My Niche Site Goal
I’m going to tackle building a niche site from scratch by following the steps of how experts do theirs. I have experienced success in the past with other projects when I had the discipline to follow a “how-to” course to the letter and to the end.
I’ve had dozens of friends start processes like this with me (on other endeavors) only to see them fall off mid-way through. A few “do it their own way” and fail. Many ended up saying, “We’ll pay you to do it for us.” There is a business in selling one’s expertise but that’s not what I was looking for. I wanted to leverage economies of scale by having partners, not to do consulting or widget building.
In my life, I’ve had a lot of people envious of my knowledge, successes, hobbies or skills. The secret is that I dedicate myself to learning and follow it through … to … the …end.
With that said, welcome to my new learning journey.
ROI
I’m going to be interested in my ROI so throughout this process, I’ll report on 3 factors: Money Invested, Time Invested, and Revenue Earned. If I can, I’d like to split it up to research / learning and site work. For Day 1, I’ve invested about 12 hours of research and learning. It took a lot of research to find the best course to follow for a successful niche website. I’ll build a graph for future posts.
Research
I did two days of research to find the best online course to build a profitable niche website. In the end I found that the BEST “courses” were actually free blog posts. Pat Flynn has a great series on smartpassiveincome.com. The only problem is that it was published in 2010. The sequence is very difficult to follow because of the updates to the original posts all over the site. I was worried that I’d be following outdated information.
Another expert and trusted authority that collaborates a lot with Pat Flynn is Spencer Haws. His Niche Site Project outline was done in 2013, much more recently than Pat’s. He did it once on is own (Niche Site Project 1) and a second time brining a student through he process (Niche Site Project 2).
Since he followed the same steps, I decided that I’d follow BOTH projects side by side. I’ll read Project 1 first and then the related topic on Project 2 to get a deeper understanding from another angle when he’s teaching a student. The Niche To-Do List below is a result of that research.
Update January 28, 2015: His last update to the above 2 projects was starting an “Authority Niche Project” in Aug 2014. There’s only 6 blogs on his progress. He didn’t monetize the site until December after the ebook was launched. The two key blogs in the series discuss modifications that need to be taken into consideration from the lessons their small niche sites learned by the way of Google penalties. I’ve added those six posts into the lesson sequence below (labeled as ASP1).
Software
I was a little confused as to which was the best software to use going into this. I was worried about doing one training over another because some focused on picking a niche based on using one software over another.
After an hour or two of reading blog posts and forum comments, it was pretty clear that Long Tail Pro (LTP) had taken the reigns over Market Samurai (MS). The primary complaint about MS was that it was way too slow. Supposedly the problems had been fixed, but research into what marketers are using most recently showed that LTP was the winner. There were some benefits for using BOTH to leverage both their strengths. I’m just going to start with one, Long Tail Pro.
