weruncompanies
Power Member
- Feb 15, 2011
- 605
- 287
Here it goes.. Long read.
- Content is incredibly time consuming, you have return visitors and they demand new content.. You can't just go out and pay someone $5/article, it doesn't work like that. Your readers need real content, and you either do the research or pay top dollar for it and end up spending a few hundred a month for a small handful of articles. Ever wonder how much Engadget pays to outsource their articles? $1,500/each.. That company ended up contacting me and they do big volumes for some of the top brands online, but they are the best of the best. My point is, be ready to do it yourself, or get over the fact that real quality content isn't available cheaply. I know someone people say providers are legit, but do you think a site like Engaget would hire someone for $5, $10, or even $15 and put that article in front of hundreds of thousands of people? No.
- There's more to it than just a website.. People often don't realize theirs: Video, mobile site, mobile apps, social sites, e-mail list, e-mail campaigns, etc. It's not a sit back and let it automate itself type of deal, even with just content. Now factor in the costs to have all of those things developed and it gets expensive, unless your a DIY person and have hours and hours and hours to spend on that daily. You'll need a solid video introduction, you're going to have to design this in a program like Aftereffects, plus buy a time unless you have the time to make your own. Next is the video work, you're going to have to shoot videos, you'll need the cameras, and the editing software, you'll have to spend hours rendering videos, followed by waiting hours to bulk upload them..
- You're going to need even more time to focus on building backlinks, you can't just SPAM everywhere and anywhere. You have to manage your reputation here, and not to mention you have a valuable site, you can't just point and shoot any link service at it. You really have to sit down, go into detail and figure out what your plan of attack is daily and maintain it. You're going to have to focus on building links to the inner article pages, this is where the money is at. You'll have to figure out what the current trends are, and keywords are, and write your content accordingly when possible to tailor to what will drive you the most traffic per rank.
- Don't set unrealistic expectations, too many people want success right now! It doesn't happen like that and when it does it's incredibly rare. You can't build a brand overnight unless you go viral, and even then how many people will remember your brand unless they have a long term engagement/loyalty to it. Too many people today want $2000/months in a month or two, yet they skip over everything important and rush into things. Sites like these take time, planning, and yes tons and tons of action. Plan to work hard, wait and wait. Slowly grow your traffic, don't ever expect 100K visits overnight, and don't buy things that can promise that, focus on your own efforts to brand your site so you are in full control. Most people don't plan for the long term, and that's great, you've made money but what's next? Know what direction you are going and where you want to go next! For scaling open a new section, conquest new keywords, develop new advertising methods, capture more revenue with new monetizing opportunities, there are so many ways to can take it to the next level. Don't just offer the same site and have the same action plan, change it up, the point is be willing to experiment and stick with certain things that work.
- Be ready to take critique and listen to your audience! Don't assume this is what they want, and don't focus your efforts on how many clicks you can get on this or that ad. It's the same concept in real life, you listen to people in person don't you? So why not listen to them online.. Know your target market and know what they are looking for and what they like. For example if you are using a Black/red logo for a all women's niche, and you have people fill out a study to improve your site, what are the odds they tell you to change it to pink/blue? Pretty high, but if you ignore them you're only hurting your site's potential. The thing I do is get 200-300 people in my niche, target market, etc to review my site, it's time consuming but it really gives me the real deal on what people prefer/value. Remember if a site fits someone's profile/interest and they appreciate the site itself, they will share it, bookmark, it. The design for your site is important, don't cheap out, don't ignore it, and don't under-estimate it. You're building a brand here, you have to stand out, make sure you do that, don't use any generic template and expect tons of visitors referred overnight.
- It's incredibly expensive and you better have your monetizing efforts in top notch. Running a site like this doesn't give a ton of free time to go out and live that lifestyle you want right off the bat. You're going to be negative or at zero for awhile.. All of my money goes right back into it. Mobile apps, mobile sites, site coding, hosting, advertising, e-mail sender, etc isn't cheap, it adds up. You need to monetizing correctly so you can afford those things, and you need them to work in sync together. You can't have a site with hundreds of thousands of visits and not have a mobile app/site or e-mail list for example. If you don't how are you going to maximize your profits? Make sure you cover every single channel possible, the mobile, the video, the e-mail, etc.
- When you advertise be prepared to have investments saved up so you can buy what you want when you want. Sure that $2K watch looks incredible right now and it would look even better on your wrist, but do you really need it? Focus on saving up money for the long run, you don't want to be in a position where you can't afford adspace and you lose out on major profitable return. Too many people in IM get money, spend it recklessly as it comes in fast, don't let that happen to you, save it! For advertising, you're going to have to get creative, you'll need to conquest new markets/people/sites, don't just advertise on one site, spread it out over multiple sites and try new channels and methods to attract more visitors. You're goal is to build a userbase while con-questing new markets to increase traffic and profit, all while building those return visitors.
- Focus on the future, constantly be working on your site adding new sections and features. It's what your visitors will crave. Don't be like Digg, don't put something people love in their face and then revamp it entirely and tell them to deal with it. Keep what you have and expand on it. Add a new section, such as a video series or pinterest photo gallery area, or forums that gives your visitors more action to stay loyal. Remember people love fresh sites where they can find new things, it's the reason why Groupon and forums work so well. For example would you join or return to a forum daily if no one ever replied? And it was dead? No you wouldn't. But remember the other goal here is content and media, make sure they are entertained it's one thing to have a solid it's another to provide entertainment value.
That's it for now I might add more later on.. Hopefully someone finds this useful, no secrets or anything, just real advice from what I've experienced.. Thanks.
