Selecting subject/topic for your website

Plan your website before you start building it -> Basics of finding subject/topic for your website
                                                                 -> Niche Website Subject

When it comes to creating a website, the primary subject of the site is a make it or break it decision. It is obviously important to choose a subject that interests you.

You are largely responsible for your own website, so you need to make sure you are motivated by your subject. If you are not interested, you will not work hard and your result will reflect this.

Nothing will have a greater effect on how much traffic and income potential your website has than what subject you choose for your site. Website that deals with a more general or more mainstream topic have more potential for traffic, and sites that deal with more niche topics will have a lower traffic potential.

Also there is the issue of profitability. A niche site that gets 100,000 page views a month could be worth more than a mainstream site that gets 500,000 page views a month. Advertisers want to be able to target their ads, and mainstream sites, by their nature, have a very general demographic. On the other hand a niche site, with less traffic but a more targeted demographic, could pull in targeted advertising which pays a higher premium than un-targeted advertising.

Another profitability issue also involves demographics. You need to think like an advertiser. Advertisers are not always after teenagers or children, advertisers are after middle aged successful men and women. Advertisers are after those with purchasing power. If your goal is to make the most money as possible, then remember this when planning out subject for your website.

There are mainly two reasons for selecting a subject. Firstly, the wants and needs of the market and secondly, your personal interests and know how.

Wants and needs. In marketing research, in business schools, the whole marketing concept is based on the needs and wants of the customers. Find out what is missing in a market that customers need and want, develop it, manage it and promote it. If you can satisfy needs and wants of the market, then eventually you would be successful.

Your personal interest and know how. For this, open up a new page in your word processor. Write down whatever comes to your mind after reading the following questions. Just brainstorm, do not rule out anything at this point.

What do you enjoy doing?
What hobbies do you have?
What do you know a lot about?
What do people say you do well?
What books do you have lying around your house?
What kind of magazine do you subscribe to?
Have you ever found yourself saying there needs to be a website about this (what)?

In either case, do research online, offline, talk to your friends and relatives, your colleagues. See what they advise you. Come up with more than one subject.

What others have done. Use a search engine, enter some keywords and phrases and see what others have done in that subject. May be you can come up with a much simpler approach to the subject. Once you select a subject, narrow it down.

In a Nutshell
If it is a subject you feel strongly about, then you are not as likely to get bored. You are already sharing your views on the subject with other people. You are just not earning income from your knowledge.