Good thoughts, Jer. Funny you should mention ad networks. I approached Federated Media a while back.
They loved the traffic, but couldn't deal with the fact that it was a tutorial site. They seemed to think of themselves as Builders of A Great Online Editorial Empire, instead of what they are: ad brokers.
"We work with blogs. This isn't a blog."
"It's better than a blog. The content is more targeted."
"Uh, you're not a blog."
Maybe I'll hit up No Starch Press or somebody like that. Thanks!
We did a research study sponsored by the U.S. Dept. of Ed that showed that for learning basic skills, black-and-white screenshots are best. Walking people through tasks step-by-step with static pictures is most effective. Video is really good for some things (showing the correct hand movements to operate an iPhone, for instance), but for basic "click here" stuff, simpler is better.
Actually, the site was designed around banner ads--that's why it's so narrow. It's 728px wide--leaderboard width. They were built-in between the header and content. I had AdSense serving 'em up, but it didn't generate much revenue.
Yeah, I figure that whatever gets sold there has to benefit the folks taking the tutorials. "You've learned the basics, now here are some materials to take you further." Maybe that's it...
There will always be a market for custom-built sites. But for folks like local candidates and your dentist, they can really use something off-the-rack and affordable.
For example, most of the local candidates I've seen get volunteers to build their sites for free...and get what they pay for. Very few can afford the $10K it takes to get a decent site custom-built.
Have you thought about picking a vertical, creating an amazingly excellent site to serve it, then selling that site a thousand times with different skins? I used to do custom Web devt. too, and the sell-do cycle drove me nuts.
Pretty different, actually. In fact, podiatrists and ear/nose/throat practices, plumbers and trim carpenters may need different templates.
We found that when we began talking to local citizens advocacy groups. We initially thought that they could use the same architecture/structure we use for political campaigns (they're campaigns too, right?), but found out they need a different site template.
They loved the traffic, but couldn't deal with the fact that it was a tutorial site. They seemed to think of themselves as Builders of A Great Online Editorial Empire, instead of what they are: ad brokers.
"We work with blogs. This isn't a blog."
"It's better than a blog. The content is more targeted."
"Uh, you're not a blog."
Maybe I'll hit up No Starch Press or somebody like that. Thanks!