The money is in the content
I’ve had quite a few people contact me and ask me about my last post regarding selling blog and websites at Sitepoint. Steve, my roommate (and good friend since kindergarten) asked me why I haven’t been doing that all year, that is, making websites and selling them for a few hundred dollars each. I didn’t really have a good answer at the time, but tonight I was reading a lot of “blogs about blogging” and I came up with one.
The reason I was able to sell those websites for increasing sums of money last Summer was because I kept getting better at creating decent content. Every site I sold was related to something I knew about. The Poker Blog, my biggest sale ($2,500), related to a game I played two or three times a week. The Golf Vault ($250-$300) related to a sport I’ve been playing since I was 8 or 9 years old. I’ve been working on computers since I was 12, so MyLaptopGuide ($300-$400) was easy to write for. The 8-10 articles (or posts) I’d put up on the websites were something of value, they were posts that would take someone without a lot of experience in the given topic an hour or two (maybe more) to write. They took me 15-20 minutes.
I was able to write about things I knew with ease. I didn’t have to research anything, I just started writing. I reviewed a Titleist 983K driver since that’s the driver I play. I wrote about an Area-51 notebook computer since I understood all the numbers and abbreviations that were next to it. I didn’t have to learn anything new to write my articles.
My point is that great websites are not great because they have a stunning design. They’re great because they offer something to the reader - unique content.
So the reason I haven’t been able to make a few new websites every week is because I don’t have time to research new topics and provide something to the people visiting the website. If the website isn’t providing anything to people when they visit then why would they come back or bother clicking on the advertisements? There is no incentive for people to browse the site, read the articles, and click on the advertisements.
If you’re trying to make money from blogging or developing niche content websites remember that you must provide something to your reader. People are not looking for things they can find in an encyclopedia, they’re looking for unique information - information that only you can provide. Whether that’s your opinion, an objective review of a product, or advice, make sure that your readers are getting something unique when they visit your website.
On a sidenote, Steve and I eventually came to an agreement where he’ll spend time researching topics and writing new content and I’ll deal with hosting, domain registration, and blog templates and we’ll split the profits from any of the sites we make. It works out perfectly since I’ve always hated coming up with content when I am not interested in the topic.
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Great idea. Please keep us in the loop of what happens with the revenue you guys generate.
Dave
FTT