Niche Site Duel 2.0 – I’m In!

I have wanted to get into making niche websites for a while now. I constantly come up with what I think are brilliant ideas and I start them and don’t finish or I don’t start them at all.

I am going to continue with the site that I created a couple of months ago that I haven’t done much with yet. I decided to join in Niche Site Duel 2.0 (NSD2.0) that Pat Flynn is hosting on Smart Passive Income so that I will follow through.

Site Selection

The site that I will be trying to rank in Big G and make money with is Coon Hunters Club.

chwebsite

 

I have a good friend who is helping me out with all of the information. I chose this topic because I know a lot of people who are obsessed with coon hunting and they spend A LOT money on it. I needed a topic that would have relatively low competition and has the potential to make money.

I had thought of other topics as well but when I checked the competition for this particular subject I felt the most confident that I could out do the competition.

I chose the phrase coon hunters club because I think it will be fairly easy to rank for. I wanted the site to just be called coon hunters, but that was taken so I chose coon hunters club.

Pat suggests that the keyword you want to rank for has at least 3,000 local searches per month. Here are the statistics for the term coon hunters.

 

coonhunter 

So you can see there are 3600 local searches for ‘coon hunters’ and 880 local searches for ‘coon hunters club.’

According to Longtail Pro I am ranking number 13 in Google for the term ‘coon hunters club’ and number 26 for the term ‘coon hunters.’ I have barely done any back linking work so I think that these results are a good indicator that this site will be successful with some work.

coonhunters

 

Content Creation

So far I have 12 articles posted. There were base articles. There is one on each breed of coon dog and includes their history, strengths, and weaknesses.

I paid a writer on Odesk $3 apiece for the articles. They were poorly written but saved me from having to do a lot of research. I heavily edited the articles and fixed all of the grammar mistakes and run on sentences.

I also went back and paid $4 apiece for ten more articles. These articles covered basic coon hunting tips. Once again they are poorly written but I have the information I need and something to work off of.

Now that I have most of the basics either published or ready to be edited and published I am going to write the rest of the articles myself. I am also going to focus a lot of time on doing product reviews.

Pat Flynn suggests making a list of 50 articles that can be written on the topic so I pulled out a spread sheet and began listing ideas.

coonhunterss

The Ultimate Resource

For this site to be successful it has to be helpful. I am not impressed with any of the other websites on this topic. I think I can make my website a lot more helpful than what is already out there.

Besides all of the articles that will be posted, I wanted to have a resource on the site that people would be searching for. I decided that I would make a list and link to all of the coon hunters clubs across the country. This way anyone who is searching for a coon hunters club will find the list and hopefully stick around awhile longer.

Money

As of now I have $106 dollars invested in this site. $36 on a domain name and one year’s hosting through Go Daddy (after coupon codes) and $70 on articles. I don’t plan to spend any more money on this site unless necessary.

I will use Amazon affiliate links and Google Ad Sense as the primary monetization methods. I will document the everything I do and the sites success of failure on here.

I am not sure that it is a good idea for me to link to the site through here, but if you guys want to check it out visit www(dot)coonhuntersclub(dot)com

Come back and let me know what you think.

Here’s My Bucket List. What’s on Yours?

Photo Credit: Salvatore Vuono

Photo Credit: Salvatore Vuono

Time goes by way too quick and it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture in life. There is a lot that I want to do and I am sure that you want to do too. I talk about goals all the time but the majority of them are ways to advance me further in my career, start a side business, and recently, my favorite, to become a better person.

I often change my mind about what I want to do in life, which is perfectly okay. What we want to do with our lives is sure to change depending on what stage of life we are in.

Here is my ultimate bucket list. Right now this is everything I can think of that I want to do in life. *This is subject to change several times*

Career Ambitions

  1. Write a Book
  2. Start My Own Business (that is actually profitable)
  3. Start a Business with My Brothers
  4. Own Five Rental Properties

Places to Go

  1. Take my girls to Disney World
  2. Hawaii
  3. Alaska
  4. Paris
  5. New York
  6. Canada
  7. Australia 

Personal

  1. Pay for a Strangers Lunch
  2. Be a Secret Santa for Kids in Need
  3. Be an Example: Show My Kids You Can Do Anything You Want with Hard Work
  4. Buy a Big Farm House that Sits Back in the Woods
  5. Run a 5K
  6. Watch my Girls Go to College
  7. Do Something Incredibly Nice for my Dad (not sure what to do yet though)
  8. Find *true love*

What’s on your bucket list?

What Do Food Stamps and Cable TV Have in Common?

Foodstamps

I’m like a chameleon. I blend.

This is because I have lived on both sides of the fence. My dad’s side of the family owns some of the largest businesses in town. My mom’s side of the family has come from nothing financially. I have lived in some rough places. I have lived in some nice places.

I can go to dinner with some of the most successful business people in town and fit in. I can go down to the low income apartments and hang out.

One thing I can tell you is that neither group is better than the other. They are different, but the same. Both have had struggles and neither is perfect.

One thing in particular that I have begun to get fed up with is people passing judgments on others who they know nothing about. Social media fuels the fire. It’s so easy to click “like” and not think about the message you are conveying or the people you are hurting.

So, what do Cable TV and Food Stamps Have in Common?

Answer: Pretentious assholes who like to make assumptions.

