Making Money with an Authority Website

The following is a guest post written by Patrick Meninga of Make Money With No Work. He recently built and sold a website for $200,000 dollars.

I want to talk about building an authority website today, and how you might create one for yourself in order to generate income.

There are many different kinds of websites you might create. For example, you might make a niche website that is relatively small and only targets a single keyword. Or you might create an e-commerce store that focuses on selling products.

But an authority website is a bit different. Instead of exploiting the web for inefficiencies in order to produce income, the authority website model seeks to create income by offering real value to people.

Other types of websites may offer value to the site visitor as well, but an authority website thrives on delivering value. If it does not, then it is essentially just a bunch of spam that will eventually be penalized by the search engines.

Quality content

The main key in building a successful authority website is in delivering quality content.

If you read the A-list blogging crowd then you are probably sick of hearing about “quality content” by now.

But the fact is, your business is not sustainable if it just a bunch of “me-too” content.

For example, if you go to Google and do a search for your keyword, you can probably find hundreds or even thousands of articles about your topic.

Then go to eZine Articles and do another search for your topic. Notice that there are thousands of articles about it. Glance through and read some of them.

Recognize that the content that you create for your website has to be far, far better than everything you just read.

The web is a sea of spam, and several hundred thousand new blogs are created every month. Every month!

So ask yourself: “How am I going to stand out from all of that spam? How am I going to build a brand online, and get people to share my stuff with each other?”

You have to create something amazing. You can do this by creating articles that are:

* Extremely in-depth.
* Very detailed.
* Helpful, unique, insightful.
* Original ideas not found elsewhere on the web.
* Unique presentation that is lacking on the web. For example, video or eBooks in a niche where none currently exist, etc.

Building an authority website means that you have to deliver unique, remarkable, and high quality content.

High volume

Ever hear of “volume blogging?”

The idea is that the title of each article you publish has a lot of power to be able to rank for long tail keyword phrases.

Therefore, one approach to building an authority website is to publish lots of articles that each target a unique long tail phrase.

This is a very powerful and somewhat dangerous approach.

What is the danger?

The danger is that most people allow their quality to drop as they try to push out higher volumes of content. This is only natural, and is very difficult to overcome.

One of the best ways to deal with this is to have a daily quota for yourself.

My recommendation is 3 articles.

This may take a while to build up to. Publish 3 articles on your website in a single day, and evaluate your quality level. Is it still up to your high standards?

If not, you may have to settle for one or two articles per day for a while, until your speed increases.

As you continue to write, your speed and quality will go up over time. This is especially true given that you will be publishing about the same topic over a long period of time.

Keep pushing yourself until you can publish 3 quality articles each and every day.

If you can maintain that quota, that is over 1,000 articles per year.

This will get you to a very healthy online income in a very reasonable amount of time.

The bonus is that if your quality is really high and you have good insight and expertise on your topic, then your income will be very sustainable and durable as well.

Making money with your authority website

There are many different ways to make money from an authority website, but I would urge you to focus on traffic generation for at least the first year.

After that, you can easily test different methods of monetization to see which ones pay off the best.

AdSense is a powerful option because there are so many advertisers bidding for the ad space, and it is extremely easy to implement. It is also fairly easy to optimize.

Once you have run AdSense for a month or so, you can get an idea of what your current traffic is worth. Then you can test other forms of monetization against this, and see which performs the best.

When I created my authority website, it took me about 300 hours to write approximately one million words of content on 1,500 articles.

The website went on to earn up to $2,250 dollars per month in AdSense, and I eventually sold the website for $200,000 dollars.

Thus, my dollar-per-hour earnings when creating that website was somewhere around $900 dollars per hour. Not bad work if you can get it.

And I believe that anyone can achieve those kind of numbers, but very few people actually will, because the probationary period is so long these days (Google will not send you free search engine traffic for several months, because so many new spam websites appear every day).

Building an authority website is a labor of love, but I still believe it is one of the best choices for online income, because the resulting income is relatively stable. Smaller niche sites have less trust and can easily be crushed in algorithm updates.

If you want to learn more about building authority websites, check out Patrick’s website about making passive money online.

Vern’s Note: As you know, if you’re a reader at this site, or my AimforAwesome.com site, I don’t accept guest bloggers that I don’t personally know, respect, and idolize. Patrick is that, and more – he is a friend that has freely given me heaps of help and inspiration over the years. He’s one of the “Good Guys” and there aren’t all that many in his niche! Thanks to Patrick for this guest post – you’re welcome to post again anytime!

State of Online Business?

As the world falls down around us – those with businesses on the internet are still standing… and climbing up through the rubble.

