The internet doesn't need yet another MMO website. Unfortunately that doesn't mean another 50 won't go live today...and another 50 tomorrow...and so on. The reason why there are so many MMO sites is the same reason you see so many late night infomercials and newspaper ads telling you how to get rich quick. The sellers of these products get their customers to think about how much they hate their jobs or how many bills they have. If they do then they are on the hook. The reeling them in part comes when they offer to sell them the secret way where they too can make lots of money. Judging from sites like John Chow, who doesn't offer much substantial information at all but instead creates a level of hype, there is a huge body of people on the internet looking to get rich quick. The problem is that these people don't realize that they are getting the owners of these websites rich and not the other way around.
Chant-- well said! Chow is all about the hype. You will rarely find any substance at all in it, much less anything that will really help you. When someone shows a picture of an exotic car or huge adsense check on their blog, run!!!!!!
My theory is that I should work on content first and maybe add in SEO-friendly and metatags stuff after i'm done with everything On my last site I only worked on SEO and stuff and my website content was extremely lacking (metaknight.com), this time i'm doing better though (gnarfard.com)
I understand your point. I am certainly not a pro, but I must disagree. It is very important to have a good seo background before writing anything. Just learning how to optimize your titles is huge!! You could write a great page. If the title is not made properly (with seo in mind), maybe 10 people will read it. If the title is superb, maybe 10,000 people will read it. IMHO, you won't get anywhere without good seo and content. They both count for a lot.
I definitelly agree with you about and these wackos that keep repeating that garbage "write/do a site about what you know and love" it's a whole lotta garbage
If you love something that will break the bank, hats off to you. Many of us don't share that luxury. I would rather laugh all the way to the bank than write about the weird things I love. But there is a way to combine your passions with what someone else wants to read/ talk about. My point is to stop following the "write what you love" sheep. Just stepping out that black hole can make a HUGE difference. I know that I am going against the norm in here, as virtually everyone preaches the same thing over and over, but I think it needs to be said. Once I read a man in here that made a VERY BIG difference in my life. He said something to the effect of, "Screw writing about my passions. I'm here to make a living. If I get sick of writing about a niche that is making me a fortune, I'll hire someone cheaply to write it for me." That is a powerful statement!|!!!
Thank you for laughing with me. It would be a funny site. Sort of a freak show thing where I can display my ignorance. I like the idea!!
I think it's actually not totally "write what you love". It's the mix of that AND what's popular/being searched by many on SE's.
In my mind, you stated option A. Option B is have someone else write it for you. Option C is just suck it up and write what will make you some money.
I really doubt there's anyone out there though who doesn't enjoy something that would be in a profitable niche (you'd be surprised at how well some niches monetize, and where there are audiences we normally wouldn't expect). And just keep in mind, Adsense is only one revenue stream. Anyone with two brain cells to rub together will diversify far more than that alone. While some niches suck for ppc ads, they have great affiliate earning potential, are great for private ad sales (music is a niche like that), or they're great for conversions with your own info products as a revenue stream (write it once and it can be pretty much as hands-off as things like Adsense). Loving something may not be enough on it's own, but passion is important. If your passion is only for making money, fine, then that's what will keep you motivated (and you've just potentially earned yourself a spot in the "make money online" niche down the road). Remember it takes time, and things can vary not only by the niche but by how well you know how to promote the sites (the content is vital, but not everything). The two camps you're talking about here are less about loving your niche and more about building authority sites (the ones who like their topic or are knowledgeable about it) versus MFA style sites (where you'll create a site on anything that makes you money). After running a few dozen sites of my own over the last few years and working for major content networks as both a writer and editor, I've seen the power of niche sites run by people who are passionate about their topics, and for me there's no other way. But I also know not everyone has that level of passion for their topic, the marketing ability to create an authority site, or the credentials or expertise in a niche that will earn them an income. They tend to go the MFA route. I'll always choose the former, b/c my background shows me that not only do they earn more for me, but the word spreads via word of mouth after time, meaning I don't have to constantly tweak things for search engines (I don't rely on them for my traffic versus MFA sites that usually do), and don't constantly have to spend time building links (nearly all of my links come naturally - and they keep on coming). I think the ideal situation in your particular case will be for you to find a niche that will earn for you (so you'll finally be happy in that sense), but that you'll eventually learn to love (so you won't wake up each day hating the work you'll have to do). Good luck with that.