How This 37-Year-Old’s Miniatures and D&D Website Earns $8k+ Per Month from SEO

Whereas Peter Thuborg was working as an schooling marketing consultant, he by accident began a aspect hustle.

As he has beloved portray, printing, and taking part in with miniatures since he was 12 years outdated, and someday he began a web site about them. A lot to his shock, it began to take off. 

He ultimately was in a position to stop his day job to work on his website full time. Now, about 3 1/2 years later, Age of Miniatures is incomes over $8k a month and he’s acquired large plans to proceed to develop it.

Maintain studying to search out out:

• How he began his web site
• The place his revenue comes from
• His predominant advertising technique
• His ideas on search engine optimization
• His key phrase analysis technique
• His method to hyperlink constructing
• How he creates content material
• How he employed freelancers to assist him
• The sources which have helped him develop
• His prime instruments
• His best problem
• His predominant accomplishment
• His largest mistake
• His recommendation for different entrepreneurs

Meet Peter Thuborg

My title is Peter, and I reside in Denmark with my spouse and little child. I studied philosophy at Aarhus College for six years. 

After that, I labored on the college as an administrator, primarily as an schooling marketing consultant, advising on academic issues to the Head of Faculty and Head of Research on the Faculty of Tradition and Society for about 8 years.

Why He Created His Web site

I kind of stumbled into this world. 

I play numerous board video games, miniature video games, and Dungeons and Dragons. A brand new model of Warhammer got here out that was arduous to get new individuals into. When rookies joined we defined the identical issues time and again. 

This was extraordinarily inefficient and it additionally meant the sport was unnecessarily arduous to get into. So to treatment that I wrote a long meaty beginners’ guide to the game and put it on a web site again in 2017.

I plopped Google Analytics on it and thought nothing extra about it. This was the primary web site I ever created, so I didn’t anticipate something actually. 

A number of months later I checked the analytics for enjoyable, and this web site with only one article was getting about 1000 visits a month. About 90% of them got here from Google searches.

This was not one thing I anticipated, however it advised me two issues: there was an under-served market and it could be attainable to construct sufficient visitors to make a dwelling on this area.

On the identical time, I used to be considerably pissed off with my job. I noticed a future the place I might earn a dwelling serving to individuals with a passion I beloved and had been into since I used to be a bit of child.

So I researched search engine optimization and began writing in my spare time. I talked to my employer, and as an alternative of being a full-time worker I turned a part-time worker and wrote extra on the weblog. 

After about 2.5 years of doing that, the earnings from the location had been beginning to rival what I earned at my day job. So I stop initially of 2021 and went full-time on the location.

I primarily write on the matters I wish to learn myself, so it is rather pushed by my ardour. I primarily attempt to get into a subject if I really feel like I’ve one thing to say that has not been voiced or if I feel there’s a dominant pattern that I disagree with. So I strive to not be a copycat, and as an alternative create stuff that I need that doesn’t exist but.

How A lot Cash He’s Making

Within the final 12 months, the income cut up has been $57,500 on adverts ($4,791 per thirty days) and about $44,000 on affiliates like Amazon, ShareaSale, and others (about $3,666 a month). 

This makes the common month-to-month income about $8,466. This has taken about 2.5 years of part-time work and 1 12 months of full-time work to get to. I’m different revenue streams, primarily attempting to deal with a digital product.

My advert community is Mediavine and I joined in the summertime of 2020. I attempted different advert networks however determined to not run adverts on the location earlier than I acquired into Mediavine. 

I discovered the expertise with different suppliers very poor. I actually hate adverts myself, so it’s type of humorous that I earn the vast majority of my revenue from them.

As for visitors, I get about 250,000 pageviews a month on common. However issues definitely fluctuate. Let’s simply say that folks play much less with small miniatures when the globe is tremendous sizzling! 

Issues have been a bit bizarre over the past 12 months, the place numerous our older content material has fallen off and a few new articles have picked up the slack. 

So whereas the views look fairly constant this final 12 months, the visitors has shuffled round massively relating to what articles they arrive from.

I don’t work loads on my web site, possibly 30 hours every week. I’m very a lot within the camp of going gradual, natural, and regular. No rush right here.

Peter’s High Advertising Technique

I wish to do some extra e-newsletter stuff, however apart from that I focus solely on natural search visitors. 

Something that smells of social media has turned out to be a waste of time. Ultimately, all the massive platforms need their customers to remain on their websites, so sooner or later, they may cease sending you visitors.

So, as an alternative of utilizing 10 minutes attempting to advertise my content material, I simply use 10 minutes writing extra stuff. This could be totally different in different niches the place you may pull in heavy visitors on one piece of content material, however for me, it’s clear the place my time is finest used: write extra and higher content material.