There are piles of money to be made online – and many people are just smashing their own personal income records, and setting new ones. There are more millionaires now in the USA than ever before… and, there are more internet-made millionaires than there are those with other backgrounds. (just a guess, not based on facts – don’t quote me.)

You know who is successful online? Those that are consistent. You can have the greatest idea ever… and if your implementation is not consistent… you’re dead in the water… you’re like a starfish – arms open wide for help… and none coming.

Personally, I think right now is the best time in the history of the internet – to SELL SOMETHING. Probably your mindset is a regional one… you see what you can see around you. Your friends, their friends… your family. You.

I see it differently. Almost daily I’m meeting people from Germany, Belgium, Malaysia, China, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, UK, Australia, Canada, and 75 other places. These people are on vacation in Thailand. They have the money and the time to go across the world… or 1000′s of kilometers – and see what makes Thailand so special.

Ebusiness is fueling many of these dreams. I meet many people that have their own online businesses. I meet many more that WANT one, because they are doing well enough at what they’re doing (dead-end job working for someone else) but they want MORE from life. They want to move across the world and live in a place where everything is different. They want to expand their world view.

Internet business – ebusiness – can give you that.

Two months ago I started a project that is now climbing the mountain of success. We’re about 1/4 of the way where we want to be, but, already – we’re killing the niche. My partner and I put about 50 hours each into the project before getting started. Now that we’re started – we’re putting a couple hours each into it daily.

It’s a HIGHLY competitive niche.

We’re still killing it.

The only way this happens is – knowledge, and consistent application of your fingers to the keyboard. There is a BOATLOAD of stuff that needs done – and it’s mostly marketing, once you get started.

Start 3-4 projects – I mean – PUSH yourself to start 3-4 good projects… beat yourself up every day and get the work done. Work hard on them for 6 months, a year – in spare time – whatever you HAVE…

Then – take a look at which one is most promising.

And then clobber that niche… that idea.

You need to find out what works for YOU. Not for me. Not for my partner. Not for Shoemoney or Adam somebody – forgot his name, don’t read much anymore at other sites – too busy.

The only way to find out what works for you – is to DO STUFF. Get started and GO. Find something that works for you – something you have a talent with and you are driven to do.

Otherwise – you’ll be in the same place you are now – next year. And, the year after, and so on, and so on, and so on…

Don’t be in the same place.

GO, GO, GO!!!

 

IncZen.com, IncAnswers.com, IncorporationAnswers.com for Sale

We decided, after quite a lot of thought that we should sell all the websites that are taking my time away from what I want to do – write books.

IncAnswers.com is a great domain name, and we were in discussions with an intermediary that had a client willing to pay $20,000 for it in January, 2010. Whether that company is still interested or not – we’ll see, because we’re only asking $6900 for the domain name and all content associated with it.

Sale Includes:

• IncAnswers.com domain
• IncorporationAnswers.com domain
• IncZen.com domain
• All domain content at IncAnswers.com (none at incorporationanswers.com)
• YouTube account (IncAnswers)
• Gmail Account (IncAnswers@gmail.com)
• Twitter Account (IncAnswers)

The content on IncAnswers.com is pretty specifically focused on the internet marketing niche – though it need not be. There is little traffic to speak of – perhaps 20-30 unique visitors per day. This website was created with the idea that I’d have more time to focus on the internet marketing niche, but I’ve come to the conclusion that I just don’t have time.

The price is only $6,900 and the value is predominantly in the domain name itself. The name, IncAnswers.com lends itself to a number of possibilities, as does IncZen.com.

If you would like to buy this domain, bring an offer through Escrow.com. The owner is a Thai girl here in Thailand that owns all of our projects. Once you’ve deposited the funds in escrow.com we will transfer the domain and give you the logins for the other accounts.

We are also selling a couple of other sites you may have an interest in:

AimforAwesome.com – Hawaii focused site

ThaiPulse.com and /blog/ – Thailand expat focused site

Online Business Advice for a Friend

I just finished with an email to a friend with some advice about creating an online business and I thought I’d include it here – edited slightly. My hope is that you see how important it is to me about what business you decide to create online. You could go any of 1000′s of ways, but there are lots of dead ends.

One thing I’ve stuck to over the last couple years for online business projects I’m involved in is producing content.

My friend Shawn had told me he will start a site that offers a new website to get indexed in Google and 100 backlinks for a price…

Email below:

***********

Honestly Shawn, and I’ll tell you what I think because I don’t want to see you flounder.

Offering site indexing and backlinks is what half the online businesses are about today. You couldn’t pick a more saturated niche. To say it’s impossibly competitive is understating the situation. Is it worth it to get into it? Not for the last few years – no.

