It's one of the biggest challenges of building a profitable online publishing business. It's also one of the most important.
Generating traffic.
There's no easy way to do it. Yes, you have to have good content. Without that, you're never going to get the sort of traffic that arrives naturally, comes back and gives you referrals.
But even good content isn't enough. It doesn't matter how good your content is if no one knows you have it.
The problem with generating traffic then is telling your market that your site offers valuable information. Finding that market is easy. Toss a few key phrases into Google and you should be able to see exactly where your potential users are going. Reaching them is the tough bit.
And that's why I -- and other online marketers -- are always talking about niches.
Pick a big topic like "photography" and you can be sure you've got a mass of potential readers. But you'll also have a mass of competitors. Some of those competitors are going to have marketing budgets that will make the amounts you're prepared to put into AdWords look like chump change. Unless you can build up a sales team and a writing team to match theirs, you're always going to be struggling to make your URL stand out.
But if you create a site about photography for stay-at-home moms or mountain climbers or whatever it may be, it won't be hard all to become a big fish in a small pond.
You can then you start to expand that pond. You can talk about more general topics that are still useful to your core audience, grow a little bigger until eventually -- with a little luck and a lot of work -- you'll be able to take on the sharks in your main topic too.
If you went to end up big on the Web then, start small.
What are your thoughts? Post them below!
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June 11, 2007 01:18 AM
Hi,
I am from Romania
I want to ask you about USA
And about jobs in USA
How can I find a employer who want to hierd a foreign citezen like me?
June 12, 2007 06:14 PM
Hi Joel,
I really like the 'BIG fish & small pond' statement. You've actually answering my 'deep-in-head' question: how a small fish like me can compete with killer whales in PPC & SE?
Joel said: "But if you create a site about photography for stay-at-home moms or...it won't be hard all to become a big fish in a small pond."
P/s: BARA, this is JOELcomm.com, NOT JOBcomm.com. Get me:)
Ray (Belfast, UK)
June 13, 2007 01:42 PM
I like the new look, you still look and are professional with an ease to the eye. I think more people will responed to you. I'm looking into your appearances on Internet marketing conferences and seminars.
June 17, 2007 08:35 AM
Thanks for niche insight there Joel. I have needed that info for a while.
Ok so I am not the sharpest shovel in the shed!
April 27, 2008 11:02 AM
Hi Joel,
Thanks for this entry. I think it makes a lot of sense and I've managed to become a 'big fish' in a small pond by focusing on my niche relating to 3D animation. I created 2 lenses at Squidoo on 3d animation at
http://www.squidoo.com/animation-services and http://www.squidoo.com/anime-character-design. Both of them hit the top 100 spots in one week and one of them was chosen as Lens of the Day within two weeks of creation!