How I Turned a Website Outage Into a 13-Page Expansion (And a Whole New Strategy)

byshawn8183

882 followers

7 months ago

Searching the Wilderness for a Plan
If you’ve ever felt like you’re wandering through unknown trails, unsure what your next step should be, you’re not alone.

In the year I’ve been here, I’ve learned something important:
Sometimes, a path doesn’t just appear — it picks you.

And once it does, that path guides you to where you’re meant to be.

Let Me Be Real With You

My passion site means everything to me.

In just one year, it has given me more than most things in life ever have.

No, I don’t make millions. I don’t even make enough for a fancy dinner out.

But what it does give me is something more valuable — power.

The power to keep going.
The power to create.
The power to fuel my growth.

Now, let’s be honest.

Having a niche in Bigfoot is out there.

I’m sure when most people first saw what I was working on, they thought,
“This guy’s nuts. There’s no way he’s going to make money with that.”

And yet — I have.

The Truth About a “Working Niche”

This is what I call a working niche.

If I just sat around waiting for Google or Bing to send me sales, I’d be waiting forever.

Nobody wakes up in the morning thinking,
“Let me Google Bigfoot today.”

Most people in this niche aren’t shopping.
They’re looking for stories, legends, and experiences.

In the entire first year of running my website, I didn’t make a single sale from physical products.

But when I added my own stories and started building books — using the same process we’re taught to build websites — things changed.

That’s when the sales started coming in.

It’s not enough to live on yet.

But it proved something important:
The system works if you work it.

Why I Had to Pivot

Passion projects cost money.

And like all hobbies, if they don’t start paying for themselves, they become expensive over time.

I want my hobby to soar, not sink.

To do that, I needed to pivot.

And that’s where this story — and my new plan — begins.

The Friday Surprise

Last Friday, I logged into my website manager like any other day.

But all three of my main websites had vanished from my dashboard.

They weren’t deleted — but they were inaccessible to me.

I submitted a ticket to SiteSupport and waited.

Patience is key. SiteSupport is always working hard and has never let me down yet.

So… What Do You Do When You Can’t Access Your Sites?

Most people might sit back and wait.

But I remembered what every good training teaches:
✅ Pivot
✅ Build
✅ Adapt

Since the system would let me create a new website… I did just that.

Why I Built a Fourth Website (And Why I’m NOT Telling You to Do the Same)

Let me be clear.
I’m not suggesting you should go build another website just because you hit a snag.

The reason I built this new site is because I’ve been working on this idea for months.

I’ve worked hard to grow my main passion website, and it’s not only earning money now — it’s something I truly enjoy.

But as I started thinking about taking my online business in a new direction, I knew I needed a bridge.

I had to expand into new areas without upsetting the audience that follows me for specific content.

My passion site has integrity. People trust it for what it offers.
Mixing in unrelated content could damage that.

Here’s the Bigger Reason

I also needed this website because I’m moving my affiliate niche into a storyline too.

But I didn’t want to merge my passion page and my affiliate page.

So I thought long and hard about it.

I needed something that would serve my other sites, keep everything intact, and keep my followers right where they want to be — not forcing them into something new.

This new site caters to my Bigfoot page by focusing on outdoor adventures and survival.

But it also blends into a new direction:
It talks about building an outdoor-themed online business.

I’ve designed it to work like this:

• 60% of the site pushes my Bigfoot page, featuring related camping gear and survival content.
• 40% talks about building a business in the outdoor niche — taking your love for the outdoors beyond just a fun weekend getaway and turning it into income.

Now, you might ask, what is it doing for my third site (the paranormal one)?

Nothing yet.

That niche has a whole new idea coming. It will take three sites to create the content loop I’m planning.

And the last three sites I’m allowed to build?

They’re just sitting there — waiting for when the next big idea shows up and the right path picks me.

The Mindset That Finally Clicked

Let me ask everyone reading:
When you picked your niche, did you think about what you could connect to it?

Be honest.

This mindset — the one that finally clicked for me — came from watching Jay’s 4-class series:
Mastering the Basics of Niche Research for 2025 and Beyond.

If what he teaches in those classes clicks for you, well… you’ll see exactly what I’m seeing now.

Those classes are brilliant.

He talks about building sub-niches and making your sites work together, not just stand alone.

And I’ll tell you… if I could get one full day to walk through that man’s mind, I would.

That’s where this whole plan came from.

Now, to be honest — I’ve still got to finish watching the last two classes in that series, plus many others.

For me, this is all a juggling balance.

But that’s the point.

We’re not just building websites. We’re building ideas, strategies, and dreams. And we’ve got to have fun with it.

That’s how you stay motivated.
That’s how you keep moving forward.

A Year Ago, I Had No Idea What I Was Doing

When I started this journey a year ago, I didn’t have a clue.

It took a long time for it all to "click" in my head. But once it did — everything changed.

This past weekend, I built a 13-page website that will help me:

• Attract new traffic
• Test new affiliate ideas
• Create stronger connections between my projects

And while my main sites were down, I didn’t stop there.

I also spent time researching some amazing trending niche ideas that I’m now planning to build out next.

Big Picture: 4 Down, 6 to Go

I’m allowed up to 10 websites under my current hosting plan.

I now have:

• One affiliate-focused site with 7 pages
• Two passion/research sites — one with 10 pages, and one starter site with just 1 page
• One trending niche site designed to bridge my audiences and drive growth with 13 pages

But this new site is not just another site.

It’s a full new strategy and a test.

I built it to see how well a site can perform using only Google, Bing, and my two existing social platforms.

I’m not building new social media pages for this one.

I want to see what this website can do when it’s powered by search traffic and shared softly between my existing audiences.

So buckle up — I’ll be sharing exactly what this site can do over the coming months.

And a Quick Word for Beginners

I’m not telling you to go out and start building extra websites.

The only reason I was ready to do this is because:
✅ I’ve been working on this idea for months
✅ My main site is already earning and stable
✅ I’ve learned what it takes to strategically expand, not just build for the sake of building

If you’re new, focus on one. Build it strong. Build it smart.
Then — when the time comes — you can branch out.

That time will come faster than you expect.

Key Takeaways If This Ever Happens to You

If your website ever goes down or faces issues:

• Don’t panic
• Be patient with support
• Use the downtime to learn or create
• Don’t build a new site unless it’s part of a plan you’ve already developed
• Remember that building momentum takes time, but it snowballs once it starts

Final Thought

What started as a frustrating weekend turned into my most productive one yet.

That’s the power of pivoting.
That’s what smart building looks like.
And that’s why we keep going.

I actually did a blog here last week about being an entrepreneur.

And I believe in every word of it.

👉 Check it out here.

This place is about the dream of new possibilities — but you know what?

They’re not just possibilities anymore.

With WA, they can become reality.

And well… this story just keeps going.

Sorry if I haven’t been around much this weekend — I’ve been pivoting to a new future, even while my main one was down.

Dream big. Build big. And most important — love life.

Stay curious, my friends.
Shawn