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marfarma · 03-09-2009, 07:33 AM

There are some problems with the post above -- but I can't edit it, because it got too long. Here's a bit that got cut so that it could post at all.

General Advice for Content Site Developers
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# If you are just learning how to create a site, build links, code layouts, keyword research, on-page and off-page factors, etc., etc., you're much better off not monetizing at all. Any monetization will distract you from getting a decent start to the site built. You'll find yourself checking your earnings multiple times a day, and riding an emotional rollercoaster - all giddy when you earn 3 dollars one day, only to become depressed that you only earned 0.25 the next.

I was taught to select a niche after solid research, get 30 pages of high quality content up, (not including 'privacy policy', 'about me', or 'contact us' type pages) first. Then to start a linking campaign. After that, continue to add content and work on linking until you get about 100 uniques per day. Then add AdSense and begin to work your way towards more lucrative methods of monetization. YMMV, but building a solid white-hat authority content site is a long term investment, and you're not likely to see much revenue the first year in any case.

# Build a list, primarily so you can talk to your audience. It will also help to bring them back to your site. If you send them regular updates, you'll be reminding them of that site they so well that they signed up for more. That's a good thing. But the most important thing having a list does for you is to allow you to talk to your audience. Ask them what want, what they need -- have them reply via email, drive them to a survey, etc. Get a solid sense of who your audience is, and what they WANT (not what they need), and you're well ahead of the curve in figuring out how to monetize that site. It's not a guarantee -- some traffic won't buy anything. You can't even get ads because the advertisers figure out that they're not getting conversions. But if you did your research up front, you won't have picked one of those niches, so you won't have to worry about it.

03-09-2009, 07:33 AM	#2 (permalink)
marfarma Not Your Bitch Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 226 iTrader: 4 / 100%	There are some problems with the post above -- but I can't edit it, because it got too long. Here's a bit that got cut so that it could post at all. General Advice for Content Site Developers ------------------------------------------ # If you are just learning how to create a site, build links, code layouts, keyword research, on-page and off-page factors, etc., etc., you're much better off not monetizing at all. Any monetization will distract you from getting a decent start to the site built. You'll find yourself checking your earnings multiple times a day, and riding an emotional rollercoaster - all giddy when you earn 3 dollars one day, only to become depressed that you only earned 0.25 the next. I was taught to select a niche after solid research, get 30 pages of high quality content up, (not including 'privacy policy', 'about me', or 'contact us' type pages) first. Then to start a linking campaign. After that, continue to add content and work on linking until you get about 100 uniques per day. Then add AdSense and begin to work your way towards more lucrative methods of monetization. YMMV, but building a solid white-hat authority content site is a long term investment, and you're not likely to see much revenue the first year in any case. # Build a list, primarily so you can talk to your audience. It will also help to bring them back to your site. If you send them regular updates, you'll be reminding them of that site they so well that they signed up for more. That's a good thing. But the most important thing having a list does for you is to allow you to talk to your audience. Ask them what want, what they need -- have them reply via email, drive them to a survey, etc. Get a solid sense of who your audience is, and what they WANT (not what they need), and you're well ahead of the curve in figuring out how to monetize that site. It's not a guarantee -- some traffic won't buy anything. You can't even get ads because the advertisers figure out that they're not getting conversions. But if you did your research up front, you won't have picked one of those niches, so you won't have to worry about it.