Build a Business Plan for Your Website
A clear plan will keep you on track and Save You from Marketers Temptations

Decide what you want your website to do before you publish it. And better yet, build a business plan. This is actually easy once you get going. Just use the journalist's old checklist. Who What Where Why When & How. I then plug them into a mind map and mix them up a bit. But I keep those 5 words out until I'm clear....most of the time. Sometimes I have a creative fit and buy a bunch of domain names as I brainstorm. And usually those are the ones I let go after a few years.

A good website starts with a good domain name. A good domain name has the "keyword" in the title. The right keyword is a result of research and planning. The right research and planning will give you a clear picture of what the main topic of the website is; who will be interested in it; what kind of structure the readers enjoy most; and what kind of revenue streams it can easily support.

Don't make the mistake of trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. This applies to both you and your website. Some of my other articles give you training on developing a clear understanding of who you are and what your aptitudes are. Deviating from those core truths is a recipe for frustration.

You will fall victim to the subset of internet markets who are expert in building up emotions and selling tools and programs for internet success. The dream of making money online is hyped up to the point of hysteria by these marketers. If you don't have a clear understanding of who you are and what you want to do, and how you can measure your success, you will fall into their trap. I constantly hear from people who have spent thousands of dollars for products they don't need or are too advanced for where they are in website development.

A good business plan will also help you evaluate products and services that are not scams or overblown promotions. I send product reviews and news to my mailing list on a regular basis. But I hope that my readers have followed the training on my website and know that what is right for one member is not right for another. In the real world this is obvious. If you are opening a fish shop, you aren't going to be interested in an account with a meat supplier! But you will have a need for a bank account, janitorial supplies, etc, just like the butcher next door.

Who are you ( talents interests)? What are you promoting on the internet? Who is your target market? Where do they find things online ( search engines, Adsense ads, banner ads, forums)? How much are they willing to spend? What can you reasonably charge? How much to you need to" keep the doors open"? What stages are you willing to put your website through? etc etc etc

Just keep asking questions until you have a clear idea of what you want out of your website. Then start looking at the tools you need and list them in the order you will need them. Don't get hung up on specific software or training names. Things change fast on the internet. By the time you are ready for a specific tool, you may find that a new improved model is available.

Even if you have a clear picture of what you want your final website to look like, there are still some common basic tools and tasks you must complete. Why buy an expensive piece of software and have it sitting on your hard drive doing nothing. It will still be there when you need it, and probably cheaper. Don't get worked up with the false scarcity promotions out there.

Here is a good rule of thumb to use when choosing software or training to help in your website or online business. If the tool helps you build your website then it can probably be used over and over again and will pay for itself. If the product is designed to get you to the top of the search engines or bring in thousands of visitors, or make you rich in a month, it will be short lived at best, and most likely damaging in the long run.

The internet moves fast, and the search engines move faster. There are some constant truths in building a successful website and there are some very dangerous hacks. When you are starting out, it is hard to know a bad hack until you get banned ( slapped). This is why I've become very selective on who I buy from and where I get my advice. And this is my final piece of advice in building a successful online website/business. Build a list of trusted sources. You would do the same if you were opening a storefront business. The internet is no different.

by Colin Noden - April 12, 2010

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