The Overall Strategy and Timeline for Niche Site Project 4

Since I just recently started Niche Site Project 4, I've been getting a few questions about the overall strategy and timeline.

This post is my attempt to answer those questions.  In addition, this is a good way for me to plan exactly what is going to happen over the next 6 to 12 months and beyond.

So, if you are wondering what's the main strategy or what the process or how long should everything take, this post will provide those answers.

The Big Strategy

The end goal of this project is for me to have a website making 4 figures a month (ideally 5 figures a month) with a strong traffic flow from Google.

So, a huge focus of this project will be search engine optimization…ranking well in Google and then monetizing that traffic on my website.  The way to get traffic from Google is to write great content that users are searching for and then optimizing your site so that Google gives it some “love”.

So, here's the strategy in super abbreviated form:

• Create a very professional looking website using a premium or custom designed WordPress theme.
• Write high quality content on lots of keywords in my niche.
• Target keywords that are easy to rank for and often only get searched for 50 to 500 times a month.
• Rank well in Google for those keywords (eventually hundreds of articles most likely).
• Monetize the traffic to my site with Amazon Associates, display ads, or other affiliate programs.
• Use various link building strategies to give the site more authority and help it rank faster in Google.
• Use social media, especially Pinterest, to drive traffic to the site.
• Build an email list and further monetize my audience with my own niche products.
• Get creative with email list building and niche products to make the site grow even faster.

Each of these bullet points could be an entire discussion on it's own.  But I thought it was important to list out what my overall plan is for the site.

Developing the plan is easy, the execution is difficult.

The Project Timeline

Right now I'm excited about the project and everyone else is excited about building their own sites as well.  So, it's important to strike while the iron is hot.  But it's also important to realize that nothing extremely profitable is built overnight…or even a couple of months in this case.

The reality is that even though I'm starting the project now, the earnings and traffic likely won't get super interesting for at least 6 to 12 months.  In fact, it might not be for over a full year before the site starts to do really well.

I'm in this for the long haul.  As long as I see signs of growth, I don't mind if it takes more than a year to build a 4 figure a month site.  I can't predict how quickly this site will start earnings money.

Having said all that, here's a short timeline for when I expect things to happen:

1. Month 1: Pick a niche, buy a domain, get a professional looking theme, and write the first 5 to 10 articles.
2. Month 2: More in-depth keyword research and get a reserve of 100 or so keywords I can target.  Get on a schedule of 10 to 20 articles a month.  Start Pinterest strategy and link building strategy.
3. Month 3: Expect to see a trickle of traffic from Google, possibly even my first earnings.
4. Month 4: Hopefully see good signs of life in Google with increased rankings and more earnings. 
5. Month 5: More content and link building.
6. Month 6: Goal of $500 in earnings for the month.
7. Month 12: Goal of $1000 in earnings for the month.
8. Month 18 – 24: Goal of $2k to $10k+ in earnings per month.

Again, I can't predict the earnings.  But I think after a couple of years, the site should definitely have potential to be making $5k to $10k a month in earnings.  Could it happen faster?  Sure.  Could it happen slower? Yep.

Now having said all that, I'm going to try some things with list building, link building, and niche product building that I haven't tried before that could potentially speed up the earnings.

The above timeline is primarily focused on what to expect if I'm relying primarily on traffic from Google.

So, Niche Site Project 4 won't be done after 6 months or a year.  Not even close.  That's when things start to get interesting.

When Will You Reveal the Website?

A big part of the project is that it's public.  I want people to be able to see the site and learn from it.

However, at the same time, I don't want people to copy my site from the very beginning or perform negative SEO on it from the start (yes, this happened in my first project).

I recently started a discussion on the Niche Pursuits Private FB group here and asked others when they thought I should reveal the site.  

I have been pleasantly surprised that most people feel I should wait a little while so I can get ahead of the crowd.  I agree.

So, I don't have an exact timeline for when I will reveal the site.  But I would estimate that it will be at least 3 to 6 months.

This will give me time to build a professional site, get lots of great content, and hopefully be getting traffic and earnings.  Ideally I can wait until the site is making a few hundred dollars a month before the big reveal.  But I'll have to play that by ear a bit.

Just realize that it's going to be at least a few months before I reveal the domain.

Your Thoughts

Overall, that's the big picture strategy and timeline of the project. What do you think?

Go ahead and leave a comment below and we can discuss.  Or go ahead and join the private Facebook group here and we can continue the discussion there.

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