We've interviewed thousands of successful founders at Starter Story and asked what advice they would give to entrepreneurs who are just getting started.

Here's the best advice we discovered for starting a niche blog:

#1: Wes O'Donnell, founder of Warrior Lodge Media:

We chatted with with Wes, founder of Warrior Lodge Media ($21K/month). In our interview, Wes says:

I became frustrated with the lack of simple military information online; for instance, “where is the closest Veteran’s hospital?” or “how much money does a Staff Sergeant make in the Air Force?”

Additionally:

Once you have built a successful customer base, treat those customers like gold. Over the past five years, we have been able to build an email subscriber list of 500,000 subscribers. These are people that we want to keep happy!

Read the full interview ➜

#2: Joe Stech, founder of Compelling Science Press:

We chatted with with Joe, founder of Compelling Science Press ($0/month). In our interview, Joe says:

Doing a little bit every day adds up quickly. Setting aside an hour or two every day to get some work done can move mountains over time.

Additionally:

Customer acquisition can be incredibly hard. Do yourself a favor and make sure your lifetime customer value is significantly higher than your cost of customer acquisition, or you may end up just spinning your wheels.

Read the full interview ➜

#3: Tony Florida, founder of The Diamond App:

We chatted with with Tony, founder of The Diamond App ($500/month). In our interview, Tony says:

If you want to start an online business, then start an online business. Many people often make the mistake of overthinking and second-guessing.

Additionally:

Starting a business is like investing— they are both long term games. Don’t expect to be profitable next month or next year even. It may take years until you see your efforts pay off. If you aren’t willing to accept that, then starting a business may not be right for you.

Further:

If you want to be, do.

Read the full interview ➜

#4: Jodi Carlson, founder of Leader Connecting Leaders:

We chatted with with Jodi, founder of Leader Connecting Leaders ($6K/month). In our interview, Jodi says:

Blogging is work, don’t start blogging and expect to quit your day job overnight. Any blogger who claims you can make 100k in 6 months either was super lucky or lying.

Additionally:

For the first year, I reinvested everything I made. I wasn’t making much - about $50 bucks a month on average. But I was growing an audience, and a mailing list so I knew I was making progress.

Read the full interview ➜

#5: Thomas Oppong, founder of Content Intelligence Media:

We chatted with with Thomas, founder of Content Intelligence Media ($10K/month). In our interview, Thomas says:

When you get stuck, double down on what’s working. More often than not, we look too far into great ideas and growth strategies. Sometimes the best way forward is to measure your inputs and do more of what’s already working.

Read the full interview ➜

#6: Sireesha Narumanchi, founder of Crowd Work News:

We chatted with with Sireesha, founder of Crowd Work News ($13K/month). In our interview, Sireesha says:

My first and the biggest mistake was to do everything myself when I started. I always believed in doing things myself but later realised it’s better to focus on the business rather than in the business.

Additionally:

Being an entrepreneur means working all the time. No barriers between work and rest. Luckily I don’t follow this routine. I am a side hustle landscape photographer and love traveling. This is something that brings a balance to my work and personal life.

Further:

It can be really overwhelming to think about starting a business but everything falls into place if you have a plan and learn along the way. I knew nothing about Wordpress or email marketing or even Google analytics when I started. But that didn't stop me from diving in to my passion.

Read the full interview ➜

#7: Matthew Gibbs, founder of Recruiterly:

We chatted with with Matthew, founder of Recruiterly ($1K/month). In our interview, Matthew says:

Don’t let perfection get in the way of progress.

Additionally:

Think about revenue from the beginning. I don’t mean you should start a company just to make money. I mean think how you can get to revenue quickest, and focus your product around that and reducing churn. Cash-flow is oxygen to your company.

Read the full interview ➜

#8: Patrick Hess, founder of AFH Media LLC:

We chatted with with Patrick, founder of AFH Media LLC ($/month). In our interview, Patrick says:

I’ve built several websites over the years and use content marketing and SEO to boost sales and generate leads in my day job. So, I wanted to apply this same skill-set to a completely different field.

Additionally:

I learned a lot about these niche selection and keyword research techniques from sites like Niche Pursuits and Authority Hacker, plus more sites mentioned below.

Further:

If you’re doing research for a web project, don’t forget about “offline” sources. I find some of the best information in textbooks and manuals.

Also:

Keep it fun. If you’re working on a side hustle, pick something that’s fun or that you’re truly interested in. This can make all the difference in pushing through the initial phase.

Read the full interview ➜

#9: Tyler M, founder of Moneypicks:

We chatted with with Tyler, founder of Moneypicks ($8K/month). In our interview, Tyler says:

I never went into this to make money. I was just helping people. Doing this gained the trust of my community before I ever asked for a dollar, so when I finally did start charging business flooded through the door.

Additionally:

If you really want it, then put away the Xbox and Netflix when you get home from work. Spend your weekends grinding. Live like a prince now to live like a king forever.

Read the full interview ➜

#10: Jodi Carlson, founder of Leader Connecting Leaders:

We chatted with with Jodi, founder of Leader Connecting Leaders ($6K/month). In our interview, Jodi says:

Sure some will hit it rich quick but for many, it's a trial and error game.

Read the full interview ➜

#11: Phil Strazzulla, founder of SelectSoftware Reviews:

We chatted with with Phil, founder of SelectSoftware Reviews ($3.38K/month). In our interview, Phil says:

After diving deep on their problems, I was able to write in-depth content that they found useful, would share with their friends, and talk about at conferences.

