Webmaster Crap
Starting an Online Business Despite Information Overload
In yesterday’s newsletter, I asked for feedback from subscribers on what they wanted to see as topics covered on WebbyOnline. One reader mentioned how he wanted to start an online business but was overwhelmed by all the information out there and really didn’t know where to start. Well, that’s actually very common. The market of making money online is SO saturated that it all combines into a big noise of claims, proof and, well – crap. I had to take this into account when I decided to start blogging on WebbyOnline. There are just SO many people out there, all claiming to have the secret to making money online. I certainly did not want to be one of those people, and I certainly don’t want to appear to be competing with all that noise.
WebbyOnline is different because I cover internet business from the REAL perspective. Sure, other people do that, too. However, I think I have a knack for explaining things in plain English. My popular site, PCMechanic, took off because of my writing about seemingly complicated computer topics in a way that others could understand and apply. My aim with this site is to demystify the art and science of running a website and making money online. There are no secrets in this business. Its all there to be known. I run an internet business every day. I’m not a millionaire, but I am successful. Its a business like any other and the rules are really no different than starting an offline business.
Cut Through the Noise
So, the first thing when looking to start an online business is – yes – cut through the noise. There is just so much NOISE out there of people trying to sell the “secrets” to making money online. Let me tell you right now – its all a bunch of horseshit. At least the marketing is. Now, I’m certainly not saying that these people don’t know what they’re doing. They do, and there are many great internet marketers that make me look like I have no clue at all. But, these guys are also master copywriters, which means when you read their stuff, you are reading SALES COPY. And if you read enough sales copy, it all starts to look the same.
So, I really think the first step to getting into this yourself is to stop reading about the stories and “secrets” of others. It’s noise. It’s distraction. And it can also lead you to think you are a failure because you’re not making the money that the “big guys” are making.
So, stop the endless reading of “making money online” websites. And next…
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Synch vBulletin Mailing List with 1-2-All
OK, every now and then I post something technical on this site, and this is one of those posts. The problem? You have a mailing list of forum members which reside in the vBulletin database. You use 1-2-All, from ActiveCampaign, to manage your email lists. vBulletin’s email system sucks in comparison because it is dirt slow and you have to baby it while it sends out emails. The solution? Use the Database Synch Add-on for 1-2-All to bring all the forum members from vBulletin into the 1-2-All software, thereby giving you a mailing list of your forum members. The database sync utility used to be an extra charge, but now they are bundling it with all 1-2-All sales.
First off, the reason this issue justifies a blog post (in my eyes) is because its anything but straightforward. For two reasons:
- vBulletin uses a strange integer format to store user permissions, so its not a simple matter of running a query on an obvious field. The email address is a separate database field, however vBulletin has an option for members to choose whether they want to allow the admins (you) to email them. And the vBulletin database is anything but straight-forward on how to extract which users are opting into the list and which are not.
- The Database Sync utility with 1-2-All allows filters, but you have to essentially trick it into doing what you want in terms of vBulletin. In essence, it seems like you have to take advantage of a potential security problem with the add-on to make it work. More on this in a bit.
So, here is how to to it. Lets get right to the point.
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Top 8 Internet Marketing Podcasts
Those of us who are interested in internet business or even just the web in general are usually fairly technology inclined. We usually like playing with tech gadgets. Our computers are usually pretty decked out and we know how to use them. And, like so many, we probably have MP3 players. Well, if so, you’re in luck (and if not, get with the times). Because podcasts are an internet phenomenon and that means that those of us who are online a lot have a bunch of great podcasts to listen to. Since internet business is sort of my thing, I am going to list out my top 8 podcasts on internet business.
- Internet Business Mastery. I have mentioned this one several times in various other posts on this blog and in the weekly newsletter. Sterling and Jay are the hosts and they do a great quality podcast on mastering internet business. They both speak out of the enthusiasm of doing it, both having quit well-paying jobs to go online full time. You can find their podcast feed here, and you can also find them in Itunes. My only gripe with this podcast is that they don’t do it often enough.
- Marketing Online Live. Another great podcast. While the title of the show points toward a general show on internet marketing, they focus more on the subject of podcasting. Of course, podcasting is a form of internet marketing, so there you go!
