Minisite for Links.com?

[richrf]

Hi guys,

I have to go back to the drawing board for a while with Links.com, and rather than revert to a temporary blog format, I thought it might be worthwhile for me to investigate minisites, in order to generate some revenue.

Would a minisite be appropriate for Links.com? If so, if I want the highest quality site that has the potential for developing traffic, which of the minisite providers would be most appropriate?

As always, thanks for any advice and inisights.

Rich

 

[richrf]

I think your biggest setback is the preconcieved notion that someone else has already done it so you can't. The biggest advantage having that perfect domain name gives you is the ability to squeeze your way into the market and into people's memory. The fact that google is already doing it isn't a setback its a test case for you to evaluate the business model. If nothing else its a place for you to spider the data you need to get your project started. You don't have to take down google to be successful.

Your concept that everyone is already using google's service is a defeatist mindset thats holding you back. Until you mentioned it I didn't even know google had a business directory. You assumed I had already seen it, was using it, and you had no chance to take me as a customer. You're seeing only the obstacles instead of the potential. Not just with my idea but with every idea proposed.

I think the best place you can put that thousand bucks is into a motivational speaker course. (tony robbins?) Its very clear to those of us looking in that your biggest obstacle isn't poor scripts, competition, or any other quantatative object. Its the invisble wall you've set up where you are seeing obstacles as bigger than they really are.

The one minisite I have that earns the most money day in and day out was my own original idea. I set down, wrote the code, built the site and let it go. During the process of building links to the site I decided to look around and see if there were any sites like it. What I found was not one or two but at least a hundred other websites that have the same purpose and do the same things. Apparently my idea wasn't so original. If I had seen them first I may have given up before I started. Instead of them holding me back I looked through all of them and took inspiration and ideas to improve my own site. On one competitors site I found a design concept that has litterally doubled my CTR and thus my earnings.

I'm sure you've seen walmart move in to a small community, build a mega-store next to the small town grocery and run them out of buisiness. Links.com has the kind of instant name recognition it needs to be like walmart. Move in and kick out google, yellowpages.com ect. The only thing holding you back is you.

Hi there blaknite,

I agree with you about the unique nature of the domain name, the instant recognition (assuming it has some tie to the site subject matter), and my ability to compete by virtue of the fact I would have to spend less dollars on marketing, branding, and building name recognition. However, first mover advantage is major, and it is very difficult to compete against a dominant player in a market segment without: 1) differentiation 2) technology moat 3) good capital structure 4) subject matter expertise.

While there are many success stories out there (dwarfed by the number of failures), most of them revolve around these basic concepts. As for Tony, let me say it is far easier to make money telling people how to make money as opposed to making a business selling product or service. There are far more sites and books, for example, that tell people how to make money blogging, then there are actual money making blogs.

I am not afraid of competing, but I have been in business for over 35 years (much of it helping startups), and I know what are the key ingredients to success, and what are the major risk factors. Now, there may be venture firms that may want to fund efforts to compete against Google's search engine and directories, but I am not one of them - unless there is clear differentiation and technology barriers to entry.

Thanks much for your thoughts.

Rich

Boy, I'll bet the people reading this are thinking I actually wrote it for YOU, Rich. Ha. But I didn't offer any ideas - yet - so I don't qualify for your 'finder's fee'. All the above drivel is only one single direction, out of many you could take. But it's the one that came to me, and I wanted to present it clearly... it's helping me work out something I've been thinking of myself lately, so you could say I was writing for myself.
But I'll hit the 'reply' button and regret it later at leisure, maybe some of it will cause an inbreath in someone...
Okay, time to shave the head; anything over 3 millimeters and I feel like Grizzly Adams. Or Grisly Adams.

Hi Neil,

Darn good post. I think you understand the situation pretty well, but you probably don't realize that I have done quite a bit more research than I may have talked about.

