Can you realisitically make a living with one domain/website, on average?

[nyse]

Hi, I'm pretty new to websites, well the development side, atleast.

I know there are many variables, variables, etc.
to answer this question completely. But just speak on averages.


Can one make a living, let's say a living is at least $50K/year, with one website?


Say you pick a domain topic, SEO so it's on the first page of Google for your term(s), maybe do some advertising online and off for your site.

and the site won't sell any goods or services. It will have a forum, photo and video sharing, and a blog, etc. - all catered to that domain topic, of course.

The site's revenue source is Adsense and affiliate ads.


So on Average, irregardless of topic, can one make a living? and if so, how long will it take - again, on average, to reach that point of $50K/year?

 

[mhdoc]

It depends. As phrased, your questions have no answer.

 

[HC82]

Ask Mark Zuckerberg

 

[lothos]

It's definitely possible to make $50k or more off one website.

Is it realistic? That depends.

A lot of websites have trouble making $400 a month, let alone $4k.

 

[enlytend]

A lot of websites have trouble making $400 a month, let alone $4k.

and some websites are lucky to make $4/month!

There are sites that make that kind of money on Adsense, there are sites that make that kind of money from affiliate programs - it totally depends on the site. No way you can talk "averages" when we don't know if this is a crap site or something where some quality effort was put into it. Big difference.

 

[richrf]

The probability is extremely low. However, if you have a great idea you might be able to make a living but then that depends upon how well you execute, e.g. development, marketing, advertising, operations, etc. And forget about Adsense, the reason Google is making so much money is because Adsense publishers are basically handing over their real estate for free to Google as Google keeps all of the money. It is a funny business when publishers get nothing for the privilege of advertising for Google. But that is the way it is.

 

[labrocca]

I know of at least 4 people that now make $xxx,xxx income per year off their single website.

Lots of forum owners and bloggers make huge income but it's never an overnight success. It can take years of trial and error before you make serious money.

It's like college. You go for 4 years and get into tens of thousands into debt but somewhere in year 7-8 you start to really make money.

Expect the same as a webmaster. You will need to learn a great deal and waste a lot of money but if you do have the desire you can absolutely make $50k+ a year off one website.

Probability of that is not low either. You learn, you work, you eventually get paid. There is no way around that equation unless you're an unlucky lazy fool.

 

[richrf]

I know of at least 4 people that now make $xxx,xxx income per year off their single website.

Lots of forum owners and bloggers make huge income but it's never an overnight success. It can take years of trial and error before you make serious money.

It's like college. You go for 4 years and get into tens of thousands into debt but somewhere in year 7-8 you start to really make money.

Expect the same as a webmaster. You will need to learn a great deal and waste a lot of money but if you do have the desire you can absolutely make $50k+ a year off one website.

Probability of that is not low either. You learn, you work, you eventually get paid. There is no way around that equation unless you're an unlucky lazy fool.

When you consider that there are tens of millions (maybe hundreds of millions) of websites out there that are not making any money, much less actually making a profit.

Even very large sites are folding all of the time because they haven't been able to figure out how to make a profit (e.g. sex.com, propeller.com). I go to trade shows all of the time and observe well financed and staffed websites that go no where. JUst watch all of the sites on KillerStartup.com that never take off. My advice would be to conserve your money, experiment at low costs (using products like Wordpress or similar), depend on sweat equity, and if you see something gaining traction then go for it.

 

[labrocca]

I go to trade shows all of the time and observe well financed and staffed websites that go no where.

And that's their failure. Being well-financed is more of a curse. It's like all those dot-coms in the late 90's. The more money you gave them the less likely they were to succeed. They created spending engines not earning machines. Examples of sites started from near zero...Google, Ebay and Facebook.

If you're from NYC or ever been there you'll understand this analogy too...hundreds if not thousands of restaurants are started up each year there. To open your door is likely going to cost you $500k or more. Most restaurants will close within a year. One of the most successful one-man businesses in NYC are hot dog stands. Guys with a cart and a corner and no employees. These guys wake up everyday go to their spot and spend all day feeding people and working. I can guarantee you they make a decent living for their work. What's the secret to their success? Hard work and a good location.

So how do you get success online. Get the best domain you can and work hard everyday.

I have one friend started a forums by himself 8 years ago. Within 3 years he quit his day job and now is making near mid $xxx,xxx per year. He's had offers as high as 2 million for his site.

I was there when FatWallet.com was started by Tim Storm. He started all by himself and now his site is a top 1000 Alexa site. He's earning millions.

I myself am a one-man operation and my biggest forum earns me so much I ain't even willing to say it.

