Absolutely cruicial is to have some fun and be creative with the site. When you are having fun it shows. Treat it too much like a 9/5 job and you’ll bore them to tears.
I also like to keep my options open, but it also speads your focus too thin when you diversify. If you write like a human and avoid the old ‘spammy’ ways, google should ‘come around’ and reward you with traffic and visitors and $$.
Good luck and enjoy!