If you’re tossing up whether to start a second blog or widen the scope of your existing blog you’re probably torn on what to do next.
I know I was.
I started the blog you’re reading right now in 2015, wrote about all sorts of things like frugal living, making money online, moving to Spain and living in a small home – decluttering, organization etc.
It was basically a lifestyle blog with a frugal slant.
It did pretty well too.
After a slow start, I invested in some blogging courses and started to get traffic from Pinterest which was all I cared about at the time.
I made OK money from ad revenue and a few small affiliates but nothing major. I sat solidly in the $2000/month region for a year.
It wasn’t until I discovered SEO in early 2017 that I actually saw how it would be possible to make MORE money blogging.
I spent the next year right up until now working on optimising my site for search and increasing my traffic.
It was during this time that I realised my multi-niche site was hurting my monetization and started to seriously consider starting a second blog.
I remember staying up until 2 am on a family holiday working through Lena Gott’s amazing workbook ‘How to Successfully Organize a Blog with Multiple Topics‘ trying desperately to bring some cohesion to my site.
I highly recommend the book if you’re struggling with the same thing.
Why I started a second blog
1. Clarity of message
I couldn’t seem to get my keyword researched content to rank and I really felt my message was mixed.
On one hand, I was telling my readers to live frugally and slash expenses wherever possible, whilst at the same time promoting expensive organization systems best suited to a small home.
Whilst there was a definite crossover between my two topics, I felt the contradiction made me seem disingenuous.
2. To go deeper on each topic
One huge benefit of a blog with a super-tight niche is that you can go really deep on a topic.
Think of a destination travel blog on a specific city – you could write about the typical best things to do in xxxx city post, as well as review each individual attraction.
You could also include detailed posts on how to get from xxx to xxx.
You could write about each park or local event and probably never run out of ideas.
Although there is nothing stopping you going really deep on one topic with a multi-niche blog, you might not have as much success as a highly relevant blog that solely focuses on one topic.
3. The ability to sell each site individually
Selling a website requires that you find a buyer wanting to take it on.
It’s highly unlikely I’d find a Kiwi or Aussie who has downsized their home and lived in Spain and wants to buy a blog.
Finding someone who has downsized or is interested in a small home – easy, finding someone who wants to blog about Spain – easy, finding someone who wants to blog about money – also easy but I’m not planning on selling this site.
4. Leveraging existing skills
As a blogger, you’re basically running a digital marketing empire so you need to know (or be able to learn) marketing, WordPress, writing, social media platforms, email marketing systems, affiliate marketing, ad networks and more.
Once you have mastered these skills it makes sense to apply them as best you can, across a range of profitable enterprises.
Starting a second blog was 100% simpler than the first time around. I liken the first blog to an apprenticeship. You are totally learning on the job and will make mistakes.
Everything takes a lot longer than you thought it would. But once you know what you are doing, you can do it over and over again.
I was able to monetise my second blog more quickly and put systems in place for it to grow without constantly adding new content. I now work 1-2 hours a week on that blog and it brings in around $1000US/month in income.
That’s a killer hourly rate by anyone’s standards.
5. Leveraging your first blog
One of my absolute top blogging hacks is moving content to a new site from an existing site and then using a 301 redirect to get that new site out of the supposed Google Sandbox (which I think is a myth) and it’s pages ranking in search.
This only really works if you have an article on an existing strong site (I had loads of decluttering articles on this site, which I moved across and redirected).
In my experience, this has seen my new sites (I’ve done the same thing for 3 different sites) take over the Google rankings previously held by MCBMH even if they have low domain authority.
By niching down the new site with the right content, domain, meta descriptions and categories I’m telling Google exactly what my site is about, then moving a strong piece of content on the site with a redirect in place, setting the scene for search engine success.
6. To stay in love with blogging
There really is nothing like earning your first dollar online. I think I’ll be chasing that first dollar for the rest of my days.
Now that this site is profitable and established, it requires less work which gives me more time to work on new sites. I used to believe that I would build wealth through real estate, but now I am giving blogging and online business a real crack because I have a great income and a portable business.
Part of that is building sites to sell. So a big part of my blogging business plan is building new sites and growing them to a level where I can sell them for a decent amount. Plus, it keeps me fresh and excited about blogging.
So those are my reasons for starting another blog, but there is a real risk in doing so which I want to go over.
You might spread yourself too thin, and any time you don’t spend on your first blog is income lost if your site is already profitable.
I can’t recommend Lena’s book ‘How to Successfully Organize a Blog with Multiple Topics‘ enough, it’s a huge help you if you are struggling to decide your next step.
