How many times has an idea to make money ran through your mind? Probably fairly regularly, right? I know for me it’s nearly daily. I’m always trying to think of new project sites that I can generate some money with through AdSense, internet marketing, etc.
Over the years, this last year more particularly, I’ve noticed this trend in others as well. I think sometimes we get so excited when thinking about the “dream” of working from home and/or being rich. We get so focused on trying to accomplish that dream that we start cranking out ideas. The more ideas you think of the more your thoughts expand and, then again, the more ideas you get. This can be bad though.
I’ve seen many people in this last year trying so hard to find the right blog niche for them to blog about, the right topic to make a site about, etc. After spreading their efforts so thin all they are left with is 40 different websites, all of which are doing nothing.
If you want to avoid entrepreneur A.D.D. I would suggest picking one idea and sticking to that one idea. Find that best paying blog topic that fits you. Blog about it for a few weeks and see if you like it. If you don’t, there’s nothing wrong with minimizing your losses and moving onto another topic. If you move on though make sure you actually move on. Sell your old domain, or just get rid of it. If you hang onto it you’ll come back to it after your next effort too. It’s like when you break up with someone you immediately want to get in touch with the person you were with before them. It’s a comfort thing.
Content is important. What is equally important is how you display that content to your viewers. Are you going to blog about something? Would your site grow faster if you started it with a message board/forum?
Also, how much time do you want to put into maintaining the site? With a blog you have to update it fairly regularly to keep your readers’ loyalty. Forums are nice because, once they’re built up, you don’t have to do anything. Your community members contribute new content daily. The tricky part to that is it takes some time to build up a forum. If you can go through the trenches for the first year or two, it’ll be smooth sailing after that.
Traditional websites are kind of a little of both of the above. You don’t have to contribute as regularly as a blog or forum, but you can’t let it sit forever. You will want to add some new content every once in a while just to keep the site “fresh.” With a traditional website you should take your time and do it right. If your site has really great, informative content then you can let that content cycle for months before having to do any updates.
Picture gallery sites are also popular. They are easy to maintain and can bring a lot of visitors. However, people come to view pictures, not content. So, there’s your con with photo galleries. You can have thousands and thousands of views as people click “Next” hundreds of times to go from one photo to the next and you still haven’t earned a penny, because no one is clicking on your ads.
Below is an example of a reader that sent me a screenshot of their high-volume gallery views, but low AdSense return.
To some, the ease of running a gallery for a couple dollars here and there is more realistic than having a lot of time to spend to try and generate more money with a content site. When it comes to making money online, would you rather make 45 minute updates every week, or dedicate one full day to writing some great content and then not having to worry about it for quite some time? The best decision depends on your circumstances.
