Actual Business Thread #2

[RyanLanane]

Carrying on in the tradition Aeon has started, which by the way that is a great thread going on over there... I figured I would start another subject that would affect all of us and most likely there will be altering opinions on.

Can any site you make, no matter whether or not there are products that would be directly marketable to your consumer base, make you money ? Let me try to think of an example...

You decide to open up a site about the Chicago Cubs, and there are no affilaite programs for you to sell Cubs merchandise through to make money.. There are no vendors that will drop ship for you, nothing... But you can get a steady amount of traffic through it. To make this discussion more debatable, let's say you can't sell any sports merchandise at all, can't link to sport's gambling sites, etc... Absolutely nothing that would demographically fit your audience.

How do you handle such a situation? Doy ou fly double click or one of the other ad agencies? Strictly Google Ad Words and pray... I am interested in hearing thoughts about this, and in a sense Aeon this does have to deal with your cross selling question, just from a different angle.

[gonzo]

Carrying on in the tradition Aeon has started, which by the way that is a great thread going on over there... I figured I would start another subject that would affect all of us and most likely there will be altering opinions on.

Can any site you make, no matter whether or not there are products that would be directly marketable to your consumer base, make you money ? Let me try to think of an example...

You decide to open up a site about the Chicago Cubs, and there are no affilaite programs for you to sell Cubs merchandise through to make money.. There are no vendors that will drop ship for you, nothing... But you can get a steady amount of traffic through it. To make this discussion more debatable, let's say you can't sell any sports merchandise at all, can't link to sport's gambling sites, etc... Absolutely nothing that would demographically fit your audience.

How do you handle such a situation? Doy ou fly double click or one of the other ad agencies? Strictly Google Ad Words and pray... I am interested in hearing thoughts about this, and in a sense Aeon this does have to deal with your cross selling question, just from a different angle.

If you have nothing to sell why would you open a free site?
With that little info you have given here and hypothetically.... at first glance Id say your revenue choices are Adwords which may or may not take you and Adbrite.

And in that case good luck with both of them.
Nick or Serge will tell you someone will always buy your traffic. You might have to go looking for them in this case..... hypothetically.

[RyanLanane]

Gonzo, why did the first free porn site ever open? :)

Eventually there will be a reason for any and every free site to be built, meaning eventually there will be someone willing to pay for the traffic.. However in the meantime you are left with nowhere but google etc..

Unless, of course, you become the company who would buy the traffic in that particular field.. I.E. The first pay porn site on the net; in your respective field.

[gonzo]

Gonzo, why did the first free porn site ever open? :)

Eventually there will be a reason for any and every free site to be built, meaning eventually there will be someone willing to pay for the traffic.. However in the meantime you are left with nowhere but google etc..

Unless, of course, you become the company who would buy the traffic in that particular field.. I.E. The first pay porn site on the net; in your respective field.

I see another thread... Sharky wants your quality traffic.

[Dravyk]

Ryan, this is my own thoughts, although they certainly parallel what Gonzo said in his first reply to you. Your question is so limiting that you've painted yourself into a corner with your words. By the way you set that up, you can only do Google because that's how you set it up.

Want to try again?

[Hell Puppy]

Anything worth doing is worth doing for money...

But with that said some of the most successful sites on the web have been created out of a true passion by their creator. In the case of a Cubs fan site, maybe a life long Cubs fan starts the site out of pure dedication to the team. Say it eventually gets a message board or something for other Cubs fans, etc.

The key is if it is indeed successful it will have the most important fuel of the internet: Traffic.

If you've got traffic, money that wants that traffic will find you.

[RyanLanane]

"But with that said some of the most successful sites on the web have been created out of a true passion by their creator"

And some of the most successful programs to overcome addictions of all sorts have been made by the people suffering those addictions themselves, such as AA

I don't want to make a program that sells people on overcoming their addictions, rather offer them a 'place' to go 'on the net' 24/7 to discuss them through message boards, chat rooms, etc.. A Place to go after a rough day, if you can't get out to hit a meeting, or if you don't like lifting the 300 pound phone at 2:00 AM.. And it wouldn't be just for gambling addicts, just for coke heads, just for any particular type of addict... It would be for addicts in general of every type.

