It's confusing, isn't it? One marketer will tell you to only focus on one niche site, while another marketer tells you the more niche sites you have the better.
It was different 5+ years ago when you were actually working with websites - and social media didn't exist.
Static websites required much less maintenance & management than blogs, and there were far less marketing channels to consider. You basically created your websites, then did SEO and link building. Period.
Sometimes I miss those days! 😀 LOL...
Now the focus is on topical authority sites, creating a brand, and being engaged with your target market.
This is in strong contrast to just creating web pages, one after the other, and optimizing them to get in front of the right searchers.
BUT!... There are also many perks to all of the changes over the last few years, and to creating a large topical site with a solid brand and strong engagement...
The Downside To Creating Too Many Sites
First, if you're of the mindset to create dozens or even hundreds of niche sites, you're likely just looking to make a quick buck online - over starting a solid online business that has real long-term profit potential.
The internet is not the lottery, and it simply cannot be played that way.
Instead of raking in the millions, you'll find yourself spending millions of hours spreading yourself too thin... without the results you had hoped for.
This method typically lends itself to several key issues:
- Shallow market research.
- Choosing niches based on profit instead of interest.
- Investing very little time in branding, setup, design & usability.
- Selecting too narrow of a niche.
- Not publishing content frequently enough.
- Not fully engaging with your target market.
- Never being fully invested in your site(s) as a business.
- Missing out on profitable opportunities because you're too scattered.
- Having multiple half-finished projects that never reach their full potential.
The Upside To Creating A Single Brand & Business
Obviously you can look at the list above and turn all of those items around to be positives. With a single blog or website you will do solid market research, knowing this business will become your bread & butter. You'll be completely focused on this one topic, creating quality content and engaging with your market frequently. You'll pour everything you have and are into making this online business successful.
You would choose a topic you're personally passionate about, ENJOY writing and talking on your topic, and you'll be proud of the business you have created.
All of your time will be spent exploring opportunities, properly marketing your business, and networking with the market leaders in your niche.
You'll be more focused, less frustrated... and much more successful. 😉
The Best Of Both Worlds
Okay, okay - I hear you! So you get bored with just one topic or website, you love "creating" and you are full of GREAT ideas that just must be implemented! Right?
Imagine if you funneled all of that into a single online business. The key is in picking a topic you LOVE in the first place. One you can realistically talk about for years. A niche that is large enough that it gives you tons of sub-topics and segues, both to avoid boredom and to generate multiple streams of income.
Instead of creating a new site or blog, create a product! Instead of distracting yourself by researching a brand new idea, spend that time socializing and engaging with YOUR target market. Getting bored? Add on a podcast or a video channel!
There are tons of options. Stay focused, and build a solid online business. Take it ALL the way to maximum profit potential, exploring every single avenue for marketing and revenue. Once you do that, and your business is running smoothly, you may find yourself with free time on your hands. That just may be the time to consider a second project or website...
See: How To Manage Multiple Niche Sites
Best,
About Lynn Terry
Another great post Lynn - for us to be able to do all we need to do - creating posts, interacting with people, answering questions etc, we have to really enjoy & have an interest in what we are doing to be able to sustain it over any period of time.
Plus we can only just about cope with 1 site let alone 5 or 6!
This is a very, very excellent post! I'm reading the "Super Affiliate Handbook" and just caught this post just in time to think about whether or not I want to focus on maintaining one website or more. You're right about have 'one' online business and building it up and being passionate about the topic! I think building a 'genuine' relationship with my soon-to-be subscriber list will determine how successful my online business overall will become!
- Great Content! 10/10
Hello Lynn, hello from New Zealand.. I am greatly encouraged by your example. I have been observing you on Google for sometime now, well maybe four or five months, when I can. I love what you talk about and find it interesting as all get out sometimes, well most times. I do not have an Internet business, but boy if I did, I'd be following your advice for sure. My interest is that I have a campaign, that I would like to put on the Internet, just to get a positive message out. But from you, I see that it is possible and probable on a clearly defined process. I am greatly encouraged, thank you very much for sharing, thank you for the long hours and thank you for the encouragement. I just help people get their projects organized and funded at the moment, no I am not happy. But today I am looking at what is in my own heart to do, through eyes that are actually seeing for a change. It is possible to do what I would like to do, just as I imagined it, just as I am seeing it now, talk about a follow your heart day. Robert N Walker
Thank you Lynn for sharing this topic. It is not easy to maintain a few site ... It is like two houses which you cannot maintain monthly. You have open a totally new insight. Awesome
Always the voice of reason and common sense. Thanks Lynn!
