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”!
Earn money from home – the ideal investment?
Petrol is getting so expensive it will soon be more cost effective to walk, so more people than ever are thinking up ways that they can earn money from home quickly. I suppose it follows on from the work at home Moms phenomenon that dominated the 90s, you remember all those ads in the local classifieds on how you can make money fast from the comfort of your own sofa? I’m not sure if people are more sceptical now or not, but there’s definitely a lot more people trying to work this business out for better or worse.
I call it a business but in reality there are so many people doing different things and it definitely depends on experience. A few I’ve been reading up on are:
- Selling on eBay
- Forex (stocks) trading
- Online investment clubs
I really have no interest in selling my junk on eBay (is there a big market for empty pizza boxes?) and also forex/stock trading scares me more than saw II. However the online investment club is a new one for me as I’ve been following it on another money blog at 4 hour workweek, Eric also gives updates on how much he’s making per month with it which is great.
It seems like he’s getting around 7% APR which is great considering how much most local banks our paying on interest lately. The basic principle is you make lots of little loans (as low as £20) to people based on their credit history and also what they are doing with the money. In theory only a small portion of the loans will go bad so the risk is spread out. The reason I’m including this as an online job is that working out who to lend to and how much takes time and effort in itself and I suppose it could be quite interesting too. It’s your chance to play bank manager! Like any investment though it’s not without risk and as usual the more risk you take the more you can make. But at the same time how safe are the banks anyway, even bank robbers have given up stealing from them.
How much can you make? Well some people are claiming up to 8-9% interest so for £10,000 invested you could make just under a grand a year which is pretty good. It does seem a lot safer than shares/stocks so might be an alternative for someone unwilling to head down that road. I do have to mention that if you’re in the UK you will need to try Zopa as that one Eric talks about isn’t available here.
Investing money is one of those tricky things I’ve never got to grips with, I once heard the saying “if you don’t understand it don’t put your money in it” by a famous stock broker. It’s true there are plenty of stories of people losing the house on this or that investment, but most of the time it comes back to the fact that they didn’t do their homework beforehand. It’s the same with any advice I give out whether it involves an investment of time or money, you gotta research it first, too many people dive into things based on “facts” by some anonymous internet nerd J
This may seem a bit Tony Robbins but you should also consider the things you’re teaching yourself as an investment. I mean lots of people (I didn’t) invest 1000s of pounds going to university in the hope of making big money 10 years down the line, it amazes me so many people can’t invest even a fraction of that time learning something new for free. Maybe it’s a case of where to learn as there’s no course on earning money online so how do you know who to listen too? Ultimately though it all comes back to trying things out and being prepared to fail because it’s the only way to succeed at anything. Most of the things I try don’t work and so can seem on the surface like a huge waste of time but it’s not. That knowledge acquired is only available to you and other people who have tried and failed and that does have value.
