I need your advice. Help me decide what to do.
The Situation
So, I've been a member of WA since June 2013. I really started with a lot of gusto and turned my WA promotion site into something that was making me a few hundred dollars a month or so. Once I got to that point I created a second super-small niche site promoting a certain type of headphones on Amazon.
During that time, life has happened. I've gotten married, became super involved in my church, lead our youth group with my wife, and lots of other time commitments...not to mention my 40 hours a week of work.
I highly value my wife and our marriage so I don't like to take time away from us being together...aka, we like to spend Saturdays together and we always go to bed together at night. This means no more late nights or long Saturdays writing reviews. We also try to stay away from "work" (I consider my websites work) on Sundays so we can both relax and rejuvenate for the coming week. All of this to say. My time when I can work on my websites is basically limited to Mondays (I work four 10-hour days Tuesday through Friday) and some evenings during the week.
I've been struggling lately (the last couple of years) to build both websites given my limited time. So, I need some advice from you all.
Pros and Cons of Each Site
Wealthy Affiliate Site
Pros: I think this site has significantly more income potential. It has over 100 reviews on it right now and, despite me hardly working on it at all over the last couple years, it still makes me about $75-300 a month. If I were to really focus on this site I think I could easily get it up to a much more significant income per month.
Cons: The downside is that this site is super boring to me. The products I review for it are not particularly interesting and it's more of a "just do the work" to get the money. Another downside to this site is that a lot of the posts need to be updated and possibly the whole thing needs to be redesigned.
Amazon Site
Pros: This site is simple and easy to write reviews for. The niche is very targeted. At this point, it earns me between $10-50 per month and I can easily see that increasing quite a bit. I find these reviews to be more interesting to me because it's a type of product I use regularly in my day-to-day life so I can write much more honest reviews. Plus, it's nice to buy actual physical products to review as opposed to scammy digital products.
Cons: It doesn't have the total potential as the WA site. However, if I max out the reviews (I've reviewed probably 50% of the total products that fit my niche) I could just let it run and start a new micro-niche site.
Potential New Site
Pros: My wife and I have been throwing down the idea of creating a new website where we both review products and things we use in everyday life. This would be more of a "fun" style website where we could hopefully build a social media following by posting video reviews of things as well as write full-length reviews to attract SEO traffic, etc. We have a new puppy so we could incorporate that into the whole thing as well. We could have "Her reviews", "His reviews", "Puppy's Reviews", "Our Reviews", etc. We would each kind of play our character! We could both offer different perspectives on the same product as well. Etc. The benefits of this would be that it would be way more fun to do and it's something my wife and I could do together. The biggest pro is that, frankly, I'm excited about this option and I think it could be a great way for my wife and I to spend more time together doing something that could earn us extra money.
Cons: This doesn't really have a defined niche, per se, which is hammered in at WA through the training. But it would really draw traffic through our personalities and the unique review style of products, etc. The downside is that it would be starting from scratch in an online world with lots of competition, etc. There'd be a bit of a learning curve.
Note: we're thinking we would review anything and everything. For example, we could do a series on meal delivery options (Hello Fresh, Blue Apron, etc.). We could review the individual recipes, video ourselves preparing them and eating them. We could review the service overall. We could create a master list of meal delivery options comparing and contrasting all of them. This could easily involve Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc. I could review the tools I use in the shop, she could review beauty products and we could provide commentary on each others reviews, etc. The dog could "review" treats and toys in his own "voice", etc. We don't have any children yet, but when we do, we could add their "voice" to review baby products, etc.
The Options
Note: I'm not looking to drop either site as they are both earning me money passively. Between the two, I can usually expect $75-300 per month. Instead of continuing to add content I would probably just keep them updated and maybe try to do some PPC stuff to see if I can use that to increase conversions and revenue.
Option 1: continue building both websites simultaneously, rotating which one I write for. For example, write a review for the WA site, then the headphone site, WA, headphone, and on and on.
Option 2: Stop working on the WA site and focus on the Amazon site.
Option 3: Stop working on the Amazon site and focus on the WA site.
Option 4: Stop working on both of them and start a new one where my wife and I review all sorts of products.
Your Feedback
I look forward to hearing all of your thoughts and advice! Please start your comment with the option you vote for so I can count them up easily.
Dustin "Kirby" Garness
Recent Comments
7
Hi Dustin, believe me when I say I understand your dilemma. I find myself in a somewhat similar situation and had to make a decision as well. It can be difficult when the majority of all your weekends are tied up, especially Sundays. Nevertheless when you have priorities, you learn to work around them.
Personally, I think that it is best to continue with the site that you enjoy (Option #2 - Amazon). Since it is already up and you enjoy writing the reviews, I would spend what time I have developing that site to the max. I wouldn't worry about exhausting all of the products to review. As you continue with research and keyword searches, it will probably pay off for you in the long run better than something that you're struggling with just to keep it going.
I'm sure that you find the right resolution that will be a blessing to you and your wife, as well as produce a successful business for you over time.
Best wishes,
~Audrey
Dustin, I am envious. It sounds like you and your wife have an amazing partnership/friendship.
I am inclined to suggest you follow your idea of the two of you working on the website together. It is almost Dylan R. idea of a non niche website that is focused a variety of "Best Of Lists" Going Nicheless (My plan for 2019!) I suggest this because your relationship is always going to be more important than any amount of money you earn. After all, you can not purchase a good marriage. Your train of thought on what it would be like sounds good to me also.
I am guessing that is the two of you in the photo. Love it. That is an example of how well the two of work together. That bench looks like a lovely spot.
Best wishes!
See more comments
Hi Dustin,
I love the way you are taking a step back to analyze a situation which isn't working for you anymore. I'm a big believer in "family first" and think that should always be your top priority. Of the 4 options it seems like starting a new site with your wife might be the best one. But I'm also wondering if you can get your wife involved in the existing Amazon site or start a new Amazon micro niche site with her. That would seem like the easiest thing to do.
Erica
That's a good idea too. I'm just not too sure that's something she'd be too interested in though. I guess it would depend on the niche.
Thank you for your thoughts!