Strategy around growing and expanding a content website

route9

Hi folks,

I own and run a content website featuring satirical articles which I am looking to expand out into a more general humour and interesting facts type site. To give you an idea of what I am aiming for, think Cracked.com. Currently the site is more Waterford Whispers News, but I want to expand beyond satire to more mainstream interest - that appeals to me a lot more.

I think there is lots of potential here when you consider the success of Joe.ie / Her.ie, Cracked, Elite Daily, Benchwarmers, Lad Bible and about a million other media sites. Granted cash is often involved in growing a content site, but of course you can do a lot organically as well.

The site hasn't been updated in about a year since I was working on another website. That one is now up and running and requires minimal work, and so I am free now to focus on building up this one into a site that is working towards building up lots of traffic from various sources - mainly social media but also Google, direct visits and traffic flowing via other sites that link to us.

There are a couple of options for really growing this that I am mulling over, and which I'd appreciate your insights on:

1) 'Partner' (in the loose sense) / team up with a journalistic type with a good eye for a story - someone who can mainly lead the content side of things whilst leaving me free to focus on marketing and promotion. This person would also write articles (we could work out a payment plan), and would also spot and hire new writers for the site. After a while working together and as traffic (hopefully builds), they could have a share in the site.

or

2) Hire freelance writers who want to contribute to the site - start with one or two and then look to build up a team of carefully selected writers.

One thing for sure is that growth is going to be very slow if I am the only one writing the articles, which I have been doing so far (I have around 35 posts on the site). So one of the above options is looking like the way forward! I am also thinking that teaming up with someone would bring a whole new dimension and transform things really in terms of working on and really growing the site over time.

All thoughts and tips welcome!

Cheers.

nuckeythompson

Freelance is the only way to go. You will also have far more variety. With these type of sites they generally have a few writers or sources. One writer is surely going to limit readership.
Had a stab at one of these a good few years back. Totally different ballgame now and good investment is required. Maybe you could pm the web add and I can take a look

route9

nuckeythompson wrote: »

Freelance is the only way to go. You will also have far more variety. With these type of sites they generally have a few writers or sources. One writer is surely going to limit readership.
Had a stab at one of these a good few years back. Totally different ballgame now and good investment is required. Maybe you could pm the web add and I can take a look

Cheers, however with option 1 I mean whoever I'd team up with would not only write articles but also hire freelancer writers to contribute to the site.

Yeah agreed, it is so competitive now and it would probably be a couple of years before you'd even approach making a profit, given you are paying for content and paying to market the site - it could take ad revenue a while to catch up. That said there are 'free' ways to get traffic too, and if your content is high quality and highly shareable it's all to play for.

What area was your site in? I'll PM you now.

Axwell

What makes you different to all the ones you mentioned above if you are going the mainstream route? If you are getting content from social media its most likely going to fall into the ladbible/benchwarmers sort of site. So how do you compete with them or find yourself a piece of the market?

Joe.ie started out with decent content and then started to just write articles fueled with click bait headlines and the content has become less interesting. Personally I found myself just unfollowing them on facebook once they went down that route.

route9

Axwell wrote: »

What makes you different to all the ones you mentioned above if you are going the mainstream route? If you are getting content from social media its most likely going to fall into the ladbible/benchwarmers sort of site. So how do you compete with them or find yourself a piece of the market?

Joe.ie started out with decent content and then started to just write articles fueled with click bait headlines and the content has become less interesting. Personally I found myself just unfollowing them on facebook once they went down that route.

Yes good question - I've asked myself that same. I agree with you about Joe.ie - at the start their content was pretty interesting and readable but they just moved towards the clickbait model to boost clicks and revenues I am sure. I know that Joe had significant investment (300k I think).

Benchwarmers started as a passion project and took off from there. Waterford Whispers went viral off the back of one post, plus years of posting and publishing across FB and then the website.

Then for the likes of Lad Bible, I'm not sure. They may have had investment or just took off after years of posts primed to be shared and targeted at a specific market.

So I'm not sure really. I have no interest really in clickbait content, so I'd be thinking of more insightful posts that actually teach or inform you about something (Cracked has some interesting ones in that regard). Maybe that's one way to go but it will still cost and who knows when you would start to make your money back. A risk - but the same as with any business I guess?!

route9

Any further thoughts from anyone?

