Do I need to be an expert to start a site?

No one became an expert without starting knowing little-to-nothing. Yes, you should start now creating a site to learn while doing it..

There is a lot of money in games and that might be the direction for you to go as you already have some experience. I've made quite a bit of money from online games and I've never played one.

Also, start building a list of prospects from day 1.

Gambling sites are tough to promote as they are forbidden in many places.

If you're an expert who starts a site on a topic, you'll definitely be in the minority. Put it that way.

If you already have knowledge on a topic then you will be ahead of others. Just make sure that there are buyers and there is also competition with your topic. If there is competition then you know the buyers (your potential customers) want choice! You can provide it!

No, lots of people create sites in the IM market showing you how to make money online and yet they've never made a cent, but you can't just make a site you know nothing about either.

In any given field that you have some knowledge of it'll work like this.

There will be people in that niche that know more than you (sometimes a LOT more) but aren't maybe that good at passing the knowledge on by teaching it.

There will be people in that niche who know less than you do.

There will also be a huge spread of potential customer knowledge. So start a site and only attempt to sell to/teach/solve problems for people with less knowledge than you.

As time goes by you'll gain more knowledge and you can then enlarge your market to include more potential customers.

Put it this way. If you were stranded on a dessert island and folks were starving to death......and YOU knew how to get/find a little food...then YOU would be the hero/expert...(for a while anyway)

Just go for it but don't try to be something youo are not.

Good luck.

No gain leverage from experts by interviewing and having them create content with you, all you need to know is what the latest craze is.

It is actually good to start of with something you like, and don't think that gaming is something unprofitable...it is! You certainly don't have to be an expert but it is necessary that what you are writing about is true and useful for your readers. For others that divulge into niches that they are not really that familiar with...well they outsource, which is way better than claiming that you are an expert when you're certainly not. So in your case you have an advantage over others since this is really something you like.

I don't think so.

You can build a site and collect experts' contents and publish on your site, and make it as a resource site.

Or you can write journals about how you learn these hobbies, and make it like a blog.

There are many models to run a site, and don't limit yourself in a small scope.

Hi A,

As implied above, you can follow the researcher/reporter model rather than the expert model i.e. be the messenger (curator) of news, updates etc rather than the guru.

That's how big media organisations work - as curators of available content, interviews etc.

Not being an expert hasn't stopped most internet marketers.

You can blog about your journey into whatever niche you've chosen. A project about hobbies or things you are passionate or knowledgeable will definitely be more enjoyable for you.

Your average website owner isn't an expert, so no, you don't need to be an expert.

However, if you want to make money, you need to make yourself a percieved expert.
When I first started, I was able to convince people that I was a percieved expert in web design.

The reality was I was just very creative/artistic. The only real skill I had was photoshop at the time. Using wordpress for me was like performing a heart transplant.

Months passed by however, and I learned about copywriting... then realized "wow, those websites really sucked".

Then I sold my clients on upgrades. So no, unfortunately, you don't have to be an expert to take peoples money. The skill that will actually benefit you the most, is becoming an expert salesman.

No doubt about it.
But I still recommend that you know wtf you are doing. Never stop learning and bettering yourself, for the sake of your reputation. =]

You don't need to be an expert, but sounding like one helps

The only way you will ever learn something is if you actually pass through that fearful threshold of action and actually take the action and experience that new world that seems so fearful from afar.

One does not need credentials to start or have a website, one must merely have something they want to share with the world and see it through to it being shared.
What is it you plan of creating per say?

Check my blog and you get the picture clear :-)
I'd started as a nerd and kept learning several things in the process. By the time your site is about a year old, you will become an expert.
As far as I am concerned, I don't think I can call myself a theme developer. There is a great deal to learn...the best would be you start doing things on your own.

The best thing is to simply start, and then take it nice and easy. If you really are new, then I would take it nice and slowly on the learning curve.
All things bare fruit when time is invested into them.
So do not fret or fear.

And when you pass that threshold and build that website... you'll find that you will have more fun.
It is very fun to do things you dont expect or can't expect yourself to do.

Hey, If you can read a few books or do a little research on a topic you're interested in you'll be an "expert" compared to most people. Also, just get started doing something. Most people never take that first step which is more than half the battle in life and being successful. Try to learna little at a time and if you can find a good coach, get one and listen to them almost exclusively while you're on the big learning curve. Good Luck!

When you're starting out the key is to find a niche that's both profitable (the video game niche) as well as a niche that you are in and know a little something about (you do). Start there.

Joey

wow, thanks for the feedbacks everyone, I love this forum!

it seems to me that when people say gaming, they're often refering to online RPG games such as league of legends or WOW. I'm a member of the fighting game community and all I can say is that there are not many of us. how do you make money out of a site about gaming? can someone show me a successful site so I can take a look?

thats a very interesting idea. I have another hobby which I don't want to say it out loud but its to do with talking to people. I'm not sure how I can make money out of it but I'm 1000% that I'm passionate about it. Thanks for the idea. again, can someone give me an example of it? A site that provide resources and able to get good traffic out of it.

