a single source, nothing corroborates it

Launch with pages search can already find

Do not open a new site empty. Port the posts that already earn traffic onto it, publish a free web version of anything you sell in a downloadable format so the free copy earns rankings, and where an existing article already pulls readers, build the product capability that article is about and link the two together.

The method

1. 01

   Move your existing best-performing posts onto the new niche site you are launching so it does not start empty.

2. 02

   Publish a free web version and charge for the downloadable formats - the free version also earns you search traffic.

3. 03

   Find the article on your blog that already gets traffic, build the product capability that article is about, then add a call to action inside the post.

What it returned

• Zue ported his wedding website article across to Build With Django, building a reusable blog framework in the process

• Michael Hartl made a lot of money from the Ruby on Rails Tutorial by giving away the HTML and charging for the PDF and other versions.

• Zue added background task and progress bar support to Pegasus specifically so he could market it from an existing popular progress bar blog post, then updated the post and demo to link across.

Sources

• Self-Publishing Hangout highlightsJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · Should you publish your book online for free? · undated
• The Indie Hackers "30 Days of Growth" challengeCory Zue · coryzue.com · Day 4 · 2019-07-01
• Week 45 RetrospectiveCory Zue · coryzue.com · Time · 2018-01-29