Why boring is better

I wrote an article recently about how I write hard topics. I also write boring articles on sleep-inducing subjects.

When I start talking about cigars, fans, or games, I see my girlfriend’s eyes glaze over. She’s actually very supportive, it’s just that the topics don’t exactly light a fire in anyone’s fancy.

Yet, these boring topics consistently bring in thousands of dollars per month.

After going through this process for a year, I’ve developed a system that makes me up to $4,000 or $5,000 per month. My highest month was $7,000.

This article is about how I do it.

How I Make Money From Boring Topics (The Summary) 🔗

I make money by writing about boring topics in a boring niche.

This is what I do:

• Choose a boring niche that no one wants to write content about (There is much less competition)
• Find boring questions to answer about boring topics in the niche (You can rank quicker in Google search)
• Write boring articles that simply, clearly, and completely answer the boring question (Usually, this means a 1,000 to 1,500-word article).

Although it might bore you to death, each bullet point deserves some explanation.

Boring Niches Bring Riches 🔗

By boring niche, I mean the niche is well defined and the topic is not exciting like health and fitness or finance.

Don’t get me wrong, you can make a ton of money with those more exciting niches. They are just extremely hard to break into because everyone wants to write about fun and exciting topics.

I prefer niches that make people fall asleep or turn away from their computer screens.

Nobody wants to write about those topics, so there is much less competition.

What are boring niches?

Here are some examples:

• Traffic jams
• Cigar humidors
• Tape
• The post office
• Toilet roll holders

When I first started writing, I thought it would be impossible to write about these topics. How could I ever get thousands of visitors to read about something so dull?

But I was wrong.

I write these types of articles and get tens of thousands of visitors each month. I’ve learned to take what seems like a black hole of boredom and turn it into a healthy income.

Don’t be afraid to write about boring topics — It’s one of the best ways to bring in consistent money (through display advertising and affiliate marketing).

And the best part is these are all search engine visitors.

I make money each time someone reads an article. I’m simply writing content that people want to read, no matter how boring it may seem at first.

Many of us might think that we need to write about something exciting, such as cars or sports. But I’ve found that it takes ten times more effort to research and write about those topics.

You also have much more competition with those topics.

That translates into a much smaller audience with those types of articles. It’s also harder to rank in Google.

It’s much easier to write about boring topics and get more traffic than something exciting. I’d rather have 30,000 visitors come and read about fans than 3,000 visit my sports site.

Of course, it also depends on your monetization strategy, personal goals, personal passions, and expertise.

What I find is that almost all of us geek out about something most other people find dull. Find the intersection of your passion and something the world finds boring. That’s the boring version of a Vin Diagram.

You could also call it the Boring Niche Formula: Boring + Obsession = Money.

After you select your boring niche, you’ll need boring topics.

Where I Find Boring Topics 🔗

I find almost all of my boring topics with Google.

One of my favorite tools is Google autocomplete. Millions of people search for the answer to all sorts of simple and boring topics every day.

For example, people search:

• Why grass appears green?
• Is water wet?
• Is a banana a berry?

The second actually intrigues me. Otherwise, I think these questions are boring and will have boring answers.

It doesn’t matter.

It’s simple to answer them with 1,000–1,500 words. And because people search for the answers to these kinds of questions, I get traffic and advertising revenue.

Ad revenue comes from signing up with ad networks like Ezoic, which then places display ads on your site.

If I already have a site with some traffic, I look at my Google Analytics and see which terms brought people to my site. Often, this tells me what they want. So if someone comes to the site for “cigar humidor,” then I know that’s a topic they’re interested in.

Even if it’s an incredibly boring topic, if people are looking for it, I can make money from it (and so can you).

I also use Google Trends and Keyword Planner to find these boring “hits”.

You can also go through these free Google Tools to see what people are searching for about my niche.

I open an incognito browser, start typing a word related to my niche — such as “rice cakes” — and Google shows me a list of questions hundreds or thousands of other people want to know about rice cakes.

It’s a simple, boring process that works like magic for me.

The Key to Finding Boring Topics 🔗

If you want an even better way to find boring topics, answer boring questions about boring products or brands. You usually make more money with these types of boring articles.