We’ve got about 300 articles on the location. I feel a mean of 5 articles a month are revealed proper now. Generally there’s an enormous undertaking and there’s just one new article in a month. High quality over amount is the secret for me.

His Ideas on search engine optimization

search engine optimization is tremendous necessary, however I take advantage of little or no time doing basic “search engine optimization stuff.” 

I primarily guarantee that my on-page search engine optimization issues are on level after which I depend on natural hyperlink constructing and topical authority to beat the competitors. 

So the technique is to construct good content material on a selected matter and be sure it follows normal tips for good search engine optimization. Ensure that individuals benefit from the content material and preserve coming again for extra. 

In case your area isn’t crowded with important websites, that may work simply wonderful. Yeah, I run the danger of getting attacked by a major company transferring into the area with huge hyperlink constructing, however that’s all the time a threat. I really feel assured that the area requires such professional data that large manufacturers will not trouble with the subject.

I’ve tried numerous premium search engine optimization instruments. I discover the worth of them to be terribly excessive for what they do. Amongst these I’ve examined (Ahrefs, Morningscore, Mangools, and so forth.), the one one I discovered to deliver any constant worth was Surfer SEO. However I’m nonetheless contemplating ditching it as the worth is greater than the worth it brings.

Free search engine optimization instruments, however, are superb. The quantity of knowledge I can glean from the Search Console is a lot better than no matter guesstimate an search engine optimization device can deliver. I take advantage of Google Analytics, Answerthepublic, and Google Search (which was once superb, however now a bit dangerous).

Key phrase Analysis

I’ve tried having a really elaborate keyword research process, utilizing very costly instruments and whatnot. I’ve discovered them to not be definitely worth the cash. 

As a result of I’ve written a lot in my area, I’ve an excellent sense of how a lot visitors there’s on a subject. So I juggle a bit between writing stuff that can pull in numerous visitors and writing about matters I discover fascinating.

I’ve no formal key phrase analysis course of proper now. However for a brand new website, it’s undoubtedly definitely worth the effort to do issues proper. 

Proper now, from the knowledge I get from the web site’s analytics, it’s very straightforward to guesstimate how a lot visitors there’s in a given adjoining/comparable matter. If I’m increasing into unknown territory, I after all use Google to see what’s on the market, however I discover key phrase analysis instruments type of dangerous. They will typically lead you astray with very, very unsuitable numbers.

Hyperlink Constructing

My tactic is to keep away from exterior hyperlink constructing. No visitor posting on my website, no visitor posting on different websites. I could be satisfied to hyperlink to a different website or article if it’s very related and which may deliver again a hyperlink at one other time. I attempt to do it organically and never waste time on it actually.

So I solely construct natural hyperlinks. To say I construct them is even a stretch, as I might slightly they simply come with out me having to do something.

With regards to inside hyperlink constructing, I’m rather more into it.

Give me Link Whisper and let’s go! Inner hyperlinks you may fully management your self, they’re good for search engine optimization, good for customers to navigate, they usually can enhance your views. What’s to not like?

His Content material Creation Course of

I attempt to write for at the least 3 hours a day. I really feel like when I attempt to write extra, it goes downhill.

So, with the remainder of my time, I do admin, edit freelance writers’ articles, make photographs for articles, and do different stuff in my area of interest. I resolve what to write down once I’m performed writing one thing else. I attempt to write on matters that I’m captivated with proper now, because it helps to maintain me going.

Proper now I’ve 5 freelancers onboard. Every of them has a subject/vertical that they completely cowl. I discovered them by simply posting a job provide on the location, as I needed individuals who had been invested within the matters as an alternative of a contract author who can “write about something.” 

This manner I get professional data that I can’t present myself. I need zero turnover in these positions, because the professional recommendation they carry is gold.

We’re optimizing our processes for the time being. In 2022, I solely had 2 freelancers and increasing was a ache as a result of all the pieces was very casual and “that is simply the way it’s performed.” 

Explaining and spelling out how issues are performed has been surprisingly tough and a superb studying expertise.

We use Notion for all the pieces associated to the manufacturing of the content material after which some Discord for communication.

Peter’s E mail Record

That is one thing I’m not excellent at. I’ve a listing, however I battle with sending out emails and rising. 

Why? 

As a result of I feel most newsletters are dangerous and I do not wish to be on anybody else’s e-newsletter. So in essence, I’m combating discovering a approach to make the e-newsletter fascinating. 

I do know the reply is to write down distinctive content material for it, however I nonetheless want to search out my voice in it.

His Favourite Assets

With regards to search engine optimization and beginning a web site, there are such a lot of dangerous merchandise and semi-scams on the market. However there’s additionally some nice stuff; it will probably simply be arduous to search out. 