Question is not only can money be made doing this, but why hasn't this already succeeded... I looked for such sites in the middle of the night many many many times over the years for various addictions I have had .. as was as depression, you name it.. I am yet to fdind a place with the level of activity I would have expected the web to have by now..

That's why the question was posed as it was, I really didn't want to lay all this out there, as it is somthing I am considering giving a shot. However as mentioned this really isn't something that is going to be big in traffic without spending money. You also have a highly targetted group of people at your site where alot of the products on the market in general would be offensive to one or another of them. Which is quite possibly, why it has not been done on the broad spectrum I am mentioning...

Hell, have any of you even seen AA's web site? They are far from streamlining their way on to the web which they should of done by now, as well as NA, and GA, so on ... One centralized location for all of them to discuss all addictions (as most people don't have just one) ... might fly ?

It also could very well be the stupidest damn idea, not just because addicts need people shoving it down their throats they are f'ing idiots who don't know what they are talking about in the BRASHEST way possible for them to get it.. But maybe some things jsut weren't meant for the web?

If this 'sort of thing' was however meant for the web, meaning by that that all businesses will eventually have heavy internet dependance and utilization .. I do see some advances in many other fields that are entirely untapped and are multi billion dollar businesses.

Just the rambling thoughts of someone who has screwed up alot in their life the last couple weeks though and may not be thinking 100% clearly right now...

[Hell Puppy]

Obviously I haven't looked....

But I'm shocked there isn't a good support community out there already. That's one of the things that has been one of the positive benefits of the internet and it's reach. You can typically find an online support community for almost any type of disease, condition, trauma, etc.

[Dravyk]

For what it's worth, two things. They say for writers, "write what you know". Just as that doesn't have to be the case -- Jules Verne never got to the moon or the center of the earth -- it might be a good thing for business too. Like Verne, it certainly doesn't have to be, but it doesn't hurt.

Second, I've spent the last eight or nine months, going through, reading business articles to put on MW. I've glanced at, skimmed, looked at and often read completely several thousand articles now. Some by morons, many by real experts (as opposed to pseudo-gurus). One thing that has come up often as a theme, and one which I am taking to heart in a new venture I'm working on, is do what you enjoy and try and make a business out of that.

HP said that earlier with "But with that said some of the most successful sites on the web have been created out of a true passion by their creator." And that's been true for Green Guy, PK, Dokk and his radio, JFK and his photography and tons of other adult and mainstream successes.

It's something I know that personally has been missing from many of my past business projects -- not much "soul", not enough "heart".

So, naw, Ryan. If it's something your passionate about, I say give it a whirl.

[RyanLanane]

Thanks Dravyk, I couldn't agree more with you about working on something you are passionate about. I wonder in this industry how many people truly enjoy the work they do even though they make $100K + a year...

I read a poll somewhere not long ago, might of been askmen.com and roughly 80% of men placed the importance of enjoying their job above the fianancial aspects when looking for new work.

It was also stated that a man having a job he was happy with was more likely to live a long and healthy life than a man who was very affluent living a good sex life. Who knows where they got this from, but I do remember reading it and being pretty shell shocked. Now, not so much ....

I have worked jobs laying new subflooring, 10 hour shifts, and at least 4 new backaches a day in the last couple of months and come home happier than I ever did in the normal years of the adult internet.

Now the years I was makign shitloads of money, had no worries, and this business was pure fun... That is an entirely different story

[RyanLanane]

BTW, Hell Puppy you would be very suprised..

And the information out there, it is the same information plagerized over and oevr until you get to the point where you quit clicking links because you know you will see the same stuff. There are no real communities out there I have found for a majority of the things you would expect there to be.

There are some, sure, but they are not reliable and consistent .. They don't offer you 24/7/365 - It is more like one hour a week or month the site has everyone get together type of thing. You could bookmark 500 of those things and pry find support any time of the night, but not like I expected to find when I looked...

