Making money online is truly an amazing thing and there is no better way than through building your very own niche website that you can monetize in many different ways.
As a beginner in the world of making money online you will most likely dabble with some type of multilevel marketing gig or one of the many make money scams that popup all over the place.
With my experience, I have come to the conclusion that the only real way to make a living online is to either create some type of product or simply sell other people’s products.
Niche marketing has been around for awhile now and it is tested and proven to withstand the many changes that Google has thrown out over the years.
Today I want to show you exactly what it takes to not only build a niche website but how to monetize it and grow it into making thousands of dollars a month.
Understanding Niche Marketing
There are several things you need to know before we get into the meat and taters, and if you can grasp this very section of this post, I can promise you that you WILL make thousands of dollars from a simple niche website.
First, you need to know that this whole process does not happen overnight and it does require some work and patience.
I made my first $1 about 3 months into things and even at that, there are no guarantees that you will do the same.
The whole idea behind creating a niche website that makes money is to build it out with different aspects of any given niche, which will build you traffic and ultimately a solid income.
Secondly, be ready to make mistakes and “fail” a couple of times before you fully understand what it is that you are doing.
For me, I followed too much of what the gurus taught and it led me into many different directions which left me scratching my head.
I’m really stubborn though and I wouldn’t learn everything I know any other way as I know exactly what works and what doesn’t work.
Like they say, successful people didn’t become successful without ever failing.
Don’t ask me who “they” is, and just go with it.
I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.
– Thomas A. Edison
So whether you’ve failed or not, I’m sure this post will not only show you how to build your own niche website, but also give you the motivation to keep going until you find that right niche and make this whole online thing work.
Let’s get to it.
It All Starts With YOUR Passion
Forget about the money and think about something you actually enjoy doing.
Forget about it now and even while you’re building out your site as that is a sure way to fail miserably with this business.
Take the time to figure out several things you are truly passionate about or even some things that you are interested in learning more about.
If you’re like me and you think you have no interest in anything, you can actually go with your experience.
For me, I’m a dad, so I started my first website on “parenting”.
Not only was I not interested in this niche, it was just a broad topic that left me wondering why I wasn’t making any money.
Going at this broad topic is the best way to overwhelm you and ultimately have you on the failed section of online marketers, so try to break down your interest into a smaller category.
Narrowing Down Your Niche
This is one thing that confuses the crap out of people and I know it left me going back and forth with this as it is not the easiest thing to comprehend.
The thing most people don’t understand is that there are actually two different ways to go about making money with a niche website and I would like to explain them both.
Micro-Niche Site
This is probably the most taught method of making money online due to the fact that it is easier to rank, create content around, and ultimately make money.
There are several downsides to this approach and one of them is the fact that there is usually a ceiling as to how much money you can generate from a single site.
Another reason is that you can only build out a site so much before it hits that plateau, which will obviously lead to limited income and eventually a site that you can’t go any further with.
That’s not always the case, but something you need to consider when picking your actual niche.
Again, NOT ALL micro-niche sites are limited but I’ll be covering more on that here soon.
Authority Niche Site
This is probably the best route to take with your niche website and it’s really just the opposite of what makes micro-niche sites limited.
With an authority site, you can create a site that will last many, many lifetimes and the income potential is really up to you.
Creating an authority site will give you room to expand and Google is always in favor of these types of sites anyways.
Whatever it is you decide to choose, I’m sure you can build out a site that will make you at least $1,000/month.
As long as you can understand that this is one of the few situations where you are NOT the jack of all trades then you will be able to pick that perfect niche and make money online.
Research, Research, Research
Now that you have a topic in mind, you need to think about several things which will let you know if you have a solid niche in mind.
- What types of products can you promote?
- Can you build out your site with at least 100 posts?
- What type of competition are you up against?
- Are you still too broad?
Google the hell out of the topics related to your niche and do some keyword research on things that are relevant to your niche that you can build out later.
Make sure you’re not going up against popular sites covering the first 3 pages of Google, (not to say that you can’t outrank them), but it’s just something you don’t want to deal with.
Make sure you have products that you can review as that is by far the best way to get super targeted traffic of people that are ready to spend money, which I guess I can cover on next.
How Money is Made With Your Niche Website
This is our end goal, but don’t let this take away from the work that is needed to make this whole niche website work.
However, I do need to explain the process or you might get confused moving forward with your site, so here are the different ways on how you will be making money with your site.
- Advertising
- Selling your own products
- Affiliate Marketing (selling other people’s products)
For this post, I want to focus mainly on affiliate marketing as I’m sure a lot of you don’t have actual products to sell.
If you do happen to have your own products, let’s just leave that out of this and pretend you don’t have it as the affiliate marketing business model is just simply amazing and very much profitable and easier to work with as you don’t have to deal with shipping or any customer service type nonsense.
Affiliate Marketing in a Nutshell
I have a whole post dedicated to affiliate marketing, but I can give you a quick rundown on everything so you can see how this will fit into your niche website.
