Great thread
Excellent advice gentlemen. I think that's what happens to a lot of people. When the instant gratification doesn't happen when they feel they should, they give up. As the Net continues to grow and competition thickens, it's crucial you keep at it and constantly look for ways to re-invent yourself and improve the usefulness of your site. It's an ongoing process.
I'm going to sound like a broken record 'cause I say this a lot here and on my blog but I still believe people misinterpret how their site will be perceived by their audience. And in many cases people don't even define an audience.
They put up what they believe is useful content, but disregard how people browse the Net and interpret Web sites.
Here are some questions I think every Webmaster should ask...
1) What is the goal of my site?
Hint: The answer should NOT be... "To make money." Of course that's all of our goals, but it shouldn't be obvious when I arrive at your site. In other words, lay low on the Google ads and affiliate links if you have no traffic. And even if you do have traffic, be more selective about what you choose to promote.
The answer should be something like...
- To inform [insert audience] about [topic] and to show them [insert objective] by doing [insert main bullet points].
2) Now that I've thoroughly answered #1, what sort of questions or problems would my audience have about [topic]?
- Take some time and write out the problems, issues, concerns, etc. This is a great way to brainstorm for content.
3) What ways can I communicate the answer and/or problem solving solutions so my audience will understand?
4) How is my site different from my competition? What will my site have that the popular ones don't?
If you can't answer this or don't have any ideas on how to separate yourself, then it may be time to choose another topic.
5) Since I know who my audience is, how will they interpret my content? Have I written enough useful content that will allow them to trust me and buy products should I recommend something? Am I meeting their needs or am I trying to hard to sell them something?
This question is tough for a lot of people to answer because they haven't thoroughly completed Question 1. When you don't know who you're writing for you don't stop to think about how the content will be interpreted.
--------------------------
Of course marketing, your ability to communicate (write content) and other factors play a role in generating traffic and how successful you will be. But I still believe a large percentage of people who struggle, do not execute the above steps properly.
Just think. If people took more time to throughly complete those steps, they wouldn't struggle as much with what type of content to add. We wouldn't arrive at their sites asking "What is the purpose of this site?" Answering those questions almost forces you to build a more useful site. It will also be easier to attract a more targeted, focused audience.
This is a very good thread, Lajocar. In fact, I may start a new section here for inspiration where people can post what they've learned and inspire others.
|
Linear Mode
