Longing for Your Own Website…..
Ever surf the Net and see really cool websites and think…..”I want one!”
I remember back in 1995…..whoa, my first website that I built. It was ridiculously
elementary. Looked so unprofessional. But I was SO proud. And even though it was
hideous….I was learning. Every step, every mistake was a lesson. That’s the incredible
thing about really “wanting” something. You’re willing to do the grunt work to learn “how” to do it well in order to achieve what you want.
Which brings me to one of the most asked questions I receive…
“Kelly….I want a website like MoneyMakingMommy.com - where can I get one?”
Now…I used to not smile when I got these emails. But now I do. Let me explain. Most of these emails aren’t from people wanting the same design or layout….they are wanting MY site. MY content actually. I’m not sure if they think I magically ‘bought’ MoneyMakingMommy with every single word already written on it or what!?
MoneyMakingMommy.com is a culmination of YEARS of work. So far….8 years. I bought the site from another mom back in 2001. It was much smaller and less than 2 years old. The design was completely different and there was not a lot of content. It was the domain name I really liked.
And now after FIVE re-designs and an addition of about 350 pages, scripts, search engine optimization (LEARNING search engine optimization!!!!), advertising and much more….MoneyMakingMommy.com is what it is. I made a lot of mistakes. I still do. But you better believe my hands are in there getting dirty.
I get ripped off a lot. They steal images, content, scrape my blogs…..it’s annoying. REALLY annoying. But that’s part of the whole online beast. Once you get to a certain point of success - having a intellectual property attorney on retainer is an option. And a good one. Until then, using a company like Copysentry and setting up Google alerts will help you keep tabs on who might be stealing from you. Also….become familiar with your logs. See who is sending you traffic and using bandwidth.
But…now…back to those that are longing for a site of their own.
If you’re wanting your own truly genuine and unique site - then be genuine and unique.
Stop worrying about ‘her’ site and ‘his’ site….they have this and I want that….
That is not a good plan.
Sure…getting inspiration from another site is fine. But don’t get caught up in “it’ll take me forever…” or “how can I be unique”. YOUR personality can be your uniqueness and as far as time consuming…trust me….the path has been forged for you. It’s much easier and quicker to design a site these days than back in the ice age of the internet. I was there….it sucked.
If you want to start out like I did….and just jump in by buying a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) type of web design software, then go for it. I have used Frontpage for years, many use Dreamweaver. Microsoft now has come out with Web Expressions. I was eager and willing to read everything I could on web design. That helped immensely. Desire can certainly ignite the fire to succeed.
Start writing some stories….or researching a topic. Find your writing style. Is it formal, laid back, really laid back, sarcastic, poetic?? It will feel natural to you.
Study up on SEO - you’re gonna need it. Search engine optimization will drive you bonkers. It’s a dance that takes constant fine tuning. But don’t let it keep you up at night. Algorithms change all the time and you have to learn to roll with the good and the bad. I have spent MANY a sleepless night frantic over my search engine rankings. I finally had to let it go. Now my motto is….”Add 500 fabulous new words each day to my site!!”
CONTENT IS KING. PERIOD.
You will do more for your rankings by offering something worth reading that any other “meta” trick or linking strategy.
In the end it’s not about how super slick, or cute or flashy your site it. It’s about people really wanting to
read what YOU have to say. So pick something you care about. You don’t have to be the absolute premier, super big noggin, oh my gosh expert on it - just CARE - really care. Others in the world are bound to care about it too. Lord knows there is an audience for everything.
Just get started.
Take that first step.
I promise….I have never looked back once and feel it was time spent worthwhile.
You will too!
August 10th, 2008 at 6:04 am
You are so right. It’s no use just longing for a website. Waiting until you can do it is nonsense. I think that you don’t find your voice until you start. You tend to grow with your website.
First time I have visited with you. Good to meet you. I shall definitely come again.
Regards, Jean