My Niche To-Do List (Updated Feb 6, 2015)
Completed |
Link and Description |
Source |
1/28/2015 |
How To Make Passive Income With Niche Websites Spencer Haws interview by Guthrie |
Guthrie |
1/27/2015 |
How My Niche Site Ranked #1 in Google in 62 Days! |
NSP1 |
1/27/2015 |
Public Niche Site Project: The Strategic Plan |
NSP1 |
1/27/2015 |
Niche Site Project Webinar Re-play (start from 17 min) 1h5m Note: Might not be necessary after Long Tail Pro Software video |
NSP1 |
1/29/2015 |
How to Brainstorm for Niche Ideas: Niche Site Project 2, Coaching Call 1 (September 3rd, 2013) |
NSP2 |
2/2/2015 |
How to Perform Keyword Research: NSP 2, Coaching Call 2 (September 9th, 2013) |
NSP2 |
2/2/2015 |
How to Analyze the Google Competition for 5 Example Keywords: Coaching Call 3 for NSP 2! (September 24th, 2013) |
NSP2 |
|
Welcome to the Authority Site Project! |
ASP1 |
|
4 Key Strategy Differences Between Small Niche Sites and Authority Sites |
ASP1 |
|
Authority Keyword Research Tutorial [with Video!] + SEM Rush Review |
ASP1 |
|
Authority Site Project Income Report for December 2014 |
ASP1 |
|
How To Videos for LongTailPro.com http://www.longtailpro.com/demo-videos/ |
LTP |
|
|
LTP |
|
Skip first videos, use manual Long Tail Pro User Manual.pdf |
LTP |
|
|
LTP |
|
|
LTP |
|
|
LTP |
|
– Video 6 – Understanding the Keyword Results Screen |
LTP |
|
– Video 7 – How to Use the Competitor Analysis |
LTP |
|
– Video 8 – How to Find Low Competition Keywords with the Competitor Analysis |
LTP |
|
– Video 9 – How to Use the Rank Checker |
LTP |
|
– Video 10 – How to Import up to 10,000 Keywords at Once |
LTP |
|
– Video 11 – How to Save and Use Favorites |
LTP |
|
– Video 12 – How to Use “Avg. KC” on Keyword Results |
LTP |
|
– Video 13 – Understanding the Average Keyword Competitiveness Number |
LTP |
|
NSP Update 1: Finding the Right Keyword to Target |
NSP1 |
|
Good and Bad Examples of Low Competition Keywords: Niche Site Project 2 Update! (September 18th, 2013) |
NSP2 |
|
NSP Update 2: My Primary Keyword and Domain Revealed! |
NSP1 |
|
The Mystery Keyword and Brand Strategy: Coaching Call 4 for Niche Site Project 2! (October 1st, 2013) |
NSP2 |
|
Register for Niche Site Duel |
SPIB |
|
Themes Plugins and Content Strategy for Niche Site Project 2: Coaching Call 5! (October 9th, 2013) |
NSP2 |
|
NSP Update 3: Niche Site Content Strategy |
NSP1 |
|
6 Ways to Create Content that Engages and Converts |
|
|
How to Self Publish a Book on Amazon: 23 Steps to Launching a Kindle eBook That Makes Over $100 a Day |
ASP1 |
|
Video Strategy |
Other |
|
YouTube Links strategy |
Other |
|
Niche Site Project 2 Update: Week 6! (October 16th, 2013) |
NSP2 |
|
NSP Update 4: My Niche Site is Live…Now What? |
NSP1 |
|
The Site is Revealed! An In-Depth Look at Perrin’s Website (October 23rd, 2013) |
NSP2 |
|
Preparing for Website Promotion: Niche Site Project Week 8! (October 31st, 2013) |
NSP2 |
|
NSP Update 5: Ranking in Google and Making Money! |
NSP1 |
|
How to Build Links for Niche Sites |
NSP1 |
|
1) Beginner’s Guide to Link Building (PDF) |
PBSEO |
|
2) Conducting A Campaign (PDF) |
PBSEO |
|
3) Strategies (PDF) |
PBSEO |
|
4) Link Diversity (PDF) |
PBSEO |
|
5) Tools (PDF) |
PBSEO |
|
6) Advanced Section (PDF) |
PBSEO |
|
7) Actual Link Building Opportunities (PDF) |
PBSEO |
|
8) Blueprint For New Sites (PDF) |
PBSEO |
|
9) Automated and Outsourced Link Building (PDF) |
PBSEO |
|
Reddit Marketing: How We Got 10,000 Pageviews and a PA 48 Link from Reddit in 2 Weeks |
NP |
|
