Does a niche site need to sell something to make money?

Yeah even with Adsense there is a type of Selling.

You have to get people to click on your Ads to make money.

So there has to be some persuading i.e. where you put your Ads , also providing Laser targeted and specific content on your Site that will persuade (sell to) Google to put highly relative Ads on yout Site that readers will want to click on.

Stoner,

There are literally millions of quirky, weird, little niche sites scattered all over the Internet that make money for their owners. What separates these sites from all the quirky, weird, niche sites that don't make money is that they get traffic and they sell something. "Selling" can take on many, many forms which includes referring others to offers that are not yours (affiliate sales, banner ads, CPA, and all the rest). Selling could also be for products (like on Amazon) or your own product. Usually with small niches most marketers would turn to creating their own products because of the high profit margin (which you typically don't get with affiliate sales).

I would suggest you create your own information product about dreadlocks and sell it to your subscribers. There are all kinds of helps here at the Warrior Forum to guide you through the process of product creation, setting up a simple sales web site, developing a sales funnel, and driving traffic to your site (offer).

You said the competition in the niche isn't too great. Wonderful! Sometimes you have to think outside the box a little to come up with info product ideas. As others have mentioned, one way to do that is to think of all the tricks, tips, and knowledge you have about dreadlocks. What has your experience in the niche taught you after all these years? What can you offer to other dreadlocks fans that will help them? Save them time and money? Guide them in avoiding mistakes? You are the expert - put yourself out there and boldly offer your experience in the field.

Affiliate sales can make you a little money, but if you want to turn this "hobby" (if that's what it's called) into a full time income, you've got to be bold and set yourself up as "the only logical choice" for someone that wants dreadlocks. It sounds like the space is wide open . . . but you'll never be the 800 lb. gorilla in the niche if you don't mark your territory (with an "authority" web site) and start sharing everything you know about the niche.

You can do it if you focus, are persistent, and aren't afraid of a little work!

The very best to you,

Steve