Affiliate marketing is nothing more than taking other people’s products and selling them to make a commission.
Sites like Amazon and Ebay are willing to pay you to market products from their site, which helps you, them, and someone looking for that product.
Super simple model, but very, very profitable.
Excited yet?
You should be, because this business is definitely a life changer and you could possibly be making a full-time income come this time next year if you follow everything I outline in this post.
Choosing a Domain Name
Most people get wrapped around the process of choosing a domain due to the confusion brought upon the online world by the gurus who are only trying to take your money.
For the most part, start your thought process with your actual niche in mind as there are still many great domain names pertaining to various niches.
If you can’t get bestdogtoys.com you can step into the “creating your brand” type of domain, which doesn’t necessarily have to deal with your niche but rather a name that you can brand.
“thedogdude.com”
“guidetodogtoys.com”
There are so many ways to go about this but find something you like and know you can brand regardless.
Get creative and do know that adding something so simple as “a” or “the” can uncover some amazing domain names.
What I like to do is see if I can have this name fit a Twitter or Pinterest handle as this is a great way to expand your site and a way to get more free traffic.
twitter.com/thedogdude…something like that.
Picking a Theme – Paid VS Free
A theme is what will give your site the style and look that most people tend to overthink.
There are thousands upon thousands of themes to choose from but this is also a step you don’t want to spend too much time on as you can always change your theme at a later time, which you’ll most likely be doing.
For starters, a free theme is perfectly fine and will do just as good as a paid theme would.
Pick a simple, basic looking theme so you can save yourself from being confused.
Now once you start understanding your wants VS your needs, you can consider buying a theme that has all the stuff you find necessary for your site.
I use the Genesis Framework by Studiopress for all my sites because not only is it super simple and easy to work with, but it has everything you could possibly need for SEO and all that behind the scenes stuff.
Not recommended at this point, but something to consider at a later date.
Indulge in Your Niche
Be the authority.
Whether it’s a micro-niche site or an authority site that you plan on building, you want to be the subject matter expert (at least in the eyes of google) and that can be done by really just building out your site on various topics.
Search for topics on your niche and actually read what other “experts” have to say about them.
Along with not being the jack of all trades, try not to be the know it all as linking to other blogs is a great way to get some solid and trusted link juice.
Create some google alerts on new products, news, and whatever it is you feel you should be “in the know” regarding your niche.
Imagine being the first to publish a review on the latest and greatest product in your niche and how much traffic that one post can get you.
It’s pretty crazy actually.
Also visit forums, Facebook fan pages, and other social media sites that you can get involved with, and yes, interact with other people there too.
Stick to the Basics
If you’re not so new to the world of online marketing and you’ve come across all these “secrets” to getting traffic I want you to pretend you never saw them.
All these tricks and ways to game the system is a great way to lose your business overnight and I’m sure you don’t want that.
Don’t try to be like any of the gurus that teach improper back linking and poor SEO habits as they are only looking out for themselves.
Create engaging content, focus on being the authority in your niche, and the traffic will not only come, but it will last for as long as you decide to keep your site going, which I’m hoping is forever.
Ready to Build Your First Niche Site?
In the beginning, this may be a bit scary to most, but I can assure you that the whole website building process is not like it used to be, even just five years ago as there is no crazy coding required to make things happen.
Gone are the days of getting the proper training here, getting a domain there, and having your site’s hosting somewhere else.
Thanks to a site called the Wealthy Affiliate the process is super simple and they specifically designed it for online marketers.
Who said you couldn’t bundle?
Get a domain, build your site, and have it all hosted in one platform.
How about some support?
Get questions answered within seconds, interact through a live chat, and network with some of the top affiliates in the online space.
You will not find anything like it and I can promise you that you will absolutely love what they have to offer.
On top of that, they offer a free membership, which gives you two free websites, access to some awesome training, as well as their live chat feature which is beyond amazing.
There is no credit card required so you definitely want to create your free membership and at the very least see what they have to offer.
Trust me, you won’t regret it.
If you’re ready to build your first niche site, get started today and start building the foundation to something that will change your life forever.
If I can do it, you can too!
I hope this post has given you the best understanding of how to build a niche website and please do ask if you are still confused with any of this and I will gladly assist you.
I am also a member of Wealthy Affiliate so you can see my profile here as that is the same platform I use for all my website needs.
Thanks for reading!
– John
Owner, A Work at Home Jobs
World Wide Earning Review: Scam or Worthwhile Investment?
Hi John
I have found your article very informative. I believe that you can make 1,000 $ per month with such authority website.
I started to build the site 6 months ago but still waiting for more trafic. I am also a Wealthy affiliate program member. This platform helps me very much to recognize affiliate marketing “secrets”.
I would like one clarification. You wrote: …make sure you’re not going up against popular sites covering the first 3 pages of Google. Did you mean first 3 positions? I suppose, to be on the 3rd page of Google is not enough to attract the audience to the site. I hope I am wrong !?!
