So How Do You Make Money As A Web Site Publisher? 
Andy Bourland
Publisher 
ClickZ

Ultimately, there is only one question which people ask me:
How do you make any money as a web site publisher?

I am here to tell you that you can in fact make a living -- in
fact a very NICE living -- as a web site publisher. You just
need to think and act like a business person. And truth be
told, that is the most important factor: Think and act like a
business person.

I'm a pretty good cook. Should I therefore open a
restaurant or a catering business? It depends on how
well-honed my business skills are.

People launch sites every day thinking that just because
they are a great cook or games player or parent or
skateboarder that they will therefore make zillions by
launching a cooking, games, parenting or skateboarding
site. Your skill in any one of those areas is an asset, no
doubt. But you primarily need to approach web site
publishing like any other business.

Let's Talk Turkey

So how DO we look at web site publishing as a business?
Isn't just a matter of launching a site, driving traffic, throwing
up some ads and waiting for the bucks to roll in? Perhaps
in 1995, but this is 1998.

Your content must attract a definable, measurable, and
most importantly DESIRABLE audience. You must not only
attract that audience, you must keep them coming back for
more again and again and again. You earn Brownie points
if you can capture their names. More with their email
addresses. Even more with complete contact information.
And a whole bunch more if you can capture their
demographics and preference information. 

The bottom line is that the product you sell is NOT your
content. I'll repeat that: The product you sell is NOT your
content. Your content is what you use to attract a desirable
audience.

What you sell is your audience!

Is your audience is comprised of runny-nosed teenagers
with no money to spend? Is it made up of people who are,
could we say "demographically challenged"? Or is it
comprised of people who, for one reason or the other, do
not represent a group of people who are likely and
quite capable of buying particular products or services? In
that case,nobody cares how many page impressions you
are getting. Why should they?

Demanding Top Dollar

Have you noticed that the sites that attract well-heeled
business professionals who have budgets to spend are
doing pretty well these days? And if you ever bothered to
look at their rate cards, you will see they are demanding
top dollar for the quality of their audience. They are no
dummies. They understand what I am telling you now:
cultivate a desirable audience and keep them coming
back for more.

Part two of the equation is that you should pay close
attention to who is spending money advertising on the net.
Not who you WISH were spending lots of money, but those
who ARE spending lots of money advertising on the net.

Unless you are a particularly gifted sales/marketing
professional, it's pretty difficult to persuade those who don't
have online marketing budgets to create one for you. Let
the big guys develop that market. They have the sales guys
in suits with nice expense accounts to do that ground work
for you.

You need to pay attention to what advertisers ARE
spending money on the net and the kinds of sites they are
advertising on.

What keywords are they buying on the search engines.
What kinds of sponsorships are they buying. Try to
understand as well as you can what kind of AUDIENCE
they are looking for.

Then going back, get to understand what YOU could offer
that audience that isn't already being done, or is being
offered rather poorly. Create compelling content to attract,
maintain and build that audience. Get to know your
audience intimately. 

And when the time comes for you to talk to the rep firms,
tell them about your audience, their preferences, the
products they buy, the money they have to spend. Talk
about the kinds of advertisers who would do well with your
crowd, as well as those who wouldn't. A rep firm would
LOVE to do business with someone like you who
understands the business. They get dozens of calls daily
from idiots who don't know the first thing about business.

So approach it like a business. Create content that attracts
a measurable, definable, attractive audience. Understand
what advertisers who are NOW spending money on the net
would benefit from getting in front of your audience. Sign
up a rep firm who knows them on a first name basis.

You'll do well...
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http://www.clickz.com/archives/011998.html
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