3 Key Steps in Choosing a Profitable Niche Topic for Your Weekend Website

**robertallen** · Mar 25th, 2009, 11:54 am

If you want to make money by creating a content-rich website of your own, you have to find a niche with potential. You can't simply pick a site topic out of the air, start writing and expect to make money. In fact, the more time you spend on the research of your topic, the more likely it is that you will end up with a winning website.
Step #1: Choose a topic that interests YOU

It makes sense to pick a topic that interests you, because you'll be spending a lot of time developing, writing and marketing your website. If the subject doesn't interest you at all you'll find it hard summoning up the enthusiasm to write enough on the topic.

Keep in mind that if you want an information site to generate a good monthly revenue, you will likely have to write hundreds of pages. You can lighten the burden by having your readers contribute content, but you'll need to write the first hundred pages yourself.

Don't be discouraged by that number. Once you get started, it's surprisingly easy.

But you do have to ask yourself two questions.

1. Is this a topic about which it is possible to write hundreds of pages?
2. Will it interest me to write these pages, or will I be bored after the first ten?

Step #2: Choose a topic that people feel passionate about

It's much easier to engage the attention of your readers if you are writing about a topic that people feel passionate about.

What do I mean by that? Well, think about what you and your friends like to do after you get home from work. Think about hobbies, sports, entertainment and so on.

As a rule, it is our after-work activities that we get the most excited about. This is why people flock to sites about cooking, baseball, kids' parties, wine, music, gardening and more.

This isn't a rule. You can create a very successful site about work-related topics too. But I always look first at hobbies and other after-work interests. It's great to have a passionate audience for your website.
Step #3. Choose a niche that has high demand and low supply

This is the most important step in choosing the topic for your money-making weekend website.

The easiest way to run a profitable website is to have all your visitors arriving through the major search engines. In other words, you want free, organic search engine traffic. To make it to the first page of the major search engines for your principal page keywords and phrases, you need to find a niche topic for which there is high demand from searchers, but not too much in the way of quality supply from existing websites.

There are many tools you can use to help you find the best keywords. One of my own favorites is Wordtracker.

Perhaps the easiest way to get started in finding a high demand/low supply topic is to think in terms of sub-niches. That is to say, instead of choosing "wine" as your topic, explore niche areas like "organic wine," "ice wines," or "Mediterranean wines."

You can decide to go head-to-head with existing, quality sites on a top-level topic like wine, baseball or Hollywood. But you'll find it much easier to succeed with your site by focusing on a sub-niche.

**Trapped** · Mar 25th, 2009, 11:59 am

You got some good assumptions there, but I feel like the "profitable niche" part falls off right from the first point. Not everyone could be passionate at mesothelioma, or lawyers or topics that are actually profitable (at least for AdSense, but even in affiliate).

But sense you give to each point is very correct. You can write a lot if you know the niche and you are passionate about it, people will love coming back if they are passionate about that topic too...

**henrypaul** · May 3rd, 2009, 10:12 pm

Great tips, thanks for the post. It's true that anyone can start his or her own online Internet business. No matter what your expertise level is, you can find success. You need to use online marketing to drive business to your website and create buzz. A great marketing plan will give you plenty of passive income, as people are drawn to your site and make purchases at any time of the day or night.