I will say that when I was promoting the content using Facebook ads, the click-through rate I was getting was huge, and it was bringing a lot of traffic. This was down to the targeting but also hopefully the content (witty headlines and article intro snippets).

However, of course it costs, and that's the challenge - to drive enough traffic and engagement so that ad revenue (and whatever other revenue sources you pursue), eventually more than covers your costs.

Graham

Is peddling sh**e content through cheap advertising in order to peddle more cheap advertising still a workable business model?

I know you mention the success of a few sites in the opening post, what's your definition of success? Do any of them actually make a profit? Is their revenue/profit increasing or decreasing. How have they been effected by the likes of outbrain and other such autocraporators?

Yes, I did spot your intention to concentrate on 'insightful posts' but they take much effort, or much money or someone prepared to invest much effort or much money and I can't see that happening without some sort of sniff of revenue/profit.

I'm sure I remember at least 1 or 2 other posters here that have attempted a similar operation, including trying to attract content-writers. It might be worth digging those out to see what became of them.

SBG387

Interesting question.

Sounds like the site has been more of a hobby for you up to this point rather than a major focus (e.g. no updates in a year). This is not a bad thing - It's just important to recognise that you are now looking to make this a 'business', commit more time to it (and so have less time to earn money elsewhere) and put your own money in to it (and so have less money to do something else).

I think by jumping in to how you can generate 'good' content - e.g. who will write the content - you are assuming good content will be found by your target audience and with an audience, you are bound to make money - 'If you build it, they will come.. with their wallets'. Maybe, but unlikely.

I'm honestly not trying to stamp all over your desire to build a successful business - I'm just keen to make sure you don't spend money & time focusing on specific actions (hiring / paying for content; paying for promotion / traffic) without first being crystal clear about how this business will pay you back for the time and money you will be putting in to it. If this business is not going to do it for you, it's better to find this out now rather than x years / €x down the road. The one thing none of us have is unlimited time so wouldn't it be great to know you are going to spend the next x years on something that will pay you back.

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Side notes:

I've suggested a few questions below and perhaps you are not prepared to answer them at all. No hassle. Perhaps I've gone too 'big picture' on this when you only wanted specific answers to specific questions.

Or, perhaps you don't want to answer them on a public forum. No hassle, I completely understand. If you want, you can pm me and we can take this offline. I'm honestly not trying to pitch or sell anything - I'm just interested to know what your idea is and whether my own experience might help you clarify what the best 'next action' for you is.

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Can you tell us more about:

1. What type of content you had in mind (e.g. 'mainstream' is too broad and you'll be one of many, many sites trying to get attention in a world where many large, great goliaths exist)?

2. Who would be interested in this content? [this question is about identifying your target niche so you won't get distracted by anyone not in your niche]

3. Where do these people currently look for / get this type of content (What sites or other sources?) Or can the content not be found at the moment? [this question may help identify where you need to become active and/or promote your site. It will certainly identify your competition]

4. What are they likely to do when they find the content? (e.g. 'video of cute cat' = share it and move on; 'unique, actionable solution to a problem they have' or 'unique perspective on a topic in a world of noise' = maybe engage more deeply with the site so the site becomes quite sticky for your target, and/or sign up to blog updates / newsletters so you become a bit of a thought leader in your area and start to build a brand for yourself). [This question starts to reveal how you might be able to generate an income from the value you have brought to your target market]

OK, if you have stuck with me so far (fingers cross), the next question may get the answer to the questions you actually asked!

5. If you are going to create a site that provides such content, you are likely to have an interest in the area at the moment. Who do you read / follow / admire? Where do they publish their material at the moment? Would they be interested in posting content to your site or working more closely with you on an ongoing basis, given you can now explain exactly what your site is about, who your target is and why your site will be great?

Peterod94

Would you consider approaching college student's studying journalism? Many would be eager to get experience and to add to their CV while you get that free lance, work experience you're looking for. They build up their own personal reputation while your site potential grows. And then if they're brilliant you could hire them more full time as you grow. Just a thought!