This can prove challenging, and even be overwhelming, if not managed properly.
You've probably already figured that out.
Of course, when you're starting out you should focus on ONE site - all the way from start to profit - before branching off into other projects or businesses.
Once you have your primary online business running smoothly (in profit, and in maintenance mode), side projects can be a lot of fun. I blogged about that recently in a post titled How To Manage Multiple Niche Sites, where I shared my own current projects in detail and how I manage them all.
If you have multiple sites or work in multiple niches, you should definitely keep them separate. I'll explain why (because it's important!) and show you how I do it...
Creating An Easy Exit Strategy
While you may go into a niche or project expecting to keep it long-term, you never know when you may get an offer on it that's too good to pass up. Or you may lose interest in it. Either way, having it set up as a stand-alone business makes for a super-easy exit strategy.
Compartmentalizing Niche Tasks
The first thing you should do when starting a new project is set up separate accounts. You'll want to secure the name or brand across all Social Media channels, and also set up a dedicated Google account for that site or niche.
Obviously each project will target it's own specific target market, and you want dedicated channels to communicate with those markets.
Having separate accounts also makes it much easier to work in dedicated Time Blocks and batch your work more efficiently. For example, if you set up a Google account for each niche, you'll have a dedicated Gmail account and you can focus on email for one business/site at a time. You'll also have a dedicated Google Feed Reader account so you can keep up with relevant content for that niche.
See: How Batch Processing Made Me 10x More Productive by Problogger
I find it much easier to focus when everything is separate, and I am only working on one project or business at a time. This definitely cuts down on the overwhelm!
Outsourcing Niche Tasks
Not only does it make it easier for YOU to work on your site, it makes it much easier to outsource certain tasks - or to hire a Virtual Assistant for just one of your businesses, or a certain set of tasks in just one of your niches.
Let's say for example that one of your sites has a serious growth spurt and you decide to outsource the email to an assistant. That's going to be difficult if you have ALL of your email combined. (I learned this the hard way! - lol)
It Pays To Plan Ahead...
When things are "small" in the beginning it may seem to make the most sense to keep it all combined. However, it really pays to plan ahead - and to plan for growth. Otherwise things can get out of hand quickly, become overwhelming, and be hard to untangle when you DO get ready to outsource and/or sell.
Batching tasks and keeping things compartmentalized for each of my niches is how I keep my sanity and avoid total overwhelm.
I would love to hear what works best for you when working between multiple niches. Or if you have questions, feel free to ask those below as well!
Best,
