Two Directory Sites Making $10,000+ Monthly 📈

Hey Indie Hackers! I'm Niall Doherty from eBizFacts.com. I've been operating solo for over a decade now – earning about $25k/month from my own business these days – and I do a ton of research on how people make money online and different business models.

Here's a trend to keep an eye on:

→ DIRECTORIES (it seems like they'll be back in 2023!)

I came across these sites while researching for my newsletter.

One of these sites is SaaSHub.com, founded by Stan Bright back in 2014. It's a platform that showcases various SaaS tools (literally, curating the best ones is their job), and the site has a massive 1.3 million monthly views!

There are multiple ways you could monetize something like this:

• Paid Listings
• Premium Listings
• Newsletter Sponsorships
• Affiliate Links
• Ads
• Digital Products/Courses
• Consulting services (down the line).

Coming back to SaaSHub, companies pay $99 per month to be featured on the site's “featured” page. With around 108 featured listings, SaaSHub generates over $10k in Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR). That's some nice cash flow 💸!

Now, let's dive into what makes SaaSHub intriguing. Most of its content is user-generated. SaaS companies submit their products via a form and can choose to pay to feature their listing. This approach seems to work wonders as it provides companies with a permanent do-follow link and relevant online presence. It's a win-win situation! 🤝

Stan Bright, the guy behind SaaSHub, also runs another similar site called LibHunt.com.

However, LibHunt focuses on open-source projects. The site attracts almost 1.7 million visitors each month 🤯.

How does Stan monetize it?

Through display ads.

It's highly likely that LibHunt also brings in $10,000+ per month 🤑

Establishing traction for directory sites can be really hard, but once they gain momentum, they can become a lucrative business model. Especially when the majority of the content is generated by users themselves.

There has been a rise in directories, some of which are even listed on sites like Acquire and Flippa. Part of the reason could be because people prefer these sites and love having more options and aggregated data.

What other niches/industries could this work for? 🤔

Share your thoughts or other examples below.

P.S. My team and I spend several hours researching online businesses each week. If you enjoyed this break down, please consider sharing it.

I also write a twice-weekly newsletter at ebizfacts.com about business ideas and share learnings from my own business.