Bracing for major traffic surge - Need business advice.

[Ronald Regging]

Lets just say you have a site thats about to get some major media coverage.
And you're poor, with horrible credit and little hope of obtaining financing on your own....

What would be the best way to handle the inevitable onslaught of traffic? I don't want my site to die just because I cant afford to handle the load. This is my first development project and it's been more of a hobby than a business venture. Believe me, I'm not making much at all after costs.

I'm just worried that a major spike in traffic is going to bury the site. Are there companies out there that would be interested in financial backing? I have no idea how all of this works or where to look. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

[SpareDomains]

depending on the category of the site, why not sell links to similiar type of sites for a monthly fee in order to afford moving the site to a vps or dedicated if it needs it assuming it is now on a shared hosting plan.

 

[Mike]

If you're expecting a major increase in traffic you want to sell banner and ad space in a CPM - Costs per thousands impressions. CTR doesn't matter - exposure matters, thus - you're selling impressions, not clicks. Most often, these CPM sales are pre-paid.

Depending on the topic your CPM can vary anywhere from $2 - $20 CPM, there are companies out there that purchase as a "middle man" between you and the final client.

Affiliate links would make sense i'm guessing, you get your share either per click or per item sold.
Look for cheap hosting, i'm not sure what traffic you're expecting, the hosting thread may have something in store for you. Some of the NP members have their own servers, i'm sure that there's the chance for an arrangement.