I began with Earnings Faculty, which I feel is a good place to begin for a whole newbie. I by no means regretted that buy and I proceed to subscribe simply to assist them. One other great spot to be taught is Authority Hacker. Each have some good YouTube channels to get you began.

As an total suggestion, all the pieces Simon Sinek has written it’s best to learn. It was his view of the world that made me rethink what I used to be doing and alter tracks.

Peter’s Go-To Instruments

I’m allergic to inefficient issues, so I search for instruments that save time.

When it comes to plugins for making an affiliate-based web site, Lasso is primary. Holy smokes it saves me a lot time every month.

Apart from Lasso, I take advantage of Geniuslink to geo-target my hyperlinks.

So that is the method: search on Amazon for the product. Paste the url into Lasso. Lasso cuts any fats from the hyperlink and inserts my US tag on the Amazon hyperlink. When pressed, Geniuslink will redirect to the shop closest to the consumer.

Lasso pulls within the picture from Amazon. I can then use the Lasso block to rapidly add a nice-looking widget in WordPress with the right hyperlink, picture, button, cloaked URL if not an Amazon hyperlink, affiliate hyperlink disclaimer, and all the pieces.

On that be aware, Lasso is creating a brand new device I’ve needed since I began doing this. It’s a device that pulls your clicks on particular affiliate hyperlinks and aggregates the numbers. The tip purpose is to see how nicely a selected article is monetized. 

It’s nonetheless at first phases, however as soon as it’s prepared will probably be extraordinarily priceless. You’ll be able to see how a lot an article is incomes and the way a lot visitors the article is getting. With that info, it’s a lot simpler to know what outdated content material to replace and for what content material clusters it’s best to write extra.

For my content material calendar, notes, to-dos, and all the pieces else, I take advantage of Notion. It was a nightmare to merge my to-do and OneNote into it, however it’s so a lot better now. It holds all the pieces about my life.

Quickly I’ll doubtless say get Microsoft Copilot. Having an AI that’s certain by your particular paperwork and information goes to be superb. The net chats are cool, however Copilot goes to alter how we work. As a solo creator, I can’t anticipate it.

His Largest Problem

I assumed that after I did one thing for myself that I knew I beloved, it could be a lot simpler to maintain my motivation up. Nonetheless, I’ve discovered that motivation is available in brief bursts and isn’t that dependable. It’s extra of a wave you may trip typically.

So the toughest battle is discovering good habits to maintain me happening initiatives. I’m engaged on motivation and on constructing good habits and self-discipline. Once I lack self-discipline, large initiatives are inclined to go unfinished.

So proper now I’m attempting among the recommendation within the e book Atomic Habits by James Clear. It’s broadly about tips on how to go about implementing the habits I need and eradicating the habits I don’t need.

Proper now I’m monitoring how a lot time I spend on varied elements of my enterprise. The issues that must get performed are on the prime. The issues much less necessary are additional down. Every time I put a mark additional down the listing, I really feel a bit dangerous about myself. Once I get a examine on the prime, it feels nice.

So in essence, it’s about attempting to present my mind small rewards for the issues I need it to do and small punishments for the issues I don’t need it to do.

His Biggest Accomplishment

I’m proud that I’ve constructed my website from nothing to this, although numerous family and friends didn’t perceive it or consider in it.

I’m fortunate that I’ve a spouse who understands my ardour and believes in me, although she didn’t see the imaginative and prescient as I did at first. Once I advised individuals I used to be going to go full-time sooner or later, that they had a tough time believing it might truly earn actual cash.  

It may be a bit arduous to persevere on a undertaking for +3 years whenever you get the sensation that folks round you suppose you’re loopy.

I nonetheless wish to take this to the following stage. Get workers and make an incredible place to work.

What He Needs He Knew When He Began

You shouldn’t spend a lot time worrying about minor bumps within the highway. Yeah, your visitors could be down 30-40% this month in contrast with final month. That may really feel horrible! However in 2 years? That dip of 10k views will really feel like nothing.

So, deal with rising your enterprise and never a lot on optimizing all the pieces. When you’re large, it will probably repay to attempt to optimize issues, replace outdated content material, and make issues higher. 

However beginning out, simply preserve writing extra stuff. Simply continue learning and making errors.

His Predominant Mistake

I felt like I used to be lacking out on YouTube and video content material, so I took numerous day out to do this. I produced some crappy content material that I’m not happy with. I rushed it and I remorse it. I wish to return to it, however I would like to search out my very own voice in that area.

Even if you happen to do it precisely like they do, it won’t be that good. What works for you could be fully totally different for another person.

His Recommendation for Different Entrepreneurs

Construct good habits. 

Fail. Be taught. Win a bit extra. 

Every win compounds with one another into one thing large and nice.