In 2016, I started TheMastermindSite.com as a passion project, writing about whatever interested me at the time. Five hundred articles and five years of coaching experience later, I had created one of the biggest platforms in the tactics/analysis space, certainly by a sole proprietor. Now going on 1,200 articles, I deep-dive into how I created one of the most popular platforms in the football tactics, analysis and coaching space.

CONSISTENCY & FOCUS ON QUALITY

For eight years, I wrote about three articles a week. Over time, that adds up. It adds up not only in quantity. But in quality. You naturally learn how to make articles better. How to write in a way that resonates. But most importantly, you learn more about the deeper details behind the beautiful game and how to convey that information in a concise manner. I say the word concise here, and I probably shouldn’t. In the quest to create quality that readers wouldn’t find anywhere else, often times my articles were between 1,000-3,000 words. I think that always served strangely as an advantage. It raised the bar from a depth of quality perspective, and created more space for something to resonate with the reader.

When I shifted the focus of the website toward tactics and analysis back in 2019, I strived for originality. But I still had much to learn. Consuming as much material as possible from the likes of Tifo helped, but I often found myself including notes they made. By the time 2020 rolled around, I stopped doing any outside research about players or teams before writing articles. I wanted the content to come solely from me. I also wanted readers to find information on TMS that they wouldn’t find anywhere else. Keeping the content original kept the quality in-tact, creating credibility over time. When I started working for pro players, coaches and clubs, that only increased the legitimacy, and gave me new content ideas that only upped the originality and quality of the site.

But here’s the key to consistency. It wasn’t work. It was play. I played around for seven years writing about the beautiful game before truly making it into a business venture in 2023. Less than a year into that process, the joy for the game completely crashed with the monetary incentives now at an all-time. When it became work, it was no longer play. It was no longer fun. Now that the fun’s disappeared, the consistency’s disappeared along with it. Had I never monetized it, it’s possible I would have lost the same level of passion for the beautiful game, as new passions took over. But it’s very clear that I’m not a business person. I’m a writer. Writing is what I enjoy. Not running a business. That’s where I accumulated consistency over the years, and the passion that drove the quality of the articles on the site.

RESEARCHING THE TRENDS

Despite not being a business person, I was keenly aware of the trends. I constantly evaluated which articles on my site gained traction and attention, and which pieces fell flat from a viewership perspective. I researched how to grow my audience on Twitter, I analyzed my competitors, and I even wrote for competitors in grabbing a few extra eyes.

Much of my articles were written based on the fact that other similar articles on the site achieved popularity. Best Formations for 9v9 worked because it appealed to the masses, and answered a question that every 9v9 coach ponders. At 7v7, most play a 2-3-1. At 11v11, most coaches know the popular formations from watching the pros. 9v9 is a completely different ball game. The article answered a question, appealed to the masses, and gained popularity as a result.

But in reality, the article was written for myself to answer my own question as a 9v9 coach, in my first year coaching 9v9 myself. I then monetized my work at the 9v9 level in two Ebooks, and wrote several more articles that were similar in style to what I created through that article. Most of them are still the most popular articles on the site. My students at Western have even used them for group presentations in class.

When creating a business, people often become obsessed the idea of “finding a niche.” My niche being tactics and analysis wasn’t really a niche. It was a broad topic that allowed me to broaden to coaching education, scouting + recruitment, and performance coaching for pros. This worked so much better than had I ever tried to focus on just a single tight-knit niche. Especially when I never wanted to write about whatever my audience was most interested in. I wanted to write about what I wanted to write about. Luckily, those interests often aligned.

I’ve always been fascinated with the world’s best players and coaches, and those are often the most researched and clicked. I’ve also always been obsessed with formations, which are even more researched and clicked. So I didn’t necessarily gain audience numbers by studying google search trends and writing viral content. I instead studied which articles became popular on my own site, and used that to guide future work.

It even became how I discovered news. I’d open my stats, see that my articles on Nick Pope were flying, and then realize he was on his way to Newcastle. Every time Daniel Farke changes jobs my site gets a 1,000+ view boost. Good thing he gets fired a lot.

Point is, this is all incredibly replicable. If you write about the game while working in the industry in some capacity, even for just five years, you can create something bringing in thousands of views or dollars, whichever you prefer. I never enjoyed the thought of a business, so I opted for views and gave away my work for free.

In giving away a ton of my work for free, I then had an easy time monetizing it in the form of Ebooks, subscriptions, and courses. It’s a model that I’ve come to realize many business entrepreneurs have followed in building some of the most successful enterprises.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

As I turn the page in 2024 and shift into self-development and coaching content on my personal site, I am continuing to write about the beautiful game on this platform. I’ve carried on with a newsletter for those that want to take their development to the next level, and I’ll likely return to semi-regular football work with the return of the Canadian Premier League. For now, I’ve been struggling to watch even my favourite teams play, and have been prioritizing other projects. You can find some of the best work I’ve ever produced on rhysdesmond.com, and 1,200+ articles on TMS to keep you entertained in the meantime. But if looking to replicate what I’ve done, it is incredibly possible. Reach out to me any time if you’re interested in exploring how you can make it work for you and your interests. Thanks for reading and see you soon!

---