Then you have to look at – are you adding value to anyone’s site by giving them backlinks from the same sites over and over – different clients getting links from same sites? Links coming in are only of value if they are related to the same subject as the site. How many different sites will you have that are ranked PageRank 3 and above to link to these new sites?

I see it as a dead end. Worse than a dead end because you’re climbing a very steep and LONG road. When you get the top there’s no view, no reward, just a dead end… then you have to retrace steps backward to go find something that works.

The reality is that there are not many things entrepreneurs new to web dev and internet marketing can really do. The gurus that sell stuff will tell you 16 ways to get on top in 30 days  but the reality is – it only works for them because they have 1. Traffic. 2. Connections to other sites with traffic.

The best possible thing you could do in my opinion?

There’s a WHOLE lotta stuff – but, you must produce CONTENT that is unique and needed.

That’s it.

Everything else will come after that.

You can shoot video. You can do podcasts. You can write a content site. You can make ebooks. You can podcast ebooks. You can write music. Create graphics. Make a cartoon. Play music. Sing. Do interviews. Create a product. Create a martial art. Write a book. Make art.

You’ve got to make content that is yours that you can resell over and over and over.

Over the last couple years I focused on a lot of different online business projects for producing content.

1. I started filming myself – to get comfortable in front of the camera. Now I love it. I could definitely do an internet show of some sort. I know now, for me – video is the content I will produce in abundance… it’s fun, easy, and it’s where the internet is going and will be for the next 10+ years – easy.

2. I wrote a book – 130,000 words – about a topic that was personally significant to me, but will never get published – It was great accomplishment to actually finish it.

3. I wrote another book – a bio – over 100,000 words. I talk about a lot of stuff I can’t say here in Thailand yet, so I’ll not offer it for publication until I’m solidly back in the states.

4.  I wrote 2-4 ebooks. Just did another one and a site: www. (editedout) .com – not sure I told you.

5. I created www.JoysThaiFood.com where my wife did her videos and recipes.

6. I created Thaipulse.com where I have 400+ posts, over 100 articles, over 3000 images.

7. I joined Dreamstime.com to sell my stock photographs and I put 400 images there that have sold over the past 2 yrs.

8. I joined fotolia and some other stock agencies that sucked – sold some and pulled the photos from there. I trust dreamstime more and went exclusive with them.

9. I tried to create a funny video series on youtube – the Gross Grub Series – me eating bugs – sustainable living style – here in TH.

10. Doing Thai wildlife series videos – snakes and other stuff – also mostly at YouTube.

Notice anything ?

Content man – content!

I worked with a brilliant guy in Hawaii – he was number one at Dean Witter within 3 years of starting work. His name is, Ken Young (name changed). I found him in the state of HI jobs database. I worked for his online greeting card co. which was a front for a MASSIVE spam operation. Legal spam – he always did it by the book – but, we were sending 3 billion spams per month.

Anyway – the guy had already made his millions, retired at 27, and got into online greeting cards with his wife. They made (editedout).com. The site, quite frankly – sucks. The cards? Suck. They are the worst, corniest – most ridiculous drivel I’ve ever had to look at every day of my life. I never told anyone I worked for that company while I did.

I’d suggested updating the site a number of times to make it more contemporary and to compete with the looks of other ecard sites. Ken always rejected the idea because it was working. If it works – don’t mess with it. Sounded ridiculous to me at the time – but, that’s why Ken was on top of the game and I wasn’t yet. Today – his site is still EXACTLY the same! Looking back I realize – yeah, no reason to compete with BlueMountain.com because Ken was targeting a different audience. One that liked big text, corny colors and graphics, and ridiculously simple ecards.

Guess what? Ken’s tiny little company was making bank.

The cards were free to send – 90% of them.

10% were premium cards – extra special JUNK.

If you joined for $2.95 a month – recurring billing on your credit card, you got access to all the extra corny cards.

He had 30,000 subscribers when I joined. That was a drop from what it was previously but I can’t remember how many he was up to at the most.

And, the $100,000 per month on 30,000 subscribers to the premium cards wasn’t where he made his real cash. He made it with spam. As a 4 person company – with Ken and his bro in law doing the admin stuff – and me and another girl doing the hard work – “we” were making 5 million a year minus about 1.5 for expenses.

Not bad. He was paying me 50,000 and the other girl about 30,000. His brother in law? No idea. The almost talentless girl that did the online greeting cards was making in excess of $100,000 per year.

I realized about a month into working with him that he had phenomenal insight into the internet already. I’d been in seo and internet marketing for a number of years already. I knew my stuff.

Ken knew my stuff, his stuff, and everyone else’s stuff.

