Are Niche Sites Dead?
Ever wanted to start a niche site but wonder if it’s worth the investment? Don’t want to waste hours of writing thousands of words and get nothing in return (well, except maybe getting better at writing)? Want to know if you can still “make it” with niche sites before you try it out?
Well bad news…
There’s no other way of knowing these things besides that. You have to do it first.
The good news? Niche sites aren’t dead – and you’ll know why in a bit.
Why People Think Niche Sites Are Dead
There are thousands of niche sites made every month, yet people think it’s dead. Why? Because most of them “fail” (a.k.a. quit/not putting in the work).
For starters, people think niche sites are passive income – they are, but long-term – so they don’t expect to work on it for a few hours each day. They don’t do the necessary research required and they’re not creative enough to create content that appeals to their target market… if they even have one.
For those of you who already knows these things, let’s dig deeper into why people really fail…
They didn’t do their research.
Some people try to build a niche site… without even having a niche in the first place! Big mistake.
If you want to really succeed with niche sites, you have to be prepared for the future. You need to know what steps you’re gonna take, what affiliate programs you’re gonna choose, what hosting is the best for your goal, and etc.
You need to do your research and you need a plan/strategy.
Building the website is the easy part, driving organic traffic is the hardest. Have a strategy you can use to achieve that and you’ll be one step closer to earning your first $100 with a niche site.
Writing Clickbaity Content To Drive Traffic To Site
Have you thought of this as your “strategy”? Well, stop. This isn’t the right way to do it (plus Google doesn’t like this kind of content.)
Imagine searching a specific thing in Google, say you’re looking for “how to make your first $100 online”. On top of the page, you see exactly those words, so you click it… but when you’re inside? All you see are spammy affiliate links, useless content and all those dirty stuff.
Would you continue reading? Of course not!
You’re looking for value. When you write something, make sure what your headline is aligned with what your content is.
Lack of commitment, discipline (consistency) and persistence
As I said earlier, people fail because they quit or they do not put in the work. If you’re not committed to working for your projects, then building a niche site is NOT for you.
This is a long-term game and if you’re gonna play with it, expect not earning anything with the first 3-6 months. Keep putting in the work even when you don’t see any results YET. It’s discouraging, I know, but eventually, you’ll reap what you sow.
They don’t know what type of content converts
A lot of people always say, “build informational content people are hungry for”. While I don’t completely disagree, if you’re goal is simply to make $100 a day with niche sites, then I suggest you go write content with higher buyer intent.
“What type of content is that?” Product reviews.
People who look for reviews are people who are likely to buy the product already, else, they’d simply ask “what is Product X?”. Here’s a few examples of what kind of keywords you can use…
- Product X VS Product Y
- Product X Reviews
- The Best Product X
Knowing the type of content that converts leads us to the 5th reason why people fail with niche sites…
They don’t know how to write content that converts
Before starting any kind of online business, I always recommend learning copywriting first. It’s the most valuable skill you can learn if you want to succeed with online biz… Why?
Copywriting is also known as persuasive writing. This simply means copywriting is sales in written form. If you can sell to people with the words you write, you’ll earn money. If you don’t, you won’t. This is why it’s important to learn copywriting with niche sites. You’ll be promoting a product, won’t you? Learn this and you’ll be 1 step closer to succeeding with niche sites.
If you want to learn copywriting, I suggest you read 3 books: CA$HVERTISING, Influence and The Copywriter’s Handbook
How To Succeed With Niche Sites
Niche sites are harder than they used to be, no doubt about that. With Google’s continuous improvement on the platform, there are always gonna be some changes – and we’ll be affected by them.
What you should look out for before everything else
Want a successful niche site? Find a good niche.
There are thousands, if not millions, of niches out there you can go for… but not all of them are great niches. Here are some questions you should ask yourself…
- Are there enough people searching for the terms in the niche?
- How’s the competition in the niche? Is it too tough? Is the competition approachable, and do you think you can beat the current ranking sites in the search results?
- Will the products in your niche make you earn $10+ per commission? (Is there money in this niche?)
- Are people hungry for the information you’ll be giving out? Would they want to spend money for the problems you’ll fix?
- Are you interested – or at the very least, fine with writing stuff – in the niche?
Once you answer these questions, you’ll get a better understanding of the niche you’re thinking of. It’s up for you to decide if you’ll go with it or not… but when you do, make sure you’ll be committed, disciplined and persistent.
What to focus on when starting out
Let me repeat, niche sites aren’t dead, but don’t expect to make money with AdSense (high traffic required, high traffic keywords tend to be too competitive).
Here are some reasons why affiliate income is better than Google Adsense:
- There is no risk of getting banned, unlike in Google Adsense.
- You can create multiple accounts for almost all affiliate networks.
- There’s no need to constantly update your site.
- You can have high-ticket products for your niche (higher commissions).
If you’re just starting out, the key is to focus on writing product reviews. You only want to make sure these products will pay you over $10 commission per sale. After that? You’re set to earn at least $100 a day.
Not kidding.
Targeting these keywords attract people who are more likely going to buy already (high buyer-intent keywords).
So that’s it. Keep putting in the work and eventually, you’ll succeed with niche sites.
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