The Next Challenge

We were all feeling pretty tired at this point, and it was late, so it was time to wrap up our session.

"I hope you understand the AdSense program now," I said to the other three.

Anita was tired, but enthusiastic. "It does sound pretty simple," she agreed. "If I had a Web site, I'd be going online right now to join the program!"

"Yeah, that's the problem," Claude said, "you need a site. That's where it gets complicated, I guess."

"No," I disagreed, "building a site isn't that complicated once you get started. We'll get to that later. But first we need to talk about topic selection, how to figure out what your site should be about."

"To maximize the money you'll make?" Anita asked.

"Not just that," I said, "but that's certainly an obvious reason. We'll save it for a separate session, though." I turned to Stef. "You probably don't need to come to the next one because you already have a blog running."

"Yeah," she agreed, "but I don't like the way it looks. I wish I had more control over it."

"We'll get to that, too," I reassured her, "but first I'll need a session with your dad and your sister to talk about possible topics." I turned to the other two. "That is, if you're interested in proceeding?"

"Absolutely," said Claude.

"You bet!" said Anita.

It would take a while for the three of them to digest what they'd just heard , so we set the next meeting time and parted company.

Section two: Content

Chapter three. Finding Something to Say

Chapter four. Getting Ready to Say It

Chapter three. Finding Something to Say

> Eric: Today, we're going to decide what your sites are going
         to be about.

              > Anita: Aren't we doing this backwards ? Shouldn't we learn how
                       to build a Web site first and then decide what our
                       topic should be?

> Eric: You could do it that way, but having a firm idea of what
         the site's going to be about makes the concepts easier
         to grasp. Besides, I'm sure you'd rather know sooner
         than later how much money you can make from a given
         topic.

I met Claude and Anita a few days later at a coffee shop near my house. I brought along my notebook computer to show them a few things via the coffee shop's wireless hotspot. After we ordered our coffees, I got right down to business.

"Today," I started, "we're going to decide what your sites are going to be about."

"I have a question," Anita said. "Aren't we doing this backwards? Shouldn't we learn how to build a Web site first and then decide what our topic should be?"

Her question wasn't unexpected, and I had an answer ready. "You could do it that way," I agreed, "but I find that having a firm idea of what the site's going to be about makes the concepts easier to grasp. It also gets your subconscious thinking about the topic as early as possible, which will help when you sit down to write some content." Then I grinned. "Besides, I'm sure you'd rather know sooner than later how much money you can make from a given topic."

"You can do that?" asked Claude.

"Only approximately, of course," I said, "by determining relative keyword values. I'll show you how to do this shortlythat's why I brought my laptop. But the topic choice also influences important decisions, like what to name your site."

"And you want to choose a topic that Google won't frown on," Anita added.

I nodded in agreement. "Preciselyyou definitely want to avoid topics that violate the AdSense program policies. But, you know, finding something to say isn't just about deciding on a topic: It's about creating compelling, AdSense-friendly content; it's about copyrights; it's about organizing and editing your material."

"Sounds like a lot of work," Claude grunted.

"It is work," I said, "but have you noticed that people do it all the time, most for no compensation? What motivates them?"