Other than Google autocomplete, one of the best websites I have found for finding boring products and brands: Forums.

Forums like Quora, Reddit, and niche-related forums can give you gold.

Use forums to find boring questions that no one else has answered with a full article (just run a search for the question on Google to figure this out). If the forum is the top-ranking site for the question or topics, you can easily compete.

Then write and publish the article.

I also go on Amazon and search for products in my niche. I just look at the categories, scroll through products, and find boring topics in the Q&A or review sections.

Even though I find batteries supremely boring, that’s a topic I can research and write about with ease.

So, bring on the boring!

I’ve made thousands of dollars with this strategy in my spare time.

Why No Topic Is Too Boring 🔗

Sometimes, you might think, “This topic is too boring. There is no way people actually want to read about it!” However, if you’ve followed the process in this article, then you know they do.

No topic is too boring.

Let that be your motto. Boring questions make interesting money. Boring articles are easy to write.

The more boring, the better.

That’s because people search for these topics. They want easy answers to their questions. And you can provide them with these answers.

You can write boring articles fast.

You might not find any great sources to link out to (that’s a good thing because it means other people will link to your article). There might not be any hot news anyone else has written about on the topic (that’s okay because it means you will create the hot news).

Your article doesn’t need to be creative, engaging, or cute.

All you need to do is answer the question, accurately write about the topic, and let that boring topic bring in bank.

How You Can Make Money From Boring Topics 🔗

Here is a step-by-step plan to follow:

1. Chose a boring niche (exciting niches are too competitive). Bonus points if it is a niche you know well.
2. Create a boring website with a boring theme and boring logo (people spend way too much time making these pretty). I’d go with the free Astra theme on WordPress. Just make sure you go with WordPress.org, not WordPress.com.
3. Find 20–30 boring questions about boring products or brands in your niche.
4. Outline each article with subheadings (Ask yourself, “What do people want to know about this topic?” or “What do people want included in this answer?”)
5. Write one 1,000–1,500 article per day (or every 2–3 days) by filling in the subheadings. You might need to look in forums, watch YouTube videos, or flip through a book for research.
6. Edit each article to focus on the question and to completely answer the question.
7. Add a boring (but related) image to each article.
8. Add a boring (but related) YouTube video to each article.
9. Do some boring SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
10. Publish your articles.
11. Rinse and repeat until you are done with your 20–30 articles.
12. Once you qualify, sign up for a display ad network like Ezoic.

Of course, you don’t need to stop at 30 articles. The more, the merrier.

Is there more to building a website? Yes. Is it all that hard? Not really. If you get stuck, there are plenty of articles and videos online that walk you through every process.

If you really get stuck, hire someone on Fiverr or Upwork to help you.

That’s what I do.

Boring Tools I Use To Write Yawn-Triggering Articles 🔗

Here is a shortlist of the boring tools I use to write boring articles (that make money).

None of these links are affiliate links. They just go to more information about the tools that you might want to know.

Here is my shortlist of boring tools:

• Google Search (autocomplete)
• AnswerSocrates
• AnswerThePublic
• SearchResponse.io
• Ahrefs
• Jasper (AI Writer)
• Passive Income Geek Blogging Program

Boring SEO Secrets (That Work for Me) 🔗

I’ve added this section because I realize I didn’t say anything about how I do SEO in the earlier version (and I want this to be as complete a resource as possible).

Here is how I do boring Search Engine Optimization:

• Add the boring keyword/topic to your article title.
• Add the keyword/topic to your article URL.
• Mention the keyword/topic once in the introduction.
• Mention the keyword/topic in the Alt Text description of your image (the image should relate to the topic anyway so there should be a direct, boring connection).
• Use short boring paragraphs and lots of “white space” to make the article more readable and skimmable.
• Mention the keyword/topic organically throughout the article. Don’t stuff your keyword into every sentence.
• Use the Keyword/topic naturally in at least one subheading.
• Link to 1–4 other boring but related articles on your website.
• Link to at least 1 boring external resource (something boring but authoritative in your boring niche).
• Use a boring article structure (H1, H2, and H3 headers).

Final Thoughts 🔗

This has been one terribly boring article. But, hey, boring pays.