The Million Dollar Wiki - Keep, Develop, Partner, or Sell?

[RJ]

I need some advice, NamePros.

So I bought this project about a year and a half ago from Graham Langdon who was selling it to fund his new startup, EntreCard.

The site is called the Million Dollar Wiki.
Million Dollar Wiki

MDW has had a few periods of momentum where pages sold well, and slow periods where none have sold. I understand the concept is somewhat gimmicky to begin with, but I still hold out hope that something could be done with it.

The problem I seem to have is a lack of devotion to the project between NamePros and my the other businesses I help run. MDW keeps being put on the back burner. I'm looking at it now and trying to figure out my best move for it.

Options -

Keep - Keep it as it, hold and do nothing. It remains a passive but infrequent source of revenue. Maintenance is easy enough.

Develop - Devote time, effort and money into improving the site and product offering, hope for success.

Partner - Retain full or partial ownership but partner with one or more partners who can develop and/or promote the project better than I have. Hope for success and share revenue.

Sell - Exit project, selling in whole to a new owner.

What would you do?

Ron


More info about MDW....

What is the Million Dollar Wiki?

The Million Dollar Wiki is basically a pay-per-page wiki site. It is similar in structure and function to Wikipedia in that there will be a page for literally everything. However, instead of being open for anyone to edit, one person owns each wiki page and controls its content.

The goal is to develop a thriving community of page owners and developers while selling 10,000 pages at $100 each. Since it's launch, Million Dollar Wiki has already become a micro-economy of pages filled with informative, entertaining and resourceful content.


Who created the Million Dollar Wiki?

The Million Dollar Wiki was created by Graham Langdon, a 21 year old senior from the University of Connecticut. Instantly drawn to wikis as a revolutionary platform, Graham started thinking about more practical applications and potential business models. After a concept breakthrough, Graham Langdon invented the pay-per-page wiki business model and transformed the whole idea into the Million Dollar Wiki.


How does The Million Dollar Wiki work?

Every page is dedicated to a unique word or phrase. The content on each page is controlled by the page’s owner. Owners use the site, and specifically their page, as a vehicle to generate traffic, revenue or publicity.


Who owns pages?

Anyone who want to raise product awareness, increase their website’s traffic, improve their website’s SEO, develop their name, build their web presence, or make a profit from resale of the page at a later date.

As a wiki page owner, YOU decide what content to publish on that page. People have used their pages to set up forums, post their blog feeds, display YouTube videos, sell art, put up their own Google ads, and so much more. The possibilities are far and wide.

How much does a page cost?

Each wiki page only costs a one time fee of $100.

 

[-REECE-]

That's pretty cool RJ! I saw that site on JohnChow.com awhile back -- never knew you were the owner

Finding a partner sounds like the best option to me, taking into account you have other priorities.

 

[RJ]

Yep, Graham sold around 70 pages @ $100 each as a result of the blog post on JohnChow.com. I bought the project after the initial momentum had slowed, believing I could convert it to a long term business model.

 

[BitcoinDK]

The ideas seems interesting.

But to tell the truth, I am a little confused on who and why people would visit this site?

If it gets a lot of traffic, its a good window to advertise for those who buy a wikipage, but what would make people visit this site?

Just my honost opinion.

I would say, that you would be better off selling this project and concentrate on your other projects.

Good luck either way.

 

[-REECE-]

If you do a google search on "Million Dollar Homepage" (a homepage that did indeed make $1,000,000), that is basically the idea. If the site gets lots of traffic (or maybe even just a little for something which converts well or pays out big time on conversions), then people buying wikis will turn a profit off the visitors coming to their website through the wikis.

The ideas seems interesting.

But to tell the truth, I am a little confused on who and why people would visit this site?

If it gets a lot of traffic, its a good window to advertise for those who buy a wikipage, but what would make people visit this site?

Just my honost opinion.

I would say, that you would be better off selling this project and concentrate on your other projects.

Good luck either way.

 

[dmi]

I didn't know you are the owner!

Develop - Devote time, effort and money into improving the site and product offering, hope for success.

