Regular niches are so much easier

I received a cold email pitch the other day that opened with the following: "I analyzed your website with mine and found that you have less Traffic and less Domain Rating." The pitch was selling links. --------------------------------------------------------------- -PAID AD- ​ Niche Website Builders is the hands-off content site agency you always wished existed. An agency dedicated to helping investors and individuals alike build profitable content sites. It's run by content publishers for content publishers. They provide a fully outsourced approach to content creation, link building and done-for-you website builds. The same approach they use on their own 6-figure portfolios. For example, their content packages come with a propriety keyword research process, are written by in-house native English speakers, formatted using templates proven to convert and uploaded to WordPress with affiliate links added so that all you need to do is hit the publish button. Check them out at [nichewebsite.builders/fatstacks/]() to get coupon codes for 10% more content or a 10% discount on links with your first order sent right to your inbox. -END PAID AD- --------------------------------------------------------------- I replied with "What's your website and how much traffic does it get?" I had to ask since he told me point blank he's getting more traffic than me. Curiosity got the best of me. I figured if this person was getting millions of visitors, there might be something he could help with... perhaps a consult or something. He replied with "I have this website XXX.net. This is my own website and all link building of this website is done by my own self. All the traffic of is Organic and Genuine." I gotta hand it to him; he revealed his site although failed to reveal traffic volume. I checked it out in Ahrefs, which while not all that accurate, it provides some ballpark data: ​ While Ahrefs isn't terribly accurate for traffic volume, I can safely assume that I probably shouldn't pay for any SEO services or help he's pitching. I said I appreciated that he reached out but I wasn't interested. He then said "You can see I am not regular with my site because I work with the clients and provide my services to them." I stopped responding. The above back and forth makes a few points. 1. If you want to sell services or courses, selling is so much easier if you're able to show real-world results. The same applies to niche sites... it's so much easier writing compelling, rankable content if you know what you're talking about. 2. Be careful who you buy from. Many don't know what they're doing. They just talk about this stuff but have no real experience doing it. 3. The how to blog / how to do SEO niches are seductive because it's obviously something we like doing and talking about. It CAN be lucrative as well. I want talk about the decision whether to tack on a "how to blog" business to your existing publishing business. Fat Stacks is not a big brand in the how to blog space. There are much more prolific brands and people in the space. There always will be. Fat Stacks as a brand has its hands tied for the following reasons: 1. I have very limited time for it: My focus is growing my niche site portfolio. Fat Stacks is a side thing. I write emails for a change of pace. I add to my course when I have something valuable to add/revise. While it earns revenue, it really is a hobby project. 2. I'm a publisher, not a marketer. If I were a marketer (good at copywriting and selling) I'd publish ecommerce sites selling stuff. But marketing is not my thing. I much, much prefer publishing informational content. That's my thing. Hence, I'm not terribly good at marketing Fat Stacks. Fat Stacks has one thing going for it and that is everything discussed, sold and shared is based on being real world niche site results. But that's enough to result in quite a good business considering how much time I put into it (very little most weeks but I do get inspired sometimes and put in a huge amount of time... it varies. I'm sure you can tell). Real world results doesn't just work with business blogs. It works for any blog. If you can demonstrate that you know what you're talking about, you'll have a much easier time of it. You'll create a better niche site. Should you start a "how to blog" business? If it interests you and you have the real world results to back up what you're talking about, it's definitely an option for you. Before you go register your domain, consider the following: 1. It's competitive Fat Stacks is a metablog because it's a blog about blogging. However, it skirts the dreaded self-fulfilment model (aka pyramid scheme model) in that the content is based on real world niche sites instead of being based on its own success. If my only site was Fat Stacks and I showcased only Fat Stacks for how to go about blogging, that would be self-fulfilment marketing. I don't care for that. 2. Figure out how you'll monetize it Spencer Haws did a gutsy thing about a year or two ago and that was [he was no longer selling his course](=). He said at the time he earned six figures per year by selling his course. Now he focuses on selling his plugin ([Link Whisper]()) and affiliate marketing via blog posts and email. I think he goes about it brilliantly. I have no idea how much he makes from the affiliate marketing, but my guess is it's considerable. He's very disciplined and puts in a good effort with it. I've learned a lot from his approach (not that I come close to his results or discipline). Fat Stacks earns most from course revenue but the affiliate revenue is a close second. As a hobby project, it's pretty lucrative (it wasn't always). I just kept plugging away writing emails and it grew. I learned a lot about email marketing from Ben Settle. You can start with affiliate marketing and go from there. Heck, some such blogs and YouTube channels earn a hefty income from good old ads (Adam Enfroy's blog and Income School's YouTube channel to name a couple). 