The skills required to be a great webmaster
So building a website is no longer the great mystery that it used to be, but there’s a difference between building a website and building a website that’s successful and makes money. To me it’s a complete package of skills and you’re only going to be successful if you master (at least in part) all of them. Here’s a rundown of what I think it takes:
- Some technical knowledge. Note I’m only saying some because you don’t really need to be able to program to build a website, most out of the box platforms look great from the start e.g wordpress, but it is handy to know a little html.
- Design know-how. Again I’m not really talking about this from a technical point of view, just from the viewpoint that you know what looks good and what doesn’t. Having an eye for creating something that people find easy to use is also very important.
- Marketing. Probably the most important factor and worthy of more than just a paragraph here. However you really have to know what you’re doing here if you’re investing money into the business, the only real way to learn is to practice so it’s best to start with a small project/site before going crazy.
- Perseverance. Also very important and actually the one that causes the most failures. It can take much longer that you expect to create a successful site so how are you going to keep going? Also what if it fails completely, do you have the willpower to start again, most people don’t.
- Analysation. Fancy word but all it means is the ability to figure out what’s working/not working for your site and why. This could be anything from what your seo efforts are not successful to why visitors aren’t converting into sales. It’s that ability to interpret stats into action and to adapt what you’re doing that separates great webmasters from the rest.
Five points seems a bit sparse for what can be a huge process, still you always need a base to start from so I hope it helps. Part of the problem I’m finding with trying to document a lot of this website building process is there’s just too much to cover, plus the fact that everyone has their own process for doing things and overloading people with too much info could do more harm than good! Still I hope the tips above help if you’re thinking about starting a site.
How to earn money from your website
Ok so with this post maybe I’m skipping the complex stuff like how to pick the right market and getting traffic in the first place, but I wanted to show a few different monetisation methods that can be used for almost any type of site. It’s also important to show the end result of all the research and promotion and that there is a path to cash down the line, after all the goal as my site implies is to create an income online that’s both legitimate and passive. So before I list the different “schemes” I have to point out that how much you can earn will greatly depend on the topic of your website and the amount of traffic you’re getting. Often people will understand amount of traffic concept but completely forget the topic part and wonder why their 1000 visitors aren’t generating any profits. With that being said here they are:
Google adsense
Probably the biggest advertising platform online and the one most people have heard of. Adsense is mostly suited to sites with big traffic and also a wide range of topics as it seems to adapt really well to different visitors and content. Essentially Google tries to show the most relevant advertisement to that visitor so in theory they are more likely to click on it if it’s what they are looking for.
Advantages: No problems with getting paid (its Google after all) and easy setup, it’s just one piece of code. As mentioned it can be really good for large sites with lots of different types of content.
Disadvantages: Google take a pretty big percentage cut of your earnings, around 40%. Prices per click can vary wildly, everywhere between 5p and £5 that I have seen, so it can be hard to judge how much you’re going to make.
Company affiliate programs
Essentially these are just affiliate programs setup by online retailers and businesses to provide you with a commission on whatever sales you generate. For example if you had a weightlifting site you might sign up to a fitness stores affiliate program and integrate their banners and links onto your site. Nearly all will be on a pay per sale basis, i.e. you won’t get paid per clicks but it will always be free to sign up and try them out. You can either find them in a network link commission junction, tradedoubler or just go to their site and see if they have a program.
Advantages: Commissions can be pretty high depending on the store and if you do generate good sales most likely they will give you a bump in your commission. If you can find a company that provides exactly the product/service your visitors are looking for then conversion rates and sales can be really high.
Disadvantages: Payments can on occasion be a problem since you may be dealing with a small company. The most important thing is to build up a relationship with them over time so you know what to expect from them and vice versa. Also it can be pretty time consuming finding the ideal company to work with, a lot depends on their site and how well it converts customers into sales, if there’s a flaw here then it won’t matter what traffic you send them.
Sell advertising on your site
This method of making money from your blog can take many forms but mostly it’s about advertisers coming to you because you have a popular site and they know you have the traffic, I’ve never seen it work when you go out hunting for advertisers. It can range from selling banners on your site to ordinary links but the main principle is that they pay for the advert on a fix cost basis, i.e. you don’t get less or more money depending on how much business you deliver for them.