A Day in the Life

Let’s take a look at a day in the life of a single mother who makes minimum wage. This single moms name is Sherry. Sherry got pregnant when she was eighteen years old. The father of the child, who once promised Sherry the world, abandoned her after the birth of their son. Sherry does not receive any child support and she does not get any financial help from her family.

Sherry fends for herself. She works her ass off, taking as many hours as she can possibly get. She makes $7.85 an hour.

Sherry is enrolled in her local community college. She knows that it will be a long time before she gets her degree but she squeezes classes in every chance she gets.

Sherry works an eight hour day at a shitty job, takes a class at the local college, and then comes home and cares for her son. There are days when Sherry feels like she is trapped and will never get her head above water.

facebook

The food stamps, Medicaid, and child care that Sherry receives through government assistance programs allow her to stretch her check far enough to pay for basic necessities. These benefits give her hope that she can dig her way out.

Sherry has one small  frill in her life, a $30/month Cable TV package. After Sherry gets her son to bed she turns on her favorite TV show and takes a small break from reality. This is the only break she gets.

Should Sherry be denied government benefits because she has Cable TV?

Let’s Talk Addiction

Have any of you ever grown up or been around addicts? I have my entire life.

You know what I can tell you about an addict? They don’t like being addicted. Their life plan wasn’t to become an alcoholic, crack addict, meth user, whatever.

I want to tell you a story (real life here) about Ron. Ron is about 45 years old, he is married, and has two teenage kids. Ron works for the city. His wife has never had a job outside of the household.

Ron and his family live in a dilapidated trailer parked in the backyard of his parent’s house.  While Ron makes more than minimum wage it is still barely enough to cover the bills and the childrens needs.

Ron gets food stamps. His kids eat.

Ron is a severe alcoholic. Drinking started out as a way for him to take a mini escape from his life. It is now such a strong addiction that if he goes a day without drinking he will have a seizure.

Everyday after work Ron stops at the local gas station and buys 4 – 40 oz. King Cobras. He consumes every last drop.

Ron doesn’t want to be an alcoholic. He gets drunk and thinks of how bad he has made life for his family. He wishes things weren’t like they are but he is so far gone he doesn’t even know where to begin.

Should Ron’s family starve because he is an alcoholic?

Now Let’s Talk Assumptions

There are people who abuse the system. There are also people who can’t imagine life any different – the system is all they know. There are people who have temporary setbacks and benefits give them the boost they need to get back on their feet. There are thousands of kids involved.

You and I know that if we put our mind to something we can do it – absolutely anything in the world. This mentality is not something that everyone has.

No matter the reason, it is completely unfair to stereotype a group of individuals who you know nothing about. A person on food stamps is no less of a person than someone who isn’t on food stamps.

For those who feel like the government is taking your money to give someone else a free ride, I got news for you, even if there was no welfare the government would still be taking your money. Get used to it.

For all of you who are so quick to judge, I am dying to know, What Makes You So Perfect?

The next time you click “like” take a minute to think about what you are choosing to represent.

IF YOU AGREE WITH ME PLEASE “LIKE”!

How to Keep Your Kids Well Dressed on a Tight Budget

Photo Credit: Stock Images

Photo Credit: Stock Images

As parents we all want our kids to feel like they fit in, and face it – looks are an aspect of fitting in. I have always loved buying my girls cute clothes and dressing them to the T, but I hate spending money on clothes they will outgrow in a few short months

I used to have the tendency to go slightly overboard when buying clothes for my daughters. It’s fun to browse the racks and find clothes that fit your kid’s personality perfectly, but quite frankly I just don’t have the money to do that anymore.

Now when I have the urge to buy them a new article of clothing I am more money conscious. I now keep my kids well dressed in a budget friendly way.

Be Smart – Stock Up

There is a lot of hype going on right now about stocking up on household items and groceries thanks to the airing of shows like Extreme Couponing. I don’t think the stocking up needs to stop with these items though.

We are entering yard sale season!

If you have kids you know how fast they grow out of their clothes. They can outgrow 2-3 sizes of jeans in one year! That’s a lot of clothes. Instead of buying new after each growth spurt, why not take advantage of yard sale season and stock up.

I just went to my first yard sale of the season. For $11.00 I got my girls 5 pair of jeans, 2 jean skirts, 3 pairs of shorts, 2 bathing suits, and 2 shirts. These were all very nice and were all name brands – most of the jeans were GAP and Levis.

Right now my girls are in 3T-4T.  I plan to stock up on size 4 and 5 clothes to take them through the rest of the year and to find winter clothes for them now.

Have a Swap

My sister in law and I swap clothes for our daughters. Her sister gives her a bunch of nice hand me downs that are way too big for my sister in laws daughter. She gives them to me and I give her the clothes that are too small for my girls. This way the clothes keep getting passed down the line. It is very convenient for both of us.

Sell Clothes that are Too Small

If you don’t have anyone to swap with consider selling clothes that are too small for your kids. List them on E Bay or your local Facebook Yardsale/Auction page. Take the money you make on these and use it to hit up yard sales to find your kids new clothes.

Clearance/Out of Season

I was in K Mart yesterday and they had boy’s slipper on clearance for $1.24. You can get amazing deals on clearance items and out of season items. If you can think a few seasons ahead you can get all the deals you need to clothe you and your kids for the next cycle of seasons

As long as you pick classic clothing pieces you won’t have to worry about the items looking dated the following year.

What do you do to save money on kids clothes?