- Content is incredibly time consuming, you have return visitors and they demand new content.. You can't just go out and pay someone $5/article, it doesn't work like that. Your readers need real content, and you either do the research or pay top dollar for it and end up spending a few hundred a month for a small handful of articles. Ever wonder how much Engadget pays to outsource their articles? $1,500/each.. That company ended up contacting me and they do big volumes for some of the top brands online, but they are the best of the best. My point is, be ready to do it yourself, or get over the fact that real quality content isn't available cheaply. I know someone people say providers are legit, but do you think a site like Engaget would hire someone for $5, $10, or even $15 and put that article in front of hundreds of thousands of people? No.
- There's more to it than just a website.. People often don't realize theirs: Video, mobile site, mobile apps, social sites, e-mail list, e-mail campaigns, etc. It's not a sit back and let it automate itself type of deal, even with just content. Now factor in the costs to have all of those things developed and it gets expensive, unless your a DIY person and have hours and hours and hours to spend on that daily. You'll need a solid video introduction, you're going to have to design this in a program like Aftereffects, plus buy a time unless you have the time to make your own. Next is the video work, you're going to have to shoot videos, you'll need the cameras, and the editing software, you'll have to spend hours rendering videos, followed by waiting hours to bulk upload them..
- You're going to need even more time to focus on building backlinks, you can't just SPAM everywhere and anywhere. You have to manage your reputation here, and not to mention you have a valuable site, you can't just point and shoot any link service at it. You really have to sit down, go into detail and figure out what your plan of attack is daily and maintain it. You're going to have to focus on building links to the inner article pages, this is where the money is at. You'll have to figure out what the current trends are, and keywords are, and write your content accordingly when possible to tailor to what will drive you the most traffic per rank.
- Don't set unrealistic expectations, too many people want success right now! It doesn't happen like that and when it does it's incredibly rare. You can't build a brand overnight unless you go viral, and even then how many people will remember your brand unless they have a long term engagement/loyalty to it. Too many people today want $2000/months in a month or two, yet they skip over everything important and rush into things. Sites like these take time, planning, and yes tons and tons of action. Plan to work hard, wait and wait. Slowly grow your traffic, don't ever expect 100K visits overnight, and don't buy things that can promise that, focus on your own efforts to brand your site so you are in full control. Most people don't plan for the long term, and that's great, you've made money but what's next? Know what direction you are going and where you want to go next! For scaling open a new section, conquest new keywords, develop new advertising methods, capture more revenue with new monetizing opportunities, there are so many ways to can take it to the next level. Don't just offer the same site and have the same action plan, change it up, the point is be willing to experiment and stick with certain things that work.
- Be ready to take critique and listen to your audience! Don't assume this is what they want, and don't focus your efforts on how many clicks you can get on this or that ad. It's the same concept in real life, you listen to people in person don't you? So why not listen to them online.. Know your target market and know what they are looking for and what they like. For example if you are using a Black/red logo for a all women's niche, and you have people fill out a study to improve your site, what are the odds they tell you to change it to pink/blue? Pretty high, but if you ignore them you're only hurting your site's potential. The thing I do is get 200-300 people in my niche, target market, etc to review my site, it's time consuming but it really gives me the real deal on what people prefer/value. Remember if a site fits someone's profile/interest and they appreciate the site itself, they will share it, bookmark, it. The design for your site is important, don't cheap out, don't ignore it, and don't under-estimate it. You're building a brand here, you have to stand out, make sure you do that, don't use any generic template and expect tons of visitors referred overnight.
- It's incredibly expensive and you better have your monetizing efforts in top notch. Running a site like this doesn't give a ton of free time to go out and live that lifestyle you want right off the bat. You're going to be negative or at zero for awhile.. All of my money goes right back into it. Mobile apps, mobile sites, site coding, hosting, advertising, e-mail sender, etc isn't cheap, it adds up. You need to monetizing correctly so you can afford those things, and you need them to work in sync together. You can't have a site with hundreds of thousands of visits and not have a mobile app/site or e-mail list for example. If you don't how are you going to maximize your profits? Make sure you cover every single channel possible, the mobile, the video, the e-mail, etc.
- When you advertise be prepared to have investments saved up so you can buy what you want when you want. Sure that $2K watch looks incredible right now and it would look even better on your wrist, but do you really need it? Focus on saving up money for the long run, you don't want to be in a position where you can't afford adspace and you lose out on major profitable return. Too many people in IM get money, spend it recklessly as it comes in fast, don't let that happen to you, save it! For advertising, you're going to have to get creative, you'll need to conquest new markets/people/sites, don't just advertise on one site, spread it out over multiple sites and try new channels and methods to attract more visitors. You're goal is to build a userbase while con-questing new markets to increase traffic and profit, all while building those return visitors.
- Focus on the future, constantly be working on your site adding new sections and features. It's what your visitors will crave. Don't be like Digg, don't put something people love in their face and then revamp it entirely and tell them to deal with it. Keep what you have and expand on it. Add a new section, such as a video series or pinterest photo gallery area, or forums that gives your visitors more action to stay loyal. Remember people love fresh sites where they can find new things, it's the reason why Groupon and forums work so well. For example would you join or return to a forum daily if no one ever replied? And it was dead? No you wouldn't. But remember the other goal here is content and media, make sure they are entertained it's one thing to have a solid it's another to provide entertainment value.
That's it for now I might add more later on.. Hopefully someone finds this useful, no secrets or anything, just real advice from what I've experienced.. Thanks.
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