5 steps to a profitable website

5 Steps to a Profitable Website

929 West Street, Suite 210, Annapolis, MD 21401 I ph. 410-263-1641 fax. 410-280-0255 I JeCoAnnapolis.com

Entrepreneurship

“Entrepreneurs take risks, experiment with new technologies and ideas, and bring about the creative destruction that enables capitalism to flourish.”

-Joseph Schumpeter


2004 ExperimentPolitical Action Group, established May 2004• No Facebook• No Constant Contact• No Open Source, CMS• No PayPal• Crude web tools (html) Democracy In Action

Six Months Later• 25,000 members across the US• $325,000 raised


Stumbling Blocks• We had no easy way to add content• We needed a searchable database for the

directories that we could manage ourselves• We only wanted to enter calendar info once• We didn’t know what we were doing• We didn’t know how to sell it

The Turnaround• We found a Content Management System (CMS) that

we could work with and that allowed us easy access and the ability to make changes

• We established goals and priorities• We learned the essentials for monitoring our progress

(Google Analytics, Alexa, Compete)• We bundled all marketing products• We got our entire team on board and made sure that

all non-selling staff could do web updates

Targeted Rates vs. Google Rates


US population: low cpm $2-6

Maryland population: $6-10 cpm

Central MD population: $10-14 cpm

Central MD population: ages 24-49 $14-20 cpm

Current CF Web RatesBanner: $19.75Tower: $16.25

Central MD ages 24-49 and parents children cpm $20-35

Web Traffic = Revenue


ChesapeakeFamily.com Dec 2008 Oct 2009 Oct 2010 Last 30 days 2011

Visits 3,739 7,957 12,224 18,087

Pageviews 12,847 24,575 40,365 49,639

Traffic Increases 113% 54% 48% in 3 months

Web Revenue Increases 91% 27% 34% in 3 months

Sold Out• Banners and Towers will sell out – natural

progression• Increase traffic to sell by segment• Sell everything

Web Sales Opportunities*Per Month Revenue

Banner Ads – Run of Site (7@$395 – 20,000 impressions) $2765

Banner Ads – by Section (9@$225 – 20,000 impressions) $2025

Tower Ads – Run of Site (16@$325 – 20,000 impressions) $5200

Tower Ads – by Section (60@$195 – 20,000 impressions) $11700

Directory Sponsors (7@$425 per month – waiting list) $2975

White Paper Sponsors (6@$225) $1350

Seasonal Calendar sponsor (1@$250) $250

Premium and Prem Plus Directory Listings (100@$725/yr) $6042

Video Sponsor

Article Sponsor

E-newsletter

Total per month – average, reasonable web revenue $32,307


*100,000 monthly page views

5 Steps to Build Web TRAFFIC and Make Money!

1. Well designed website2. Search friendly page names3. Fresh Content = Daily updates4. Directory listings with microsites5. Repurpose content


#1 Good Web Design#1) Home Page - What do you want readers to do? Keep it above the fold:Search , Navigation, E-newsletter signup, Daily Updates

#2) Make content web compatible – repurpose content, use audio, video

#3) Build a relationship with the readers – convert visitors to subscribers, speak to audience

#4) Build Community• Encourage reader interaction• Comments help increase • Visitors and subscribers


#2 Search Engine Friendly Page Titles and URLS


Alexa Ranking (Google is Number 1)Baltimore’sChild.com: 2,145,333ChesapeakeFamily.com: 227,406PrivateSchoolReview.com: 52,359

#3 Fresh Content = Daily updates


Sources

•Press releases

•Local hospitals

•Health Department

•Board of Education

•Museums

•Dept of Natural Resources

#4 Paid Directory Listings/Microsites


Microsite100@$65/mo$78,000/year

Premium Plus Directory Listings4 to 6 time more direct clicks to your listing than a basic listing…

•Highlighted position in Directory•A personalized microsite•Your logo•Google map to your location•Video or Photo Slide Show•Live Web Link•Extended Description•$65/month for 12 month

#5 Repurpose ContentCalendar Content Starts Online=>

seasonal events with a sponsor – print and onlinee-newsletter

School Directory Online=> annual print directory in monthly pubannual specialty education guideannual book of lists (phone book)Open House directoryinclude in sponsored White Paper

Health Directory Online=>Family Favorite Docs in Julyannual specialty health guideannual book of lists


Who’s Paying Attention?• Who is responsible? – can change quickly• Monetary Goals• Traffic Goals • Incoming Links• Bounce Rate• Landing Pages• Exit Pages• Key Web Metrics


MainStreetFamily.com• A single resource for parents across the country to

find information on providing the best of everything for their family.

• Network of parenting publication websites, this aggregator web site will provide local traffic to each individual website as well as be a go-to source for parents who travel to various parts of the country and need parenting help and advice.

• Focusing on Family Travel and Fun• Links to local parenting sites in at least 2 different

places will increase YOUR web traffic

Link to local travel destinations

Link to local site

Link to local siteAt end of each published article

The Connection to Local Parenting Websites

National AdvertisersAd credibility

To Participate…• Submit 2 articles each month • Submit 5 regional calendar-worthy events per

month• Include a link back to MSF on your website• Keep a great website

• Building websites for businesses/publications• Consulting to help you grow your revenue

Contact us:Heather Grant 410-263-1641 ext 202

[email protected] Jefferson 410-263-1641 ext 200

[email protected]

5 steps to a profitable website

Business

site

sell

000 impressions

suite 210

cms

annapolis

jecoannapolis

5 steps