[slavdogg]

Ryan a lot of money could be made from a forum with all kinds addicts .. coke, sex, whatever...

addiction related ad rates are pretty high and AdSense or yahoo ads are your best bet for money making in this field
Here just take a look at all the advertisers on this site addiction.com

[PornoDoggy]

For the Cubs site you mentioned, if you can't sell the "natural"/logical stuff (MLB logo'd items), then you'll have to work harder to sell something else. [Of course, the Cardinals fan in me thinks that a Cub site could do well selling, oh - herbal remedies for depression, for example. :D ]

For the other site - the idea that there is a "recovery" community out there that embraces all of the various and sundry ?A's is a myth. Drunks, druggies, gamblers, et al don't mix well. Hell, you've even got the CA (cocaine) folks who think they're different from a normal, run-of-the-mill junkie.

From a business perspective, I see far more potential in a baseball site than a recovery site.

[Hell Puppy]

For what it's worth, two things. They say for writers, "write what you know". Just as that doesn't have to be the case -- Jules Verne never got to the moon or the center of the earth -- it might be a good thing for business too. Like Verne, it certainly doesn't have to be, but it doesn't hurt.

Second, I've spent the last eight or nine months, going through, reading business articles to put on MW. I've glanced at, skimmed, looked at and often read completely several thousand articles now. Some by morons, many by real experts (as opposed to pseudo-gurus). One thing that has come up often as a theme, and one which I am taking to heart in a new venture I'm working on, is do what you enjoy and try and make a business out of that.

HP said that earlier with "But with that said some of the most successful sites on the web have been created out of a true passion by their creator." And that's been true for Green Guy, PK, Dokk and his radio, JFK and his photography and tons of other adult and mainstream successes.

It's something I know that personally has been missing from many of my past business projects -- not much "soul", not enough "heart".

So, naw, Ryan. If it's something your passionate about, I say give it a whirl.

I've been saying this for years and it most definitely applies to adult. The sites/niches that I am successful at are those that I know and like myself. You gotta still have a little bit of that horny surfer eye to understand the psychology and properly market the site.

Meanwhile, I cant sell a gay site to save my life. I just dont understand what's hot about having a big ole set of hairy sweaty balls across your nose.

It's also no coincidence that our most successful mainstream sites also again tie to something that we have a genuine interest in.

[Nickatilynx]

Ryan ,

Sorry mate LOL....but I just keep hearing this song in my head...

"I was going to build a site for addicts , but then I got high"

LOL

[Hell Puppy]

Ryan ,

Sorry mate LOL....but I just keep hearing this song in my head...

"I was going to build a site for addicts , but then I got high"

LOL

oh, that's fucking funny.

if i could find the link to the damned smilies i'd post one with a smilie laying on the floor laughing his ass off.

[RyanLanane]

Ryan ,

Sorry mate LOL....but I just keep hearing this song in my head...

"I was going to build a site for addicts , but then I got high"

LOL

Anyone have a link to the song?

Classic Nick... Classic :) One of the best smiles I have had today bro ;)

[grimm]

Carrying on in the tradition Aeon has started, which by the way that is a great thread going on over there... I figured I would start another subject that would affect all of us and most likely there will be altering opinions on.

Can any site you make, no matter whether or not there are products that would be directly marketable to your consumer base, make you money ? Let me try to think of an example...

You decide to open up a site about the Chicago Cubs, and there are no affilaite programs for you to sell Cubs merchandise through to make money.. There are no vendors that will drop ship for you, nothing... But you can get a steady amount of traffic through it. To make this discussion more debatable, let's say you can't sell any sports merchandise at all, can't link to sport's gambling sites, etc... Absolutely nothing that would demographically fit your audience.

