Choose Your Topic Well

This post is specifically about choosing a topic for your own website, but some of the points will apply if you are doing freelance writing for others at this point. So even if you're not an independent online writer, keep on reading.

So you've decided that you want to work for yourself, and rake in some of those big Google ad bucks. Well, the first step is deciding what you want your new and wonderful website to be about. It may seem like an easy choice, but you should take some thought before getting in too deeply.

Obviously, you should decide to maintain a site on something you actually know about. Though added research can always help, you won't really be able to come across as a knowledgeable source for very long. It can be very difficult to write on a given topic repeatedly without some previous experience with the subject. So choose something you know about.

Besides what you know about, pick something you are interested in. Something you love and are passionate about. You will have to focus on this topic for a while, and you will have to convey that passion to your readers too. People aren't going to enjoy your writing if you come across as disinterested or bored with the topic.

Now comes the more tricky part, you need to find a topic that will earn you some money. This is harder to assess and can take a few attempts of trial and error to get right. Choosing a topic that has already been done 95,000 times will not get you anywhere. Ok, it might if you are a stupendous writer with amazing SEO skills. But you are facing an uphill battle from day 1. The competition will be huge. Don't underestimate it. You can take an over-done topic and give it a new twist or a new perspective, that can help. Or try to write about something just a little bit different. You need to stand out from the crowd, at least a little bit.

There is a second part to this. Your chosen topic must be easy to monetize. That is, you need to easily have a way of earning money from it. A site that draws in thousands of people every day can still earn you nothing. This can happen if your topic is TOO obscure, and there is no product associated with it. Whether you are using Google ads or affiliates, one way or another, good ads will come from products associated with your topic. If no one is trying to sell to your audience, you will have a hard time making any money.

So think long and hard about what you want to write about. Thankfully, the costs for launching a website can be minimal. Meaning you can try different ideas without going bankrupt. I have. I have about a dozen websites out there, some that have been somewhat successful and some that flopped. It happens.

(this article is part of a larger collection of Freelance Writing articles)