ProfitSocks.com

 I recently covered a principle of profitability in a masters class on manufacturing that I believe strongly applied to the profitability of a web site. With in the scope of manufacturing the idea is this: if a process does not add value to the end product then it should be eliminated. If the final infrastructure contains only value added processes then we have refined the operation to a greater state of efficiency and consequently a greater state of profitability. How does this apply to making money online? Well, if developing the site is our process only those elements that will bring profit are the ones we should concern ourselves with. The processes that are going to bring us profit are going to be the processes that bring in traffic. This means a great deal of time spent on graphic development will not yield the best return on investment in regards to your time. Everyone wants the coolest looking site around but with so many content management systems (cms) available, with relatively aesthetically pleasing templates, there is very little need to learn such programs as Photoshop and Illustrator. If the graphic development thing is something you like to do for fun great but realize unless you are providing that as a service it isn’t going to bring in the dollar bills. 

While using Wordpress, when ever possible list your posts under multiple categories. As you write you will find that a lot of your content will fit under more then one categorie. This is a good thing, it is even better when what you are writing about demands a category that does not exist yet. It populates your categorie list with multiple lines and increases the number of posts with in each category. This does two things, first it directs your readers to relevant related content and secondly it gives the appearance of a larger site. This is especially bennificial for younger blogs that do not have much content. Think about when you have stumbled upon a blog that didn’t appear to be more then two or three entries. Right away you more then likely told yourself that the other entries were not worth your time.

I mention this because I found a site that was linked threw problogger that appeared to be quite large. After a little digging however I found that it really wasn’t more then 10 or 12 posts. It demanded respect though, when I looked at the site I thought wow I can’t wait until my blog grows up.

Q: Have you had a similar experience with a smaller site that appeared to be bigger then it truely was? If so what are your thoughts?

While it may seem like a good idea to author your blogs in a word processor such as Microsoft Word keep in mind that additional tags will probably come with your content. I was toying around with my fonts and I couldn’t get them to listen to my style sheet. The reason was that all of my text was nested into the tags that were created by MS word. Not a big deal, and an easy fix but something that should be noted. 

Q: As bloggers do you use the text editor that is built into your blogging software or do you use an alternative editor that perhaps is more robust?  

I am going to fill you guys in on the path or school of thought that I followed in creating this blog and will follow for any future sites.

The Topic

It has been suggested that the topic of a blog should be relevant, controversial, and continually changing. While I agree with that I also believe that there will be absolutely no (more…)

This may appear to be my first blog but its not. I actually started one prior to this with my buddy Isaac who is into idie rock music.

The site: www.BeforeTheyGoBig.com

The idea: To provide the Indie rock scene with reviews, updates, interviews and polls.

The site is still under construction and in a lot of ways serving a double purpose in that it is allowing us to build a foundation as bloggers while simultaneously generating revenue. Isaac holds the passion for the subject matter while I take care of all the technical stuff. I will keep you informed on its performance.

Blogging only becomes profitable when there is traffic so I’m sure it will take some time before we see a monetary gain but it should be fun and we will both learn a thing or two.