Good Read that Lynn
I started "learning to Drive" the internet last year and have found it a fascinating place to hang around. I started with the Challenge which links well to your post. At the end of the course I had a good understanding, but did not like the idea of 100's of sites and the industrial methods you would have to adopt to make a buck. Money comes from more than one source in this industry and I am finding the single blog on my personal interests sustainable and interesting to do. Really enjoy your posts
Thanks
JD
Excellent post, Lynn! I wholeheartedly agree. If you have too many sites, you cannot really be involved in them or commit yourself to them. You don't feel like you have a business that it's truly yours - you are simply "working" online as opposed to running a business.
Lately I have come to the conclusion that my desire to run in 100 directions is related to “shiny new object” syndrome. Beginnings are so much more fun than what’s required to become successful long-term. When I have the urge to run off in a new direction, I have to ask myself the question “what am I willing to give up in order to become successful on my present path?” At the moment I have to give up pursuing too many paths. I have been told FOCUS means Follow One Course Until Successful, so that’s what I’m trying to do. Thank you for another great post.
Valerie, love that definition of FOCUS - Follow One Course Until Successful. I'm going to write down that one!
I wish I could take credit for thinking of it, but it was just something I read somewhere. Glad you liked it!
This post comes at the perfect time, Lynn. I do Resonance Repatterning which is a kind of energy healing work. I work w/ people from all over the world through my distant healing groups focused on 3 areas: Releasing Money Karma, Repatterning Your Relationship to Food, and Clearing Family Patterns. I also offer private 1 on 1 phone sessions. Jeff Walker told me that I should set up a website for each of these topics, so I'd have 3 or 4 different sites. That made sense to me. But what you are saying makes sense, too. Now I'm wondering which is the best approach?
Lynn:
I just cringe when I run into "newbies" in various forums that say they are going to launch "a bunch of websites." Those days are long gone - especially post Panda and Penguin. Managing ONE website is a full time job itself - and rightfully so. Like you said, it's about building a business - not chasing a quick buck.
Travis Van Slooten
Creating different sites for different niches could just be the correct option if you are planning to maintain and keep all the sites updated regularly. If you are not going to possess sufficient time to do it perfectly all by yourself, there is nothing wrong with keeping multiple sites.
I would prefer creating just one site and cover all kind of topics and sub-topics under that common niche. I am a lazy person who will not be able to look after so many sites at the same time. Thus, I believe in giving complete justice to just one site and nuture it to its best.
Hey Lynn! This is great and perfectly timed for me right now. One of my personal struggles has been that I don't have just one major interest or area of experience, as you may remember. So I've been standing at the crossroads so long it's ridiculous. Which one do I choose? How do I choose? If I think I have some worth in them all, what do I use for a guideline? Just throw a dart? What if I pick the wrong one? What if it takes me 3 yrs ...(or God-forbid, never) ... to generate income when I really need it to be 6 months?
I have experience in many niches but I don't consider myself a super-expert on any of them. That doesn't mean I don't have something to offer in each niche though, as I learned from your article. I just have to choose ONE now... ONE to start! Then I can still add the others later on. Thanks for helping me get my 'Internet GPS' on! LOL Let's do lunch!
Hi Lynn! I'll hand it to you - you have great information! I have 2 niches I am promoting but putting almost all my energies on debt relief niche. I keep the affiliate income around and update date it once in a while. IT IS very time consuming to simultaneously work on two niches and have good quality at the same time. Iam just focusing on one niche and if and when it gets successful I'll put more effort on the affiliate income niche.
I used to think it would be wonderful and awesome to have 100 websites all making money. Then I realized I was insane to even attempt such a thing because as soon as I added a few too many I was neglecting the ones I truly enjoyed working on. I narrowed down my domain name list so I could focus on the passionate subjects again and it has been much more enjoyable to sit down at the computer and spend time working on them since I've done that.
Personally, I think it's much better to focus on one site at a time and, once profitable, pass some of the work over to others to continue to run and grow the website for you whilst you get to work on your second site - you could then repeat this process over and over.