For example, I have tried to do most of what you have suggested. I was using Wordpress as my "minisite" builder to try out different ideas. Some ideas were better than others in generating repeat traffic, but none of them scalable or worth investing in.

Your post, however, has paused me to think again about another "directory" project that I am about to embark on, and because of your post, I think I will approach this effort in a different way. I will be talking to a developer tomorrow. In the meantime, I would like to offer this to you for, what I consider to be valued advice. I would like to:

a) offer your some compensation for the advice give so far (we can PM each other if you would like to accept this offer).

b) talk to you about your services which I would like to utilize, if possible, during future development of links.com.

Let me know if you are interested in either,

Thanks for the help!

Rich

I have not read through this entire thread, but the first use that comes to my mind is Golf related.

Even something like www.ezlinks.com, which is a tee time portal.
I think that could be very lucrative, and you would have no problem finding sponsors for that type of site. Golf is big business.

Brad

Hi Brad,

Yes, golf comes up a lot in the discussions. I did try developing a golf site at one time. It was moderately successful, but I was overwhelmed with the spam and my inability to compete against the entrenched heavy hitters in the industry. I may re-look the possibilities if I can come up with a useful hook that differentiates and enhances - rather than competes - against the big guys, who have all of the content and all of the pull.

Thanks for underscoring golf as a subject domain for links.

Rich

That's the sad thing about the net. Too many names just sitting around doing no use but redirecting traffic to legit sites.

I do not begrudge others who have take their domain business in a different direction than the one that I would like to take. But, as for me, I am committed to developing Links.com into a useful site that hopefully has growth and industry name recognition.

Thanks for your comment.

Rich

 

[combs84]

What about a platform where people could "link" up all their services on one page? They could add their Twitter, Myspace, Facebook pages on the social side of things. Morething more integrated than their ugly widgets.

Then they could add their Email, Photo Accounts(photobucket), Rss News updates on the other side of things ETC ETC. Could push it as a bookmarked homepage with a Google search incorporated with it and what not.

 

[richrf]

What about a platform where people could "link" up all their services on one page? They could add their Twitter, Myspace, Facebook pages on the social side of things. Morething more integrated than their ugly widgets.

Then they could add their Email, Photo Accounts(photobucket), Rss News updates on the other side of things ETC ETC. Could push it as a bookmarked homepage with a Google search incorporated with it and what not.

I think this is a reasonable idea, but I have not seen any meta-sites ever really embraced. There were meta-search engines (e.g. dogpile), and meta-bookmark sites, but it seems like people like the real thing more. If a saw I good example of such a meta site that was successful, I might invest in the development - which would be very significant. As we speak today, the social networking sites are finding it very difficult to make a profit, because of all of the support required.

Rich

 

[Acroplex]

First, you need to write a business plan. Then, hire professionals to create an application per the plan. Then take it to public beta, before launching it. After that, start looking for investors.

The domain name is great, but undeveloped is not any better than "junkyjooboogoo.com" if it were developed per the process above.

Minisites?

LOL

 

[richrf]

First, you need to write a business plan. Then, hire professionals to create an application per the plan. Then take it to public beta, before launching it. After that, start looking for investors.

The domain name is great, but undeveloped is not any better than "junkyjooboogoo.com" if it were developed per the process above.

Minisites?

LOL

Thanks for the advice.

Rich

 

[bamaboy]

I would be better to develop a web directory instead of mini-site
coz you got a great domain name which really suites web directories.

just my 2 cents.
Good luck.

 

[richrf]

I would be better to develop a web directory instead of mini-site
coz you got a great domain name which really suites web directories.

just my 2 cents.
Good luck.

Yes, a good high quality directory, is always a possibility. However, I have not come up with a theme, so far, that I think is worthwhile, and I have not found a good directory script to test an idea on. The directory scripts that are currently available are more oriented towards creating links between sites as opposed to creating high quality, valued information. For example, eDirectory, which is probably one of the better scripts, has virtually no spam protection.

Thanks for sharing the idea with me.

Rich