Igor
I meant pages, because if they’re only covering the first 3 spots, then you’re good to go. Now if they’re on all 3 pages, we might have a problem. Get what I’m saying Igor?
Excellent review of the affiliate marketing process and I agree with you, it does take time and patience to build a business online. Sometimes the thing you need to build is yourself, that in itself can take a long time. It’s definitely worth investing in yourself to build a business online.
Great point Nate and thanks for sharing!
Hey there,
This is some great information provided. Reading through this has inspired me to start an online business about affiliate marketing. I’d love to be making profit while having fun and sharing thoughts to other people with the same passion as mine. Nice content, thanks for sharing this. I wish success to all!
Definitely start your own affiliate marketing business man as it is beyond amazing. Do let me know if you need help with anything and I’ll give you a hand.
I feel that this is the absolute best job for me. I’ve always dreamed of working online, but never really knew how to get started.
What is the best way to start making money online?
About how long does it take to start earning said income?
What’s a good niche idea?
Well, affiliate marketing is always a great place to start and a good idea would be something you are really interested in. The amount of money you will make depends on different things, which I’ve explained in this article.
Great work on How To Build A Niche Website. This is a wonderful article that will help the newbie a lot. Choosing a profitable niche is so very important to anybody’s success online.
If one decided on a wrong niche, it will be a waste of time and effort. But i need a clarification as relate to choosing a niche that is my passion or hobby.
Is it all passion or hobby that can be monetised online?
Regards
John
Definitely not. I am currently building a site on something that my kids and I are just getting into and I’m going to be learning about this niche as we go. I see this becoming a hobby of ours, but at the moment, I know very little about the topic.
Hey John!
You outlined it very well, making honest money online doesn’t happen overnight, and niche marketing is a good way to create yourself a stable business.
I also believe that creating an authority site can bring you success if you work on it, and Wealthy Affiliate is the best place where you can actually learn everything on that topic.
This is a very helpful and thorough article on affiliate marketing! Thanks a lot for sharing!
This is a great post on how to build a niche website. I have just started building another website and it is a super niched down one which I am feeling pretty excited about. I was not really clear on the difference between and authority site and a niche site when I first started out in affiliate marketing and I think it is something to get clear on right off the bat, because you can waste a bit of time other wise. My first site is a little all over the place and it is not clear to me what I set out to achieve at first. It is making money, but I still feel kind of stuck with it. But, now that I am starting another website a year later I feel a lot more clear about what the intent is, and the excellent niche website training at Wealthy Affiliate is really helping!
Hello,
This is a nice overlook of what steps to make to get your first website rolling. I am making one right now and these steps you advised sound like a good stuff to follow. I guess an authority website is a way to go and one should pick a niche that is defined enough, but also that has a spare room for broadening the scope over time. Do you know any other affiliate programs out there besides amazon that are good?
There are actually thousands upon thousands of affiliate programs out there and all you really need to do is search “product + affiliate programs” and you will have more than enough options to choose from.
John,
Thanks for a really interesting and informative article giving a step by step guide to building a niche website. It would be particularly helpful to those who are just starting out and may be feeling a little lost in the digital marketing sphere. It is great that you give a realistic view drawn from your own experience. I will be bookmarking your post to refer to these great tips in the future, thanks!
Fran
You’re welcome Fran!
I enjoyed reading your post especially the part where it talks about authority in niches. I’m actually creating the site which encompasses lifestyle career research as well as starting your own business. I not only was it interested in this post, I also found a few of your other posts very motivational as well. Thank you for a well thought out and researched article, very informative.
The most important feature that attracted me to wealthy affiliate was the fact that there was no promise of fast money and little effort to achieve it. Joined in mid December of last year and I have not been able to put in as much time as I think I need in the build out of my website but I am pleased with my progress never the less. I believe that every little bit I learn will make me a better business person. My specialty is in the Health and fitness sector and my challenge still is to narrow down my niche. It sounds simple but I am still seeing it as a big hurdle.
Narrowing down a niche can be hard to do, but what you can do is look at it more on a “group of people” type of thing. So for health and fitness, you can start with even a demographic or a product and then break that down too.
For health alone, you can go with juicing, supplements, or diets. Then you can go with paleo diets and supplements for people looking to gain weight or something like that.
You can go at fitness with an age group or gender and add yoga to the mix. So it would be like…yoga for women over 50. You get where I’m going with this?
What a lot of great information in this article! Making money online is easy to do, once you learn how to do it. The information you provide is good for a beginner and marketers that are more advanced which is hard to find in just one post. I saved your website to my favorites as I’m always looking for new information.
Thanks,
Jack
Building a niche website is a step by step process. If you’ve got the right niche with the right keywords and planning, you can do great. You have to have a niche that you’re passionate about and always can up with content to write about. To be successful with less competition, you need a micro niche and you have to do your research. Make your goals and go for it. Affiliate marketing is great if you have the right training too.
Thanks for sharing Rob!