It’s Not What You Do In The MMO Niche That Makes Money
The MMO niche is funny. It really and truly is a strange niche. Most of the sites are all the same and they talk about the same stuff every day. Day in and day out, my Google Reader has the same posts… over and over and over… The titles may have changed slightly, the content is re-worded… but it’s all the same.
There are leaders and there are followers. Unfortunately, in the MMO niche, it’s the followers who will continue to remain followers and never jump to higher levels by following the leadership of their chosen teacher.
I say to you, it’s not what you do inside our niche, it’s what you do outside from it that makes you the money! I see that all the blogs are going back to 125×125 button on the right sidebars again… it started back about two months ago…
Two months ago, tons of blank advertise HERE buttons were created. A week after that when most bloggers failed to get anyone to sign up, these blank advertise HERE banners converted into 125×125 affiliate banners such as the typical SEO Book, or the typical 125×125 Adsense campaign.
There is NO money in the MMO niche. I am telling you folks, from the heart, the money is outside the door of this niche. Start a new blog, keep your existing one for social networking, and rock and roll on a niche that has no clue about MMO.
What do you like? Do you like horses? Start a blog about horses! Do you like wood working and crafts? Start a blog about that! Why attempt to target a niche of people just like yourself? The good news is that my message seems to be hitting home for a few of my readers.
I have quite a few readers now that are going outside of this niche and have purchased domain names, started new blogs and have started to target rich topics that are full of people who can help them make money.
Having Google Adsense on a MMO blog is pointless. Having Google Adsense on a blog that caters to a crowd of people who don’t know what about Google Adsense is smart.
If you are in this business to make money, then you need to think like a business owner. A business owner is not going to set up a lemon aid stand on the north pole. Nor is a business owner going to sell winter jackets to folks on the equator.
It’s time that you branch out and take everything that you have learned so far and apply it towards a second blog that capitalizes on a niche that will MAKE YOU MONEY!
Does Garry Conn dot Com make money? No!! Why? Because of the type of readers I have. My readers want to learn how to make money and I enjoy teaching them. They know what Google Adsense is… they know what Commission Junction is… and they can spot out an affiliate link in a URL a mile away.
Why would I waste my time trying to make money off of you?
My business is in creating blogs that capture search engine traffic. The search engine traffic I capture are inexperienced computer users who barely know how to use a computer and only use one finger to type. They have no clue what Google Adsense is, they have no idea about the concept of making money online and they don’t know that I make commission off the products I recommend. Is that shady? I don’t think its any more shadier than someone in shoe sales, car sales or even real estate. People make money off of commission all the time. One thing is for sure, there are by far much LESS commission to make when you try to sell within the MMO niche compared to outside of it.
Domain names are a dime a dozen, hosting is even cheaper, you already know how to optimize WordPress to your advantage, you have experienced Google’s wrath on paid links and paid reviews… embrace this experience and start using it to your advantage. You are a skilled blogger with experience. Attack a niche! Own it… if you don’t then its just a matter of time before someone else does.
Let’s make some money!
PS. If you want to take the guess work out of totally capitalizing on a niche audience, pick up a copy of Micro Niche Finder and take the guess work out of blogging.
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12 comments
Excellent Gary, say it like it is.
I love blogging on my MMO blog but it’s my pet blog. I have about 10 other blogs that are focused on making me money online.
I only recently, last few days, removed Adsense type ads and even the inline ads from Kontera. I found they just UGLIFIED
Sorry, I didn’t quite finish my comment. Must be too early or something I some how click submit by accident.
I was saying that I removed adsense type ads and Kontera inline ads because they just cluttered my pages and the income was so small it didn’t seem worth it. Plus the inline text links were taking away from the affiliate links within my posts.
I am still learning how to modify my blogs so it’s all a learning curve, but an exciting one.
Hi Garry,
Great information as always. From my own experience I know how true it is. I have a point or two to add.
My main blog http://www.articlediscovery.com/blog has a focus on politics. I make a little money with this blog but considering the amount of time I put into it not much. The reason? Like the MMO blogs there is a ton of competition. I am competing against some powerhouse blogs backed by major news and media organizations as well as some very talented political commentators who have good Washington ,D.C. connections. But I enjoy writing about politics so I keep writing. Money isn’t the only reason to be blogging.
Quite a bit more income comes from my financial related blogs. Adsense rates of $1.00 to $2.00 a click are not uncommon. So a lot less traffic brings in more income. Of course, these are very competitive niches as well.
So I need to take your advice and develop even more niches. Micro niches interest me as the CTR should be much higher and it shouldn’t take a lot of traffic to make the blogs profitable. It’s the little income from a lot of blogs that can start to add up. To achieve that income takes time and persistence.
Keep up the great work Garry. Your not for profit blog at http://www.garryconn.com is sure to bring you fame and fortune as you move forward. For one thing I’ll bet your ebooks will be a huge success because of the name recognition you have built up with your NFP blog.
It’s a smart way to operate in a web 2.0 world.
All the best,
David
Excellent, honest article!
I also think that a newbie (like me) would have a lot more fun writing about topics they already enjoy as opposed to spewing MMO stuff copied from someone else!
The best point of your article, IMO, is that traffic from search engines is the best because those folks are not savvy enough to ignore your adverts.
