Hey everyone,

I am and have been very interested in content website developement. 6 or so years ago I had a relatively successful (traffic-wise) website on one of my interests, but never really did anything for turning that traffic into money. I had a lot of fun and I wish to start again with one or more websites, except this time I plan to possibly make some money from it with advertisements.

I feel once I get a good topic/idea, I can start producing content and a layout and get a site up and running, but I have been facing the following problems:

1. I think of a topic for a website that I feel would suit me. I search around only to find that there are several sites on said topic and that any content I am capable of making on it would be either rewriting or very similar to what those other sites already offer. I ask myself "Why would people come to my site when these sites would offer similar content to mine and have already been around?"

2. I think of a topic about which there aren't many/any good websites. I then start to ask myself "Self, even if your content was well written, updated as often as necessary, and presented in a well-organized and easy to follow layout, will people actually visit the site? After the site has been up for a few months, will the amount of money generated from ads even be able to cover the cost of hosting the site?"

While the adventurous, foolhardy part of me is telling me to just jump in and take the risk with any crazy idea I may have, the other more cautious and timid part of me is crunching numbers and telling me to wait until I find an ideal idea: one that is a perfect balance of potential popularity and uniqueness. Or a truly ideal idea which is one which has a great potential to be popular and is also one of a kind.

I don't know if anyone else has had these problems, but maybe someone here can enlighten me from his/her experiences.

Should I make a site even though the supply for that site seems saturated?
Should I make a site even though the demand for that site seems arid?

I feel like I am in some sort of economics class.

Sorry if this post was a little long-winded and thanks in advance for any advice,

FlashFluddy

Your answer to the first question.

Visit the sites that already have the content and the traffic. Is there something they are missing? Is there something you can do that is unquie? Offer Contest w/prizes? Etc Etc

There are a ton of portals like webmaster-talk.com, what makes you post here? Think about that

The 2nd questions is

How much time are you going to invest and what do you want in return? Hosting is so cheap these days, start with a small plan and grow your plan as you grow.



Personally I would go with a portal that has less saturation.

FlashFluddy, I think you just summed up what most webmasters thoughts are when embarking on a project. Yes, I'm constantly thinking like you.

There are still many good websites to be built but thinking of the right idea is another story. If I knew of a great idea I'd be doing it myself, but for the meantime if you are intrested in providing content based sites I can offer you some more advice based on my own experiences

Look for niche markets
Build a community and look after it
Think of other ways you can generate income apart from advertisers

I built a niche community about 2 years ago and just relied on advertising to pay for the hosting and my time. Although the site was a success traffic wise I need more than just advertisers.

I remodelled the site on a subscription model and it has proved to be sucessfull.

Take onboard the questions from GMSmoothie too and just go for it!
You will never know if you dont try!

If you need more help - just shout!

Andrew
www.hostyorkshire.com