!

    Thanks for sharing an informative article!

    Keep it up!

  142. Justin says:

    Great article. What about using sites like Weebly or Wix?

    1. Sean says:

      Not a fan. Not very flexible, and not great for search results.

  143. Pingback: sekitar

Comments are closed.