Three Strikes and I Was Out!
Why My Web Site Failed and Lessons You Can From My Mistakes
By Monique Harris
It was almost a year ago that I took my fateful step by launching the Connection Bank Web
site. I remember the anticipation I felt as I carefully FTP'd each page, testing link
after link, bolding and underlining with care. Little did I know, as my entrepreneurial
heart raced with excitement, that it would be the beginning of the end for my long
anticipated venture.
You see I had been building The Connection Bank for months prior to its Internet debut.
Heck, the concept itself changed at least six different times before I settled on the
final theme. By the time d-day came I was convinced that this site was going to be the
best thing since sliced bread.
The Connection Bank was supposed to be a place where business people from around the world
could exchange business leads and collaborate with one another on a variety of activities.
For example, you might have joined The Connection Bank because you were looking to share
booth space at a trade show with a colleague. It was structured networking, without having
to participate in an online discussion group, and with no regards to geographic proximity.
So with all my planning and testing what went wrong with my killer concept? I believe
three key things contributed to its downfall.
1) "The Name Was Confusing."
Whenever people looked at my business card and read 'Connection Bank,' the first thing
they thought was that I ran an actual bank. Not just a few people here and there. I'm
talking about EVERYBODY!
Then I would have to give a long-winded explanation of what The Connection Bank actually
did. Sometimes people understood it right away, and sometimes I would get a little too
detailed and people would get confused. It made perfect sense to me - (I called it a bank
because you put in a lead in order to take some out... almost like a bank) - but in
reality it was way too esoteric.
The name also became a real loser with the search engines. Sure, it would pop up within
the top 20 if the user typed in 'bank.' But a top ranking like that is utterly useless
since it wasn't actually a financial bank, which is what people were looking for.
LESSON LEARNED- When choosing a name for your site/business, choose something straight
forward, instead of trying to be cute or clever. People will remember your Web site much
easier if they can associate the name of it, with what it actually features. For example,
(www.AssociatePrograms.com), (www.CommunityBuilding.com), (www.SmallBizSearch.com), are
all pretty self-explanatory, and they're easy to recall.
2) "It Wasn't 100% Automated."
When people signed up for The Connection Bank, they had to enter several fields of
information on the form. Once their application came to me, I would have to re-key the
information into one or several sections of the directory.
This was okay when there were one or two people signing up per day. But the week when my
marketing really took off, and I started receiving 5-10 applications a day, I should have
known I was doomed. It was virtually impossible for me to keep up with all those new
entries - and so I didn't.
LESSON LEARNED- If your site is information intensive, and/or relies on input from
visitors, hire a techie to automate the process for you. Later on I learned that I could
have gotten a database built exactly the way I envisioned it, for under $500. Literally
hundreds of hours could have been saved, and the site might have survived if I wasn't
trying to be a jane-of-all-trades.
3) "Even Though it Was a Community Site, I Didn't Encourage Interaction Among
Members."
'Online Community' is one of those buzz trends that everybody seems to be striving for
right now. Yet, what most folks don't realize is that you can't just call your site a
community by throwing up a Web forum, and asking visitors to offer some feedback, or chat
on your message board.
I figured that people would sign up for The Connection Bank and automatically take it upon
themselves to interact with other members. Boy was I wrong! I probably received more
compliments praising the actual concept, than I did requests for other members contact
information.
LESSONS LEARNED- Creating an online community means that you must devote a lot of hours to
helping your members connect with one another. Take the time to develop activities that
will actively encourage members to communicate. Never assume that people will jump right
in to the scene.
Well, I have to say that even though my site flopped, I'm happy that I know what works,
and what I have to put more effort towards. This year I'm sure my new site, Online Sales
Power! is going straight to the top. You live and learn.
Monique Harris is the author of "How to Make $50,000
a Year (or more) Creating and Selling Information Products Online." If you'd like to
receive a 12-page excerpt via e-mail, send your request to
mailto:excerpt@onlinesalespower.com. You can also find out more information by visiting
the Online Sales Power! Web site at http://www.onlinesalespower.com.
