Last Updated on January 10, 2022 by James McAllister

By: James McAllister

3 Comments

How many times have you been told something like this:

“Write about something you’re passionate about and everything else will fall into place.”

You hear it everywhere. It’s been told to many of us again, and again, and again. But is it actually true? Can online success really summed to ‘follow your passion’?

Let me tell you a story. My first blog was on technology. Yes, technology. My blog wasn’t focused on a niche, it was focused on a MASSIVE MULTI-TRILLION dollar market! My job was going to be so easy, I thought. I’d have so many new articles to write about each day.

There were two problems. First of all, one teenage kid was not able to write enough to cover a multi-trillion dollar market, and secondly, nobody stuck around. My niche was far too broad. The niche was competitive, but I was still pulling visitors so I wasn’t too concerned. Anyhow, I made very little money off of that site, a site which I invested a year of hard work in to.

But I was passionate about technology!  How come money wasn’t flowing into my bank account? What was I going to do?

Listen to me when I say this: passion is not going to make your website successful. Believing that passion will equate to success is doing nothing but creating a false illusion that you don’t have to treat your website like a business.

After all, your website is exactly that – a business. If you don’t have interested visitors coming to your site to buy your products, you aren’t going to make any money. If you don’t have a defined target audience with a clear marketing plan, you’re not going to make any money. If you don’t think of your website strictly as a business and treat it as such, you are not going to make any money.

The biggest mistake I see with this comes down to niche selection, or a lack of. This was the mistake I made as well. In most cases, you’ll find people making one of two mistakes:

  1. They target a market instead of a niche.
  2. They choose a niche that has no profit potential.

Niche research is important. You absolutely must conduct niche research ahead of time. Create a marketing plan before you create your website. Learn what your target audience is like. Learn what products you can promote to them. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Don’t do what I did, and invest a year of your life into a website that has no profit potential.

Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t have passion. Passion will turn a good business into a great business, but only if you have a business in the first place. Passion won’t suddenly transform your website into a money making machine, like some people are making it out to be.

I don’t get it. Yes, you should absolutely love the work that you’re doing. But only if it’s profitable. Because at the end of the day, the most important thing is how much money you’re making.

How To Find Profitable Niches That You’re Interested In

It’s time to select a good niche. Make a list of all the specific topics you’re interested in (or could be come interested in), in order of passion. If you spend money on them regularly, even better.

Cross out all of the ones that you immediately know aren’t profitable.

Visit Magazines.com. Put an X by all of the niches that DO NOT have a magazine, but do not cross them out.

Visit Clickbank. Circle all niches that have at least one product. Of course, more is better.

Visit Amazon.com. Underline all the niches that have Amazon products for sale.

Cross out any niches that aren’t circled or underlined.

Whatever niches you have left are probably good choices. If the niche does not have an X by it, even better. Choose whichever niche you feel like you’d be able to stick with the longest. You don’t have to be super passionate about it, but you should just have some interest in it

My Niche Is Too Competitive! Now What?

The fear of competition is another idea you need to get out of your head right away. Competition is a sign of a healthy market. Competition means that there’s money to be made in that niche. Why would a niche be competitive if it wasn’t profitable?

Competition is only an issue if you plan on relying solely on SEO. There are many other ways to gain traffic to your website, which I cover in my free 7-day traffic building course. Check it out, and you’ll never worry about competition again.

So the next time someone tells you that passion is the key to success… show them this post! You’ll save them from wasting their time chasing nothing but a dream, when they could be building a profitable business.

 

About the author 

James McAllister

James is the owner of JamesMcAllisterOnline.com. He started his first blog at the age of 11, and has since gone on to start several successful businesses. In total, these businesses have sold hundreds of thousands of units and have touched millions of lives. Here on JamesMcAllisterOnline.com, he shares his knowledge that brought him to where he is today. If you want to connect with James, follow him on your favorite social networks!

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  1. Hello James,

    Thanks for the write up, i find your blog very real and original and i appreciate your work. I am interested in going into online marketing and starting with a blog is my first point. I need a mentor/some one who is experienced in this field to help me through. I would want you to be that person for me. Please let me know if you are interested. You could be the best thing that happened to me in 2015.
    Thanks

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    1. Hi Toyosi, good to meet you!

      I appreciate your comments, and I’m glad you find the information I provide helpful. I’m excited to hear that you’re starting a blog – it’s incredibly exciting work and the pay is good too if you take the right approach.

      I do offer paid mentoring services, you can find my rates by clicking the “Hire Me” button at the top navigation bar on the site. Even if you don’t want a full mentoring package you’re welcome to email me at any time and I’ll answer any questions you may have for free.

      If you want a good overview of blogging and how to get started, I highly recommend checking out my book. It’s aimed for people who are starting their first web business and covers everything from picking a niche, to creating compelling content, attracting readers, and finally making money. It’s a bargain for its price and I know you’ll love it. Here’s a link:

      http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O5EHB3Q

      Let me know if I can do anything for you, OK? Looking forward to hearing how your business turns out!

      – James

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  2. Hi James

    I made this mistake with one of my very early blogs! I blogged about something i was passionate about ( healthy topic) but my target market was WAY to wide, and in the end after I’d blogged until I was blue in the face, for no results, I hated the topic with a passion! LOL

    Hindsight is a wonderful thing – I wish I had known then what I know now. That blog is still floating about out there and makes the occasional sale – perhaps one day I could revive it. Or perhaps I should do what I keep promising to do and FOCUS!

    Thanks for an interesting post.

    Joy

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