Take More Risks

Can you write about the subject at hand with ease?

Instead of rushing in and acquiring the domain name straight away you should try writing 2 or 3 500 word articles on the topic beforehand.

If writing the articles is a chore, you might want to consider building a site around another niche that you enjoy. Pay attention to you intuition as there is nothing more disheartening than wasting money on domains that you’ll never use.

If you are having problems creating content but are still interested in having a site in that niche, it might be worthwhile hiring a copywriter from either Rentacoder or Digitalpoint. Be aware that you’ll normally get what you pay for with copywriters. I recommend investing at least $15 for a 500 word article, that way you stand a better chance of attracting a decent writer.

Decide upon the site’s format

Gone are the days that the static website ruled supreme (thank God!). You should tailor the site’s format to the way that you work best, not to what’s the latest craze.

Consider how much time you are willing to devote to the project before typing a word. For example, if you aren’t looking to update your website on a regular basis it might be worth creating a static site which links to a blog on a sub-domain.

You could concentrate on developing a strong backbone of static content which is supplemented with blog entries. As John Chow mentioned in 10 Blogging Mistakes To Avoid it’s important to create a blog update schedule which you adhere to.

If you can’t update your blog consistently, you could try disguising your blog as static pages by removing the code which displays the time and comments. The advantage of this is first time visitors won’t be put off by the fact you haven’t updated the blog in months!

With that said, you should keep your readers informed about any changes to your update schedule. If you’re going on holiday or just wanting to spend more time with your family at the weekend, just say so!

If you’re still having difficulty deciding upon a format, visit competing sites in your niche and try adapting their style to the way you work. It might take a few tries to find your format but persist!

Unfortunately it you can’t find anything unique to add to the niche then your website is destined to be minimally successful. Instead, brainstorm entirely new ways of presenting your information! Let’s say that you are running a Dream Dictionary website and you are considering two options

1 ) You could generate a bunch of static pages about Dream Symbols….

2 ) Or you could create a facility which allows your users to incorporate their own interpretations into the site.

Since much has already been written about Dream Symbols, your content would have to be exceptional to be noticed. Adopting the latter approach would add something different to the area – thanks to the unique perspective of each dreamer!