This week’s teardown will be slightly different as I will be analyzing a site that is currently up for sale. Additionally, it is a smaller site with many easily achievable wins, and finally, it operates in an unconventional niche.
The site is TShirtGrowth.com, listed on Motion Invest.
I have decided to conduct this teardown because in the past, running Teespring campaigns was an intriguing way to generate additional revenue.
Although I never ran a campaign myself, I know several individuals who earned a substantial amount of money that way. Moreover, I am of the opinion that with the right approach, this site could be quickly scaled up.
This is what I cover in this report:
- Website overview
- Major highlights
- Competitor overview
- Easy wins to increase revenue and/or traffic
- Actionable takeaways you can apply
Let’s get into it!
✅ Website Overview & Highlights
The website has had decent growth over the last year peaking at 12,000+ pageviews/mo according to Ahrefs (most likely much more).
Ahrefs also indicates a drop that appears to be unrelated to any recent update.
The website’s domain has been active since 2022, with one active 301 redirected domain.
Since the launch, the owner published around 100 articles. The site has been monetized by Ezoic and ShareASale affiliate program.
Since the site is listed on a marketplace, we have access to the traffic dashboard provided by MotionInvest. As predicted by Ahrefs, there was a drop in traffic in January, but the site has since regained some of its lost traffic. Currently, the site is averaging around 30k visits per month.
Highlights
- The site achieved a remarkable feat, going from 0 to 30k traffic in just over a year.
- Revenue decently split between display ads and affiliate revenue
- This niche is relatively unsaturated, with numerous new topics that have yet to be explored and written about
- Huge potential for additional revenue sources
Why is this site winning?
- Uncrowded, low competition niche
- 100 consistent articles being published per year. Diligence in content production equals winning
- Decent backlink profile for a 1-year-old site backed by one active 301 redirect. Some noteworthy links come from sites like Fotolog.com, TheFrisky.com, and Avada.io
Top 3 Competitors
Here are similar competitors targeting the majority of the same keywords.
- HeatPressFun.com – Similar site in a slightly wider niche covering other heat press items, git by the update. 4k traffic according to Ahrefs
- PrintBest.com – Print-on-demand service with an active blog, and 60k traffic according to SimilarWeb.
- RozzyCrafts.com – A boutique e-commerce shop selling craft materials, 5k traffic according to Ahrefs.
Let’s get into the easy wins to grow this specific website.
🔥 4 Easy Wins To Grow This Website
There are opportunities to significantly grow this brand. I break down the following easy wins:
- Improve affiliate content
- Replace programmatic display ads provider
- Create digital course
- Find a lead generation/affiliate deal from one of the print on demand companies
Let’s get into it!
➡️ Win #1: Improve existing affiliate content
Since this is a newer site, the owner did not initially give much attention to affiliate content, resulting in some articles lacking any affiliate links. However, after purchasing the site, there are a few steps that can be taken to optimize and maximize the affiliate revenue potential.
Here are some ideas that could be incorporated into a step-by-step SOP:
- Assess the current situation – traffic, clicks, affiliates, etc. on existing articles. Create a spreadsheet with the information. Install one of the affiliate tracking tools and replace all of the links.
- Create a simple-to-follow template for CTAs (Call to Action) such as a comparison table, buttons, or product boxes. Delegate this task to a skilled VA to add CTAs on all affiliate content. One additional tip is to give the VA some freedom to pick colors and add separators, as this can result in a better overall design.
- Find new affiliates – conduct thorough research on possible affiliates. This includes product research on Amazon, competitor research, and exploring alternative affiliate networks like ShareASale, Impact, and even Clickbank (if the goal is to flip the site).
- Tweak your buying intent content by adding more expensive winners which could improve individual article ROI by 10%, adding new products, and embedding user-generated videos and photos.
- Explore affiliate opportunities in the digital world, such as courses, tools, etc., as these tend to offer better affiliate commissions.
➡️ Win #2: Find a print on demand company and ask for a custom widget
Take a look at competitor #2, PrintBest.com. They have an easy-to-use T-shirt generator that you could incorporate into your site. For instance, you could embed this part of their site to your banner or sidebar and use it as a lead generator.
This strategy works in other industries where you’re selling quotes, and there’s no reason why it couldn’t work here as well. As for the revenue, you can ask for a fixed percentage or a CPA-based deal.
➡️ Win #3: Create your own digital course on T-shirt printing
Although it may seem complicated, creating an online course is actually quite straightforward.
First, hire an experienced VA to organize a course based on your existing content and that of your competitors. Then, create 5-7 short videos (5-7 minutes each) for each segment of the course, again with the help of the VA.
Once the course is complete, you can publish it on your site. Initially, you may want to charge a slightly higher price, but once you’ve recouped your investment, you can lower the price or even use it as a lead magnet for your newsletter.
➡️ Win #4: Replace Ezoic with Mediavine/AdThrive
I understand the requirements for both ad networks.
However, if you’re already a user of either Mediavine or AdThrive, you can reach out to your account manager and inquire if this site is eligible for their program. In fact, it’s even better to do this prior to the site purchase. If they approve, you can immediately get a revenue boost of at least 20% upon acquiring the site.
As an example, one of my partners who I work with regularly has an existing Adthrive account. We found a site on Flipp getting 40,000 pageviews/mo, bought it, and immediately got it accepted as a second site into AdThrive. The revenue has doubled. Extremely no-brainer easy win. See below.
👉 Actionable Takeaways
Here are actionable takeaways that you can apply to your niche website today:
- Always do the basics. Use the display ads provider that offers the highest RPMs. There shouldn’t be any loyalty to display ads providers.
- Optimize your affiliate content to the max. Track, optimize, replace, and expand. Data is key so first start collecting data and then make changes.
- Keep the content publishing velocity the same as previous owners after you buy a site. You do not want to just stop production. That’s a red flag.
