There is a new blog post on running niche sites: What do you guys think about running niche websites? Are they a lot harder to get off the ground than the others - or?
Depending on how competitive the niche is, it's often easier to market niche websites. Since your target audience is more specific, you can focus on a smaller group of people, keywords, products, etc.
If you can reach your niche cheaply (say: small business owners in a pet related business) and effectively then its better than a generic audience website (say: small business owners). The reason isn't hard to understand: by having a niche website, your audience will feel it is more suitable for them and have greater attachment. However, you will have to make sure your website looks popular enough to be worth using. How many will really depending on the situation, as nothing turns people off (say) a forum more than seeing no posts. I once saw a forum offer a chance at $10,000 (or something) for using it. The form was easy to fill. But I ended up not bothering because the forum looked so dead.
This isn't entirely true. I have seen niche networks and blog carnivals run with 30+ unique websites in each. There's no way the webmaster has a deep interest in 30 topics. However, 30+ topics can damn sure make some good money over time...
Good point. It's true enough that I suggest obeying it. Sure, you can start with 0 money and grow to millions of users in less than 5 years like Facebook, HotorNot etc, but its not something I suggest people aim for. Or maybe I should have phrased it this way: if you're asking me whether to start a niche website or a broad website, I would start a niche one.