Building Base Links for Niche Websites: Niche Site Project Week 9! (November 4th, 2013) |
NSP2 |
|
http://www.nichepursuits.com/how-to-build-links-for-niche-sites/ |
NP |
|
|
|
|
THE Backlinking Strategy That Works – 2014 and Beyond Edition |
SPIB |
|
How to Effectively Add Amazon Affiliate Links with WordPress |
NSP1 |
|
How to Get a Google Penalty Using Too Many Affiliate Links (And How to Recover) |
NSP1 |
|
Adsense Secrets Book 6th Edition – Layer on Techniques http://www.amazon.com/Google-AdSense-Secrets-6-0-Making-ebook/dp/B00SKIPFFO (Releases Feb 24, 2015) |
Joel Comm |
|
Rankings Jump, Real Earnings, and Links! Project Review for Week 10 (November 12th, 2013) |
NSP2 |
|
Guest Post Success! A Simple Ego Bait Method that Can Get You Great Links! (November 20th, 2013) |
NSP2 |
|
NSP Update 6: Ranking on the First Page of Google! |
NSP1 |
|
Ranking Higher in Google and Selling More Products: Week 12 Recap! (November 27th, 2013) |
NSP2 |
|
Niche Site Project 2: Income Report for November 2013! (December 3rd, 2013) |
NSP2 |
|
Niche Site Project 2 Update: Google Traffic, Better Rankings, and More Sales! (December 17th, 2013) |
NSP2 |
|
Niche Site Project 2: Income Report for December 2013! (January 7th, 2014) |
NSP2 |
|
Niche Site Project 2: Income Report and Podcast for January 2014! (February 6th, 2014) |
NSP2 |
|
Niche Site Project 2: Income Report for February 2014! (March 4th, 2014) |
NSP2 |
|
Niche Site Project 2: Income Report for March 2014! (April 8th, 2014) |
NSP2 |
|
Other articles: |
|
2/1/2015 |
Podcast 44: Content Marketing and Traffic Tips from Neil Patel |
NP |
1/29/2015 |
Podcast 57: How Claire Smith Makes Over 5 Figures a Month with Niche Sites and NO Link Building. |
NP |
|
Is My Niche Site a Victim of Negative SEO? |
NSP1 |
|
Niche Site Project Income Report for March 2013 |
NSP1 |
|
The State of SEO and My Public Niche Site Project |
NSP1 |
|
NSP Update 7: Rankings, Earnings, and Strategy Review |
NSP1 |
|
Niche Site Project Income Report for April 2013 |
NSP1 |
|
Outranked! Was My Niche Site Copied? |
NSP1 |
|
Niche Site Project Income Report for May 2013 |
NSP1 |
|
Niche Site Project Income Report for June 2013 |
NSP1 |
|
Niche Site Project Income Report for July 2013! |
NSP1 |
|
I Got an Unnatural Links Warning! New Manual Spam Actions Viewer |
NSP1 |
|
Niche Site Project Income Report for August 2013! |
NSP1 |
|
Niche Site Project Income Report for September 2013 and a Penguin Penalty 2.1! |
NSP1 |
|
Niche Site Project 1 Income Report for October 2013! (Nov. 18th, 2013) |
NSP1 |
|
SEO Attack Against BestSurvivalKnifeGuide.com: A Full Link Analysis and Case Study (Dec. 5th, 2013) |
NSP1 |
|
Survival Knife Project Update! Making a Comeback from Negative SEO? (August 27th, 2014) |
NSP1 |
|
Podcast 43: Niche Site Project Update, Disavow Links, and Recovering in Google (Sept. 1st, 2014) |
NSP1 |
1/29/2015 |
Podcast 54: Link Building Tactics for 2015 and Beyond with Jon Cooper |
NP |
* Sources:
NSP1 : Niche Site Project 1: http://www.nichepursuits.com/niche-site-project-1-overview/
NSP2 : Niche Site Project 2: http://www.nichepursuits.com/niche-site-project-2-overview/
SPI : Smart Passive Income: http://www.smartpassiveincome.com
NSP: Niche Site Pursuits : Spencer Haws : http://www.nichepursuits.com/%20
LTP: Long Tail Pro
ASP1: Authority Site Project 1: http://www.nichepursuits.com/4-key-strategy-differences-small-niche-sites-authority-sites/
Guthrie: Chris Guthrie’s Kindle Book 5 Proven Methods For Making $1,000+ Per Month With Websites (Proven Methods for making $1,000+ Per Month Online) (Volume 1)