Online Success Story:
John White
All-Things-Aviation.com
My name is John White a/k/a known as JetAviator7, and I started 2 websites back in 2005. My primary website is All Things Aviation which includes a blog called “Informing, Educating & Entertaining Pilots about All Things Aviation” along with a Pilot Shop – the other site is The Paper Airplane Company where I sell model airplanes of all kinds.
1. When did you set up your website?
All Things Aviation started in March of 2008, and The Paper Airplane Company was started in March of 2005.
2. What gave you the idea for this particular niche & website?
I have been involved in aviation all of my life and I decided to share my love of all things aviation with fellow pilots.
3. Did you have any experience with online business prior to creating this website?
None
4. What did you do for work prior to setting up an online business?
I owned my own aviation insurance business which I started in 1974 and sold in 2004. After I sold my business I went back to school and got an MBA in business, and after a brief stint providing business consulting I started full time online about 18 months ago.
5. How did you initially promote your website, and if different - how do you promote it now?
The Paper Airplane Company with linking sites, since then no promotion at all. All Things Aviation, on the other hand, through publishing articles on other websites, social media and getting back links from other aviation related websites and blogs.
6. Is your website profitable? Can you share some basic traffic & profit stats with us?
Yes, but have a way to go yet.
Each site has about 16,000 pageviews per month and about 4,200 uniques per month.
7. What are your plans for the site going forward?
To continue to improve them through SEO, backlinking, guest blog posts and adding products.
8. What ONE piece of advice would you give someone interested in starting their own niche site or blog?
Do only ONE website at a time – even 2 are a killer! For the blog I would suggest looking at your competitors and see where you can create a slightly different niche and BE YOURSELF. A little controversy can go a long way.
John White
http://all-things-aviation.com
-Thank you, John and congratulations on your success!
About Lynn Terry
Number 8 is where its at. I am a big believer in reverse engineering the methodologies of the competition.
Why try to reinvent the wheel? That way you can spend more time figuring out how to one-up the competition.
BTW. John, that is a really cool picture on your site where the plane is hitting the puddle in the runway...;)
Great interview, Lynn!
Mark
This is a very nice article, I will try to implement this into my business. Thank you!
I love your answer to the second question! "I have been involved in aviation all of my life and I decided to share my love of all things aviation with fellow pilots."
That ought to be the ultimate reason we pursue any career move that is going to require some of our time, attention, energy, and creativity - because we are passionate about it, we know a lot about it, and we want to share our love and knowledge with other seasoned pros, newbies, and like-minded individuals in that particular niche!
I think a lot of people mistakenly think the internet is an easy cash machine. It takes a lot of time and energy to build a good website with a strong community so it's important to focus on something you would enjoy even if you didn't make a lot of money on it. John nailed it on the head both in passion and sticking to just one site.
You are indeed right Lauren some people think that it's very easy to earn money through online jobs. If these people only knew that these types of jobs also require skill/proper knowledge just like any profession. A good example is John White who even went back to school for his MBA before starting his online business.
I've been involved with the commercial side of aviation most of my life, and sure like to see blogs like this.