(Reading time: 5 – 8 minutes)
What a year! When Website In A Weekend was started on January 26, 2009, the market for “build a blog really fast” seemed wide open.
It was exciting!
I registered the domain, installed WordPress, got right to work. The first article was “How To Rapidly And Easily Create Pillar And Flagship Content For Your Blog,” which was a simple list of the top 6 links on Google for the term “pillar content.” (This article has been extensively rewritten at least once, and is due for another rewrite.)
Within a couple of months of getting started, a number of Very Big Players stepped in with similar offerings. Players like Yaro Starak, Leo Babuata and David Risley.
That really sucked.
Sucked for me in any case.
Imagine: You are developing the Next Big Thing, and you’re ready to ship your first product or service, then you read on the news that Google or Microsoft just launched an identical offering and already has thousands of paying customers.
It’s like you’re sailing for Happy Land, and someone steals all your wind. There you sit, becalmed, dead in the water, wondering: “What did I do to deserve this?”
However, such… esteemed… competition validated my concept and the market, which felt pretty good.
But it raised the bar much higher than I anticipated in my initial vision.
One year along
Here’s where we’re at after a year:
- 246 posts published, 79 in draft (needs some pruning).
- 60 pages published, 20 in draft.
- A few small info products published. You can find them if you dig, not currently promoting them.
- A few hundred subscribers via newsletter and RSS feed. There has never been a concerted effort to enlist subscribers, the result is the count never drops week over week, and open rates are very high.
- 1000 comments reached on December 15, 2009; 1590 comments 5 weeks later as I write this bullet point. I didn’t start promoting Website In A Weekend until I had well over 100 articles, most of which was “evergreen” or pillar content.
Up until mid-June, I was posting on There Is No Box regularly as well, often daily.
Between both blogs, I estimate I published 250,000 words in 2009, between 175,000 to 200,000 on Website In A Weekend.
What would I have done differently?
The biggest thing I would have done differently is published more frequently early on. I didn’t start daily publication until early June. To be fair, I was learning quite a bit about WordPress when I started out, so it would have been hard to publish daily. Two to four times per week could have been feasible.
Given an earlier start on daily publishing, I would have started promoting earlier. However, I still would have waited until I had 50-60 articles published before going on the self-promotion warpath.
I didn’t have any clear goals when I started. This is largely because I didn’t know what was possible… I didn’t do any research, I just jumped right in and did it.
Speed of Implementation
No research?
Yep.
Website In A Weekend was conceived and executed on in about 1 hour. I was helping a friend install WordPress during a weekend work session some friends and I have monthly, and the concept appeared in my mind. I registered the domain immediately, then set up WordPress right away with the first article on pillar content.
This “speed of implementation” approach is regarded as a critical aspect of succeeding as an entrepreneur.
So is “failing fast,” but I’m not sure exactly what that means. I don’t have a definition of failure for Website In A Weekend. This is probably a strategic mistake.
That being said, this site fulfills more that one goal, and for reasons other than making money directly.
2010, the year ahead
“So, tell us what you have in mind, Dr. WordPress.”
Sure.
More money is tops.
This risks alienating some long time readers… but I haven’t had offers from anyone to pay my rent, so I’m cool with it.
Let’s take it pointwise:
- Increase monetization without sacrificing too much community. This will include a few small info products and a few highly targeted services.
- Keep community engagement on topics I enjoy writing about. As long time readers (bofem)kd know, this includes “soft” topics such as emotional engagement and intimacy. This helps me refine my craft, help others refine their craft, and explore various topics relevant to the blogging community at large.
- Revise Website In A Weekend eCourse. Tentatively, one article will be revised and republished each Sunday. There are 25 articles (for 25 hours) in the series, so the entire course will be updated completely twice yearly. I may be open to co-authorship on certain articles; conditions would be much stricter than for guest posts, but traffic would be higher as well. For example, the eCourse is going into very light automated twitter broadcast, with one article link posted daily at noon San Fran, noon London and noon Melbourne.
- Refine my hypertext writing craft. Most bloggers limit hypertext to simple linking from one article to another, or one website to another. But there’s so much that can be done. I’m not that inclined to give that stuff away, it’s very time consuming to develop, but anyone paying close attention will catch at least some of the details. Some of these techniques end up on the Insider list, watch for an invitation on the Weekender newsletter.
But enough about me…
How old is your blog?
Have you been at this game more or less than 1 year?
How has it worked out for you? Are you meeting your goals? Why or why not?
