Working on Multiple Niche Sites at the Same Time

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David Cousin Juggling - Credit Flickr

Photo: David Cousin Jugging. (Credit: PVLD@flickr)

Thinking of replacing your full time income? And maybe a portfolio of sites can do it for you?

If you can manage multiple projects at once, you have a better chance at pulling that off.

Here is an example of someone who has obviously mastered this skill: Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income.  Take a look at the recent monthly income reports at Smart Passive Income (and brace yourself for a shock).  It is clear that Mr. Flynn works very hard and that he successfully manages many projects at once.

Increase Your Earning Potential With Several Niche Sites

We think that we need to create a portfolio of sites earning Amazon Affiliate income to replace the need for our day job. But you can actually make a lot more from one site than you probably realize. For example, when I started in 2013, I thought I should create several sites that make a few hundred dollars per month.

Now I think focusing on fewer sites is a much better way to do things. (read why I’d rather have 1 site than 10)

But Wait. Don’t Get Ahead Of Yourself…

It is very dangerous to start several sites when you are first getting started with niche websites.  You should focus on one website first to ensure you have a solid understanding of the processes and steps. If you have already tried to start several websites, that’s okay. I have a metaphorical shelf full of niche sites that I started but didn’t finish. I realized that I should work on one website until I was proficient in the process.

Here’s why you should NOT start several sites at once…

You’re going to make mistakes as you start your journey. It’s natural and expected— yes, even if you’re really smart.

But you don’t want to make the same mistake across 3 or 5 or 8 new niche sites. You want to learn from your mistakes and not make the same mistake twice.

So just start with one site in the beginning.

If you are beginning your journey with niche websites then you should not try to do too much, too soon. Starting a niche website can be overwhelming – take it slow to start so you won’t become frustrated to the point of giving up.

Get Rid of That Overwhelmed Feeling

It can be overwhelming to work on several projects or even more than one project at a time. Why is that? There are so many things to do! Check out how to build an Amazon Affiliate Website.

Each item above has many details, several layers deep, to consider. You may need to do research for one of the tasks before you can start. Simply working on whatever you feel like without any structure is a recipe for not reaching your potential. It is also terribly inefficient.

How to Manage Several Niche Sites (or Other Projects)

To achieve success working on more that one project at a time, you need to have a full understanding of all of your projects. This means you should know:

  • What tasks to complete,
  • The order of the tasks,
  • If any tasks are dependent on other tasks.

Set aside two 1-hour segments of time. The two work periods can be on consecutive days. Go through this process:

  • List your projects.
  • List the tasks of each project
  • Try to break down the tasks into small chunks of work. The rule of thumb is to break down the work into chunks that take 60–90 minutes or less to complete.
  • Take a break and review the list later – you will probably think of a few more tasks.
  • Review your tasks starting at the beginning and determine if the task is dependent on any other tasks. For example, you cannot install WordPress until you have a hosting account.

Now, you have a generic project plan of how to build a niche website. You created a list of ordered tasks with the dependencies between the tasks noted. This is very powerful. You now should clearly see the amount of intense work required early in the project.  After the intense beginning, the tasks take a shorter amount of time and they are more spread out as the project progress. Why does this matter?

You can work on a few niche websites at one time. It takes about two to three weeks to start a website. Once you move beyond the initial starting tasks, you have downtime that you can use to research your next site.  If you can outsource the content creation and link building, then you can start on other websites even sooner.

Check out the image below from the previous post and notice the addition. You can start new niche site projects and work on them in parallel by staggering the starts.

Timeline for Amazon Affiliate Sites Once you have the first website in progress, you have the ability to start another site. If you have a list of niches ready to go, then you can start your next site sooner. This assumes that you are outsourcing some or all of the content creation.

This type of structure and organization is necessary if you wish to successfully create multiple websites in parallel.  However, you will not be successful without a structured task list or project plans, daily stand-up meetings, and the ability to stay on task.  Good luck!

Photo Credit: Flickr - Palos Verdes Library District

About the Author: Doug Cunnington is the founder of Niche Site Project. He shows people how to create Affiliate Sites using project management and a proven, repeatable framework. Doug loves creating systems, using templates, and brewing beer (but usually not at the same time).

