Need Help Choosing a Website Topic?
by admin on Oct.10, 2009, under Choosing a Topic
Choosing a topic for your website can be tough. Everyone seems to have the next “big idea” or looks for hot topics.
After all, wouldn’t you love to be the one who invented MySpace, FaceBook or YouTube?
It often seems so simple. Just come up with a cool idea, build a site, sell it for millions to Yahoo or Google and you’ll be rich!
Not exactly.
While this idea has worked for a handful of people, the average story doesn’t go quite like that. Which is why I wanted to create this all-important page on topic choice.
Looking to Make Money?
If your goal is to make money with your site then I always recommend the simple approach.
I know you would love to create something like the next MySpace, but due to all the programming and technical knowledge needed to build and maintain a site like that, it’s not a good idea for the average person.
Even if you are going to pay a programmer to create your site, it would cost you thousands of dollars. I don’t think people realize the amount of resources that go into creating a site that offers user interaction and profiles.
Not to mention you’d probably need dedicated hosting space, which can cost you hundreds of dollars per month. You can forget the $10/month hosting plans.
Yes, these sites look cool on the surface but there are a lot of hidden headaches the average person does not see.
So what do I mean when I say “the simple approach?” I’m encouraging you to do what I’ve done for the past 10 years.
I don’t own any fancy MySpace-like websites. I don’t have a lot of Web programming skills. I just create sites on topics that interest me, draw in traffic and make money from affiliate programs like Google AdSense and other companies that sell products that relate to my topics.
Say you love to prepare desserts. You could create top-notch-cake-recipes.com where you offer all your favorite cake recipes. You’d create your site and then spend time learning about SEO (search engine optimization) so your pages get found in Google, Yahoo, etc.
Then you could make money from Google ads and refer other products that your audience may find interesting. For instance, you could join Target.com’s free affiliate program and refer some of their cookware.
Target provides you with the links to put into your site and you would earn a commission on every sale your site makes. They send you a check at the end of the month! There are thousands of affiliate programs like this.
An affiliate site like this is much easier to create and maintain than some large, programming-intense MySpace-like website. You could manage the site yourself with a program like Dreamweaver or CoffeeCup and you’d simply follow these website creation instructions to get started.
Or you can use a program like Site Build It!, which was created to help people make money from hobby or personal interest websites. Their entire focus is to help you earn an income no matter topic you choose.
Not Sure What Topic is Best?
I get the “What’s-the-best-topic” question a lot. Quite frankly, I cannot answer that. That’s something you have to decide for yourself.
If your goal is to make money then I cannot stress how important it is for you to select something that holds your interest. Remember, this is going to be a site you will need to update frequently to keep your visitors interested and maintain your traffic levels.
So it’s important you select something you know a lot about or at least have some interest in learning more.
Avoid The “How to Make Money” Topic
This is a big trap many newcomers fall into. If they can’t decide on a topic they choose the make money online idea since they want to make money themselves.
It’s always a bad idea to choose a topic that you have no experience with. Unless you have the proof you are making some cash online and plan on showing people how you’ve done it, then you run the risk of creating a site like the millions of other “get rich online” sites.
Not to mention this niche is overly saturated and you’d have a hard time generating traffic. Have you ever searched for make money online in Google?
There are millions of sites on this topic and it’s difficult to decipher which ones are real and which ones are just scams. You don’t want to be lumped into that pile of mush.
Why is Topic Choice So Important?
You must understand. Sites that do well online are sites that have their own unique spin on a certain topic. The content is well written, updated frequently, the Webmasters understand the basics of Net marketing and they know their audience.
These are all things you must execute well if you want to become successful, and it will not happen overnight. So this is one reason topic choice is crucial.
You have to be patient while waiting on that traffic to come, so you might as well choose something that will keep your interest or you’ll get bored and abandon your site.
And don’t worry about what others are doing. Just because you see someone making millions with one topic, don’t think you have to do the same thing or even something similar.
The reason that person is so successful is because of the points I mentioned above. Their passion for the topic is driving their creativity thus generating success. If you chose that same topic you might not be as motivated because it’s not your “thing.”
I know it’s tempting to copy someone else’s successful idea but it’s really a bad idea for most people.
Now it’s time to choose what peeks your interest and develop your own personal spin on it. That’s the first step to being successful out here, so I hope you take this message seriously.
Not to Discourage You, But…
The goal of this article is not to discourage you from creating a complex, interactive site. If that’s something you have your heart set on then go for it.
I just want you to understand what’s involved. You can’t just buy a software program, download some template and create an interactive site like FaceBook, YouTube or MySpace.
Extensive, hardcore programming is required. So you’ll either have to learn yourself or pay someone else BIG to do it for you.
It’s much better to start small and simple with a site like I described above and once the traffic and money starts coming in, then you can expand to something more robust and complex.
