Just Joined - Long Time Web Entrepreneur

[flagman5]

Hi All

I figure this is the first chance I can post without the required "status" on the board.

I have been involved with websites with no luck since 2006, april to be exact. It is about 3 years later and I am still in nearly the same position I was in when I first started (albeit I learned more techniques and new technology). I am starting to have real doubts about my campaign....

Anyways as I mentioned in another post I found this forum via the lambo forum, the great phxmj who posted his success story. while it is very inspiring, I really think not all of us will get there, fact is, corporate america will always need slaves, and if you cant make it on ur own u must join them for survival.

I dont mean to come on here and cast my negativity all around the board, but i just dont know anymore. I have coded about 7-8 websites so far, launched majority of them, without ANY returns whatsoever (if you count the 2 google ads paycheck (each for $100) that I have gotten over 3 years return, then i guess i technically have some). Even the one where I didnt go solo, i had a team of 3 guys "marketing" for me, because they believe the idea, still didnt work. I look back on all these and I realized, I have been using the only business model i can think of, free-website-mass-traffic-rev-from-ads. Coincidentally (maybe), this is not the model phxmj succeeded with.

So my question is this, does that model ever work??? phxmj mentioned lead-generation model in his story, is the only path to fastlane charging some service fee? (for systems that involve no products/shipping/warehouse, just straight, pure, e-service)?

All help is appreciated

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[andviv]

First of all, welcome to the forum. Second, congrats on your first two Google ads checks, most never even see one.

If you think it is OK, feel free to add more details about your sites (maybe even present one here for feedback) and hear what others have to say about it.

About your question of Free-Site-Mass-Traffic does work (I always come back to the PlentyOfFish.com site as example). Maybe one site that brings $10K a month is hard to get to with that model. But hey, what prevents you from having 50 sites that bring $200 a month each?

Again, welcome to the forums, lots of info and good people around here.

 

[TC2]

Welcome to this forum.

I too have done many web sites and still come up new ideas and constantly working on different ideas. Only time will tell. You will have to keep trying and adjust your direction and know what is working and what is not working.

Most of the people in the world will not reach what other fastlane people did, but we will never get there if we do something about it.

Would love to hear about your story as well.

Thanks!

 

[biophase]

I look back on all these and I realized, I have been using the only business model i can think of, free-website-mass-traffic-rev-from-ads.

All help is appreciated

How much traffic did you end up getting on these websites?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Runum]

Welcome to the forum. I agree with Andviv. Tell us more details and maybe we can help you out.

 

[flagman5]

Hi guys,

Well most of my sites performed so poorly I didn't renew their domain names after. The only two I have left that is still running is yardsaledb dot com and microfate dot com

the yardsale one I have about 20-30 people a day, doesn't do anything, however it is the oldest one that I have kept since 2006 because of the small amounts of visitors. My google-ads checks also came from this site as well, I got lucky during 07 when some website featured me on their site and I got 2000 visitors in one day, I really thought that was my ticket, but...

Microfate.com is just a taiwanese version of craigslist missed-connections. That has even less visitors and even less user-generated content. I tried to get the word out on that with no avail, people (i guess taiwanese ppl) dont want to post about missed connections it seemed. a western idea doesnt work in this case in an asian country.

I am open to criticisms and I know my front-end skills are not as great as a true webdesign professional, but if you build it they still wont come!!! I am really gearing toward the subscription-fee model and away from this mass-traffic-ads model. I think this is the hardest model to succeed.

 

[Sparlin]

First of all, Great job on what you have accomplished. You tried and floundered (not failed) where most won't try at all. If you are looking for criticism, I'll offer just one. Your web names have no "pop" as some people say. They are too common.