Additionally:

Despite having worked in VC, I think most companies should be self-funded and that this is the path to a great life for the founder.

Read the full interview ➜

#12: Natasha Magino, founder of The Vibe Room:

We chatted with with Natasha, founder of The Vibe Room ($0/month). In our interview, Natasha says:

Never let money stop you from starting anything.

Read the full interview ➜

#13: Matt Baer, founder of Write.as:

We chatted with with Matt, founder of Write.as ($2.9K/month). In our interview, Matt says:

Give yourself time to make something truly good. Don’t get discouraged if your assumptions don’t turn out correct.

Additionally:

I’ve realized the importance of staying sharp and personally centered. Getting enough sleep, get into healthy routines, and generally treat my mind and body well.

Read the full interview ➜

#14: Hrishikesh Pardeshi, founder of Remote Tools:

We chatted with with Hrishikesh, founder of Remote Tools ($0/month). In our interview, Hrishikesh says:

Platforms like Product Hunt and HackerNews are a great source of traffic spikes for your product. You should definitely leverage them. However, it’s important to first contribute to the platform to be able to reap benefits from it.

Additionally:

Relationship building and being part of a community by giving, are often overlooked by people who start out.

Read the full interview ➜

#15: Thomas Oppong, founder of Content Intelligence Media:

We chatted with with Thomas, founder of Content Intelligence Media ($10K/month). In our interview, Thomas says:

Find out everything that could go wrong and focus on fixing those loopholes before they become bigger problems in the future. What's not working could save your business from its eventual failure. The sooner you can change and adopt a better growth strategy the better.

Read the full interview ➜

#16: Aleksey Weyman, founder of Millennial Moderator:

We chatted with with Aleksey, founder of Millennial Moderator ($500/month). In our interview, Aleksey says:

No matter what your plan or goal or vision is, you have to just dive right in and start learning/participating in the industry. Even if you don’t know where you start- you have to.

Read the full interview ➜

#17: Hrishikesh Pardeshi, founder of Remote Tools:

We chatted with with Hrishikesh, founder of Remote Tools ($0/month). In our interview, Hrishikesh says:

Hiring is key and you must not expect yourself to do all the heavy lifting in your startup. It is important to delegate and trust your team members to do the job.

Read the full interview ➜

#18: Jodi Carlson, founder of Leader Connecting Leaders:

We chatted with with Jodi, founder of Leader Connecting Leaders ($6K/month). In our interview, Jodi says:

Focus all my time on working on great programs to earn badges, rather than focusing on other areas of troop management.

Read the full interview ➜

#19: Angela Mary Vaz, founder of Stray Curls:

We chatted with with Angela, founder of Stray Curls ($4.5K/month). In our interview, Angela says:

I feel email marketing is highly underrated. Your money is in your mailing list.

Additionally:

The key to actually making sales and making your business work is to show people that you’re really informative and know your stuff.

Read the full interview ➜

#20: Sireesha Narumanchi, founder of Crowd Work News:

We chatted with with Sireesha, founder of Crowd Work News ($13K/month). In our interview, Sireesha says:

There is a lot that goes behind a successful business, so be prepared to do all the hard work before you reach your goal.

Read the full interview ➜

#21: Aleksey Weyman, founder of Millennial Moderator:

We chatted with with Aleksey, founder of Millennial Moderator ($500/month). In our interview, Aleksey says:

It’s up to us as entrepreneurs to design the future of the world, to reshape entire industries and start new ones. Keep that eagerness alive in whatever way possible.

Read the full interview ➜

#22: Thomas Oppong, founder of Content Intelligence Media:

We chatted with with Thomas, founder of Content Intelligence Media ($10K/month). In our interview, Thomas says:

Success is a combination of passion, grit, and the ability to execute.

Additionally:

If you have what it takes to get an idea from nothing to a stable and growing business, you will go far on your entrepreneurship journey. Execution is more important than an idea.

Read the full interview ➜

#23: Bryn Todd, founder of I should have said:

We chatted with with Bryn, founder of I should have said ($6K/month). In our interview, Bryn says:

I wasted time reaching out to some people who have an audience of my target customer but don’t know how to market. It was a waste of time.

Read the full interview ➜

#24: Steven Snell, founder of Vandelay Design:

We chatted with with Steven, founder of Vandelay Design ($12.5K/month). In our interview, Steven says:

Be willing to take a chance on yourself.

Read the full interview ➜

#25: Patrick Hess, founder of AFH Media LLC:

We chatted with with Patrick, founder of AFH Media LLC ($/month). In our interview, Patrick says:

As mentioned, try to keep it simple and focus on one or two projects at a time. If you’re building websites as a side income stream (like me), don’t get discouraged if you don’t see immediate results.

Read the full interview ➜

#26: Angela Mary Vaz, founder of Stray Curls:

We chatted with with Angela, founder of Stray Curls ($4.5K/month). In our interview, Angela says:

Stop spending time designing your blog - it needs content. Focus on content and nothing else - just write. Every post you write has the potential to get so much traffic!

Additionally:

One of the best decisions I’ve made in the last 2 years was to start more blogs. This has given me the confidence to understand several niches and experiment with various SEO strategies.

Read the full interview ➜

#27: Jodi Carlson, founder of Leader Connecting Leaders:

We chatted with with Jodi, founder of Leader Connecting Leaders ($6K/month). In our interview, Jodi says:

My goal is to continue to grow my followers and inspire leaders to continue running troops as girls get older using my programs to make planning easy.

Read the full interview ➜

Part of

Starting A Niche Blog: Everything You Need To Know

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