Advantages: You’re not required to deliver a certain amount of clicks or sales to the advertisers so it’s pretty worry free. Also as mentioned in most cases the advertisers are going to come to you (if you have a big site) so there’s not much work in that respect either, it’s as close to easy money as it gets with internet marketing.
Disadvantages: Who wants to wait around for people to make offers on your site? I’d rather be out there making my own deals. Prices for adverts vary greatly and you’re going to have to negotiate for the best deal. Also bear in mind Google has a policy against selling links for seo purposes on your site so you have to take that into consideration.
Sell your site
This is the only one I haven’t done I have to admit because I see it as a bit of a catch 22. IE if a sites making money every month why would you want to sell it? Similarly if your site doesn’t earn money why would anyone want to buy it? I do know people who have sold their sites for good money though, and often it’s to a company who can monetise the traffic much better, i.e. they can now sell their products directly on the site instead of just banner ads/links. You will need to use some kind of broker to negotiate the transfer of both the money and the domain name and they are going to take a cut. Sites like Flippa will allow you to list your site for sale and they also help negotiate the transfer (I think)
Advantages: Can be big money if you get the right company who really wants the site. Leaves you free to work on new sites after you sell.
Disadvantages: Working out a price can be difficult, some people use 15 – 18 months of revenue as a marker for final value but there’s no definite rule. You lose your monthly pay check. Broker is going to take a cut. Also by listing your site on places like flippa or eBay you’re going to get a lot of fake bidders, much easier if the seller comes to you first and you work from there.
So those are the main ways to make money from your site that I know of. Again as I said at the start so much depends on the site you have and the market you’re in. However I have to say that if you have a site that ranks and gets targeted traffic then you’re going to earn money with it some way or another, i.e. even if you do nothing people are going to mail you offering deals. I suppose this is why I spend most of my time building up my sites in the first place and worrying about the money aspect of it later.
Why do some websites fail while others are winning!
Please excuse the Charlie Sheen reference, I know were all “winning” in our own way but how do you win when it comes to creating a successful website? If two people are sites in the exact same market what determines which makes money and which doesn’t? It can’t be luck all the time.
1. Picking the right market. This is essential, if you’re in a super competitive industry then you better be there for the long haul because in the online world nothing happens that quick, especially if you’re trying to build a brand. Remember it’s better to be number no1 in a niche than No 83 in a multinational dog-fight. Maybe it’s an ego thing but I keep seeing people trying to compete with million pound companies with 1% of the resources and quality, it’s not smart thinking.
2. Dedication. It’s easy to give up on anything when results are distant but you have to accept that any legitimate business opportunity weather its earning money online or opening a shop on a high street it takes time. I suppose people think that because it’s the internet there should be a way to make money online instantly. The truth is reputation and trust are built online the same way as offline, it takes time.
3. Spending time/money on the wrong things. This usually happening when people start their first website and many hours are accrued just by tweaking that top banner image 10 pixels to the left. No site is perfect and the thing is if you have no traffic at the start it really doesn’t matter if the new shade of lilac goes with the grey menu or not. It’s important to have a professional looking design but don’t go nuts with it, in the scheme of things its way down the to-do list.
4. Finding a path to cash. It is essential you have at least some idea how the site is going to earn money before you start. Yes I know Google,Twitter,Facebook didn’t know either (twitter still doesn’t make money) it’s not the same thing. If you’re building the site to earn a living and not just as a hobby then it’s an investment and it needs to make a return at some point. There are lots of revenue streams from advertising to ecommerce that can generate big revenues but only if implemented correctly, monetisation isn’t one of those things that works out itself.
5. Marketing strategy. The reason most people leave this out is because internet marketing is much more of a technical exercise than in the offline world. You really need a plan out where your visitors are going to be coming from and how you’re going to work with that medium. If its facebook then you better understand viral media and social marking. If it’s Google then you better have a strong grip on SEO and PPC. And the thing is if you don’t understand them then you better have the money to pay someone who does otherwise your going no-where my friend.
So I didn’t include luck on the list even though as we know it’s always a factor in everything we do. However I believe very much in volume and quantity when it comes to success online, do enough for long enough and something’s gonna work (not very technical I know). There’s more to a successful web business than this and certainly true if you want to earn real money on a consistent basis but if I were starting out I would concentrate on those 5 points and as Mike Tyson said, “Refuse to lose”!