- SEO Advisor – Search Engine Marketing. The website isn’t that great, and his main site is basically Flashturbation. His main podcast page can be found over on Talkshoe. His podcasts are short and sweet, but they are done often and the advice offered is pretty good.
- Podcast411. A podcast about podcasting, consisting mainly of interviews with other podcasters.
- Internet Marketing, from Academy Internet. Another great podcast on internet marketing from some guys from the UK. They are not on a constant schedule with new shows, but the quality of the shows are pretty good.
- Podcasting Underground. This is another podcast about podcasting, this one from Jason Van Orden. Jason is the “Jay” of the Internet Business Mastery podcast I listed above. Jason has made quite a name for himself in the podcasting market, so he is definitely worth listening to if you want to get in on this.
- Entrepreneur’s Journey. This blog is operated by Yaro Starak and I keep up with his posts as often as I can. He also does a podcast that is all about internet marketing and business on the internet. Right up my alley. He scores some pretty interesting interviews as well.
- WebbyOnlne Podcast. A new podcast by a really cool guy named David Risley where he talks about various topics regarding internet business. Uuum, I’m not partial or anything.
Some other ones worth mentioning:
- The Optimization Series. This is a podcast by Stephen Pierce, a consummate internet marker. Good shows, but the only reason I don’t list it in the top list is because it seems as if he has really dropped down in show frequency. His last show was in 6/28/2006, which was an interview with John Reese.
- Dr. Adsense Podcast.
As I mentioned in a recent newsletter, subscribe to these podcasts (and others you may like) and take them with you on your Ipod (or whatever player you use). I like to listen to them in the car because driving time would otherwise be a waste of time. I live in Tampa, and the traffic is getting constantly worse in this city. At least I can learn something and get some ideas rather than rot my brain while staring at the bumper of the car ahead of me.
Blog Monetization, PayPerPost and Ebook Affiliate Saturation
Here is my introductory diatribe from this week’s WebbyOnline newsletter. To get this in your inbox each week, just subscribe in the form at the top of this site.
Oh, busy times. Busy times. As I said last week, I am putting Miraserver development into hyperdrive. And I’m feeling it now since I stayed up last night until 2AM working on it. Some of my readers may be used to this, but I’m usually hitting the hay before midnight, and I usually stop working earlier than that so that I can spend time with my wife. However, I decided the only way to get this thing done is to put the pedal to the metal. So, when I can, I am going to just stay at the desk and work until I drop. I am bound and determined to release a much needed update to Miraserver version 2 in the very near future.
I am also getting the master prepared to send off to the printers for our second DVD release over on PC Mechanic. This one covers Getting Started with Ubuntu Linux. It will walk you, video style, through getting up and running with Ubuntu, and we geared it toward people who are used to Windows. I’m excited to see how this new product does. For Windows users, Ubuntu can take a little getting used to. However, its really pretty simple. And the draw of it is, of course, that you can completely stock your computer with software without paying a dime.
In case you needed more proof that blogs work, here is a post which lists the top 10 blogs on the internet – some of them (as he says) having more circulation that major offline newspapers. The same blogger also posted his Top 7 Blog Monetization Methods. His seven? (1) Recursive affiliate income, (2) Direct ad sales, (3) Text-Link-Ads.com, (4) One-Time Affiliate Income, (5) Paid Reviews, (6) Google Adsense, (7) Misc Programs. I think these seven pretty much comprise the major ways to make money with ANY content website, not just a blog. I would add to the list, for me, e-commerce selling info products and a subscription membership service. In my experience, too, Adsense can be a good money-earner, however it is peanuts compared to what you can make generating your own income by way of e-commerce and affiliate sales. It takes a LOT of traffic, typically, to make any significant revenue from Adsense.
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Internet Marketing – What’s New?
Here is my introductory diatribe from this week’s WebbyOnline newsletter. To get this in your inbox each week, just subscribe in the form at the top of this site.
