ReadWriteWeb.com (www.readwriteweb.com) provides a very different model (Figure 8.3). Created in 2003, the site is a technology blog rated by Technorati (a search engine for blogs) as one of the top 20 blogs on the Web. It was created by Richard MacManus, a New Zealander who had previously worked as an analyst and researcher in Silicon Valley. The site made use of the knowledge that he had built up while working with technology firms.
Today, it’s no longer a one-person site. Although Richard continues to contribute regularly, the site has a long list of staff writers and guest writers, as well as a production editor, marketing and experience manager, and other people with big job titles. It’s not just a blog; it’s a business with a full-time staff.
It’s no surprise that ReadWriteWeb uses a variety of methods to monetize its content and ensure that those staff members are paid.
Figure 8.3ReadWriteWeb is a giant publishing company of a site, with multiple contributors, premium reports... and many sponsors.
One of those channels is syndication. The New York Times technology section buys the site’s content. That’s not something you can rely on, although it’s certainly great when it happens. Advertising though is something you can rely on when you’re producing good content, and ReadWriteWeb uses a number of different methods. There’s a vertical AdSense unit in the right column, which is always going to be helpful, but it appears that most of the advertising space on the site is sold directly as sponsored ads. The ads appear as graphic squares of 125 x 125 pixels that appear on a monthly basis on the side of every page. Companies can place those ads by contacting ReadWriteWeb directly. The site also runs CPM ads, which are managed by Federated Media (www.federatedmedia.net), a web site advertising agency.
The fees for those kinds of ads vary. A 125 x 125 pixel text ad costs $91 for a week’s placement. A 300 x 250 graphic ad costs $1,560 for 60,000 impressions, the minimum number that Federated Media will sell.
In addition, the site also offers a number of reports. These are carefully researched information products that include profiles, stats, and case studies. The prices start at $300.
If all of that isn’t enough, ReadWriteWeb has also created a number of separate channels, including ReadWriteEnterprise for businesses and ReadWriteStart, which profiles start-ups and entrepreneurs and is sponsored by Microsoft. They’re both accessible from ReadWriteWeb’s main site and show one way in which it’s possible to expand a successful site into new areas and still cash in on its brand.
ReadWriteWeb started small, as a way for a professional technology expert to share his expertise with a wider audience, but it’s now grown into a publishing company in its own right. It’s still run by Richard MacManus from his home office in the New Zealand town of Lower Hutt.
ORIGAMI BLOG
So far, we’ve seen how it’s possible to turn a passion into a profitable online business venture. We’ve also seen just what can happen when you put your business knowledge on the Web and use the tools available to monetize it: You can end up running a successful, specialized publishing company.
But what happens if your passion is your profession?
First, you’ve already hit the jackpot. There aren’t many people who are lucky enough to make a living doing the things they love to do. If you’re one of them, then you’re in select company—and the Web can help you squeeze even more revenue out of your pastime.
Cindy Ng has a degree in business economics, but her real enthusiasm is for paper folding. She designs origami kits and has crafted origami-inspired jewelry that is sold in a number of museums, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Smithsonian, and London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. She’s also the author of Girligami, a series of origami models designed to appeal to women (Figure 8.4).
Figure 8.4Origami Blog helps designer Cindy Ng promote her book and her designs, turning her passion into her profession.
Origami Blog (www.origamiblog.com) is just one of Cindy’s web sites, but it acts as a main entry point, attracting people interested in the topic and then sending them out to other sites where they can buy her products. There’s no third-party advertising on the site. That’s a missed opportunity. Blended into the content, there’s no reason that AdSense units, for example, would put off readers or look out of place. Instead, at the top of the page, Cindy places links to her “shop,” Origami Bijou (www.origamibijou.com); her book, Girligami (www.girligami.com); and her online store at Etsy, a craft site where people can buy her origami kits. She also links to her social media pages on Facebook and Twitter, which helps her to build a community around her interest and her designs.
This is a different way of monetizing information compared to the examples we’ve seen before. Cindy’s goal isn’t to earn income from views of the content she posts but to position herself as an expert on origami and to earn direct income by selling products. It’s a method of using specialized content—in this case, content that’s both a hobby and a profession—to build an audience and guide that audience to places where they can make purchases.
Affiliate-Supported Sites
The content-rich sites we’ve looked at so far use a number of different methods to turn information into cash. Sometimes they’ve included affiliate links as one of those revenue channels. When TravelsWithSheila.com discussed cheap ways to travel, for example, the article included an affiliate link to a recommended travel service. But affiliate links aren’t always appropriate on every page. Sales usually rely on recommendations for specific products, so if you’re not discussing a product, then an affiliate link will often bring limited results.
On the other hand, that does mean
