Passive Income Unlocked - Take the Path Less Traveled

If you want to make money with a niche site, you need to write about products and services, right? After all, people spend their hard-earned money on these things, so on the surface, it only makes sense.

That’s what I used to think as well, and I think most people that get into this still feel this way. Most of the advice that you’ll come across out there will tell you that you need to target buyer-intent content to have any chance of making real money.

While you can absolutely make a killing with affiliate marketing, it’s not the only way to make money. And there’s something to be said about taking the path less traveled.

In my last email, I told you about how Google took away our traffic overnight after we went overboard with affiliate links. That was the moment where I had to step back and say “there has to be a better way, one with less risk.”

As it turns out, there is another way to make money with niche sites and that’s to simply build helpful, informational content, then monetize it with display ads. This has been a tried and true method for many, many years, but for some reason, people still don’t think it works.

Part of that might be due to the traditionally low ad RPMs that people are used to getting with AdSense, but these days, you can go with Ezoic, Mediavine, or AdThrive instead and make life-changing money.

Don’t believe me? Take a look at any of our income reports.

Over 95% of the revenue on those income reports comes from display ads on informational content. Our RPMs across our sites throughout the year range from around $30 to over $45 per 1,000 sessions. That’s a significant return.

The best part? Since most people still don’t think you can make real money with informational content, they don’t go after informational keywords. That means less competition for us.

When we first shifted to 100% informational content after Google taught us a lesson, my expectation was that we’d make less money, but it would be more consistent and without as much risk.

Turns out I was right about the risk part, as we’ve never seen a significant decline since then. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see how much money you can make with display ads on content with no buyer intent.

That’s not to say that taking this path was the quickest option. Building an informational site monetized with display ads definitely takes time, a lot of it.

But again, because it takes longer to see your first dollar than it does with an affiliate site, less people do it, which means there’s not as much competition.

My point is that by doing the things that other people aren’t willing to do or try, you can come across opportunities that people don’t even realize exist.

Following the herd will only get you so far. Always look for ways to differentiate your site. With any luck, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what you find.

Jeff

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