3 Easy Steps to Building a Life Changing Authority Site (And Other Ramblings)

I’ll immediately point out that the title of this blog post is pure satire.  Contrary to what a lot of people would like you to believe, and what you know to be true deep down inside, creating a true authority site is not easy.  It requires a lot of hard work and patience.  It’s great to “follow your passion”, but the truth is, doing so is not some magical one way path to a proverbial pot of gold.

We all know this to be true, but it’s something I’ve recently experienced up close and personal.  You probably read a lot of blogs about people who have quit their jobs (or been fired) and have subsequently made an amazing living by starting a business online.

Unfortunately, that isn’t my story (and if you’re like most people, it’s not your story either).  This isn’t intended to be a “how to” post – it’s more a collection of thoughts I’ve been meaning to write about, so take from them whatever you want.

The “Get Rich Quick” Mindset

Even though we all inherently understand that “get rich quick” schemes are not real, we often try to find ways around that reality.  We may not outright fall for these schemes, but we’re still attracted to this way of thinking.  We understand that there is hard work involved, but where we fail is when we equate hard work with (relatively) quick success.

That’s one reason I think mini niche sites have become so popular.  Yes, you still need to invest your time and put in a solid effort, but the “set it and forget it” model is so attractive.  And there’s a simple formula to follow, that goes something like this:

1) Do your keyword research and evaluate potential competition.

2) Buy a domain and build a website.

3) Add content to the website.

4) Perform (and even somewhat automate) SEO tasks, primarily link building.

Those who could perform those four steps well and efficiently could somewhat easily create an income-producing asset that requires little maintenance.

It feeds perfectly into the “get rich quick” mindset.  It’s not that you’re actually getting rich quickly, but you’re taking what you perceive to be a small step in that direction.  Even though one niche site might only earn $30/month, we all understand scale.  We can all do the math and figure out that if we could make 200 of these sites, we would earn $6,000/month – an income that could easily replace a “real job.”

Niche Sites Aren’t Dead, But…

Clearly, niche sites aren’t dead.  There are several public examples (Spencer from NichePursuits and the guys from AdSense Flippers come to mind), and probably many more private examples that prove this business model is still viable.

The problem with this logic (and pointing at these examples) is that you’re highlighting those who stand out.  You might even call them exceptions to the rule (and they are exceptional – I have high respect for the two sites I linked to above).

This is somewhat of an extreme analogy, but it’s almost like pointing at the leading manufacturer of paper and saying, “Look – that business is wildly successful, so it must be a good business model to try and emulate.”  The fact of the matter is, our world is becoming more and more paperless, and the only reason these paper companies are successful is because they have learned to adapt and stay on top of the industry while many other similar companies have probably crumbled.

This isn’t exactly the same as creating niche sites, because the challenge isn’t staying ahead of your competition.  The challenge is overcoming whatever changes Google throws your way. Niche site “X” generally doesn’t compete with niche site “Y”.

And while you might like to say “don’t rely on Google”, those who are massively successful with mini niche sites rely on Google for both traffic and earnings (via AdSense).   Maybe they diversify with other businesses (which is great), but their mini niche site business on its own is very Google-centric.

Here’s what I’m getting at: The landscape is changing, and it isn’t as easy to create a profitable niche site today as it was a year or two ago.  Although people still do it, and will continue to do it, I strongly believe it will become more and more difficult.

The very best will adapt and continue to succeed, while others may find mediocre results at best.  As I mentioned above, this situation isn’t unique to this type of business model.

The Solution is Simple but the Path Isn’t

If you really want to build a more sustainable (content-driven) online business, it’s becoming more and more apparent that “authority” sites are the way to go.

The biggest challenge with this type of site is that you can’t fall into the trap of assuming that more content

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