How do you handle such a situation? Doy ou fly double click or one of the other ad agencies? Strictly Google Ad Words and pray... I am interested in hearing thoughts about this, and in a sense Aeon this does have to deal with your cross selling question, just from a different angle.


you can always find a destination for traffic. brokerages will use your traffic. also, think of demographics.. a cubs fan is going to be a baseball fan. there are plenty of affiliate networks set up for that demographic. your traffic will fit with all sorts of cross-marketed merchandise, services and websites. mlb.com, FWIW uses an ad network (i think doubleclick) doubleclick would take your traffic, target it, and spread it out under keyword demographics. A good example from a few years back is how the demographics from porn surfers overlayed with the demographic of WWE fans, Casino affiliate programs, and other such products. with the expansion of audiences these opportunities would be endless. making of a community, blog, etc to cultivate your cubs traffic will result in the bringing in of members with similar interests and compound the value of your traffic. if you have a live, clicking eyeball, with a pulse and an interest, the important thing to realize is they are probably interested in something else as well, unless they are say, Ernie Banks;) find what makes them tick, grow and cultivate a member base, or flat out sell the traffic to an agency that will use it to their own disposal as a last resort.

[Dravyk]

oh, that's fucking funny.

if i could find the link to the damned smilies i'd post one with a smilie laying on the floor laughing his ass off.HP, make your settings go to advanced posting (or whatever it's called.)

Meanwhile, 'ere you go: :bustingup

[Dravyk]

Anyone have a link to the song?

Classic Nick... Classic :) One of the best smiles I have had today bro ;)
"Because I Got High" - Afroman

It's Like, I don't care about nothin man,
roll another blunt, Yea (ohh ohh ohh),

La da da da da da La, Da Daaa,
La da da da, La da da da, La da da daaa

I was gonna clean my room until I got high
I was gonna get up and find the broom but then I got high
my room is still messed up and I know why (why man?) yea heyy,
- cause I got high [repeat 3X]

(La da da da da da da da da)

I was gonna go to class before I got high
I coulda cheated and I coulda passed but I got high
(La da da da da da da da da)
I am taking it next semester and I know why, (why man?) yea heyy,
- cause I got high [repeat 3X]

(La da da da da da da da da)

I was gonna go to work but then I got high
I just got a new promotion but I got high
now I'm selling dope and I know why (why man?) yea heayy,
- cause I got high [repeat 3X]

(La da da da da da da da da)

I was gonna go to court before I got high
I was gonna pay my child support but then I got high
they took my whole paycheck and I know why (why man?) yea heayy,
- cause I got high [repeat 3X]

(La da da da da da da da da)

I wasn't gonna run from the cops but I was high
I was gonna pull right over and stop but I was high
(La da da da da da da da da)
Now I am a paraplegic and i know why (why man?) yea heayy,
- because I got high [repeat 3X]

(La da da da da da da da da)

I was gonna pay my car note until I got high
I wasn't gonna gamble on the boat but then I got high
now the tow truck is pulling away and I know why (why man?) yea heyy,
- because I got high [repeat 3X]

(La da da da da da da da da)

I was gonna make love to you but then I got high
I was gonna eat yo pussy too but then I got high
now I'm jacking off and I know why, yea heyy,
- cause I got high [repeat 3X]

(La da da da da da da da da)

I messed up my entire life because I got high
I lost my kids and wife because I got high
now I'm sleeping on the sidewalk and I know why (why man?) yea heyy,
- cause I got high [repeat 3X]

(La da da da da da da da da)

I'm gonna stop singing this song because I'm high
I'm singing this whole thing wrong because I'm high
and if I dont sell one copy I know why (why man?) yea heyy,
- cause I'm high [repeat 3X]

La da da da da da, La da da da, Shoop shooby doo wop.

Get jiggy wit it, skibbidy bee bop diddy do wahhh

- cause I'm high [repeat 3X]

(hey where the cluck at cuz) [clucks]

Well my name is afroman and I'm from east pomdale (east-pom-dale)
and all the tolweed I be smokin is bomb as helllllll (excelent delivery)
I don't beleive in Hitler, that's what I said (oh my goodness)
so all of you skins (skins) please give me more head

[Hell Puppy]

HP, make your settings go to advanced posting (or whatever it's called.)

Meanwhile, 'ere you go: :bustingup

Found 'em, hell, that should be the default, i never noticed it... :sheep: