FAIR WARNING! Not All Websites Are Created Equal

 

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But hang on a minute you say, I thought everyone was doing it; there are certainly a massive number of websites up for sale, all of a sudden. Well, yes, and no. Yes, there a lot of websites for sale at the moment, but no, they are by no means fully functioning and highly optimised. All that glitters is not gold, as you well know, and it really does pay to take a peek at the pig-in-a-poke, before deciding if it's the future you want to be involved in.

The eye-candy can be pretty impressive!

Don't misunderstand me, as the one-time owner of a graphic design agency in London, I've had years of real-world experience in the cut and thrust heights of national campaign advertising, research agencies, ad agencies, print brokers and print shops. I really do understand what good design has to offer, and how to achieve it. As far as I'm concerned, it's the cherry on the cake.

But in my world, only cakes that are truly "good enough to eat" actually need apply for that cherry, if you follow me.

 

Just come across from Flippa.com?

Press the button above to cut directly to the chase
(or carry on reading about my web-building ethos, below)

 

Here's a more familiar way of putting it...

What possible benefit is there in dressing something up to look good, when it's not really 'fit for purpose'? Well, I'll tell you one; you could make a fast buck that way. Back to the old cat-in-the-sack, or the 'pig' in a poke trick. An old one, but a good one. Any market trader knows how to find a gullible prospect, and can change his tune accordingly, without skipping a beat.

I've watched them in London (back of Brick Lane), shouting from their dodgy market stalls, all microphoned up, and blaring at a crowd of eager plastic-bag clenching punters. "Who wants all this luvverly loot for ohnlee a fiver?" they shout, incredulously. Yeah, right, a plastic bag full of dud batteries, or scart cables with dry joints, or saucepans with wobbly handles - you can picture the traders I mean, can't you?

And the bit that really gets me, the crowds they drum up! Bigger every week. It's a real steal...

I'm sure you know the type of thing I'm on about here. So believe me when I say, you really should be careful about what you're actually getting with your 'website' from some erm, shall we say, market traders. I'll tell you what I stand for - then you can go back to comparing us all.

Quality Structure, Current Market Ananlysis, Future-proofed

I don't call them 'web properties' for nothing, you know! In the same way we all like our houses to be built properly (well, most of us do) - I think we should demand the same of our websites. Because the web is still so new - yes! - it is (if you compare it to 'houses' for example) there's a lot of leeway as to what actually deems a solid structure. You'll find friends and foes of all the points I'll address here, don't worry!

 

Just come across from Flippa.com?

Press the button above to cut directly to the chase
(or carry on reading about my web-building ethos, below)

 

Do You Interact With People Or With Machines?

Every one of my websites are built to interact with people, not with their mouse-clicks.

Although my site architecture and back-end development is unfairly geared towards all that entails “getting clicks”, my actual site design, or ‘skin’ if you will, has a real voice, and is all about real people.

I have always argued that the only convincing way to sell to a 'real person', is to be a real person yourself!
You might want to read that bit again.  There still are so many companies out there frantically peddling websites/web design (not to mention countless individuals and script kiddies), that have never even taken one second to consider the very real needs of their so-called ‘targets’.  These companies and individuals remain focused on, or distracted by, the 'bling' of 'webdesign', and by doing so, completely miss the real point of online commerce.

Believe it. Don’t you make the same mistake now.

 

 

Why I Build Better Websites

OK, so my websites focus on select niche markets, nothing new there.  However, I do go to great lengths to be sure that the market intelligence I painstakingly gather before starting any project is current, factual and proves beyond doubt that the market is hungry. I have developed my own working process for doing this. It's fairly quick, but man, is it efficient!

The sites I sell are by-and-large ‘starter’ versions of sites I would otherwise keep and use to bolster my own continual income.  Think of them as being in ‘beta’ development right now, and right now you have privilleged 'over-the-shoulder' access to their inner workings, as you snap them up at a bargain price.  Once these sites age and begin to really show their pedigree, I’ll easily sell them for five times the price. Or I could set them to pasture for a year, and come back to demand ten or twenty times this price. Easy.

But that's not my bag, not really.  I enjoy the cut and thrust of the research, and don't mind providing a few 'bare-bones sites'(*) here and there for some quick cash.  It's fun, and I like it!  But make no mistake: there are no shortcuts taken “just because” the site is not going to be one of my ongoing revenue streams.

I take great pride in my work, and get a kick out of carving out little niches in what can turn out to be very large cakes indeed.

Want a slice?

 

 

Allow Me To Dash Your Dreams Right Now

I won’t lie to you here either.  There just is no ‘set it and forget it’ solution to getting rich online.  I would love to show you where it was, if it existed, believe me.  Think of the cash I’d make driving people to that blog! All I can say, after working in this area (web development & design) for well over 10 years, is that your success here is based on the exact same things as in every other walk of life:

• The Pareto principle, also known as the good old "80/20 rule"
  I like to think of this rule as: work smarter, not harder!
  