What you have done differently if you were to start over from scratch, right now?
kd I was writing this the same time you were pestering me to define it. Synchronicity is funny that way.
Happy Birthday Dave!
You’ve had a very busy year, I’m impressed. Are you allowed to spill the beans on what bofem means or is that a private joke between yourself and people who read your stuff pre-websiteinaweekend?
To answer your questions (great technique btw, encourages one to reply ;)) GiveABrick had the site up back in late 2007 but the design as it stands was implemented in August 2009.
However, it wasn’t until the first week in 2010 that we finally got our act together and started publishing and promoting the charity properly.
As for reaching goals, can I take a rain check? Jury’s still out ;)
.-= Eleanor Edwards´s last blog ..#GiveABrickTwitterChallenge =-.
Eleanor!
Thanks for stopping by. Things do start happening pretty fast once you take them seriously and execute on all the good advice out there.
Long time readers (bofem) know that I have a nasty habit of positively *littering* my articles with various forms of word play, including hypertext as you’ve probably never seen it used. And I create new forms of silliness on a regular basis.
Check back here in a few minutes after this comment publishes, I’m adding a link right now. This link will also demonstrate this Thursday’s (Jan 28 2009) Practical WordPress Tip #19.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..MasterMind Power III: The 5 Ws Of a Successful Mastermind Group =-.
Thanks for the explanation Dave :D ‘Bofem’ Who writes this stuff?! Was glad for the ref to urban dictionary ;)
Looking forward to Thursday’s tip. Learned how to use feed reader yesterday so have you in mine.
Enjoy your birthday party. What flavour jelly did you opt for?
.-= Eleanor Edwards´s last blog ..#GiveABrickTwitterChallenge =-.
Congratulations! Have got a lot of good inspiration and tips on plugins from this site. Impressed by your frequent posting and good articles.
As for future plans, the hypertext writing craft sounds interesting. I think the challange if you want to monetize is to find the sweet spot between free and premium content and of course to find a more specific nische.
Best of luck!
Lars, I suspect my monetization plan is going to look a lot like
Me: “Sure, I’d love to help you, but I’m busy helping 13 other people right now.”
Them: “I’ll pay you money.”
Me: “Talk to me.”
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..MasterMind Power III: The 5 Ws Of a Successful Mastermind Group =-.
Good stuff, Dave!
My blog is about 10 months old. I started off more in the entrepreneurship niche, but after three articles thought, “Hang on! I’ve never run a business before of any sort.” So, then I switched to blogging for money and to tell you the truth I found that extremely boring. Every man and his dog seems to want to have a blog in that niche, so after about 4 months or so I switched to personal development and lifestyle design. Since then, I’ve stuck with that niche, but have always struggled to write more than two posts per week, so at the end of last year I contacted some of my blogging buddies and asked them to be part of my writing team, which they have. That was my solution to getting more content on my blog, get other guys to do it, while they can get more exposure and I can focus on marketing the blog a bit more.
The only two things I should have done different from the beginning is choose my current niche from the start as well as the current domain name from the beginning.
You’re doing great, Dave. My webmaster enjoyed learning how to make a splash page with Thesis from your tutorial last week.
Cheers!
.-= Gordie´s last blog ..5 Emotional States That Result In Bad Decisions. =-.
Gordie, I would *love* to have a look at that. Could he or she be persuaded to leave a comment on that article? I might even link out to it, I vaguely recall setting up a list for reader-submitted examples.
I’m currently going for two guest slots per week, Monday and Wed. I’d also love to find someone willing to edit, or someone willing to take on a weekly column, or both. This would free my time up for more promotion as well. I also have a number of other projects that need work and would help build the site.
I’m toying with revenue sharing ideas to sweeten the pot. Deb Ng does this, but I’m not sure how, exactly. Ideas welcome.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..MasterMind Power Part II: Napoleon Hill – Father of the MasterMind =-.
Happy anniversary, Dave. You’re always a good read. Here’s looking forward to more pillar content with bits of fun stuff thrown in for good measure.
.-= jan geronimo´s last blog ..When a Question Is the Answer =-.
jan, I have both fun and “work” planned for a regular publication schedule for the coming year.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..MasterMind Power I: How 5 Boys Achieved Unparalled Success =-.
Grats on a year bro. It seems like most burn out after 6 months, but you seem to have only gotten stronger. Right now I’m creeping up on my 6 month mark (I started in August 2009).
My progress was awesome up through the holidays, but Nov/Dec killed me with offline obligations.
I’ve always enjoyed your writing and concepts (plus you have good taste in music), so keep up the great work.