People that fail are people that don't try hard enough.

 

[richrf]

People that fail are people that don't try hard enough.

Well, I think this is not accurate. There are people who put their whole life into a project and it just doesn't go any where for one reason or another - often having very little to do with the amount of effort.

When I was in business, I knew hundreds of extremely wealthy people - because that was the nature of my business. That is who I hung around with. It doesn't mean that it is likely that someone will ever be as wealthy as these businessman. In fact, it was highly unlikely because in my business for every success story I saw, there were hundreds of failures.

I am only trying to give the op a reasonable expectation, and expectations in any business, but more so in online business where competition is fierce and ideas so saturated, should be set appropriately. BTW, proper capitalization (e.g. money) is a very important requisite for a successful business. Sweat equity is most often not sufficient.

 

[maxjohan]

There are people who put their whole life into a project and it just doesn't go any where for one reason or another - often having very little to do with the amount of effort.

Still I believe in what you said. Infact. You don't get wealthy overnight. And it's good to have reasonable expectations if we are just starting out in a new field. Trial and error, and a lot of sweat and tears...

But on the other side. Making money in this business or any other is not "magic". It's actually knowledge of how things works. The wealthiest business men knows a thing or two about their field of choice. Otherwise they wouldn't be on the top.

Just saying, I don't know what my point is but hey, there's two sides of a coin.
8^X

(Excuse my bad english.)

 

[futuretaster]

a lot of luck comes into the equation as well. being in the right place at the right time.
also important to pick a project/topic you love and believe in.
new ventures that start purely for the money usually fail.its very important to know your market.

 

[labrocca]

Well, I think this is not accurate. There are people who put their whole life into a project and it just doesn't go any where for one reason or another - often having very little to do with the amount of effort.

Any "project" can fail for many reasons but "people" fail being successful for very few reasons. I had my share of successes as well as failures. I blew $300k of my own money on a project but that's didn't stop me from picking myself up and working toward success again. BTW to blow $300k you have to have it.

It doesn't mean that it is likely that someone will ever be as wealthy as these businessman. In fact, it was highly unlikely because in my business for every success story I saw, there were hundreds of failures.

Not all successes are going to measure the same. For OP he wants to make a decent living. In America this is not only possible with hard work but it's very likely to actually happen.

I am only trying to give the op a reasonable expectation, and expectations in any business

The expectation should be success no matter how much work or how long it takes. His first website might not make it. Not even his 5th website. But eventually he can get his act together and with strength make it. I see no reason why that's not possible. Even less reasons why it should be discouraged.

a lot of luck comes into the equation as well.

Luck is not the issue. I can tell you about the $9k I won at the casino 2 weeks ago and claim I'm a lucky guy. What you don't see is the month before that I lost $9k. You never win if you don't gamble. However we're talking about work and effort. These are both controllable.

I've grown sites with less than $50 into $500 a day earners. I'm just a firm believer that I'm not lucky, special, or more intelligent than the next guy. I firmly believe it's all effort, determination, and patience. Those are virtues that any person can possess.

 

[alien51]

and the site won't sell any goods or services. It will have a forum, photo and video sharing, and a blog, etc. - all catered to that domain topic, of course.

The site's revenue source is Adsense and affiliate ads.

I have read feedbacks that many domains that mainly rely on "forum" posts for content, are not earning well. They said it's because people who frequent websites that are structured in forum-format like phpBB, are usually blind to the ads already. They just login and post. And domain admins usually do not have that luxury to redesign the "look" of the site for more imaginative ad placement. Nearly all "forum" websites look exactly the same, that's why people get blind to the ads because they are all located on the same spot. And people automatically ignore them.

 

[faca5]

Sure If you have "payers".

 

[labrocca]

On my forums I earn only 5% of the income from ads. The majority is membership upgrades and donations.

 

[clasione]

It's possible, it's just so rare that most don't see it as being real... If you work hard, and you can do most your own work: design, development, marketing, etc... Than you're well positioned to turn profits and then grow them over time...

 

[DU]

If you're from NYC or ever been there you'll understand this analogy too...hundreds if not thousands of restaurants are started up each year there. To open your door is likely going to cost you $500k or more. Most restaurants will close within a year. One of the most successful one-man businesses in NYC are hot dog stands. Guys with a cart and a corner and no employees. These guys wake up everyday go to their spot and spend all day feeding people and working.

Bad example :lol:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,538543,00.html

 

[labrocca]

Bad example :lol:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,538543,00.html

$643,000 a year for rent on a sidewalk...HOLY CRAP. I'm so glad I left NYC. Nothing but vultures in that town.