Yesterday I began developing my first website on a .CO domain as part of the Webmaster’s Challenge hosted by Daniel Scocco of DailyBlogTips.
The contest will pit around 20 web developers against each other with the goal of earning the most income without spending any money on advertising or using your existing networks. There is a $2000 prize pool for those who are able to prove the most income earned within 4 months.
My plan is to develop a blog community about fitted hats on my domain Fitted.co. I can’t link to the site due to contest rules, so you’ll have to type it in to have a look. What you see now is just a few hours progress.
In this article, I will describe the main focal points for the project.
SEO
I chose this domain because of it’s potential as a popular and profitable niche. I plan to put my SEO skills into action as soon as possible to attain top search results positioning for key terms. The competition seems to be minimal, so I am hopeful that I will be able to succeed in tapping into search traffic within the 4 month time frame.
Affiliate Commissions
I plan to write short articles about specific fitted hat designs and feature discounts of popular products from retailers which I have become affiliated with through Commission Junction. Some of the retailers have high network earnings. Fitted hats are additionally popular on eBay.
Direct Advertising
There are a few similar blogs and they all seem to have no shortage of retailers interested in advertising to fitted hat enthusiasts. This could potentially be the main source of income if I am able to drive enough traffic to the site.
Social Media
I will establish a presence on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks with the goal of converting those interested in fitted hats to subscribing to my email newsletter or directly clicking-through on my affiliate products. I also plan to host contests and provide incentives for those interested to follow or “like” Fitted.co.
Your Suggestions, Please!
I would appreciate any suggestions from my readers on how else I could promote and earn profits for Fitted.co in this short time frame. Remember, I am not allowed to spend any money on the project. Please leave a comment below with your suggestions.
It should be interesting to hear others’ ideas on how to profit from a brand new website. I would be thrilled with the possibility of selling a related digital product that did not require an upfront investment, though I’m not sure it’s possible.
Thank you in advance for your ideas!