.-= Blake @ Props Blog Rewiews´s last blog ..Sometimes Not Enough Is Still Too Much =-.
Music… yeah, I need to post more music.
You started out hugely strong, Blake.
For my part, I am getting stronger. I don’t need no stinkin’ passion now. I’m very close to having it Website In A Weekend boiled down into a system, a job.
Which is good.
Passion doesn’t pay the bills. Now, I know what I need to do, and just “get ‘er done.” This frees my mind up for more creativity.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..When B.L.O.G. Turns into J.O.B. – Downshift and accelerate =-.
My blog is just over one year old. It’s original purpose was to establish a web presence for Ralph Carlson and ultimately buid income streams. I abandoned my first blog which I used for poitical venting and decided that politics should not enter the new one.
Took Darrens 31 day course and failed because nobody was engaging, commentind or reading. And because I have no understanding of marketing myself.
.-= Ralph´s last blog ..Thinking about comments =-.
Ralph, marketing is what you are doing right now!
I probably got 12 whole comments in my first 6 months, and those from friends IRL.
Consider going through Darren’s 31 day course again. You might find it works better now.
Another thing you could do is spend your next day off commenting on 100 different blog posts, preferably on more than 50 different blogs. It will take all day. You will get traffic back.
Overall, commenting isn’t a very good long term strategy, but it’s probably the best way to get yourself bootstrapped up.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..Saturday Morning Surfing – Oversharing is *not* intimacy =-.
I remember a January Incubation (the first?), I wrote a lot of code that weekend. Was it at that one that this site launched? Or were there 2 in January? I also remember an early February Incubation (I was in NY), but that is after the fact.
I started BDD in March, but didn’t really find the purpose for the site until August, when I realized art was more important than design.
Things have really changed (in good ways) over the last year. We used to call our work weekends “incubation” for one.
.-= Deacon´s last blog ..A Free Monoprint Available (a mono-what?) =-.
I can’t recall exactly how WIAW went down. I recall working with Sarah K at Walter’s, but the posting dates show the site already running by then. There couldn’t have been much there, because I did a lot of work on it that weekend.
Somebody really ought to clean up the Stirfry blog.
Let’s recruit someone. That can be their initiation or something. Heh…
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..Blogging Katamari Style (I’m gonna roll you up!) =-.
We have way too many blogs…
I think that one of the best things we did this year is that each of us started to (and continued to) focus primarily on one project.
.-= Deacon´s last blog ..A Free Monoprint Available (a mono-what?) =-.
My thinking on number of blogs evolves, but it’s pretty clear both of us needed to focus on one exclusively for a good chunk of time.
Congratulations on your first anniversary! Sounds like quite a list of achievements there – WTG!
.-= Anne´s last blog ..Know of a Good Program for Domainoholics? =-.
Thanks Anne. It’s been an interesting year to be sure.
In your 1 year of taking care of your site really had been a life fulfilling one and starts visioning your goals this year will absolutely give you more innovations that you want here.
Very informative post, I could use this and take it as an advice for me to grow and able to learn more what are things to be done and needed to develop. Thanks Dave! :)
I’m 3.5 weeks into this crazy thing. So far I’m posting as regularly as I planned to, but am finding myself getting caught up in some posts that are more complicated than I expected. Shingle posts that is
I have also been surprised at the amount of time social networking can take. I plan to purchase a better phone to allow me to accomplish more of that on the go, throughout my day.
I set myself a goal of getting 30 email subscribers by the months end, but am less than halfway there so far. I have learned that I would have been better served in that ambition if I had developed a decent incentive for my readers to join. I also should have developed better auto responders for the people that did join, though thankfully, none of them have unsubscribed.
I plan to set a new goal every month and keep the results displayed on the right sidebar, as my current January goal is. I also plan to not get discouraged by unmet goals, but to learn from them, as I did from this one, and apply the principles learned to new goals.
.-= Carlos Velez´s last blog ..Direction, Not Perfection: Progress In Small Steps =-.
Firstly, I should say, I’m not giving up yet for January. I plan to put out a couple more requests for subscriptions, and to try to come up with an incentive of some sort.
secondly, I just saw your bofem footnote. you’re a damn funny guy…can I say damn here…damn it, you’ll have to edit this comment if that was wrong of me.
thirdly, keep rockin’. I enjoy your blog so damn much.
.-= Carlos Velez´s last blog ..Direction, Not Perfection: Progress In Small Steps =-.
Carlos, I’m *ludicrously* profane in person.
I keep it in check on the blog. Mostly. Doesn’t seem appropriate.