AL
David,
I have spent a little bit of time looking at your sites…
You are one that truly knows the deal and do an excellent job. Thanks for dropping by and offering your feedback. It’s good to talk with you again. Don’t be a stranger, bud!
Allyn,
There is nothing wrong with social driven blogs such as this one… but it does take a very long time to ever make money from them. My only money made on this site would be the occasional advertiser who contacts me and wants to run a banner ad.
Working on building search engine friendly sites gives people quicker results. It allows you to successfully sell and suggest related products, make pretty good money with PPC such as Adsense.
Use that strategy and build a tons of sites, thats the way to go. If you don’t have time, then find other people that you can partner with and work as a team. Thanks for stopping by and dropping the comment.
@ James,
Thanks for stopping by… I am learning that “Less is More”. As I go through a lot of my sites and clean things up and present less options per page, it has started to become more effective for the remaining campaigns that I use to make money.
It’s a while that I’m struggling if I should give up my two blogs: one is a personal development blog, the other is a MMO blog.
For both it takes long time to gain the results and the experiences before I have arguments and authority to blog about.
The first one has a small CTR but already some traffic, the second is a new blog with a surprisingly good CTR (for being a MMO blog), but still small traffic. Summed up they don’t pay alot, but request alot of effort for gaining the experiences and for writing extensive articles (i like write posts with facts and results).
Maybe I’ll adopt the 80-20 rule and I’ll focus on other niches and let them in the tide.
It’s only so dammned hard to let them go ! They give me some satisfaction, it’s fun, may be it’s also feeding my ego or simply competition…
Eventually (as always) it’s all a question of PURPOSE: which is my main purpose spending my sparetime online ?
My ego ?
My fun ?
Making money ?
Answering this question will provide me the direction to which activity I’ve to focus.
ciao
alexander
Alex,
You do a great job writing on your blogs. I have read quite a few of the things you write. You take a lot of pride in your work, and there is nothing wrong with that. While I take a lot of pride in what I do here on GCDC, my other blogs have content that are “Blurbs” They are short and sweet and quickly to the point. They don’t get comments, in fact on most I have removed the comment template all together.
Never give up on anything. Your two social blogs mean a lot. They are great for finding friends and learning. I can’t tell you what to choose, I have both.
This is my personal blog where I meet people like you and learn from others and teach others. My business blogs that make money are all over the place in different target areas. I basically use WordPress because it is a very easy way to publish pages. Back many years ago, I would use DreamWeaver and FrontPage… (anyone remember those days??) Static HTML pages, etc…
With WordPress, life is easier… and its even more easy with the creation of DynoPages! I am so happy to have worked with David on this. The first dynamic page generator plugin for WordPress.. I am very proud of that.
I think you are on the right path if you were to start something new and plant a new site in an environment that is conducive for making money.
I’m perfectly aware of the fact that there is nothing wrong with my two blogs, that they are fun and that they are a good way to socialize, but actually I want also to make (or at least try seriously) to make some money online.
As long as time is a scarce resource I’ve to make a wise choise. What I learned in my personal development experiences is that you have to have a clear purpose, this purpose must be at the top of your view (write it over your desk, on your mirror in the bathroom, on the dashboard in your car) every day and every choise you make every day have to be congruent with this purpose. This is a bullet proof way for success.
Of course a purpose could also be “make as much possible money, also spending 1 hour a day surfing around and socializing”.
BTW if somebody is interested in personal development I absolutely recomend Steve Pavlina.
ciao
alex
P.S. did you read my blogs in italian ?
P.P.S. please activate linebrakes, I really miss them.
Garry–I hope you weren’t thinking that I was downing sites like yours…on the contrary because I read yours and others like yours because you guys already know this stuff and can teach newbies like me.
I was just saying that for me, a new guy, writing the same old MMO stuff would be pointless and not much fun.
Keep up the great articles…you are almost to 400 subscribers here! Whoohoo!
Garry,
Very well said. It’s important to know your niche and cater to it, and make money online blogs generally won’t make money off that blog. I think you nailed it on the head. These blogs are used to network and get people to their other blogs.
As a side note, don’t you make money when we buy Micro Niche Finder?
Alex,
There is no bullet proof way for success. You have to go out there and just go full force on something you believe in. Either it works or it doesn’t… both situations are learning experiences.
I think you’ll do fine.
Allyn,
No man… not at all. I am glad to have you here as an active and commenting reader.
Kyle,
Thanks man… and on a side note response. I do make money when I sell MNF. However, compare that to my business with my niche blogs. I only bring forth the information about MNF to my friends because I want to see them succeed. The program is the bomb, I use it everyday to map out what I will be writing for the day, I would never go back to playing the guess work game.
Its one thing to pump out campaigns for a product you personally believe compared to many other sites within our niche that have a 99% concentration of posts that all link to “recommend affiliate based programs”
Every product you find on my blog… minus Tom Traffic have been purchased, tested and totally approved by me. I got too much on the line to recommend products that aren’t worth a crap.
I am working on an ebook (in fact I am more than half way done). This would be a bad time for me to lose trust in my readers by recommending a product that doesn’t work just to score a few bucks.
Garry – Well said! I respect that you use the products you promote, I was just pointing out that you do make money off GCDC, as you should!
As a quick side note, I don’t know if you changed something in your sidebar over the past two days, but the right sidebar is collapsing in IE6 to below the first sidebar. Probably not anything big since few use it and you have a new design on the way, but just an FYI!
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