Converting successful content website to a real business

I am no longer satisfied with affiliate income and want real customers

[Lysander]

Hello everyone,

I own a successful content website that I have been slowly but surely building up for five years.

I am no longer satisfied with ad income and want to turn it into a real business with real paying customers.

The niche is "creative advice." The current readers are info seekers, not buyers, and the point of my mission is to create a new section of the website that will attract real paying customers.

Any tips on how best to execute this would be awesome!

Some ideas and concerns:

* Software as a Service model -- tough to develop in my niche and even tougher to sell (I know my niche).

* eCommerce -- I would imagine if I am not actually producing my own unique product, profits will eventually go down to zero, as re-selling is essentially an arbitrage model (do you agree?).

* Consulting services -- not scalable, and a trial run did not produce satisfactory results.

Basically I want to use the website's authority and quality content to attract BUYERS to a new ecommerce section of the website -- but what business model should I pursue?

Any and all thoughts welcome!

[7_Driver]

If there are suitable products to sell, then eCommerce could be a winner.

Many eCommerce sites have little or no original information - so starting as a content site could give you a big advantage.

I don't agree that you need your own product - Amazon doesn't sell many of its own products and I don't see it's profits disappearing any time soon. Retail has been around a long time - and will remain viable (at least online) for a good few years yet.

[Lysander]

Thanks for the reply!

Yes, there are suitable products to sell - plenty. However, I would have to attract buyers, because my current readers find my website when they are looking for information, not products, but I quite look forward to that mission.

The issue is that I would be competing with Amazon directly. The only way to beat them is on price.

In some ways I wish I had started this thread in the eCommerce forum here :-)

[LifeinAsia]

Well, you can certainly start a new thread in Ecommerce. :)

If you do, I recommend that you focus your post on just the Ecommerce aspects of your situation.

[Juliana]

As you have already mentioned you have encountered knowledgeable changes in your business, your audience has changed and results in low earnings. Perhaps you need to focus on your website first, is it providing strong content and features that meet the requirements of your business. In these days it is essential to keep website up to date according to the changes you make in your business. The online tools available on the internet cannot do the job. If you take guidance from a professional web designer he can make slight changes in the content, navigation, page and visual designs but the results will be more rewarding, you will observe distinctive increase in revenue as well.

[creeking]

take a clue from your advertisers. the readers are clicking on the ads for some reason. you say they are there for the information, but they must also be interested in what is being advertised.


see if you can provide what the popular advertisers on your site provide.