I really believe that the idea is great, and that the owner (now you) could make a lot of money. If I were you, I would improve the site a bit first, and then start advertising. I'm convinced that you can make good money with it.

Good luck!

 

[-REECE-]

Advertising -- maybe John Chow is worth another go

I didn't know you are the owner!

Develop - Devote time, effort and money into improving the site and product offering, hope for success.

I really believe that the idea is great, and that the owner (now you) could make a lot of money. If I were you, I would improve the site a bit first, and then start advertising. I'm convinced that you can make good money with it.

Good luck!

 

[dmi]

That's one of the options, definitely. It's not that expensive to buy banner space or a featured post (even better, imho) on the most "famous" webmaster blogs, such as JohnChow.com or Shoemoney.com.

Advertising -- maybe John Chow is worth another go

 

[Keral_Patel]

I would say partner up

Counting it based on $$$ even if you sell it off it will fetch you X amount of money.

Make that your initial target. Get a partner and if you are offering 50-50 then tell him to generate double the amount that you were going to get from selling the whole thing. So your selling amount is in your pocket yet you own the site

 

[theSun]

No creativity.

1. Why will you go to there when you have wikipedia.org?
2. Nothing unique.
3. Another copy cat from milliondollarhomepage. People don't click copycat.

Have to speak up frankly so you can stay focus and realize reality.

 

[Keral_Patel]

Sorry if I disagree.

1. Why will you go to there when you have wikipedia.org?

Because wikipedia doesn't allows you to put your own links on it.
While here you control your own page.

2. Nothing unique.

Hmm it is unique and infact this is the very first site of its kind. More clones might have jumped up after that but this is the real MillionDollarWiki

3. Another copy cat from milliondollarhomepage. People don't click copycat.

Idea might be similar but potential isn't limited. If we start thinking like this then .us, .org and all are copycats of .com :imho:

 

[GF]

I think you should partner with someone that way you can retain it as a passive revenue stream.

---------- Post added at 10:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:08 PM ----------

The current economic conditions = buyer's market.

You'd be selling for less than you should sell for, therefore by partnering you can have the best of both worlds = immediate cash + long-term passive cash.

 

[BitcoinDK]

Sorry if I disagree.


Because wikipedia doesn't allows you to put your own links on it.
While here you control your own page.

You are looking at it from the publishers point of view. Try looking at it from the visitors point.

Why would the normal visitor (the normal user that are not one of them who has bought a page to advertise), use this site when they have Wikipedia and other information sites?
Why would they visit a site they know people has bought a page at and are advertising or making propaganda from the page?
Why would a visitor read that page, when they can't be sure it is true what is writting in that page?

I am afraid this only will be a site where those who are interested in buying a page in it will visit. No normal visitor would visit it I fear. And whitout normal/ real visitors, why would one buy a page if it can't convert to some value to the buyer of the page?

This is not to trash, but to give an honest opinion.

 

[Keral_Patel]

Maybe you are looking at it from Domainer point of view

If you look at it from SEO point of view. You will know that what people pay to get links from a page.

Sorry not trying to say that I like it just because I said that I liked it for one time. I said same thing about that mysterious domain auction idea we had sometime ago and which the guy closed it down after some bids. That was also a great idea. Why people were going to bid if they didn't even knew what a domain name would be? But still they were bidding.

Same way here too. It is just about marketing and giving the things to the people who want that kind of things.

 

[BitcoinDK]

Im not saying that people will not buy a page, I am sure they will.

What I am saying is I dont think real visitors will visit the site. With real visitors, I mean visitors that are not one of those who has bought a page or interested in buying a page. I can't see a reason why real visitors would visit this site?

But people buying a page, yes I am sure there will be people who do that. People also reg. all kind of domain names that makes one think "what have they been smoking!?"

 

[DN BROKER]

Viewing the site from my wide screen monitor / firefox, the page does not look right. The layout is out of shape.

As far as the site goes, it's a good idea.

The site design itself is poorly coded and designed. I would invest in re-designing it! I'm turned off the minute i visited the first page and browsed through the site. I would put my money in a NEW LOOK!

