While this may seem the simplest step in this whole “getting started” ordeal. This may be true in some aspects but you are setting the course of your website and business with little true knowledge to the work required.
The aim of this course is to ensure you have taken time to look deeply into your niche or maybe multiple niches and look at how they are different and which may be the best option for you to start on from personal experience.
Quick Links:
Phase I: Research Different Niches
Phase II: Evaluating Market Demands
Phase III: Assessing Monetization Potential
Phase IV: Deep Analysis on Competition
Phase V: Designing Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
Phase I: Research Different Niches
Many people will start with no clue what they want to write about, some may come with thousands. This is where you start to write them all down and then begin to give yourself a list to fill out and manage from [ Our Google Sheets Template ].
You should spend a week or two here, exploring the vast array of niches that are out there, your intention being to find anything that interests you.
Building your site is a many years long process where you have to want to stay engaged and learning, maybe this list will have things you don’t know much about at all but have a large interest in growing within yourself!
When you are out driving around town write down things that look interesting, many businesses will have a similar website version which can give you more inspiration.
Personally, I find magazines an amazing resource as if a magazine can exist and have hundreds of thousands of subscribers then there is an even larger amount of readers online. These readers tend to be passionate and interested fully in reading new and unique angles and perspectives.
Additionally you can consider not targeting a “niche” specifically and start by adding to your list by the problem you intend to solve or a need you can fulfill for a visitor.
Always consider areas where you have some knowledge or interest, as this will make it easier to create content.
Phase II: Evaluating Market Demands
Now that you have your first few ideas listed out on the sheet you can start to dig into how much interest there is from online searchers on the niche and topics.
This can be done with many tools like Google Trends, keyword research tools (e.g., Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Ahrefs), and niche-specific forums and communities to gauge the demand for the niche.
For your first 20-30 posts you would look for ideas and topic or keywords that have decent search volume but relatively low competition.
This way of looking at low competition will mean looking at the phrase and what the search engine SERPs, or Search Engine Results Pages, shows to the searcher.
To be most efficient you shouldn’t be logged into the browser, so if you use Chrome you would want to use Incognito mode or even a fresh browser to remove bias from your personal search history.
Phase III: Assessing Monetization Potential
Anyone beginning a business is starting from a severely flawed state if they haven’t performed some form of research into the monetization options their business will provide them once it has started.
While this may feel weird at first no real brick and mortar or digital business begins without having monetization levers actively in place from day one, if they didn’t they would more than likely collapse on themselves in the first months.
So when you begin your path towards creating a website and business you must take some time to look over ways that you could monetize the site, this is really non-negotiable.
This could include many options:
- affiliate marketing
- selling digital or physical products
- display advertising
- info products
- sponsored content
- membership subscriptions
- courses
Find the big and successful sites in the niche or similar niche to understand their monetization strategies, think about what they offer, where they offer, and then think about how you could use that same approach to grow your own business and income out.
Phase IV: Deep Analysis on Competition
Now that you see how the other sites and niches themselves approach monetization and building a consistent income for their work you can begin the process to look into what they are actually doing.
Yes, I mean traffic, and what are they doing right?
Do they have social media pages and if so do they have thousands or millions of interactions? Are they on YouTube or in some way generating video content alongside their websites?
After those which give you a good starting point to how they are doing off site for traffic accumulation you must then dig into their site(s) and see whats working, whats failing, and what gaps you can fill in they are missing out on.
| Factor | Evaluation Criteria |
|---|---|
| Content Quality | – Quality and depth of information provided – Uniqueness and originality of content – Content formatting and readability – Frequency of updates and fresh content – Multimedia integration (images, videos, infographics) |
| User Experience | – Website design and layout – Navigation and site structure – Mobile responsiveness – Page load speed – Ease of use and findability |
| Social Media Presence | – Number of followers/subscribers across platforms – Engagement rates (likes, comments, shares) – Consistency and frequency of posting – Quality of social media content – Interaction with audience |
| Backlink Profile | – Number and quality of backlinks – Domain authority and page authority scores – Diversity of referring domains – Anchor text distribution – Potential link building opportunities |
| Content Promotion | – Utilization of email marketing – Guest posting and outreach efforts – Influencer collaborations – Advertising and paid promotion strategies – Leveraging content distribution platforms |
| Monetization Strategies | – Affiliate marketing integration – Sponsored content and advertising – Sales of digital products or services – Membership or subscription models – Diversity of revenue streams |
| Community Engagement | – Presence of forums, groups, or communities – Level of audience interaction and participation – Responsiveness to comments and inquiries – Fostering a sense of community around the brand |
| Brand Authority | – Recognition and reputation within the niche – Authoritativeness and credibility of content – Industry awards, media mentions, or notable coverage – Thought leadership and influence in the space |
Take the time to cautiously identify their strengths and weaknesses and think about how you can differentiate your site and utilize your USP.
Phase V: Designing Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
In this phase you want to begin developing how you will set yourself apart from the vast crowds of people within your niche. This is what will be your “secret sauce” to your personal success, just making general content based on keywords won’t help you thrive in todays world.
Determine what makes your site unique and valuable to your target audience. This could be your expertise, a unique angle or perspective, exclusive content, or special offers.
Some USP examples:
- Weight Loss – Showing how you personally dropped 100 pounds for example is POWERFUL as a tool and message, partnered with YouTube and social media a site could grow exponentially as you have proof not just placations.
- Robotics – Showing full builds, using images and video, from kits or from scratch can easily show people that you know what you are talking about.
You should take some time to look at the niches you listed form Phase I and see how you maybe can align yourself within one and what you would have as your USP.
If you can learn how to approach a specific niche and cotent type you can turn even low visitors into consistent income sources, the first mistake of many new site builders is that you don’t just need millions of visitors to make thousands of dollars.
