Yes actually about a year ago. I got into the micro niche sites. Added a healthy bit of content in the sites. I read a lot of people are always looking for content writing. I've found in my opinion that I love writing about my niches, it makes it much easier when you write about something your highly interested in. Once that part was decent and I had alot of content think 25-30 articles then I felt comfortable adding social signals through Facebook, Instagram, reddit etc. I've never stopped adding content and I've never worried about ranking. The more you offer to the visitors the better. I care deeply about what I write about, its mypassion so it just flows. Take the time to do this right and it pays off long term. I build my sites to last and offer people a resource. Its only after i have steady visitors and lots of content do i even think about advertising. For me its all about writing about a subject I love and not about earning money. Do what you love and success has a way of following.