Well, it’s May already. Unbelievable. It seems like this year just started. Doing a quick status check on things in my own business, I really think I am putting my eggs in the right baskets right now. One of the big things I am working on is putting MUCH more focus on marketing. More focus than I ever have, actually. And its almost embarrassing to say that, up through 2006, I really have not paid any real attention to the marketing aspect of my business. What a GROSS oversight on my part, and one that I am determined to preach about on WebbyOnline so that others don’t ignore it in their own businesses. The internet has exploded since I first started in this industry. And things change so fast. If I (and you) don’t monitor what is happening, market constantly, produce QUALITY products and stand out, I (and you) will get surpassed. There is just SO much competition out there, and all of us have such a wide variety of information to feed off of in our drive for success. Well, one of the big things I am doing is ACTIVELY feeding on the information that is out there, reading about the successful actions of others, and REALLY looking at my own business in terms of what I can do to market it.
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Why a Drop in Adsense Revenue?
I recently made some adjustments to the layout over at PCMech. Nothing I thought was very drastic. I was simply re-organizing some elements and fixing some long-time problems (like creeping CSS layers in IE). Well, after I went live with the new layout, I began keeping a close eye on the various revenue sources. One of the things that caught my eye big time was a drastic reduction in clicks generated by Google Adsense. The CTR (click-through radio) went down by almost 0.5%, which is quite a bit. And since it is clicks which generate revenue, that obviously affects my bottom line.
I had a few theories on why this might be the case and I started looking at the situation. My theories are:
- The ad is placed right next to the tabbed content loader, so perhaps users are more interested in that than the ads.
- When I changed the design, I also changed the URL structure to the articles. I made sure that all the pre-existing URLs to articles still work (don’t want to break any pre-existing links), but I made all the articles use the titles to generate the URL, much like Wordpress does. I did this because using keywords in the URL is much better for SEO than an article ID number. Problem is, all those new URLs are new to Google, too, and the ads may not be as well targeted as they were, thus generating less click traffic.
You can view our new review on the Ion DEC-180 Digital Media Center to see what I am talking about.
Right now, I am leaning toward the second item above as the likely explanation. In order to help just a bit, I went ahead and adjusted the colors of the ads so that the links match the link color in the site’s articles. That is always a good idea. And, to test my theory, I set up a URL channel in Adsense so that I can track revenue based on the URL being used to call up the ad. I have URL channels now set up for the old article URL format, and another for the new article URL format. I can then see which is generating the higher click-through. My guess is that the new URLs just have not been spidered yet by Google. Once they have, I bet the revenue will increase. We shall see, and I will let you know.
How Projects Really Work
I found this one this evening and thought it was hilarious. And I’ve been in this business long enough to know that this is pretty much EXACTLY how it usually works.
I think one of the biggest drawbacks to hiring a web developer is the lack of knowledge. Web developers can be a bit cocky to begin with. Couple that with the drive to make as much money as possible, and essentially they turn into a car salesman with a pocket protector. You need a simple form to take name and address and email it to you? Oh sure! We can do it for you! It will take us a week and it will cost you $1500. My ass!
And this is especially bad in big corporate circles. You gotta love these morans, too. Because none of the people in the corporation are playing with their own money, they insist on going with the most expensive and non-workable solutions around. They want ALL Microsoft stuff, for example, when freebie open source stuff will do the job ten times better, more securely, and cheaper by far. I served a brief stint over at CitiCorp back in college and recall how they were getting big into Cold Fusion work (back when it was still Allaire). Sure, they could do everything they needed with freely available languages, but they insisted on running Windows servers and buying corporate licenses to Cold Fusion, many of which sat on the shelf unused.
Not to toot my own horn (ok, maybe just a little), but when clients come to me for work, I always give them a fair estimate based on what is really involved. I will also explain to them how its going to be done and why. No mysteries. It just gives web developers a bad name, because at some point, some time, the client is going to know the true value of the work that was done. And as any service provider knows, a negative complaint that circles around can have up to 10 times the impact as a positive testimonial in the other direction.
StumbleUpon – Good For Promo?
In looking at my referrers in Google Analytics, I often see StumbleUpon.com as one of the referrers. I checked it out some time ago and thought the idea was very cool. It really is the ultimate social networking site. OK, well, maybe not “ultimate”, however cool nonetheless. It essentially uses the StumbleUpon community to scour the web looking for cool sites. When a site is voted on by a user, it gets into the network and other users with similar interests may stumble upon it. Oh, and the name comes from the fact that you “stumble upon” the site. With the toolbar installed, you just hit “Stumble!” and it will take you to a new website in the interest categories you select. It’s a great way to find sites you didn’t know about.
