Who else thinks you've got to be a guru, or well known expert and thought leader in your niche to make a killing with your content? Have you read articles, ideas, tips and techniques for creating an online authority site but simply don't have the patience to see it through? Or, maybe, like tens of thousands of other people who are getting started with building their first (or next) online marketing project this week, you simply have no real idea where to begin?
The truth, is 99% of the people who will start an online business this month will NEVER make a dime in profit. Most will waste tons of time, learning all of the gimmicks, buying a bunch of gadgets, and invariably, offer up their hard earned ordinary income to fast talking gurus who promise the world … But who are doomed and destined to disappoint. Sound familiar? I know this, because I not only see this every day in my own business, there was a time not all that long ago when I was inclined to do the same.
I want to give you the absolute EASIEST way to turn what you love into a living, and turn your PASSION and sense of purpose into profit.
First, rather than starting with “selling” something … BUILD something instead.
The reason that the authority site model is so attractive to me, is because it's a lot like developing real world real estate. The difference being, online assets are MUCH easier to build from scratch, and cost a lot LESS up front to create.
Let's quickly talk about a few types of authority sites you can build without needing to be an expert, or an authority in your niche. (and the best part is you don't even need to do a lot of the content creation yourself)
A local classified site.
A local directory of professionals. (think realtors, credit or finance people, dentists, etc)
A local job board.
A marketplace site that features the products and service of people in your ideal audience.
A local social networking site. (using WordPress and Buddypress you can do this for free)
AQ and A site that answers frequently asked questions in your niche. (a great way to establish yourself as an expert in service related markets like coaching, consulting, teaching and training)
The BEAUTY of these style sites is super simple.
You don't even need to create the content as the community grows.
Why not?
Because your audience will actually do it for you. As a quick example of this, we recently built a directory of spiritual authors from scratch … Just in the last 3 months. There are now over 150 listings, and over 200 blog posts, and other than “seeding” the site with the initial few listings, none of the actual content was created by us. Instead, we simply emailed the people who were considered our “ideal audience” and invited them to submit their profile to our directory of well known spiritual authors.
What happens next? Of course … They are flattered to be invited, and invariably check the directory and see a lot of their professional peers and competitors, and eagerly fill out their own listings as well.
You can do this in ANY niche using any style authority site of course, and there are lots of cool and creative ways to grow this style community without doing any heavy lifting at all.
In terms of monetization?
If you are looking to make a million dollars in 6 months, you are going to find it a challenge 🙂 But … If your goals are more modest, earning a few hundred dollars a day using this approach is SUPER simple.
For example … our directory above, earns about $ 50 a day in Google AdSense. We also earn about $ 400 a week in paid “premium” listings. where the professionals PAY for featured placement on our site. (something I'll cover in a bit more detail in another article)
But the real profit?
It comes from having a BACK end in place that allows you to do what you love … And turn your PASSION and sense of purpose into profit. In my case study above, our main goal is simply to offer brand, blog and “buzz” building online agency style services to spiritual authors who want to extend their influence and wake up the world with their work. Generating an extra $ 1000- $ 2000 per client is EASY, with services like relationship marketing, content creation, marketing consulting, blog building and other unique style services created specifically for spiritual authors.
The good news?
So TOO can you. But don't take my word for it … I challenge you to dive in and DO it instead. (no gimmicks … and you have my word, no goofy “GURUS” required!)
