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The
Sky is Bright for Domain Owners Who Diversified -
Part 3 - "Going to the Dogs" Isn't a Bad
Thing When it Comes to Development On
Friday When I wrote about four
domain owners
who are pursuing development strategies aimed at putting
them in control of their own destinies, I didn't plan
for it to become a series. But yesterday I
learned about Rick Latona's new wine club
ecommerce site at Vino.com
and since it tied in to Friday's post so well I wanted
to bring it to your attention and that became part
2 on the "diversification by |
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development"
theme.
Again,
I thought that would be it on that topic for now, but then
Elliot
Silver sent out a press release today announcing
his latest site development project at DogWalker.com.
This site exemplifies two things that I think are so critically
important for successful development that it has to be
included in the discussion. So welcome to part 3 on
this topic!
Now,
as most of you know, this is not Elliot's first rodeo. He
has developed a number of sites and has chronicled his
development experiences so that others can learn from them
at ElliotsBlog.com.
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Screen
shot from Elliot Silver's DogWalker.com
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We
both believe that your best chance for development
success is to 1) find an underserved niche
market so you won't be smothered by well financed and
firmly entrenched competitors and 2) pick a subject
within that niche market that you are personally
interested in (preferrably not just interested in -
but passionate about).
If
you care about the subject, all of the work you have to
put into developing content and building the site will
feel a lot less like work. It can even be fun - a
much better state of mind to deal with than drudgery
which is what you get when you have spend all of your time
on a topic that bores you to tears. If it is fun you
are more likely to stick with it and your readers will
sense your enthusiasm. If it is drudgery, you aren't
likely to please your site visitors and you certainly
won't please yourself.
For
the past seven years I have been spending as much as 80-90
hours a week, 52 weeks a year, producing DN
Journal and I can honestly say I still love writing
about the subject of this site - domains and the
people who love them as much as I do. Though I am
interested in a lot of other things, I don't think I am
passionate enough about any of them to be able to devote
that kind of time to them without quickly burning out.
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Elliot
Silver |
In
Elliot's latest case study, he has found a
legitimate niche market - dog walking - that is
underserved on the web. He is also a dog lover
(the idea for his site arose when he found it
difficult to find something he needed for his own
pet - a reliable dog walker). In my opinion he
just cleared the two biggest hurdles you have to
get over to have a good shot at making money from
your website.
As
someone who knows and loves his subject matter, he
has a chance to become a dominant force in his
niche with an attractive directory on a category
killing domain that will bring dog lovers and
professional dog walkers together. Yes, there is a
lot more to do before the money starts rolling
in. You have to keep producing fresh content to
attract an audience and then you have to
find advertisers
who are willing to pay to reach the eyeballs that
are coming to your site. But those two things are
a lot easier to accomplish when the other two -
the right niche and a real love for the subject -
are in place. |
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You
can read Elliot's press
release at DogWalker.com to get more
insight into his strategy for the site. I'm also
sure he will blog about how things are going as
time goes on. He has done that with his previous
developments, sharing what has worked for him as
well as those things that wound up being a waste
of time and money. That is valuable information
that has earned him a very loyal following among
other domain owners who also want to end (or at
least lessen) their dependence on PPC, affiliate
programs or domain sales.
Though
you could fail many times before you succeed,
I still believe that a well developed rich content
or ecommerce site is the best way to make sure
that you are the one who holds the
key to your domain's cash register. |
If
our
dog Savannah could talk, I'm sure
she would be excited about
DogWalker.com. She has a hard time
getting me away from the computer long enough to
take her for a walk. |
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