My strategy is that if people want to hear me cuss up a storm, they have to pay me for the privilege.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..Saturday Morning Surfing – Oversharing is *not* intimacy =-.
Congrats on the anniversary!
Although the post dates on my blog start in November (or is that October) – it was for a completely different purpose. The name of the blog was different and it was on Blogger (blush … but a girl’s gotta get started somewhere if she knows zip about any back office type stuff).
Jan 01 is my official starting point – and boy did I ever learn a lot in the year!
Best things I did:
1. Took 30 Day Challenge
2. Switched to WordPress (actually WordPress Direct is a great intro without having to do ALL the heavy lifting!)
3. Changed domain name (for 3rd time).
4. Changed template
5. Started visiting other blogs (amazing how much I have learned from blogs such as yours Dave)
6. Kept correcting course
7. Refused to give up ….
8. Finally, somewhere in October or November the blog seemed to begin to gain a bit of life (thank goodness – I can be so bullheaded that even if it didn’t begin to get some color in its cheeks I may never have admitted to failure ………..).
The thing is that I had a huge learning curve with this blog … but some of my affiliate blogs/sales pages etc. in the dog related category and which I market almost exclusively via article marketing are giving me some bank money. Go figure.
2010 Goals are all done – year, quarters, month. Happy that MTD I’m ahead of schedule.
Got the year off to a good start. Honored to have guested here. thank you Dave. Just need to be able to do things faster… Looking forward to a great 2010!
best…………valentina
.-= Valentina´s last blog ..Tools of the Trade =-.
I suspect that my stubbornness is the only reason this thing is still cranking along. There is certainly enough high powered competition to give a more rational person pause. Then again, a perfectly rational person may not find getting out of bed in the morning justifiable by any measure.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..MasterMind Power IV: Some MasterMind Examples =-.
Congrats on making it where 99% of bloggers haven’t reached!
The best thing is that you have excellent lessons as takeaways and already have your 2010 tactics laid out.
Looking forward to see how this site shapes out for Year Two!
.-= Gabe | freebloghelp.com´s last blog ..Start making money with Twitter today (literally) =-.
Gabe, your unflappability always amazes me. You were one of the first people to support WIAW in the comments, and I really appreciate that.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..MasterMind Power I: How 5 Boys Achieved Unparalled Success =-.
Happy anniversary my friend! And I have to say, I’m glad to had that stroke of brilliance one year ago, otherwise we wouldn’t have met.
My blog is only a few months shy of being a year old and I’m pretty sure I’ve made every mistake in the book :) Never the less, I’ll be stoked when it does finally turn 1.
.-= Josh´s last blog ..Writing Techniques For Bricks & Mortar Business Websites =-.
Josh, let me know when you get to 1, I’ll give you a shout out.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..MasterMind Power IV: Some MasterMind Examples =-.
Happy Blogoversary! That was a very good overview of everything you’ve done, especially as I am pretty new to reading your posts. I have no doubt you’re going to go on and achieve your goals for 2010 – and more.
My blog started less than a year ago and, unlike this one, did not have a ‘point’ to it. I’m only just starting to develop its ‘point’ – its reason for being online – and that’s my focus for now :)
.-= Ruth – Web Career Girl´s last blog ..The Role of Fear for Bloggers, Internet Marketers, Self Employed =-.
Ruth, last I visited you were coming along nicely. Off to visit you again. Thanks for stopping by!
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..MasterMind Power IV: Some MasterMind Examples =-.
Dave, the footnote thing, and link to a single comment…well, I bow down. Temporarily. But I do. That’s a Yoda-esque trick and I like it.
You have a little called discretion and self-discipline – you refrained from promoting until you had something substantial to promote. I would promote holes in my socks and frequently do. (I have pretty toes.)
So. Your questions.
- my blog is nine months old, last week
- at the six month mark, I switched to WordPress. At the same time, I named my blog and came up with a brand and even a design (Thanks Amanda Farough)
- three weeks after that, I started making money (on November 27, money just started showing up in my PayPal Account. I love my people, especially the ones who want me to write for them)
- this year I’m going to figure out products – how to create and launch them
- I’m also going to get over my reluctance to comment and to play in my own comment sand box
- and oh yes, I just quit my job, approximately five minutes ago. Nine months in, and a baby business.
Like you, I just started. I jumped in and figured it out as I went. Now I’m getting me some strategy.
That’s why I like what you’re doing so much. I can see the edges, the intent and the allusions – even as you stay right out of the echo chamber and just do you.
More than that, your stuff is really smart and scarily useful.
