As a newbie to this game, I often see the advice to start a website based on what you like and have a special interest in, not whatever keywords are popular. But it seems like 90% of the people on affiliate and adsense forums are busy creating multiple websites that I highly doubt move them. (Most seem to be creating "how to make money with adsense" sites, which I'm sure excites them as it does all of us, but come on ) Sometimes people complain about working in the office, commuting in traffic, etc and saying how much better this is. But I think if you're spending all your energy creating a website about a drab subject like mesowhatevernoma or debt consolidation, it's the same thing; doing boring work that calms your brain too much. So what is the reason people choose these things? Is the money really better, and quicker? Would YOU ever consider clicking on a Make Money Fast adsense ad? Anyway I'm building a website about something I love; if it doesn't make money that's fine, but I bet it will in the long run because I can create it with some passion and make it a fun place to go for people who are into it The bottom line is: niches are often hyped, rightly so I think, but it seems this advice is ignored, even by (successful) old-timers.
The theory here is if you do not enjoy something you do, it is likely that you are not going to do a good job of it. Thats the theory anyway.
I completely agree that it's HARD to make money over the long term with a subject that bores you to death. It's just a McJob, like you said. And if you try to cheat it by buying crappy content from $5 an hour Romanians, your competitors will beat you unless you keep churning that pseudo-content like it's no tomorrow (even then, Google will typically bury you over the long run as they get better at detecting levels of user interest). And if you do happen to pick a subject that interests you, you've got a marked advantage over your bored competitors.
There usually is always some way to monetize a site, whether be through Adsense, affiliate links or grabbing emails getting advertisers for that email list, the possibilities are endless.
So which is it? I agree with you guys' replies, it seems kind of obvious to me so I don't understand why so many are falling over themselves to create blogs about attorneys or whatever. I think there must be a million niches that would be fairly easy to "take over"! In doing lots of research on the web lately while building my own site, it has come to my attention that the web is a fairly obnoxious place, information-wise. I've done countless searches for stuff and had the same wikipedia articles pop up on 30 different sites. People just C&P from Wikipedia, in effect creating a wikipedia clone, but with ads. I can't imagine why a single person would go there and click an ad though. Hey whatever right! More for me!
The fun is in making money. People argue that if you put in the same effort in your day job, the rewards will be about the same. I don't agree - there's a limit in how much bonus or pay raise you can get in a job, but it's almost limitless in making money off sites.
I wish I found making money as enjoyable as you do adbie. Money has never been a great motivator for me. I guess I'm one of those 'aim to please' breeds.
Money is the ultimate motivator for me. Oh yeah, women too but two are related so... money is the king in this world unfortunately... p.l.u.r.
Angelus your post reminded me of something I heard a while ago. It went something like "Men with the biggest sex drive make the most money and are the most successful because they want women". I'm not sure if that statement is true but it's interesting nonetheless.
Well, I didn't want to tell you... but ok. It's a blog about soccer in Croatia! I think it-----oh damn I just saw your signature! OK, to plan B: a 650-page site about growing apples. Actually, my real niche is not so special, it may in fact border on being too nichy to make any money. But it's the site that I, as a fan, can't find on the internet, so....
You may be interested in more than one topic/subject. Open a blog/site for each of your interests, and you will have multiple blogs.
I think that the days of made for AdSense (MFA) sites are pretty much over. From what I've read on here and other forums, Google are getting smarter on finding duplicate content (i.e. cutting and pasting articles or Wikipedia pages) and blacklisting them. Forget whether you're looking to create a website purely to generate money or you're doing it because it's your passion. Content is King.
Sometimes people complain about working in the office, commuting in traffic, etc and saying how much better this is. But I think if you're spending all your energy creating a website about a drab subject like mesowhatevernoma or debt consolidation, it's the same thing; doing boring work that calms your brain too much. I would say it certainly is n't the same thing. I earn the same money as I did in the corporate prison. It has taken hard work and time to get here. There are two big differences now... - I can choose where I want to work - over the last year this has been places like Australia, Bali, Thailand and in a cafe just yards from a tropical beach. There is nothing like going for a surf on your lunch break. Beats walking up and down the High St for a packet of over-priced prawn sandwiches. - I can choose when I want to work - if I want to lie in late or take a day off I can, without having to ask permission. If I want to take three months off I can. If I want to work from 11pm until 5am I can. There are n't too many professions that allow for this freedom and it is well worth working hard to get there if you want it, believe me. Finally I have experience of niche web sites and popular keyword sites and I can tell you this for sure, it is the latter that has enabled me to live my current lifestyle...
MFA's are not over. Now you have the software that rearranges content on each website, so that there is no duplicate content. There may be the same words present...but sites using this software are not completely the same. It also finds a word and replaces it with another word that has the same meaning. You also have the software that refreshes your content every day....or every hour or so. People will find a way around this "MFA's going down" situation. People are all about making big amounts of $$$ any way they can with as little effort as possible.
Thats what I love about the internet. You can work from anywhere, and you are not a corporate slave. I was in the same boat as you about 2 years ago and now I make more money than I ever made working at any job. As far as niches go, they are the best. period. I laugh at people who try to go after porn or gambling. It is a waste of time. Also, I agree that a lot of webmasters here at DP have too many websites. It is better to have 5 websites that are each getting a thousand visitors a day instead of 70 websites that you don't have the time to update. Going after a niche will bring you closer to building a MySpace or Wikipedia. It doesn't have to be a boring topic. But it should be something that can help people. The search engines are getting smarter everyday, and they are getting better at picking up duplicate content. No software is going to be able to beat them especially when the Search engines decide to begin using neural networks.
I agree, and have trouble getting out of bed in the morning when I have a website about "camels of the serengeti" to work on. So I tend to stretch my interest, if I see a really cool car on the freeway, I may do research and see if it is worth my time creating a website about, and that one car website will surely lead to more car websites (or one very large car site). It's just a balance. If everything you're interested in doesn't pay very well -- you're going to have to adapt. It is survival of the fittest, after all.