Something never to forget...

[Ghost]

You own a site to make it successful. Sometimes this is not just financially.
For example Groupon is very successful, however, profit wise it doesn't do that great. They are at the point where they must turn some profits.
However, my point is that sometimes you may need to be okay with not making profits for the sake of gaining members and loyal customers.
Amazon is another example. They gave out TONS of huge discounts and didn't make money a lot of the time. However, because people bought their products (books, etc) they gained a customer base and thus they can be considered successful.

Facebook's method of ignoring requests for giant banner ads like Myspace did is a huge reason for their success.
Keep this in mind.

 

[Sam1]

You own a site to make it successful. Sometimes this is not just financially.
For example Groupon is very successful, however, profit wise it doesn't do that great. They are at the point where they must turn some profits.
However, my point is that sometimes you may need to be okay with not making profits for the sake of gaining members and loyal customers.
Amazon is another example. They gave out TONS of huge discounts and didn't make money a lot of the time. However, because people bought their products (books, etc) they gained a customer base and thus they can be considered successful.

Facebook's method of ignoring requests for giant banner ads like Myspace did is a huge reason for their success.
Keep this in mind.

I partially agree. However, the three examples you've mentioned are completely disproving your point. Groupon hasn't been successful, especially in the eyes of its investors. Facebook had a failed IPO because they don't earn enough to justify their valuation and Amazon earns pittance of what the bookstores of old used to earn.

What I'm saying is: if you want to run a website with lots of traffic i.e. sucessful then you have to think visitor experience. But if you want to run a wildly successful business, then you have to think: monetization from day 1 (even though you may not put ads in on day 1- or whatever your revenue source is) .

The thing is, web based businesses don't earn much.

 

[Ghost]

I partially agree. However, the three examples you've mentioned are completely disproving your point. Groupon hasn't been successful, especially in the eyes of its investors. Facebook had a failed IPO because they don't earn enough to justify their valuation and Amazon earns pittance of what the bookstores of old used to earn.

What I'm saying is: if you want to run a website with lots of traffic i.e. sucessful then you have to think visitor experience. But if you want to run a wildly successful business, then you have to think: monetization from day 1 (even though you may not put ads in on day 1- or whatever your revenue source is) .

The thing is, web based businesses don't earn much. :smile:

I mentioned success, and immediately went on to say sometimes success is not measured by financials (aka profits). I mentioned Groupon and said it is successful in the same sense an adless forum is. Groupon has daily users, tons of customers/etc. It hasn't done well financially, but its method of cutting deals (like Amazon) is the reason for its success in gaining a loyal community.
Mentioning Groupon and Amazon does actually back my point completely as my point is that you own a site to make it successful in the sense that you have members/visitors/etc and you should not just worry about a profit.

Facebook also backs my point as there methods of discrete ads and not turning a profit has definitely helped them gain the amount of members they have today.