It will save you a lot of money and headaches if you do it that way.
See Successful Sites on a Variety of Topics
Site Build It! offers a page that shows successful websites on a variety of different topics. It’s a really great page because you can see the many different ways you can make money online.
From selling products, auction sellers, affiliate marketing, hobby-based sites, and more. This will give you an idea of what is possible when it comes to generating an income online.
Quick Overview of Creating a Website
by admin on Oct.10, 2009, under Website Creation Steps
There’s a lot of information on this site and if you’re a beginner, it can be overwhelming. I created this quick guide just to give you an idea of what’s involved with creating a website.
I encourage you to read it through once without clicking on any of the links just so you can understand the big picture. Then after you’ve absorbed the info, go back and click the links for more info.
Also watch my video that provides a quick overview of what you need to begin your site.
What You Need to Build a Website
1) Domain Name
The domain name creates the address of your site. So, mywebsite.com would be an example of a domain name.
Domain names are paid for yearly and you can register them here.
Looking for a FREE site?
I never endorse free webhosts. They are too unstable, you never really own your site and you do not receive a true domain name. Instead your address will be something like http://freesite.yourdomain.com. In some cases, the domain may be even longer.
2) Web Host
A website cannot exist without a web host. This is the company that houses your files and provides the environment for you to create and save pages to the Internet.
Web hosts are usually paid for monthly (some are yearly).
Learn the importance of choosing the right website host. Very important page!
3) Web Building Software (Optional)
Some web hosts provide website building tools so you do not need any additional software. It’s important you find out about this before you sign up with any host.
CoffeeCup & Dreamweaver are popular web editing software programs that people use to create and maintain their sites.
I used WordPress’ readymade php script to create this site.
If you don’t use any software, then you will need to learn how to code HTML from scratch. All you do is open a text editor (Notepad or Editplus for example) and then write the HTML that will create your page. It’s pretty easy to learn.
Then you save the file as filename.html and save it to the Internet through your web host.
If you’re not interested in learning HTML, I’d strongly recommend downloading some free HTML templates and buying a software program like CoffeeCup to edit and continue building your site.
Nvu and Komposer are two free editors you can download. As you might expect, they do have some limitations (free is not always best) but they can get the job done.
Other Website Features
Want a gaming site? Looking to create a message forum or chat room for your visitors to communicate? Maybe you want an online guestbook where people can leave you messages on your site.
This is where it gets a little tricky but don’t let it discourage you. As the Internet matures, it’s getting easier and easier to setup these kinds of things on a website.
Any kind of user interactive feature on a website requires some kind of script. A script is nothing but a file that contains a bunch of code that tells the browser how to behave.
Depending on what you want to create for your site, you’ll need to go to your favorite search site (Google, for example) and search for the appropriate script (game script, message board script, etc.) Some are free, some are not-so-free.
Say you want a message board/forum, you can go to http://www.phpbb.com and get a free message board script. The trick is you have to install it yourself.
They do provide instructions and it really isn’t that difficult but you’ll need to get setup with your web host first.
Most web hosts will help you if you need some guidance and some even provide scripts to their customers for free.
Important! Before you select a web host, make sure they support the kind of script and functionality you want to use.
Making Money from Your Website
More and more people are coming to the web to either make a living or earn a part-time living from a website or blog.
It’s certainly possible to make a full-time living online (like me), so if that’s the route you’re looking for, you’ve come to the right place.
In fact, I’ve created an article that talks about the various ways you can make money online.
Outsource The Programming
If you can’t seem to find a script or you don’t want to learn how to install them you can go to google.com and search to have a programmer do the work for you. I love this site.
All you do is sign up for an account and post a job. In a matter of minutes, programmers will begin bidding on your job with a price and you take the bid you want.
It’s very safe because you pay the programmers by using PayPal.com and you don’t release the money to them until you are satisfied with their work. You can also check a coder’s feedback/history before you select them. I use them all the time!
You can even have them design your site if you wish. Just purchase your domain and web hosting and then have one of the coders create a template for you. They’ll even install it for you.
That’s website creation in a nutshell. Now I will suggest you go to my website creation options page to further understand the importance of choosing the right kind of web host before you begin.
Make Money Online With a Website
by admin on Oct.10, 2009, under Make Money Online
Finally, you’ve found a website that gives HONEST information about making money on the Internet, and shows you how to avoid the common Internet money making scams that are plaguing cyberspace.
If you’re looking for a get-rich-quick scheme, you won’t find any information like that here. There’s no such thing as “getting rich quick” on the Internet and if anyone has told you it’s possible, they’re lying to you.
After earning a nice income on the web since 1998, I can show you what works and what doesn’t. These articles below will provide good insight on how to experience your own online success. Enjoy.
