Authority Site Project Help

Running a site about what interests you is far easier in the long run, than trying to feign interest in any other subject.

The sites and businesses that tend to do the best in SI are persona based. You need a persona that is unique to you, one that you would like to be known as, and that you have keen interest in.

Then your keyword research wil be much easier, and much more rewarding. you will find posting nowhere near a chore, and indeed something you look forward to.

I like this guy, James Clear dot com. He knows who he is, what he likes, is unapologetic and writes on a consistent basis.

Harry,

Congratulations on making progress.

IMO, your problems right now all relate to the fact that you've chosen a very broad market to focus on, but you haven't yet chosen a niche in which you can position your business.

No. Self improvement is a huge market but not a niche. Within the self improvement market there are all kinds of sub-markets. You're trying to bite off way more than a small marketer has the ability to cover. You're trying to cast a very wide net.

The problem is this: the audience that you're trying to identify has many, many different interests and reasons to be in this broad market. You will be much better off choosing to cater to one specific self improvement topic . . . say, "lack of self esteem." Then, I would go even deeper and identify a target audience, say "girls from 12-18 that lack self esteem." Then I would position my business to offer guidance, direction, and information to help those girls overcome lack of self esteem. The vehicles could be videos, audios, affiliate products, ebooks, reports, etc that either you write, your have written for you be a ghost writer, or you offer affiliate products on the subject and earn a commission.

Even though this is just one tiny topic within the self esteem market, there are thousands (maybe millions) of young girls (and their parents) that could be your audience. There is more than enough interest here to give you a six figure income if done correctly.


What you are calling "categories" are really just broad segments within the self esteem market. They are still too broad for a solo owner business, IMO. Dig down even deeper so that you can identify an audience with one common problem or need or desire that you are going to satisfy.


Yes, that's because you haven't identified a specific niche to focus your efforts on.

Harry, I know this sounds like I'm preaching . . . but I can tell you that almost every one of the solo entrepreneurs that I know that have become successful at business online have done so be laser-focusing their effort on selling into one specific audience that all wants the same thing.

Can you see how this focus will aid you in choosing keywords, figuring out what to sell, where to sell it, and how to gather a list of subscribers? They all want one thing . . . and that's going to be your product or service. Sell into demand and offer the very targeted audience exactly what they're all looking for.

I hope this helps.

Steve

Have you figured out who your competitors will be?

Once you do that, head over to semrush and check out the long tails they are listed for. If you have a few competitors use the competitor tool to see where they all sit for those terms/phrases.

This will give you a good start to determine what keywords to start with, and a long list of keywords to plan for.

-CG

Get an angle...

Let's be honest here: There are thousands if not millions of authors in jst about every market.

The key as I see it is to focus on what you know. Yes it is a broad market. But you need to find your voice. You need to find a way to stand out from the noise.

If ti's a topic that you know lots about, then what is your story? Are you offering info that has helped you?

If yes, then tell your story and relate blog posts to your story. be loud, be opinionated. Don't be shy.

I am a big fan of targeting a market rather than a niche... I was heavily into real estate before the GFC... real estate had like 20 sub niches, so I was able to write and appeal to different niches.. and they were related.

But once again, you need an angle. It can be towards SI for depression etc. You decide. SI fits many situations, and as stated, if possible, relate it to your story / experience.

Reach out to those who are going through what you went through and help them.

Forget a finding the best niche. If you do the above, people will relate to you... and the rest will follow.

Hope this helps.

Sal

EDIT: 6 years ago I helped a client who had overcome asthma without medication. She wrote her story and methods and her book went nuts... just saying.

A lot of great advice given so far. Another thing that I would like to add is that focusing on keywords and SEO is really only one aspect of driving traffic. There are a lot of great ways to drive traffic such as Guest Posting, Social Media, Forum Marketing, Paid advertising, and the list goes on.

I would try to focus on creating great content that resonates with people and keep your focus on keywords secondary to that. Especially in the beginning, as it will take time to start ranking for keywords. Focus on alternative methods of driving traffic and building an audience.

I also like the idea that you are already looking for blog post ideas out there. Find posts that have a lot of comments and shares by similar blogs. This can give you a lot of insight as to what type of content people are excited to read about. Hope this helps!

Thanks all, i have found my angle! And i am in the process of writing a ton of related blog posts. It seemed daunting at first but im in no rush and as i enjoy writing about this subject i don't feel the need to outsource like i have in the past. Also for the first time since i started doing this i no longer feel like I'm chasing a quick buck! looking forward to building this blog and watching it grow. Thanks for all the help. Harry