Newbie Adventures in the Sleep Niche.
So I've been running my website (http://fixyoursleeptoday.com) for almost 6 months now and I can truly say I've learnt a lot about more about my niche. When I started out, I was aiming mostly to talk about sleep apnea and its causes, but since then I've really branched out into several different topical areas. As it turns out, many of the lifestyle illnesses we develop (eg. hypertension, diabetes, etc) and even mental disorders (eg. Alzheimer's, depression, etc) may be due to not sleeping properly. In this way, I think my site has become more than just a means to make an income, it has become a platform for generating awareness.
My website is far from perfect but I am very comfortable with the theme. It conveys peace and tranquility, which I believe helps visitors to understand what I'm all about. I've been trying out a few plugins to help get the social side of things up and running and so far it's been a fun learning experience. There's so much more to do that I can't help but feel a little overwhelmed sometimes, especially since i'm trying to hold down a full-time job while volunteering and learning web development. But I remain steadfast in my belief that I will succeed in this endeavour.
Of all the activities I've undertaken so far, I must say that I enjoy seeking out and assisting persons across social channels with their sleep issues. I find that this is a great way to bring some traffic to your website as well--though admittedly I haven't gotten to the point where this is a substantial amount. Content is indubitably king however...so I'm keeping up with my keyword research and trying to learn new things about SEO in order to make sure I'm on track.
There's one question that's been bugging me...is the sleep niche really a place in which I can be successful financially? The problem I find with sleep is that it's often a secondary concern...noone tends to look at their sleep first in trying to solve their health issues. It means there's a lot of 'noise' between me and my target audience, and I still haven't developed a strategy to get around that. I'll be posting a question relating to this in a bit because I need to validate what course corrections might be needed.
Even with all the uncertainty, I'm very proud of the fact that my average search ranking is hovering somewhere between pages 4 and 5. This is a LOT better than 2 months ago when I was somewhere on page 8. It shows that what I'm doing is working and if I can just sustain my effort, it'll eventually bring me some gain. In the next 3 months, I'd like to produce an ebook to encourage user signups. The intention is to gain at least 200 new emails to which I can then start some email marketing. With the lessons I learn, by the 6 month mark (which will mark one year being here at WA) I hope to have at least 1000 emails. I would also like to have made approximately US$1000.
So much to do and so little time! But it's small actions every day that make the difference. Persistence pays!
--Josh.
Recent Comments
8
Sounds like your doing well with your site so far, and having had a quick look, I think you've got some great content ideas too. Well done.
Maybe you could consider getting involved in forums to do with the sleep niche, and possibly Facebook groups too. You could link people to your articles and possibly to product reviews on your site, which they may purchase from. With forums you know that these people are likely to be looking for actual solutions to their sleeping problem.
I found an article from NicheHacks on insomnia for example, this may give you some ideas. Here you can find top sleep niche forums and blogs too. You can see what other blogs are doing and see how you can fit those ideas into your own blog.
http://nichehacks.com/niche-hack-report-insomnia/
Hope that helps,
Steph!
Thanks for the guidance and encouragement Stephanie. I've gotten involved in at least 2 forums so far so I'll be testing the waters in a little while. I like the whole seek-and-assist routine, it makes me feel as though I am making a meaningful contribution to the lives of others. Hopefully, I'll make a profit sooner or later since I'd love to reinvest that and offer even better resources!
See more comments
Well I need to read your blog! I have chronic ensomnia. Fixing sleep has been a bit of a challenge.
Hey Noelle, you are welcome to browse and let me know if there are any other resources that you'd like to see there. It's young so I am very open to ideas. I do hope you'll find the info there useful!
OK will do thanks! I have a question for you, if you don't want to answer it here in public comments, I'll PM you. Just let me know. Sorry I was late replying, been busy and had headaches the past 2-3 days or so.
No problem Noelle. Go ahead and PM me.
OK, PMing right now.