A Second - Smarter! - Start

A few months ago I shut down my website and left Wealthy Affiliate. Although I enjoyed affiliate marketing, running that particular website was quite literally killing me. That said, I knew the break from affiliate marketing wouldn't be permanent. I love everything about this career -- I just needed time to rethink my goals and approach.

You see, I initially chose a project-based niche for my website. In Basic Training we are advised to consider what we know and enjoy in choosing a niche, and I did so. I selected my primary hobby as my niche, and created my website around it. I really should have given it more thought and done some research first. Although I firmly believe Kyle when he says that there is no such thing as a 'bad niche', as it turns out, this niche was definitely bad for me.

Each project took copious amounts of time to make. In addition, each project had to be photographed every step of the way -- a laborious process. Video would have saved time and been more effective, but I had no one to help me with this, nor could I afford equipment to do it independently. (I don't even have good lighting in my house!) Moreover, the niche itself was extremely competitive, especially compared to the level of interest. Quality keywords were non-existent, my social network wasn't remotely interested in what I was doing, and my competitors were leaps and bounds ahead of me in skill level. Worse still, every project cost money to make, so the few commissions I earned were quickly devoured.

Bottom line, one day I woke up and realized that I had created a giant mess for myself, was working practically 24-7, and was utterly miserable. To top it off, the hobby that I'd always turned to for stress relief was no longer soothing, because it had become work. So I decided to shut it all down, and I've not regretted that decision for a moment.

Fast forward a few months, and I'm finally ready to start again. I've done a lot of self-evaluating of my interests, lifestyle, work style, and goals. In addition, I've carefully examined the interests of the people in my social network. Finally, I've done my research, and have carefully selected a new niche.

I'm so excited about this fresh start! Moreover, I'm thrilled to be back at Wealthy Affiliate. I feel so positive about the training and support offered here that I purchased a yearly membership straight-out. With the prep work that I've done, and the Wealthy Affiliate community at my back, I'm confident that this is going to be an incredible, successful year!