He was super bright and played with scenarios and testing everything – all kinds of new projects to see what worked. Our routine test was 2-3,000 dollars. We’d try it – if it worked – we’d put some effort into it – see if it really worked. If it really worked we’d be pumping hours into it until it got big.

I wrote down a number of things that lead to business success from my hundreds of hours talking on the phone with Ken…

1. Produce content that is hard or impossible to replicate.
2. Focus on the big stuff that makes money, not the little stuff which can suck away your time.
3. Keep a very small group that can change focus fast. 1-3 people is ideal.
4. Test, test, test. Test in small ways – today we can use adwords to bring instant, focused traffic and see if there’s a result. If not – it really doesn’t make sense to build a whole website about it and try to get Google ranking!
5. Best products to sell online are under $30.
6. Know your target market – in his case he knew that his target was nerds and old people that loved the corny cards and were die-hard loyalists!

Having a monopoly was high on Ken’s list. Creating content that is unique gives you a monopoly at least until someone copies it. Create content that fills a need. Brand that content and that’s all you need for the rest of your life.

Content Shawn – please, produce content and I think you’re going to have a much better time of this… don’t chase what others have already done and then overdone and ground into the dirt.

You’re talented as hell – with people, with writing, with what you pick up – like a sponge.

Create something – and get it going. If it’s Thailand focused I can give you links from my sites. If it’s something you need a link from AimforAwesome for – let me know.

If you need help with video anything – let me know.

Please don’t create a site that indexes a web site and promises links to it… unless you know someone doing it now that is very successful and will share everything with you – Thailand is a new market – but, really limited. There are VERY few farangs (foreigners) here that know what they’re doing, or know what is needed.

Choose something to start producing. Start producing content of whatever sort gets you going – that you’ll continue to do.

Best,

Vern

Starting a Small Business Selling Buddhist Charms

My wife and I stumbled into this almost by accident. Her family had some old Buddhist charms (amulets) they wanted to sell but when I saw them I told them I could sell them for them. I gave it a try on Ebay and sold some for $200-$490 each.

That was a small success – we didn’t have any more of the old amulets so it was a limited opportunity. It piqued my interest in the niche.

I found some charms locally and started selling them on EBay. That was no fun -the market is saturated with junk Buddhist charms and everyone was selling replicas of each other’s amulets.

I found some local charms at a temple and they were unique and sold some on EBay. I don’t have the patience for ebay and dealing with bidders that don’t pay and what not, but I use eBay as a testing ground to see what might work if I built a dedicated site.

I built a blog at blogger in 10 minutes and posted some articles about Thai amulets there. I got some traffic after a few months (50+ unique visitors per day) and some were emailing me asking if they could buy the amulets I pictured on the blog.

I then created a little Thai Buddhist pendant site for my wife – ThaiAmuletSales.com and we put up some basic amulets we found. Some good luck amulets, personal protection amulets, gold cased amulets and Buddha and Buddhist monk charms.

We sold a couple per month for a while and made about $150 per month net. I thought there might be some potential to this so, I thought I’d put some SEO time into the site and try to crank it up a bit. After that effort we were doing pretty well. I’d not expected this little project to turn into anything at all – and now it was netting her $500+ per month. We had hardly tried to be successful with it but already she was making twice what her fellow college graduate friends were making in Bangkok.

So, the time has come to crank it up again. I redesigned the header a bit – kind of a sad state of things that site because I just kept building on a poor design. I should turn it into a WordPress blog but I can’t justify the effort yet. As a result I’ll just add another 50 pages or so with some new Buddhist charms she bought the other day and we’ll see if we can hit $1,000 per month net. That would justify another effort of changing it over to WordPress and making it nice. As it is it sells ok – but, sure it could really be overhauled!

Such is the way successful projects go sometimes. I never knew this niche was going to do anything for us at all. Much like some other things I have going right now – little projects that I give a try and see what happens. Over time they either pan out or not. This panned out. So did my crazy YouTube videos where I now have 1.3 million views per month for doing stupid stuff in Thailand. I’ve kept adding videos and now I’m at 140 videos about Thailand’s wildlife and eating crazy things like a scorpion.

So, what does it all mean?

Start lots of little projects and feed them enough to see – do they start taking off, or no? If not – move on to new projects.

Start projects with a micro-effort. Start a blog. Post there a couple times a week. See if you gain readers. Anyone want to buy anything?

Don’t start out big – big projects fail really big. I’ve found over the years that it’s much better to start little projects and keep cranking them up as they do better. Soon you have something bringing $500/month. Then $1,000. Then $2,000. That’s nice extra income… maybe you can crank it up enough that you don’t work for anyone else anymore. That’d be nice…

That’s my goal for everyone reading this – crank SOMETHING up and turn it into your life’s work… Get away from the 9-5.

Good luck!

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