Sounds to me like he’s selling the model and the consulting (which is clearly demonstrated via the sites linked above), but — unless I’m mistaken — I’d say that “the platform” these sites are built on is available for free.

One key, I think, is diversifying income: on-site display advertising, both from networks such as BlogAds and AdSense as well as from direct sales, commission revenue, e-mail sponsorships, classified ads (which still work in highly targetted audiences)… and, yes, selling or renting out the “printing press,” too. (As Outing is doing.)

You can make money using just one of the sources above. (And, yes, I know that from personal experience.) But life is much less stressful when you craft a plan that brings in cash from multiple streams.

Where niche sites fail is when they use an old-media, newsroom-centric production model. Online niche publishing rarely can provide enough revenue to pay those production and management costs. Creating a large number of reader-generated pages with decent quality content is essential.

Sure, it’s exciting to be able to build a platform that enables discussion on niche topics and to find niche markets, of which there are tons, but in a crowded, competitive space such as the online media world, I just don’t see how these types of ventures can pay the bills.

When it comes right down to it, isn’t this just a really fancy blog? Maybe I’m missing it, but where’s the revenue really going to come from? It’s not gonna be from the content. It’s not gonna be from click-thru advertising or affinity links. The only possibility might be in the development and distribution of the platform, but then it’s not a media story anymore, it’s a software story.

The dead website file is full of failed niche media sites. What makes this one any different?

Just so you know when you see me steal it, Steve.