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Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Roberto

    Interesting article, that’s exactly what I’m doing. I start a new niche site as soon as I setup my previous site (design, 10 pages of content, on page seo).
    Otherwise you’re going to waste your time, as you can’t start link building from day one, or if you do, that’s not going to be very time consuming.
    thanks

    • Hey Roberto,
      Great to hear. It sounds like you came to the same conclusion as me and many others. That’s a good sign for us all too.

      For me, staggering the buildout is the key for expansion.
      Thanks!
      Doug

  • I just started with 4 and am focusing on 1. It’s difficult to know what time should be put into each. I do have a favorite and that’s the one I am focusing on since I think it has the most potential. We’ll see, I guess!

    • I think ramping the sites up like that is great.

      People may get spread too thin if they work on too much at one time. But if you can focus on 1 site for a week or two, then go to the next for a week, then you can make it work.

      It takes some time for content to be written or links to be built and take affect so you have a built in period to work on something else – like the next site.

      How old are your sites?

      • Hey doug, the sites are about 3 weeks old. Progress has been slower than I would have liked because I have been putting more time into other projects that provide more immediate return. I definitely see the potential but patience has never been my virtue and since it’s my first go around I’m not sure how much time I should be putting in. I mean, did you go like all out in the beginning stages, or just a few things day to day? Right now I have the sites up and running with a theme and at least one solid static home page content on each. I have not done any link building and I am not sure how many pages of content should be ordered/written at least at this stage where they are all showing up as +500 in the rankings for my key terms. I am starting link building this week. Would be happy to share them with you over email if you are ever interested in discussing. Thanks!

        • I went all out in the beginning…just working on one site. So within 2 weeks, I had enough content to get started building links. It does take about 60 – 90 days to get significant rankings.

          So…start adopting patience as a virtue. 😉

          I’m slammed over the next week but after that we can catch up.

          Are you signed up for the beta version of the book? The timing is perfect if you’re interested.

        • Makes sense! I’m on the newsletter if that’s what you mean

  • Bloory

    Hey, seen the ad above for the PM book – if I bought the video course would this benefit me? 🙂

    • Hey Bloory, A lot of the information is common…so it really depends on how you learn. You can check it out and if it’s not for you, no problem, there is a 100% risk free guarantee. I don’t have many refunds at all, but I can issue one if needed.

  • There are for sure two different disciplines involved. Building one good website takes a lot of work. In my own limited experience so far it takes about 70-80 hours just to build a site with about 50 articles on it. That alone needs a good plan to follow and I agree 100% Doug having a plan to do that makes life so much easier..it’s still hard work though.

    If it works and you master it then you do get some money coming in and that allows you to buy some articles. You still need time though to edit those and add images, videos and links etc. That said a 50 page website takes less time, in my case maybe 25-30 hours.

    I have 5 now and probably too many for just me. 3 would have been better on reflection. I don’t do back linking but do build Facebook pages, G+ pages and a Youtube channel for each.

    As there is just me I will build out the 5 I have for now as they are doing really well. I will probably sell 2 and keep 3 and just build them out. When they are making enough I might then take someone on and build out more.

    Different skills are required though

    • Hey Edna, Good points.

      5 sites is a lot to manage all on your own! And, bringing on help, specialized help, would make all the difference.

      thanks for the comment!

  • johno

    Hi; massive great info as usual! Still not happy with the floating social media thingie that blocks the text!
    !

    • Hey, thanks for the comment, Johno. I will have a look at the social share that you’re talking about.

  • Shamohan

    Doug, nice article, but the social share floating panel on the left is distracting, not to mention the sign-up pop up.

  • Hi, great post thank you. I have been wondering though. I have been building social media accounts for a couple of my websites but my goal is to build multiple passive niche websites. Do I you suggest building a social media account for each site? Thank you

    • Hey Emily, Thanks for the comment.
      Yes, you should create one for each site. That will be better for branding and will be clear about what each site is about. Otherwise, it could lead to confusion later on.

      • Emily

        Thank you Doug, for your reply. I will be returning to check out more of your blogs regularly.

  • I like to work in multiple niche like digital marketing and traveling, but my confusion is related to social media. Do I need separate channels based on niche or should I add both niche in one platform.which is the industry best practice.

  • Denise

    Great advice, really enjoyed reading this page, thanks. Do you need a different e-mail address for each niche site, also for each website? So if you had say 3 blog websites and twenty niche sites you would need 23 different email addresses.

    • Yes, I like to have an email address for each…but I don’t have that many sites. But yes, it could get a little wild!