A while back in Marketing class, I watched a presentation by a marketing company. A Facial Creme Bottle sold for $5 US Dollars for a big jar "1 Liter" - unfortunately it did not do so good in the market. So the company went ahead and hired a marketing company and paid them to re-design it. 5 months later, they sold the same product in a tiny see through container the size of a golf ball for $50 US Dollars! That's all it took for the company to sell millions!

A New Design - should be your focus.

Best of Luck

 

[Meongtae]

I see it as becoming an expensive yellow pages. Unless I am missing something entirely.
I guess I dont see why people would go there if the info was avail elsewhere, unless there were links to it.
And then I would think people would already have what they need.
MDHP was one page, thats why it was cool. everything on one page, and it was more of a curiosity than anything else.
Yeah, I am missing something.

 

[fish]

If you look at it from SEO point of view. You will know that what people pay to get links from a page.

Okay, let's take a look from a SEO perspective. What if Google penalizes the entire site and strips all the PageRank and link value? There goes that angle. This probably happened already, even though it appears to still have a PR3 homepage.

And now from a visitor perspective. I looked at a few of these pages, and saw a lot of worthless content, affiliate links, nothing that would offer any value whatsoever to a user.

This is like a watered-down, spammy, paid version of Squidoo. Although if you can get people to pay $100/page every now and then, might as well keep it. You could maybe try advertising it on John Chow again to see if you can get some "internet marketers" to buy some pages. I'm sure the resale value at this point has greatly diminished from whatever you bought it for.

Sorry for being harsh, I just honestly don't see how this is "long term" at all. If anything, it's a fad which passed a long time ago.

 

[Keral_Patel]

Okay, let's take a look from a SEO perspective. What if Google penalizes the entire site and strips all the PageRank and link value? There goes that angle. This probably happened already, even though it appears to still have a PR3 homepage.

That is why I said look it from SEO point of view. You are not even knowing what and why google will penalize it.

Even thought PR 3 on homepage. Does that mean it is penalized? Even Namepros can be penalized. Even sites in my sig here can be penalized.

I am saying there will be rules. Of what can be put on and what could not be put on those purchased pages. Total Spam and XXX content pages will be deleted and no refund given.

Out of that every 100 Dollars some percentage will go towards the marketing of the whole site as well as that particular page.

Phone brb :talk:

Yes back now...

So I was saying that it depends on who owns that site. That is why maybe RJ has started this thread to get some comments, ideas, opinions and ways to get the money out of it. [Keeping the users also happy is important]

Now on a PR 2 inner page no one will mind paying 2 dollar a month to get his advertisement in. [I am just counting 50 Months here at 100 dollars spent]

Next boost if one wants is to get all the money that is being generated in starting to be spent of pre-created pages and get them indexed and put on some unique content. Then this pre-created pages could also be sold. They will go faster then the one that is created after the payment is done.

As for penalty. Yes never said anything should be done to get penalized.

No SPAM, No XXX Content, No Outgoing links then Max number of Links, No Copycontent. Take adsense code of the guy who buys the page and allow him to put his adsense or any banner code. Maybe that will help him get his 20 dollars out of his 100 in 5 years.

Every 10 - 20 dollar counts as this is 100 dollar game.

And if someone is not bothered to get 10 - 20 then I guess he isn't even bothered about 100. So spending 100 is not a big thing for him.

I am trying to just post positive stuff about it. If I start posting negative then I can post negative stuff too. But I can post negative stuff for everything I know. Even google.com and even microsoft.com but I know guys over there aren't fools and they will not take steps that will hurt their business. Negative things are just there to be kept in mind while positive things are there to be implemented.

Thanks.

 

[fish]

That is why I said look it from SEO point of view. You are not even knowing what and why google will penalize it.

It's called selling links. There's more info on this page: Paid links - Webmasters/Site owners Help

I am saying there will be rules. Of what can be put on and what could not be put on those purchased pages. Total Spam and XXX content pages will be deleted and no refund given.

I agree. Some rules would definitely be a good thing. The "no refund given" part might be a little too much. I can imagine if people paid for their page and got it deleted with no refund, they'd be pretty angry.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be negative or overly critical. There is definitely room for improvement.