Earlier this week, I published a full-buildout video where I create a directory manually (page by page, copy and pasting information into Wordpress), the same way I created my first two directory websites.
And as I anticipated, a few people in the comments section thought I was insane for building this way!
With all the faster ways to build now, I can’t help but agree.
It is kinda insane to build like this in 2025.
But I recently heard Sean Evans, the host of Hot Ones, say, "slow motion is better than no motion."
And I completely agree.
The first two directories that I ever built were done manually in Wordpress...quite literally using the same exact process that I covered in my latest full-buildout video.
Today, these two directories are now passive cash-flowing assets.
And yesterday, they made more money in a single day than I ever would've expected.
- Paid partnership -
I’ve been using Hostinger as one of my go-to hosts for building directories. They make it ridiculously easy to get set up with WordPress, a domain, and everything you need to launch.
For WordPress users who want a smooth setup without getting too technical, I genuinely recommend Hostinger’s Managed Wordpress Hosting plan. It’s what I used to build my manual directory last week!
Going from earning $16/day to $393/day with a single directory
Yesterday, I experienced the most sudden and dramatic growth in my passive display ad income that I've ever witnessed.
One of my directories was making $5/day in early August 2025, then started making $15-$20/day earlier this month.
On September 26th, 2025, it earned $394.16.
My second directory ever built - Typical daily revenue for September 2025 was around $15-$20
Earnings from yesterday:
Earnings on September 26th, 2025
And for those curious about how this could have happened, here's what I know:
I didn't do anything new to this directory for the last 6+ months
On September 26th, 12,716 users visited my directory (Up from 722 users the day before)
No, I don't think someone famous mentioned my website that day
So yeah, unfortunately, I can't say I know exactly what caused this.
However, the weird thing is that it wasn't just this directory that spiked.
Every one of my directories that monetize through Mediavine spiked yesterday.
My first directory ever built - Typical daily revenue for September 2025 was around $45-$65
Earnings on September 26th, 2025
Do I expect these earnings to stay this way? No.
In fact, in my Google Analytics for both of these websites it says "anomaly detected" for September 26th, 2025, which is kinda neat!
GA4 for the second directory I ever built
But do I regret spending 100 hours building each of these directories by hand? Not at all.
I built these two directories using the only approach I knew at the time.
And it really taught me a lot about applying basic SEO tactics.
I’m not saying you need to build directories the exact way I did back in 2022.
What I am saying is that it’s better to fully finish something, even if the process is slow and clunky, than to overthink it and end up with a bunch of half-finished projects.
