This is why I leave money on the table

I leave money on the table. Intentionally. All my sites are under-monetized. I don't chase all the traffic possible either. It boils down to playing to my strengths, interests and systems. I'm all about keyword research and content production. I don't: - Build links - Pursue every social media outlet - Optimize for every affiliate commission possible - Optimize for every monetization option possible ​ I could do all of that. Perhaps I'd earn more and/or have more traffic. But I don't because it's not the best use of my time. Mainly because I'm not terribly interested in those activities. For instance, I'm sure there's all kinds of ecommerce stuff I could sell on various sites. I just don't feel like it right now. I don't rule it out for the future but for now I prefer investing my time and money into content. While I do some affiliate marketing and have some decently earning affiliate content on a few sites, it's not a focus. When something works extraordinarily well, I grow it. Otherwise, I let ads do the earning. I know for a fact that if I invested in quality link building I'd get more traffic to plenty of content. I don't bother because I'd rather continue my numbers game approach to publishing and invest that time and money in more content. I could put $1,000 into links that might get more traffic or put that same $1K into more content which might get more traffic. Would $1,000 invested in links result in a bigger pay off? Maybe. Probably for my smaller sites. Yet, I prefer to focus on content production. Here's what I know so far. What I'm doing works. It works great. I'm able to scale. I like the work and workflow. Unless something shakes up the industry, I see no reason to change up my strategy. Many of my newish sites are growing fast with this strategy. All of the following were launched within the last 13 months on fresh domains. Some very recently. Some closer to 13 months ago. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ As an aside, some of you might be thinking I'd be better off focusing on fewer sites. You're probably not wrong. I'm aware of that. The reason I launched all these sites is to diversify in the long run. These are multi-year builds. Some are "rainy day" sites I wanted to launch and age for later. Moreover, part of my diversification strategy is to have a real mix of sites. Some big. Some mid-sized. And a handful of smaller sites that together generate decent revenue. A forum member I respect posted that having ten sites all earning $1,000 per month is a viable strategy. I tend to agree. It spreads out my risk. Some of my sites are literally built around my non-work activities: skiing and several other hobbies/pursuits. I'm not growing these fast. They're long term passion projects I enjoy working on. But yes, I'd probably be further ahead focusing on fewer sites. That said, building out content sites one after another plays to my strengths so I do it. It's not really a frolic but instead an investment for down the road. Nevertheless, it's so easy to get distracted with activities that don't play to my strengths and interests. I'd be lying if I didn't think about all the stuff I could do to squeeze out another nickel from my sites. Sometimes I act on them. Not good. Then I come to my senses and get back to doing what's working. Last week I toyed with making videos for a site. The result was not good. Laughable. I could outsource video production but that cost would mean fewer articles. I rule nothing out in the future One day I might go on a link building rampage for a site. I might launch white label products to sell. I might build a pure affiliate site. I might even try and grow a YouTube channel. That would be something. I rule nothing out. For now I'm sticking with what's working and the workflow I enjoy. Do what works for you It's trite but I'll say it anyway. Do what works for you. If you make incredible videos, run a YT channel alongside your niche site. Do what you like doing. There are many ways to tweak the publishing process. However you go about it, it's my view that you too should leave money on the table. Play to your strengths and interests. Despite that email diatribe it just may be that your strength is focusing on one epic site you pursue to perfection squeezing out every nickel and visitor you can. That works too. Jon Fatstacksblog.com [Unsubscribe]( | [Update your profile]( | 2016 Hill Drive, North Vancouver, British Columbia V7H 2N5