I was thinking about starting a directory, but I'm not sure if it's worth the effort. How much money did everybody make when they first started their directory (if they made anything at all..)? And do you recommend a general directory or a niche directory? I was leaning more towards a niche directory.
A directory can be a lucrative business there are free directories and paid directories. In the paid directories the price varys form one directory to the other thus the amount of money they make will be different. I think a general directory would be good but you should have many different categories to cater to the needs of everyone.
When I started my directory, I invested my own money in it, so basically I was running on negatives for first two months. After that I started making profit because I promoted hard. Now if you are planning on making a directory for money or starting any other site to get rich then you will not get rich. Another thing, What others make doesn't have any impact on what you will make. Just like John Chow making 30k a month doesn't mean every other blogger will make $30k a month. Same if a directory owner is earning $4000 a month, you will not earn $4000 a month. It all depends on your business strategies. You might make 10k a month, or you might loose your money. You cannot tell whether the water is sweet or sour without tasting it.
You can make great with a directory if you have an SEO company. Some SEO companies sale 250 or 1000 inbounds for a set amount of money. If you can start doing this you can make great.
The money is there, the potential is there, if you dont want to put in the effort you will probably be disappointed quite quickly. If you do go for it i would suggest a niche.
2 months and still not a cent from my directories, maybe because they are still new and have no pr yet.