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.
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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”!
