Darren Rowse wrote a blog post about this recently. I'll have to dig it up and post it here. But it was brilliant. It basically talked about the psychology behind why people don't succeed online. One point he made was that people often compare themselves to other Webmasters... which is the wrong approach.
Remember, you're not building this site for everyone on Web to love. You're building it for a certain audience. You can't please everyone so just focus on pleasing the people you know your site is for. Do you know how many hate emails I get from programmers telling me my information on 2create is too simple and there's no way I'm making a living online with a site like mine? Happens all the time.
That stuff used to rattle me but I learned that even though my site isn't for everyone, I know who my audience is and if I can provide useful info that pleases them then that's all that matters. That's why it's so important to choose something you love. I write all my content from my experience and I think that's super important because your connection to the topic shines through.
If you have someone else write your content for you or you get your articles from another source and then cite them then you have no originality, no voice. Your site never gets the chance to develop its own personality so you become just another site on the Web. Yes, I get ideas from other sites but I enjoy putting my own spin on various topics.
There is always going to be someone as passionate about Final Fantasy as you and will appreciate your content. Write for them. Don't worry if it's not considered the top website on Final Fantasy. Do you think my site is the best my niche? Far from it! But it appeals to a specific audience and that's all I worry about. And at the end of the day, I am pleased with the results.
And let me just play devil's advocate for a sec. What if you do build your site and it does fail. OK, so what? Would you give up? Hopefully not. You'd take what you learned from it and re-work it until you come up with a winning combination.
What drove me to keep at this was my love for writing and helping people. Yes, it sucked when I created sites that didn't do what I'd hoped but as I continued to try new things I learned what I did wrong. You can't be afraid to fail. What's most disappointing is if you never try. So much of success is about attitude. You can do it Lobito!
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