Let’s talk about the most real path to a $10k+/month directory.
The most reliable route I’ve seen over and over again is lead generation.
I see it all the time when I analyze directories (though hundreds of directories do this and earn far more than $10k/month)
But here’s the catch. If you’re going to do this well, you have to be willing to play an active role in your business.
That means cold outreach, phone calls, or any way you can start building real relationships with local businesses.
If you’re building directories for the passiveness, this isn’t for you.
Now if you’re down for that, the first thing you need to do is make sure you’re building in a niche with a high-ticket service.
Something that costs a customer thousands of dollars, on average.
Your job is to build a directory that helps people make decisions about those high-ticket services. Think landscaping, renovations, roofing, that kind of thing.
Let’s say the average landscaping job is $8,000-$10,000.
If a business gets even one client a month from you, paying $500 to be a top listing in a specific city is a no-brainer.
Say there’s 5000 landscapers across the country that can provide service in the niche you chose.
You really only need 20 people to say yes to a $500/month offer.
But to actually make that happen, you need to deeply understand what drives people to choose one company over another.
Is it portfolio photos? Is it how fast they can get permits? Is it the trust they build with past reviews?
Your job is to present that value clearly on your site based on what actually helps people make decisions.
At the same time, your job is also to prove that your directory actually brings in leads despite the high traffic.
Tim Stodz, a person I consider an OG directory builder, was getting hundreds of thousands of visitors to his healthcare directory at one point.
But the bottleneck, which he publicly shared, was that healthcare companies weren’t actually getting any leads.
Once he solved this issue, he climbed to $250k in annual revenue from just selling sponsored listings with this directory, SoberNation.
Once you build your high-ticket, hyper-specific niche directory, and start seeing organic traffic growth, you can start by putting a lead form on your listings.
Something simple like “Get a free quote in 48 hours.”
If someone fills it out, pass that lead to a local business for free. That opens the door. If they like the lead (and can close the lead), they’ll be way more open to working with you long term.
This what I call permission-based selling.
Obviously, easier said than done. I’m definitely not saying this is easy. But it’s absolutely possible.
This also only works if you’re stacking it on top of the other foundational SEO + user intent tactics:
- Going hyper niche so your site actually has the best chance at ranking
- Enriching your data so your listings are actually helpful for people researching the best landscaping services for X
- Choosing keywords with realistic competition, not super broad keywords with unclear search intent
- Building backlinks from quality sources.
Side note: I think these types of directories can be pretty resilient to LLMs and AI.
Put yourself in the shoes of a homeowner ready to spend $10k-$20k on their renovation.
Are you just gonna trust the local recommendations ChatGPT give you? Or are you going to dig deeper to make sure you’re going with the best possible option for your home before dropping $10k?
My guess is probably the second one.
The simple, yet common mistake I’m noticing with lead generation directories
I really can’t emphasize how important it is to aim for niches with a high average order value.
In my free SYD community, one of the biggest mistakes I see is people trying to sell leads in niches where the customer value is just too low.
For example, yoga studios or dance studios.
Even if you send them ten leads a month, the total revenue that brings in might not be high enough for them to justify paying you more than $50 a month.
You always want to leave room for the business to make at least four to five times what they pay you (a good general rule for relational longevity, but depends on the niche).
So if business is paying you $500, they need to be able to make at least $2000 off those leads.
If the lead value isn’t there, the economics just don’t work.
Or they do, but you don’t make any substantial gains from it.
So yeah, find a niche where there’s a balance between low competition and a high-ticket service, then research the hell out of it to confirm this.
Prove you can bring in real leads. Make it easy for the business to say yes.
That’s the simple (but not easy) game plan.
A quick update on SYD Pro pricing
Originally, I was going to raise membership prices when SYD Pro hits 100 members (we’re at 96) or at the start or May.
In April, I released The Directory Ideas Playbook, a detailed course on finding and validating winning directories (15 mini videos long).
This month, I’m creating one around directory SEO fundamentals and modern link building methods.
I’ve decided to wait until the end of May, or when the SEO course will be available, to raise prices.
I want an intimate group, because that’s how I can truly deliver the most value.
But I also want to deliver maximum value for anyone serious about building directories, at the price of a gym membership.
At least for now, in the early stages of SYD Pro.
Just a quick update + candid thoughts.
Keep Building,
Frey