Find that secret niche to make millions online
One mistake that I see new people to this business making again and again is picking the wrong niche to enter into for their new website or blog. You see one of the main thought processes that people have is that you should write about what you know and/or are interested in. It’s a good idea in principle but the problem is that so many affiliate marketers are of the same demographic i.e. male between 18 – 35. So what you end up with is a million thin affiliate sites all trying to sell iphone accessories or sports equipment. If you do start your business around one of these “traditionally” male tech/sports products you’re going to be competing with all these other people who also failed to think outside the box and 99 times out of a 100 you’re going to fail.
Now I know trying to think completely out of your own experience’s can be very difficult but trust me that the time spent are the start trying to find that untapped market can be recouped many times over down the line. Another big plus of the untapped market that no-one else is noticing is you can be completely under the radar for months (and even years) before people realise just how much money you are making. Indeed it is some of these more “boring” industries that often allow their owners to earn the most over a short period of time. So i suppose you are thinking just what kind of markets/sectors these might be? Well of course I’m not going to give away the farm in one post but here are a few sectors to think about.
- Make-up
- Clothes
- Shoes
- Office equipment
- Packaging
Ok so as you can see not very exciting but when it comes to earning an income online it’s the more boring the better in my opinion. So your also probably thinking at this point what kind of niches should you stay away from? Here are a few sectors that have ruined many an affiliate marketers dreams 
- Iphones (or anything apple)
- Electronics in general
- Books (you know amazon does this right?)
- CDs (heard of mp3s?)
- Poker
- Loans
- Personal injury
Yes some of those niches are worth huge amounts of money, ie ranking on Google for something like “Personal injury claims” could be worth over £1000 a day just in commission. However most people get blinded by these kind of numbers and just forge ahead without evaluating the situation. Most of the sites in the niches above will literally have teams of people working full time on every aspect of SEO and not just to get the site to the top of the serps but to make sure it stays there. This doesn’t mean there isn’t huge amounts of cash in other sectors too (there is) it’s just not as glamorous and in most cases harder to find.
So how to you find this new niche that’s going to make you millions? Well the two keys are both patience and awareness. Anytime you’re searching the net for something (especially if it’s a gift for someone else) you should have seoquake on and have a quick glance at the competition in this market. After a while this will just become an automatic thing and before you know it you’ll be accessing the competition every time you fire up google, it can become a bit time consuming I have to admit but it will be worth it.
I must also mention that it’s not just markets that have little or no competition that you may want to start in, you also want to enter a market were you can offer something way better than everyone else. One of my favourite bloggers is Allyn Hane over at blogger illustrated who talks in some of his (slightly crazy) videos how he started a blog in the DIY niche. The thing about his blog was that he could offer real reviews on DIY hardware and not just the generic product descriptions that you get on most ecommerce sites. The best thing about his blog though is that he sold it for $30,000 to a venture capital firm, now that’s some serious cash!
So there you have it my advice on how to think outside the box (a little bit) in order to earn some real money on the internet. Until next time my digital peeps
Starting a blog to make some extra cash needs planning
Ok so let’s say you want to start up a new blog to help make some extra cash online. One of the biggest mistakes people make is just to start a general blog with the expectation that advertisers are going to want to pay lots of £££ to put up adds. When it comes to internet traffic quality is everything and if you don’t have visitors who are intent on spending money when they arrive at your site then there’s no way you or any advertiser is going to make any money off them. So what happens is many bloggers start a site about their own “pet passion” and hope it will automatically turn into a money spinner. Now this doesn’t mean you can’t write about what you are interested in but you must target it in a way that is going to create some kind of potential for earnings.
Let’s say you are interested in photography, the wrong move would just be to talk about why you love it so much and show all your pictures online. A much better strategy would be to target people looking for a specific camera and to write up a real quality and detailed review on this camera. Then promote this review by attracting links for it from other quality (related) sites. Hopefully with time and some luck you may be able to rank your review when people are searching online for this specific model. The key is that you know people who find this review will already be “thinking” about making a purchase and so this visitor is very valuable both to you and potential sellers of this product.
Many people can’t get over this concept that I’ve just explained as they only want to write about what they are interested in and don’t want to deviate from it for a second. Now i have nothing against personal blogs at all but at the same time you have to decide what your priorities are and if your mission is to earn money or to just entertain yourself and your visitors. This doesn’t mean you can’t combine your passion with your money making abilities, you just need to plan out exactly how you are going to tackle it.