  
• Practise makes perfect!  [straight from the wiki]”..the act of rehearsing a behavior over and over, or engaging in an activity again and again, for the purpose of improving or mastering it, as in the phrase "practice makes perfect".
  
  
• Good fortune, Fortuna, or Lady Luck.  Asks: Is she on your side today?

 

 

So Where's The Good News?

Because I have been working in this field long enough, and have more than a fair grounding in business matters (I own and part-own several offline businesses), I know how to make my invested time pay off.  I don’t hang about overly long with things that will not make me money later on down the line.  I have perfected a system for building quality ‘first line’ websites, which are perfect for rigorously testing markets – and they work almost completely on autopilot.

You will have to do some work, though :)

This, my own web-development system, involves many steps, and is foremostly based on accurate and thorough market analysis, (to qualify the investment) followed by a robust site architecture (to genuinely deliver the features that the market demands), and lastly, a site-wide design ‘flavour’ that enhances the visitors’ experience whilst at my site, including my efforts to gently diffuse an aura of trust and credibility, particularly focused to be picked up by the market segment demographic.

This method is powerful - and I am currently using my spare time to author a 'How To' guide on this deeper-level psychological trigger research. If your juices are flowing, bide your time by typing "social cognition" into Google... (and make sure you get on one of my mailing lists... hint, hint)

I am of the opinion that these measures subconsciously stack all the chips in OUR favour, and lead ultimately to more consistent sales performance, which I beleive is the real reason we're both here...

 

 

Serious Research Always Pays

OK, it's hard work, and the short-cuts are not always the time-savers, but the end result does justify the means. And that goes twice-over (at the very least) when you have had all this work done for you by a qualified third party (me, in this case!).

Using a variety of keyword gathering and analysis techniques (no, I won't tell you how, not here - maybe on my website), I build the vision, the shape, the outline of the web property.  I then secure the keyword rich domain name, and continue the analysis process.

I know, I'm being incredibly vague.  Hey, I'm protecting my livelihood, already!

Armed with this 'insider' market intelligence that forms the core of each of my web projects, I furnish an outline design brief, which can either be outsourced (I have some pretty good VA's), or completed in-house (by my three trusty servants, me, myself and I).  This self-created market intelligence report is so precise that I am quickly able to evaluate (bear with me on the vagueness front) a psychological profile, and put it to good use.  I then define a fitting colour and graphics palette, and seek my first 'revenue partners' who fit the bill.

It all sounds like mumbo, right?  Hmmm, maybe, but it works like a charm.

 

 

Meet Your New Marketing Persona!

Whether you're contemplating your first dip trepid into these web-waters, or you're a pan-Atlantic/Pacific aquatic athlete by comparison, you'll have at least one thing in common with the other.   Deciding 'who' and 'how' to 'be', in order to successfully engage your audience can be a source of major pain and procrastination.  The other thing here, as you probably know, is that there is no way around it.   You will have to just take the pain, ("Take the pain!" -Platoon, I love that bit) and suffer. At least a little.

That was, up until now :)

Imagine getting straight to work on your site with all that hassle already taken out of the equation.

Well, now it's reality, and it's unfolding as you're reading.  All my sites come with a fully-qualified 'pen-name', straight out of the box!

Each 'persona' is captured in a written description that includes behaviour patterns, goals, skills, attitudes, and environment, with a few fictional personal details to bring the persona to life. I even include photos and social marketing 'icons' or cartoons, that all fit together with the site design.

Typically, one pen-name (per project) is all you'll need.

My fully researched characters are not only truly unique, realistic and believable, but I’m proud to say, are almost as good as characters based on contextual interviews with real customers! This, as any seasoned market researcher will tell you, is worth it's weight in gold.

Due to their product and/or market-relevant high-level ‘back story’, you will have no problem introducing your website's persona to all your new marketplace friends. Optionally, at a later juncture, you could re-work your character(s) to bring them more up-to-date for your marketing team, based on your actual sales data.

To to be fair, further development is best undertaken directly with your chosen agency/consultancy, once you have set/approved a budget.  But beware! Playing the whole, fleshed out 'focus group game' can seriously damage your wallet!

This character on SuperSupplementsDaily.com has been fully researched for this target market, and is yours, complete, with no restrictions, for use on this or any other project you may have.

If we're brutally honest here, this alone is worth the asking price.  Look at the website that's delivered with it as an incredibly valuable bonus!

[NB: the pen-named character in this particular site is none other than Yours Truly, as this is mission-sensitive information for any new business, and you don't know who trawls these auction sites.  Suffice to say, all 'character details' are researched, intact and ready for deployment.  They will be 100% released to you, the buyer, once the auction is successfully completed.]

 

Just come across from Flippa.com?

Press the button above to cut directly to the chase
(or carry on reading about my web-building ethos, below)

Don't Let Them Get Yours!

 

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Add my site to your online arsenal right now!

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