When someone asks me how I earn an income online, I tell them that I have a few niche websites. Their next question usually starts with What? When? Where? Why? How? How Much? etc. It's for that reason that I'm creating this series of forum posts to help answer those very logical and legitimate questions. My hope is that they will help YOU achieve online success, if that is your goal. "How do you build a niche website?" is the question I'm going to briefly cover today. For those of my generation (over 40) , the idea of creating a website can be quite daunting. I know that most young people are pretty computer savvy these days, but those of us who didn't grow up with an electronic gadget in our hands can find the online world a little challenging. I'm happy to say that these obstacles can be overcome with the right tools and resources. If you can follow instructions, you can build a niche website business that generates an income - and really enjoy it too! I've already explained what a niche website is in more detail, but just briefly, a niche website is a site devoted to providing information about a very specific topic, like "Blue Ulysses Butterflies" or "Juicing For Good Health". People mostly go online to do one of two things these days - socialize or search for information. Some niche sites can meet both those needs, but usually when we are talking about building a niche website to earn an income, we're talking about providing people with the information they are searching for on a particular subject. Understand The C-T-P-M Process... I learned pretty much EVERYTHING I know about building a niche website from SBI. If you've never heard of SBI, it's an all-in-one business building package that specializes in providing users like me with the tools, resources, and instructions to build a successful niche website business using my own personal knowledge and skill set. The foundation that they teach (and I'm not disclosing any state secrets here ) is the C-T-P-M process. That stands for Content, Traffic, Presell, Monetize, in that particular order. It's a formula that has worked from the onset of internet marketing, and continues to be a viable business model in today's ever changing online market. By providing unique and valuable content that searches are seeking, the search engines (like Google, Yahoo, and Bing, etc) send you free traffic by listing you in their organic search results for specific search terms. Your content/information then provides visitors with the information/answers they are looking for and gently presells them on something related to their query. Using one of the niche examples I gave above, a visitor may be interested in books on the Blue Ulysses Butterflies, butterfly artwork, butterfly nets, etc. You may not want to or be able to sell the products yourself, but you can always monetize by linking to another source where they can purchase these products and you will earn a commission on any sales generated. That's just ONE way to monetize a niche website (called affiliate marketing), but there are many monetization options available. Hopefully, you get the general idea of how the C-T-P-M process works. SBI has it honed to a science that, when implemented, really provides a win-win situation for you, your visitor, and even the product provider if you happen to choose the affiliate model as one of your income streams. Begin With A Niche Topic That You Know And/Or Love... Choose a subject that you are passionate about, or at the very least that you already know about. It may be something that you've got heaps of experience with from your own work life or home life, etc., or it may be a hobby or interest that you devote your spare time to enjoying. Having a love for your subject will come across in your writing. Your natural enthusiasm will draw others into your content and keep them reading, building a relationship that will keep them coming back for more in future. Alternatively, knowing your topic inside and out (even if you aren't quite as passionate about it) will naturally allow you to come across as someone who is knowledgeable and a reliable source of info and will instill confidence in your readers so that they heed your advice and suggestions. Knowledge + Passion = The Sweet Spot and would be the most ideal niche topic for you, but I consider at least one or the other to be essential to building a niche website that will generate a long term income for you. Of course, you'll also want to check the demand for information on your topic before making your final decision. There's no point in spending countless hours building a niche website on tiddly-winks if no one is interested in tiddly-winks any more. Choose Your Site Building Tools And Resources... Let me preface this section by saying that I have only ever built a successful niche website using SBI, so naturally that is what I know about and suggest to others. It's not the only way available to build a niche website business, I just happen to think it's the easiest and best because all the tools and resources you need are already completely integrated and compatible for an amazing low price and are constantly being upgraded as the web changes. It really saves you time, money, and head aches in the long run by using a system that is specifically designed for the purpose, and SBI also has an incredible private members forum that is invaluable. Having said that, here are the very basic tools and resources that you'll need to build a successful niche website business outside of SBI should you choose to go that route... domain name web hosting keyword research tools email autoresponder newsletter capability tracking/stats/analysis tools I have to be honest, when I got started and realized I was going to need these various tools and resources, I kind of freaked out. I had no idea what was compatible with what. How to integrate the various things to work together, how to work any of them, etc. The popular term at the time was "newbie" and that was me to the letter. I breathed a big, bold sigh of relief when I discovered that I didn't have to worry about any of it with SBI. You may be past all that and already have the knowledge and skills to take a bunch of third party resources and piece them together to create a well oiled machine. If that's you, hats off to you! Let's jump right into building the website then. Choose your niche about something you know and love and that has appropriate supply and demand. Set up your hosting and a domain name that includes your niche topic keyword(s) if possible. Do your keyword research and create a site blueprint of all of the information you are going to write about based on what real people are searching for every day on your subject. Write lots of GOOD quality content around the keywords you have researched. Remember every single page you write that targets a specific keyword or phrase that people are searching for is another door where customers/clients/visitors will enter your business. Be sure to use the keywords correctly on your website (in all the right places and not too many or too few times). Submit each page of your site to the search engines as you create them so they will be indexed (listed in the search results) as quickly as possible. Engage in some off-site activities to develop a name for yourself and get a few quality links to your site from reputable places (social media, forums, other high quality sites). Repeat 3-6. It may sound easy when you say it fast! It's NOT easy, though I do think it really is pretty simple. It's just a lot of work. I don't think "work" is a bad word as some people do. Work is rewarding and stimulating and gives you a real sense of satisfaction. Just be sure you are doing the right work with the right tools and you'll have yourself a successful niche website business before you know it. Well, I said I was going to "briefly" cover the question of how to build a niche website - so much for the brief part. As you can see, I've not been brief and yet I've really only scratched the surface. I hope I've said enough, though, to inspire you with the confidence to know that you CAN do this and with the will to go ahead and give it a try. You really don't have much to lose, but you've got a ton to gain. I wish you the best of success! Blessings, Angie [Post edited - Admin]
I love tiddly-winks! There is even a Harvard Tiddly-Winks Society, and almost a million pages indexed by google on the subject. Just shows you, any niche can find an audience. Excellent guidance Angie. Thanks.
Ha ha! Why am I not surprised? Also just noticed a typo and it's too late for me to hit edit. Near the end it should have read "Repeat 3-6" instead. Ooops!
Another excellent post Angie! I really enjoy reading your posts. They are always so informative and well written!
