Watch Me Make A WebSite: Part II
In a post made more than 2 weeks ago, I offered to let you watch me make a website. I bet you were wondering whether I’d hold true to that promise.
Well, the 2+ week delay is actually a good indication of how I work. Google has called it something like “organized chaos.” Each day that I wake up, my interests are slightly different and I usually focus on the project that I’m most excited about *on that day.* Over time, my mind naturally comes up with new ideas, and I either write them down or store them in my mind for a future date until I feel like acting on them.
I find that I work best in the context of “organized chaos” – it allows me to work on a number of projects at once and take advantage of two facts: 1) I need variety or else I get burnt out and 2) most projects that I work on need time to germinate.
And the point of this commentary? Well, the point is that over the last 2 weeks I’ve not completely abandoned the project. I’ve thought about it in about 4 or 5 showers since;-) And now I have a plan.
Here’s the Plan
The domain is http://www.onebigmaine.com. With each informational site that I start, I like to maximize the “areas of monetization” up front. In fact, I like to identify at least 3 distinct regions of the site that will each monetize separately.
The great thing about dividing your site into regions is that you not only identify and enable your monetization strategy, but you also provide natural “entry points” for link building. Let me emphasize that! The best linkbuilders out there are familiar with this strategy, but most beginners aren’t aware: do not limit your linkbuilding strategy to your home page.
Identifying Five Potential Regions
With the OneBigMaine site I’ve identified 4 regions for monetization. Region 1 is the main page (i.e. the home directory) and it will serve as an informational guide (i.e. articles) on the state of Maine (property buying, history, vacation info, etc.). Region 2 is a blog about Maine, focusing primarily on Maine related news. Region 3 will be a property and rentals listing section of the site where people will pay an annual fee to list their Maine vacation homes. Region 4 will be a OneBig feed list and will serve a dual function. First, it will be a huge PageRank boost (getting linked in from more than 10 other sites in the OneBig network). Second, it will serve as an informational source showing up to the minute Maine related blog headlines. Region 5 will be a Maine related niche directory.
I’ll start by unleashing Region 1, Region 2 and Region 4 at the beginning without much fanfare. I’ll probably even let these 3 regions of the site stand alone for 3-6 months while they incubate, collect links and content, and establish trust in the Search Engines. During that time, not much effort will be put into site aesthetics, etc. 3-6 months down the road, after content is in place and links have been built, I’ll gloss-out the site and give it a nice appearance.
So, over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting on my thoughts and experiences with implementing Region 1, Region 2 and Region 4 and hopefully giving you ideas to consider when starting your own site.
Share your thoughts!!!