I would suggests using a name that is going stand out. Something like YardMart, MyBestJUNK, or GrowMeTheMoney.... more pop in the name will hook them in my opinion. I know it’s hard to secure a name that is good and not already claimed, but it wouldn’t hurt to look. I am sure there are guys that will cringe about search optimization and using the wrong words and all that, but that is just my first thought on the matter. I am definitely not a guru in this topic.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[biophase]

i had a team of 3 guys "marketing" for me, because they believe the idea, still didnt work.

I am curious about these 3 guys did in marketing your sites. Sounds like they did not know what they were doing?? What methods did they use?

 

[ITA]

7-8 projects/websites since 2006 seems a bit scattered. Sometimes you have to stick to something for a while, not many websites get huge in 3 months...

 

[flagman5]

I am curious about these 3 guys did in marketing your sites. Sounds like they did not know what they were doing?? What methods did they use?

the only thing they used was to post on various forums and diggs to get the link out and get ppl to come to the website and vote (was a voting website)


7-8 projects that i actually coded, but i launched about 5 i think, (with actual domain name and whatnot) while the other ones just sat in my hd relaxing never seeing the web

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MJ DeMarco]

Do you think Tiger Woods got good spreading his work around to 7 or 8 projects? No, it was golf, golf, golf -- one focus. I see that an issue. Also, your revenue model of "free-website-mass-traffic-rev-from-ads" is my least favorite revenue model as it is the most used (usually espoused from some guru who says 'make money with a website') and amateurish. In fact, that model is the default revenue model for great ideas with no monetization options.

The discussion usually goes something like this:

Entrepreneur: "I have a great idea for a website!!!!"

Me: "Oh yea, what!?"

Entrepreneur: "It goes something like this ..."

Me: "Wow, that is a great idea, how are you going to make money doing it? Whats the revenue model?"

Entrepreneur: "Uh ....."

Me: "How?"

Entrepreneur: "Uh..... ads?"

IMO, the two best web revenue models are membership and lead gen, followed by product based (Ecom) ... then in last place is "free-website-mass-traffic-rev-from-ads". The default success story of "free-website-mass-traffic-rev-from-ads" is PlentyOfFish which I believe is more of a rarity than a norm. ("Results not typical") Most millionaire web entrepreneurs I know leverage the first two revenue models.

 

[TC2]

First of all. I guess you are a Chinese/Taiwanese who stays in USA for too long. I only spent 10 seconds on your Microfate web site. It won't work like you said. The western culture won't work in Taiwan though. However, it's a great idea with the wrong target.

I actually like your yardsaledb much more. I also had the similar idea, but I haven't got my hand dirty on it. It can be a great pay as you go membership site or lead generation site.

I agree with what MJ said. It's how you want to monetize the web site and focus on it. It depends on what you are selling. The lead generation model can be a very profitable business.

Ex. One of the largest university chain are offering $3000 per lead.

Don't get frustrated! I started web development since 1992. What a shame! I am still who I used to be. I lost count how many domains I used to own. I am still learning and adjusting my direction. One thing I learned is this.

A great idea. != A great business.

Will PM you.

 

[Jonleehacker]

The way to success is to learn from everything you do. So have you sat down and debriefed every project?

What worked, what didn't and why?

Take that information and apply it to the next project while you are planning. If you follow that formula, success becomes inevitable. If you don't, you'll be constantly "trying" new things and wondering why you haven't made it.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[John]

There's an old thread with some good insight on the topic of ad supported sites vs.fee or payment based sites here: http://www.thefastlanetomillions.co...r-opinion-advertising-vs-payment-revenue.html

 

[zauberer]

Welcome buddy to the forum. I think you should invest your time in some major direct response education. Here are some names you should get your hands on
Jay Abraham - Mr. X Book, Stealth Marketing, Cracking the MIllionaire Code
Dan Kennedy - NO BS books, Magnetic Marketing, Renegade Millionaire
Frank Kern - Mass Control 2.0
Those will get you in the right direction.

One problem I suspect right off is that you don't have a system of revenue... it seems you've just got that one major leg to stand on.