What ever your site is about some people will think you are an expert (to them you are) and some will nit pick and say you are not, focus on the first group and ignore the second. Good luck.

One of the most important characteristics of starting a website in any given niche, is whether you have an interest yourself and you enjoy everything about that topic. It seems like you already have that down so what are you waiting for!

As mentioned earlier, you will become an expert in this niche over time so as long as you have a background in it and a passion for it you are good to go. There are unlimited resources out there online with Warrior Forum being one of the best so take advantage of it!

You definitely DO NOT have to be an expert to create a wildly successful product. In fact, what I recommend you do is go out and find an expert in the niche you want to operate in, interview that person, put together a "how to" product that reveals how they do what they do, and then do a licensing deal with the expert. You do all the marketing, they provide the content, you go 50/50 on the profits/sales.

A good example of this was the Mike Long and Mystery deal. Mike handled all the marketing, Mystery provided the content, and they went 50/50 on the profits. That product did over $1 million. There are TONS of experts out there in every kind of niche imaginable who would be open to doing something like this.

Gotta start first bro. Don't worry about being an expert right now. Get started, learn from your mistakes, make corrections, and continue to move in the right direction.

There is some terrific instruction in this thread. The most important things to remember, I think include:
With a little research you can make sure that what you write is correct. If you are uncertain of any fact, do not include it in your copy. If you have a sense of integrity this is not difficult. Don't claim to be a guru; don't say you don't know much either. Let the information speak for itself. Later you can become the "expert" when you are one.
This follows the above logic. To teach a class and take Q&A you might need to be an expert in a whole field of knowledge, but to write one or a series of article on a specific topic just takes a little study.
Becoming an internet marketer is a long term project, not a weekend undertaking. I once read that if you read one book on any subject you will know more than most of the people you ever meet and if you read one book a month for a year you will likely never meet anyone who knows as much as you do. It is more important to pick a subject you will enjoy learning about for years than to be an expert already. Get busy and you will soon be an expert.

You don't need to be an expert. Just don't claim to be something you're not and offer something of value, even if that value is only your unique perspective on a topic just like everyone else.

Not really. No one starts as an expert. Everyone starts as a beginner and as we fail, we learn and we gather more knowledge and that's what makes someone an expert, experiencing every bit of failure and applying the lessons to build a bridge to success.

You do not need to be an expert when starting a website, all you need is decent knowledge on how things work and how you deal with website issues, and as you go on, you will be able to gain more knowledge about it.

You do not need to be an expert on the niche you want to enter but you definitely need some knowledge regarding it if you want to be successful in the near future. You can learn new strategies along the way.

Not really but a deep knowledge ,
without knowledge you may suffer .

You don't have to be an expert, but it helps to have an interest in the topic. To have a successful authority site you'll have to spend lots of time contributing content to it that provides useful information in a niche. A basic informational site can be monetized with Adsense ads.

If you want a strong revenue producing affiliate site, you'll need it to become an authority site. Do some research online to find out what it is people in your chosen niche really want to know - give them those answers, but not the whole enchilada.

Promote affiliate products that cater to their desires to learn more or be better at something. Best for niches where people are always in search of the latest thing and willing to spend money to get it.

First, NO you don't need to be an expert to give advice on something. You just need to know more than the people you are selling to. So if you are targeting novice poker players, then you need to know more than them, but you don't need to know more than an intermediate or advanced poker player.

Secondly, do your market research. Create a product around something that already has an expressed need rather than creating what you THINK is a good product.

Regards,
Azu.

I sent you a PM.

You don't have to be an expert to build a site! There are many blogging platforms for examples, that a beginner can start an instant blog without knowing much about HTML and web-design. All you have to do is read some tutorials, you can also choose some free theme to use in your new blog or site and then start on.

The fact - it would take you time to build an authority, or a dynamic blog, but to start today is a very good plan! Start today and make your site grow in the future. Just make it step by step...

Anyway, for blog designs, I can help you for free. If you can contribute something for my blog about ideas on "making money online" from online games then I can offer my service free - building a great website for you.

Lastly - if you love it, you won't say you can't make it.

Regards,
Prime

No you sure do not need to be an expert. If you are confused about what nice to target then you will have to select one that appeals to you. The thing is about choosing something you know about in which you can market associated products is that, for example you have the expertise to write your own high quality articles etc. Basically then, while you don't have to be an expert you should ideally have researched your topic and then begin your site building project with confidence.

All of these publishers offline, do you think they're experts? They're NOT. And, it's no different in the online world.

Like you said, It's just hobby. If you want the business from your hobby, like selling tips or cheats playing tekken for your community. You must start first, no matter the results. If not, well just a hobby forever.