I had the opposite experience. I wrote up a page for me and my kids to use, and then ignored it. A year later, I checked my stats, saw it was getting traffic, because somehow it was the #1 google result for a few phrases. So I improved it, monetized it a bit (not much), and as I have mentioned a few times before, we get a few dinners each month paid for by it.

Of course, I've never been mentioned in the news. Maybe the trick to being in a niche is keeping the niche quiet.