.tv Business Model and DOT TV

[localexperts]

One of the biggest mistakes in launching a new site, it worrying about everything but the business model.

The right business model can help you launch a successful site.
The wrong business model can help you take a great domain/idea and turn it into the next DOT BOMB.

On http://www.cate.tv, Antonis spoke about launching DOT TV domains and finding the correct business model.

I would suggest everyone who wants to go from domainer to developer, please watch the four part series.

I know many people follow bloggers who offer certain advice and feedback based on their own experiences. Remember, they are offering feedback based on what they know - not what they don't know.

I know DOT TVs with 3,000 unique users making $0.50 per user. Not per click. Per User.

It is not smoke and mirrors. All this revenue is generated because the business model is based on a similiar math formula that underpins the internet experience.

So when you launch your DOT TV, don't forget to spend the most time working on your business model. It is the one thing that can make or break your DOT TV.

 

[mckennaronnie]

Great advice.
I think this is something many forget about when they own a great domains & say 'If i dont sell then i'll develop'
As if it's just a case of throwing up a site and watching the cash roll in.

For my Geo .Tv's i've spent months trying to work out every details of how the business will function, going through all the new concepts out there, looking at similar sites, talking to other developers...etc
Sometimes it does feel like i've wasted time when i could of had a site up & running a long time ago but i do feel safe that all the long preparation working on the business model will pay off. IMHO

It is not smoke and mirrors. All this revenue is generated because the business model is based on a similiar math formula that underpins the internet experience.

George can i ask what you mean with that line, i've never heard this being mentioned before.

 

[equity78]

I was getting ready to put up a thread that asks what is your business model. I think that is where it comes down to what you want and what you know how to do. I think a lot of times someone says ********.tv and people say cool put up a site with videos about ******* and its like what does that mean, personally I am not doing this for fun its business, you need to know how you are going to make money off the site.

Now some people might just want a little content, some adsense and the best affiliate program on the subject. That's cool but IMO that is Parking 3.0 not development of an online business. I constantly keep scrapping ideas because I say to myself "How am I going to make a living from this, how will this be better than saying would you like cheese on those fries ?" I think you need to decide why you are doing this and can you really make money developing. I think if you are in .tv people want to say well there has to be video and there has to be all of this great content. I agree but that's expensive too. Content creation is not cheap and if you just recycle YouTube 100 % that is not a model, I think you can use You Tube for filler but not your only source of content.

Now if its a hobby or extra income then I think you can do whatever you like that gets something up and better than just sitting undeveloped or a parked site. Again IMO

 

[localexperts]

Fundamentals of running a site is based on

# of impressions
conversion %
revenue/conversion

Plus how much money you wish to make

profit margin %

You can apply those three elements in various formulas that determine how much you are willing to pay to market the site. So this case, the DOT TV site I reference

conversion rate 10%
revenue/conversion $5.00

for this DOT TV every 10 visitors generates $5.00 in revenue or $0.50 per visitor

therefore, since I'm willing to generate 50% profit margin, I would be willing to pay $2.50 per 10 visitors or $0.25 per click to bring traffic to my DOT TV.

The key thing is to understand this formula so you can market your site. Otherwise, you operate under the principle of chaos marketing, which is to request some backlinks (the best sites for backlinks have long ago figured out to charge $1,000 to $5,000 a year for those placements) and pray you get traffic.

I prefer a more predictable model, where I can buy clicks, understand user behavior (which means to understand my conversion rate), and by studying this behavior - in theory I can buy unlimited traffic provided the forumula holds and I can get traffic below my minumum price point.

Hey, you asked. This is what I do all day while chatting with you nice folks. Tweek marketing campaigns to optimize these metrics. It is a full time job.

Now some people might just want a little content, some adsense and the best affiliate program on the subject. That's cool but IMO that is Parking 3.0 not development of an online business. I constantly keep scrapping ideas because I say to myself "How am I going to make a living from this, how will this be better than saying would you like cheese on those fries ?" I think you need to decide why you are doing this and can you really make money developing. I think if you are in .tv people want to say well there has to be video and there has to be all of this great content. I agree but that's expensive too. Content creation is not cheap and if you just recycle YouTube 100 % that is not a model, I think you can use You Tube for filler but not your only source of content.

I will add one more - that won't be very popular. Unless you have traffic or a large sales force, if you plan on launching a GEO DOT TV by charging a fee to list in your directory.

That model is very difficult to get off the ground unless you have a) TRAFFIC and/or b) a large SALES FORCE that can spin your site's position to be something that it isn't.

I bought my current company, because the previous owner thought that charging for a listing was the only model he could run. We make 6X the revenue now, compared to the time of purchase. All growth comes from the new model we added. The old listing model hasn't grown in 36 months.