Punter2Pro was originally intended as a side project. I’d seen how many bloggers were earning an income by writing about subjects they knew about, and I wanted to try it out for myself. I launched this site just over one year ago.
Here’s the other reasons I decided that writing a sports betting blog was a good idea…
Top 3 Reasons I Started This Blog
1. I Knew a Bit About Sports Betting
I’d previously worked on several projects that involved developing Betfair trading bots, and sports data analysis tools (for horse racing markets, mainly). When it comes to sports betting odds, I’ve got plenty to say, and I know of a few things that work. I also enjoy both playing and watching football — which helps when writing football-related content.
Sports betting & analytics was an obvious subject for me to write a blog on.
2. Existing Betting Blogs Were Sending Out the Wrong Message
Another reason I chose sports betting was that I’d read a lot of other blogs/sites and didn’t really like the content. Nothing has changed over the last year, except that bookmaker affiliates have been forced to clean up their act (which is good in my opinion).
Trying to learn about the best ways to approach sports betting is a minefield. Professionals are secretive about the methods they use. Some people are naive in what they believe, and preach, about betting. But in my opinion, the biggest problem of all is that the majority of gambling-related sites deliberately put out out poor advice in order to sell products/services that, I feel, aren’t in the best interest of the punter.
For high-quality sports betting products, stick with these ones. I’ll keep adding to it.
In my eyes betting ought to be approached logically, statistically, with a clear head — never on impulsiveness, guesswork, or ‘feeling’. Plenty of sites don’t agree with my outlook. Superstitious/psychological, risk-taking approaches might work for the sport itself — but the same doesn’t apply for sports betting, which requires sound reasoning.
For anyone that’s interested, I think that the two best sports betting writers out there are:
- Joseph Buchdahl (12xpert), and
- James Butler (Betfair Pro Trader).
They understand exactly how it all works. Problem is, they’re possibly too sophisticated and eloquently written to reach out to enough gamblers. Some of the tipsters on Twitter have more influence.
I wanted (and still want) Punter2Pro to offer accessible, entry-level information that’s superior to the majority of sports betting sites. I’m only part the way there.
By the way — my favourite sports betting blogs are listed here: My Favourite Sports Betting Blogs (Trading, Analytics, Money Making etc.)
3. I Wanted to Improve My SEO Skills
Above all else, I wanted to learn everything I could about SEO and online marketing. There’s hardly any business I’d even attempt nowadays without a strong online presence. This begins with the website and brand.
Punter2Pro gave me the perfect platform to launch a new site, practice my writing style, focus on getting my posts to the top of Google, market products across different channels, and to learn what people respond to. There’s a lot to it.
If you’re interested in starting your own sports-based website then the good news is that the experience of launching this website is still very fresh in my memory. I’ve provided instructions in my latest post: How To Start A Sports Blog in Under An Hour.
What’s Next For Punter2Pro?
Constraints & Limitations of a Sports Betting Blog
Time is the main constraint to writing and promoting content for any blog. A website doesn’t grow on it’s own. You have to either apply yourself, or invest in a writer/developer to help.
Thankfully, writing for this site hasn’t ever felt like a chore. I’ve never received abuse or heavy criticism for the things I’ve written — possibly because I don’t say anything too outrageous or antagonistic. Most of the feedback I get is positive. However, that’s not the same experience all other sports betting site owners have (see BetfairProTrader’s final post, if you can find it).
Another downside to writing a sports betting blog (specifically), is being “typecast” to a single sub-niche. Whilst my site is at times, ironically, an anti-gambling site, it doesn’t mean that everyone sees it that way. Sports betting isn’t a particularly broad topic, and doesn’t have a glamorous reputation either (read this post Why Is Gambling Considered A Taboo?). So it may not open up many new avenues (e.g. collaborations) in the future.
Sports betting doesn’t define everything I’ve done, or what I will do in the future. So I’ll be focusing on projects that are slightly more diverse. I have plans of developing “broader” sites in 2018 that are loosely related to sports — just not betting or analytics. In the meantime, I won’t be changing the direction of Punter2Pro… or neglecting it.
So How’s It Gone In Year One?
The project has gone well. I’ve seen a vast increase in traffic, along with sales of affiliate products. Currently it receives around 300-320 unique visitors per day (anything from 500-800 page views).
Under the same format as this site, and in the same time frame, I’ve also written an entirely different blog about starting out in aviation, called Fly GA.
One of the difficulties I currently have is knowing where the saturation point is for my traffic. How big can Punter2Pro realistically get? It can’t simply continue to grow exponentially, because the “professional sports betting blog” sector isn’t infinitely big.
I could reach out to more people and earn more if I introduced tipping services and other products to the site. It would broaden my audience enormously. But that could mean compromising the one thing Punter2Pro is good for: giving my honest views about the best ways to bet. So I’d have to be careful about how I cover that type of content.
Granted I’ve had to realign my content several times to achieve some kind of ‘identity’. But I feel that finally, now that Punter2Pro ‘knows’ what it is, the future looks bright.
If you’re interested in launching your own website and need written content, then you can enquire about my freelance services, here. Over the last year I’ve written for various sites, across different niches.
- Best Betting Tipster Services|Top Sites For Sports Tips 2024 - April 25, 2024
- Best Free Sports Betting Tipsters | Verified Tips, No Subscription Fee - April 25, 2024
- Best US Sports Tipsters|Top American Handicappers 2024 - April 25, 2024
One year on and I’ve only just found the blog! Better late than never 😉
Looks right up my street so I’ll definitely be coming back.
I think there’s a lot of room for growth in this subject though, especially with things like matched betting attracting huge numbers in the UK alone. Sooner or later those people will find the freebies running out and you’ll be left with a bunch of people genuinely interested in taking it to the next level with sports betting… I was one of them.
I totally missed this comment. Thanks for visiting!
There’s definitely some room to write some more about matched betting. But as you say, people will run out of the free bets eventually. The natural progression from there is into betting with a calculated risk (value betting, etc).
I’m looking into some services that identify value odds for football. Good analysis tools might also appeal to those into Fantasy Football. Problem is, the most profitable concepts are kept secret…