But, what about promotion of your own site? Cemonko gave a quick popularity update of his own site and mentioned that he will continue to use StumbleUpon.com to drive traffic to his blog. Light bulb goes off – I go install the StumbleUpon toolbar for Firefox. I’m curious to see just how well it does in promoting WebbyOnline.com. See, WebbyOnline really is a little experiment, in a way. I’ve had PCMech for some time and it has so much inertia that it promotes itself. Before I launched this site, it had been some time since I have dealt with a brand new site with little traffic. So, its an interesting exercise.
I’ll let you know if I notice anything from StumbleUpon. What about you? Have you found StumbleUpon either cool or useful in promo?
Google’s Sense of Humor
I don’t have any particular proof of this other than an email I got yesterday from a guy over at PCMech, but it appears Google was playing an April Fool’s joke on the internet yesterday. According to the email, Google had this linked up on their homepage yesterday. So, its talking about free in-home wireless broadband. Weird, but then again, Google gives alot of crap away for free. But, then you see “Vacuum-sealed to prevent water damage”. WTF? Click on installation.
Google TiSP (BETA) is a fully functional, end-to-end system that provides in-home wireless access by connecting your commode-based TiSP wireless router to one of thousands of TiSP Access Nodes via fiber-optic cable strung through your local municipal sewage lines.
I like at the bottom:
We’re actively developing a higher-performance version of TiSP specifically tailored to small and medium-sized businesses, including 24-hour, on-site technical support in the event of backup problems, brownouts and data wipes.
This is Google’s April Fool’s gift to those of you who always dreamed of surfing the net while taking a shit.
Lazy Linkage – Issue One
There is a lot of interesting stuff out there on the web. Typically, my blog posts are mostly me talking. Sometimes, though, it is nice to point some attention at other items of interest. After all, blogging is all about conversation. So, I am going to do posts like this probably at least weekly, and here we go with the first “issue”.
- Do These Headlines Work For You?
This post talks about writing headlines and lists some examples for headlines that grab attention. - 8 Fresh Wordpress Themes
Smashing Magazine does it again with another compilation post. You might notice a similarity between #3 and Buzzscreen.
- Launch Your Own Subscription Site & Keep The Money Coming
This is a great post and speaks to an endeavor I may partake in soon. - A-Z of Podcasting
PodcastFreq is beginning a series of posts discussing podcasting tips. She’s posted A through F at this point, so there is still a lot more to go. - Making Money Because of Your Blog
This post is a little old, but true just the same. He talks about the indirect monetary benefits of a blog site. - What the Hell Should I Do with This Blog?
Andrew thinks out loud with what to do with his site. I find this one interesting because I am one of those people who now run a blog that directly competes with him. Well, I shouldn’t say “compete” because, honestly, its all about the networking. He does a great job with his site, and what he says is true – there are a lot of people out there writing about what he and I write about – making money online. It’s true, viewed totally as a market, this one is a bit saturated. Opinions are like assholes, and this field of how to make money online is no different. Food for thought there, Andrew. - Giveaway of the Day
This site posts a free software utility daily. And these are licensed programs, not programs which are always free. - Interview with Marcus Frind, from PlentyofFish.com
This interview is about a year old now, but worth a read. To get your attention, his site generated (at the time) $10K per day from Adsense. Gulp! - Amazon’s War on Statsaholic
This is an interesting post from TechCrunch. It also caught my attention because I used to hot-link PCMech’s Alexa graph on my local homepage and noticed a couple days ago that it no longer worked. This explains why… - Authorize.Net Launches Recurring Billing API
This is big news for Authorize.Net users (and there are a lot of them, including me). Now you can automate subscription sales rather than having to go into the merchant interface and set it up manually.
Happy surfing!
I'm David Risley. I've been making my living as a blogger for over a decade. Blogging is my business and how I support my family. With this blog, I'm just gettin' REAL and telling you how this business works. 