Comgrats on quitting you job! That’s a stellar accomplishment to be able to do in 9 months. Quite inspiring.
It makes my goal of going part time in 9 months not seem so crazy. If I can muster up half of your charm and uniqueness I’ll do alright.
You know you when you’re connecting with people, when your writing has impact, when you see your writing style being copied.
Really. It’s true.
I would never lie about something like that…
oh and my html is wonky above. Will you fix it, so it doesn’t feel like I’m urgently whispering my entire comment?
Urgent whispering is ok.
I knew you’d say that.
My goal is simple. Keep getting more visitors so I feel that I’m not just typing to myself when I dump the thoughts in my head out onto the screen. I’m up 355% on visits so far this year vs the same period last year. I seem to be doing something right.
Although my site & blog has been around since about 2001, it was really until about November 2008 that I really tried to make it something that was more then a long series of “Sorry I haven’t posted in six months” entries. Seems to be working.
.-= K. Praslowicz´s last blog ..How Flickr Tagging Got Me on Corey Feldman’s Hit List. =-.
Dave, it’s a real milestone you’re celebrating here. I read somewhere only recently that 99% of blogs fail by this point – and being in the driver’s seat of such a venture, I can understand why many overcome their writing addiction in favour of a real-life lifestyle!
Still in the category: cornucopia phase of blogging. I ran a very specific blog when I was travelling around India. What surprised me more than my commitment was my ability: I shed countless pounds and hours chained to the khazi, and wifi is rare when you’re stuck fast to holes in the ground.
Anyway, if I can be of any assistance to you as you strive hard, fast and soundly towards birthday candle number 2, you only need ask.
Oh, that Atahualpa review! For sure… tomorrow, right?!
.-= Dave Thackeray´s last blog ..10 cavorting capsules =-.
Dave!
You have stories. My story spidey sense is tingling…
Looking forward to that Atahualpa review.
My guess is that most people get a huge emotional rush (Passion!) when they start writing for the web. They develop a “Long Term Relationship” with their blog, website, etc.
After a while, as in every other the long term relationship, the passion ebbs a bit.
If they haven’t built any structure into the relationship, they’re doomed.
This is why I’m forcing my own hand with what I’m announcing next Tuesday. And you heard about it first, Dave. This next step will enforce responsibility and accountability, it will provide the “meat and potatoes” for the development process, in contrast to the “dessert.” (passion)
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..Practical WordPress Tip #19 Link to other comments =-.
I admire your consistency and persistence and aim to emulate it one day. I definitely have a target of posting more frequently on my blog once I get my freelancing and outsourcing lines better streamlined, as well as more incomplete projects wrapped up (which is actually progressing nicely). Thank you for being an inspiration.
.-= Anna´s last blog ..Internet Marketing: Too Many Eggs in One Basket? =-.
Anna, you can do it, just once a month is enough to keep you from being completely buried in SERPs.
Your stuff is so good too.
(Folks, I’ve been gently pestering Anna for some guest posts from her archive. She’s extremely talented, go visit, you’ll see.)
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..Practical WordPress Tip #19 Link to other comments =-.
Thanks for the compliment Dave :)
Actually I only write on that blog for the original purpose of blogging. Because I have something to say to my readers. Sounds ridiculously simple, doesn’t it. I almost ignore its rankings in the SERPs, but you are right, it is a waste to let it fall behind! I can at least do one per month, especially since I have more I want to say on THAT blog than any other …
.-= Anna´s last blog ..Internet Marketing: Too Many Eggs in One Basket? =-.
Holy crap I can’t believe you have 79 posts in drafts that’s unreal, if I have like 10 on any of my blogs it drives me bananas.
Congrats on making it the year brother, you certainly stayed busy in the first year when so many others fall off. Way to keep pushing bro.
.-= Extreme John´s last blog ..11 Things You Probably Don’t Know About Me =-.
John, yep, I’m pushing now. It’s getting a little tedious and boring, I have some very cool stuff planned but having trouble making the time to execute. Keeping momentum here is important as well.
79 drafts. Yeah. The problem is that a couple of dozen of these drafts are really technical and will take many hours to complete. I may take my own advice and just start clearing the queue with what I have.
I could dribble them out full of forward hooks. I would vastly prefer to have whole series written before I publish Part 1.
This might be smart from a permalink standpoint as well. Get that URL indexed ASAP!
I have another technique which is helping keep my draft queue cleaner, so it’s not growing as fast as it was.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..MasterMind Power Part II: Napoleon Hill – Father of the MasterMind =-.