How Freshome Reached 4 Million Monthly Pageviews: A Success Story in Niche Domination

Freshome.com, a popular architecture and design blog, attracts about 12 million pageviews, including 4 million unique visitors each month. It has over 500,000 Facebook fans, dominates the Technorati list, and serves as a source of inspiration for articles on Forbes, CNET, and Yahoo News.

We interviewed Mihai, the founder and blogger of Freshome, to learn about how he started the blog, the techniques he used to grow its readership, how he stayed ahead of the competition, and the tips and advice he has for new bloggers today.

Warming Up

Can you tell us a bit about your background and what led you to blogging?

I attended The Electronics and Telecommunications College but left after the first year. Now, I run freshome.com, a design-focused blog I started during my first year in college. After a few months, the website began to grow, so I decided to focus on it full-time. That was back in 2007 when I was 20.

How did you come up with the idea for your blog?

I wanted a dream house, so I started looking at different sites for inspiration. I found various ideas for furniture and interior design, and I noticed that the people running those sites were doing it as a business. I thought, hey, I could do that too. So, it all started with me trying to imagine my dream house.

I didn’t really know how it should look, so I was trying to figure that out. The idea was to identify what I wanted to fill it with and how much that would cost. For example, if I knew that my entire dream house and all the stuff in it would cost $200,000, I could then devise a step-by-step plan to obtain that. I could have my dream house!

You could say I wanted to create my own ‘Dream House’ board, but Pinterest didn’t exist back then, so I created Freshome instead. At first, I thought about just having a local folder on my PC with all those pictures, but that wouldn’t work because I couldn’t access it from anywhere else. So, I did it online.

How did the blog fare at first? Was it profitable right away?

Well, yes. We did make some money in the first month. It was something like 2 dollars. I know, that’s not very impressive! The second month, we made 50 dollars.

What can you share with us about building a blog?

Hmm, the thing is, the Internet is so much more useful than most people realize. The information needed to create something like Freshome or any other online business is out there for anyone. You just need to ask the right questions. After you figure out what those questions are, type them into Google and start sifting through the information.

Typing ‘how to increase my blog’s traffic’ or ‘how to monetize my blog’ in Google actually works! Yes, you’ll find some bogus info, but if you put in the time, you’ll find someone out there who is answering your question. It sounds simple because it really is. That’s how I grew.

I first ran a WordPress site with little to no optimization. Then I found out more by just continuously asking the right questions.

Weren’t you scared of never catching up?

Nope, I don’t think like that. That thought didn’t even occur to me.

What’s your daily routine now for running the site?

The site isn’t on auto-pilot. I handle different updates, ad optimization, and sales. I don’t see anyone replacing me yet. There’s no fixed schedule; I couldn’t say how much I work daily, but I would say it’s more than a normal 9 to 5 job.

Techniques for growth

How did you get traffic at first?

Most of the initial traffic came from search engines. I quickly implemented analytics and noticed that. I also posted on Digg.com and StumbleUpon. Gradually, Google started indexing my site. Someone searching for ‘blue furniture’ might find Freshome, even if it was only on page 5 or 6 of the search results.

Could you share other techniques you used?

Yeah, I started optimizing my Google AdSense and introduced it to my interior pages, not just the homepage. I noticed where the CTR (click-through-rate) was the highest and focused on those areas. I changed the ad colors and dimensions to improve the overall CTR.

I just kept an eye on what my analytics told me. Besides that, I started learning SEO and applying some on-page optimizations to get better search traffic to my individual articles.

What do you think about new bloggers practically copying the ad placement, dimensions, and colors from a big player in their niche? Emulating the entire site since the big player has already done the required research or hired someone to do it.

Yes, that’s a common practice. Tested ideas tend to work, so that’s one approach you could take. But don’t forget to do your own tests and adjust accordingly after you’ve started emulating someone.

You’re not a native English speaker. Why not create a local blog with the same content?

That’s an easy one. I just wanted to aim for an international market. There’s no sense in limiting your audience!

Personal Traits

When did you get your ‘aha-I’m-onto-something-big here’ moment?

About 6 months after starting the site, I went on vacation for 10 days. It was the first extended period when the site wasn’t updated. When I got back, I saw numerous emails from readers asking if I’d quit. That’s when I realized the real potential.

As for turning it into a business, I guess you could say Freshome became more than just a one-man blog the day I started working with my current Web Chief Editor, Lavinia Patrascu. She contacted me after being a reader for some time and asked if I needed help. That was about 2 years into it.

What did Freshome have that got ahead of other similar design blogs?

I would say it’s our modern, contemporary style. We only present houses that we love and know are part of that specific architectural niche. It’s similar to music or clothes. If you like a certain brand or listen to a specific type of music, you’re usually loyal to that. You don’t easily switch to something else. The architectural and interior design world is similar.

Our users love our contemporary, modern style. That’s how we grew that core, loyal user base. I think that’s also why the site is a success. Ever since the beginning, I’ve posted only stuff I personally like. I went with my gut. And then other folks seemed to like the same things I liked, so they became readers.

Starting a blog today

If you were 20 again, would you start over in this space today, in the midst of fierce competition?

Well, I think I would need much more resources than I did in 2007 (when I initially started). For me, starting then meant I had perfect timing – blogs were gaining authority. If you started a blog back then, you didn’t have to worry about mobile versions, tablet versions, or profiles on dozens of social networks.

Nowadays, running a blog requires you to be present on a large number of sites, create original content, comment, respond to emails from readers, and manage different profiles on social networks. That’s a lot of work.

You can do it if you have a solid budget. If you don’t have money to invest, at least make sure you have a great team made up of people who can help each other.

So to answer your question, no, I wouldn’t start over. Today there are better opportunities, especially in the mobile world. It wouldn’t be wise for me to invest in blogging today when you have areas where those resources would be put to better use and enjoy faster growth. I always try to find a rising industry.

Let’s say you do start afresh. If not in the architectural/interior design area, what niche would you write about? And how would you promote the site?

For a specific niche, I’d need to do some research first. For promoting the site, I’d pretty much use the same strategies I’ve used before. Networking would be a big part. I’d try to comment, message, and email all the big players in my chosen niche. Those people are the ones who can help you grow because they already have the ‘eyeballs’ you need. Building that inner circle of powerful blogs and publications is crucial.

If your readers are looking to me for automated solutions, please note I won’t recommend any. Long term, they all fail. Don’t try tricking the search engines or your readers. You’ve got to be real. If you want to build a real brand, that is!

Also, about the niche… I’d like to point out that, if you’re doing your job right, most niches can be profitable. What matters is reporting relevant news, doing it daily, with an original voice, and being patient.

Last Word of Advice

Any last thoughts? Any advice for our freelancers who would like to start their own business?

Well, if you’re a freelancer wanting to become an entrepreneur, start with a ‘transition business’. For example, if you’re a designer, you can stop selling your time for money and instead go to ThemeForest, where you can transform your skill into passive income by creating and selling themes. That’s one example of a ‘transition business’.

All freelancers need to think about transforming their specific skills into a business. Some freelance writers might start a blog; that would come naturally. Some designers might go into product creation or product design and start a design agency selling those services. A coder who knows iOS could work with a designer and create a cool app. There is no magic formula to follow. You just need to make the most out of the individual skills you’ve acquired in your freelancing career.

Images courtesy of freshome.com.