3. Master at least one traffic channel or platform YouTube, Email, podcasting and/or blog SEO are probably the best avenues to growing a blog/biz like Fat Stacks. Learning paid ads can work wonders as well. The only thing I do reasonably well with Fat Stacks is email. Ironically, Fat Stacks SEO traffic isn't great. My YouTube vids are nothing like the more polished YouTubers. My podcast episodes are pretty random. Other than writing emails, the rest of it is lacking but that's okay because it's more hobby than anything else. Oh yeah, the Fat Stacks private forum has turned into something quite good. I visit it and participate as much to learn and socialize as I do because I moderate it. I probably could do a lot better with SEO on the Fat Stacks blog but it's a lot of work. I find it so much easier writing and ranking articles on my niche sites than on Fat Stacks. The irony is while I enjoy writing about the blogging business, I don't really care for writing "how to blog" articles so they rank in Google. That's why email works for me... I can just write for readers. In regular niches, there are so many more long tails to go after that I can just write what I want and rank it. That makes a big difference in my quality of life. 4. Don't kill the golden goose If Fat Stacks disappeared tomorrow, it wouldn't matter because it's not my main biz. My main biz is my portfolio of sites. In fact, Fat Stacks is dependent on my portfolio of niche sites; not the other way around. That's why I focus on my portfolio of niche sites... that makes my little Fat Stacks hobby possible. 5. Don't sell the farm unless you have another farm I know of some "how to blog" bloggers who sold a niche site for a few hundred grand and then solely focus on their how to blog business never growing another portfolio. While that can work, eventually not having a portfolio to hang your hat on compromises credibility. The one exception to "don't sell the farm" is if the proceeds set you up financially for life. I'm talking a $10 million+ sale which means if you never make a nickel again, it doesn't matter. You can hang your hat on an exit like that for years and can probably turn that windfall into quite an investment portfolio. It could be a good way to enter the larger, more lucrative FIRE / Venture Capital / Entrepreneur / Investment niches. 6. SEO is the holy grail of the how to blog topics SEO has broad appeal. It's insanely lucrative for pretty much any business (local and global). Everyone with an online presence wants to master SEO for good reason. SEO ROI is amazing. I talk about SEO quite a bit but my hands are tied because I focus on SEO from a content perspective. I'm not a technical SEO. I'm not a link builder. I'm not interested in doing and learning all aspects of SEO which means an SEO focus with Fat Stacks eludes me. 7. Moral of the story for me: It's easier to make a buck with regular niche sites than Fat Stacks. I know that sounds nuts since word on the street is the "how to blog" and similar B2B niches are so lucrative but at heart I'm a publisher, not a marketer. I'm also sure that Fat Stacks in more capable marketing hands would do better. Do you still want to launch a metablog? Establish street cred, come up with an angle then hang a blogging shingle. If you enjoy it, it's worth it. Otherwise, stick to regular niches, it's easier. Jon Fatstacksblog.com ​ Get my bundle of blogging courses: => [Click here for EVERYTHING I know and do growing niche sites to $50K/mo.]() (the FAT STACKS Bundle) =>[My favorite blogging tools and software](​ ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS: Do you want to advertise in this "high engagement" email newsletter? [See the Media Kit here](). Great for promoting blogging services, software, websites for sale... anything to do with blogging. ​[YouTube]() | [Blog]() | [Facebook]() | [Twitter](​ ​Podcast:​ ​[iTunes]() | [Stitcher]() | [Spotify](=)​ ​ PAID ADS: Please note that this newsletter contains a PAID AD in it. It's a sponsored ad. It is marked with PAID AD above and END PAID AD at the bottom. It is NOT an endorsement by me or Fat Stacks. The advertiser paid to advertise in the spot. Affiliate disclaimer: I usually put a lot of effort into these emails. I know, I know, it may not always seem like it, but I try. In an effort to make a few bucks for my effort, I often link to various products and courses. Assume these links are affiliate links. If you choose to click and buy, THANK YOU. It makes this thing possible. ​ [Unsubscribe]( | [Update your profile]( | 2016 Hill Drive, North Vancouver, British Columbia V7H 2N5