Part 4 : The commercial side

You're a member of Link Exchange - how useful do you think these banner exchanges are as a means of promotion?
The click-through rate on banners has really dropped as Web surfers have become used to them. That's true for both free and paid banners. Still, my banners bring me free traffic every month and also help build the brand name of WorkingDogWeb.com as a side benefit. While many people like to run gimmick ads, I think that is a huge waste of impressions. Your site's name does not have to be large on the banner, but I think it should be there.

You're also very active on the Amazon associates discussion list. How has participating in discussion lists helped you with your website?
This discussion list has been moderately helpful. We have discussed issues we all face with Amazon affiliate programs, and have gotten some ideas on improving sales. One of the best ones was building individual pages for a single, popular, expensive book or category of books, and then purchasing keywords on GoTo.com for that specific URL. I did that for dog encyclopedias, for example, with some success.

Your website earns money directly through affiliate programs. What programs work best for you and what methods have you used to boost sales?
Frankly, nothing matches Amazon.com, especially now that the online store has expanded to music, videos, toys, electronics and more as well as books. I sell in all those categories except electronics. I've seen some modest income from other affiliate programs, usually those most closely related to my site's topic, dogs. Just like selling in a physical store, I display books -- via images of book jackets -- throughout the site, not just in the bookstore. That's the equivalent of front window displays, front of aisle displays and more. Most of my shoppers go to Amazon.com via a specific book, either one of the jacket displays or from the bookstore.

You also have a small publishing business, but don't take online payments for your newsletter and books - what's your reasoning on that?
There's been a decline in interest in the racing Siberian Husky and we've stopped publishing the newsletter on paper after a 15-year run. We're also continuing work on a long-time book project on the history of the Siberian Husky in Siberia. So right now we are focusing on income from affiliate programs. All our books and back issues of the newsletter remain available, but that's not our focus. When the new book is finally completed, we may very well take online payments. That's clearly an important strategy. Right now I'm happy not having to ship books.

After the success of Stephen King's ebook(let), can you see yourself publishing ebooks?
That certainly is a possibility. However, my Siberian Husky book will certainly need to be done on paper to reach its full impact because of the pictures and the desire for permanence. But an online excerpt might be a possibility.

Looking to the future, where do you see WorkingDogWeb in a year's time? What are your plans for the future?
That's like asking where will the Web be in a year's time! In part we don't know because there surely will be more innovations, and I would expect to have tried some of them. For example, webrings were popular for awhile but now I see only modest traffic from them. Currently I am building a hand-selected database of websites valuable to working dog owners. A year from now that will be a big database and an important part of the site and an advertising revenue source.

On my short list is a serious look at a redesign of the home page, to make it faster loading. The newsletter could have five times as many subscribers, and sales should continue to grow.

Because of the site and the online volunteer work I have done, including being the founding editor of the Dogs section at what is now the Open Directory, I am getting some very attractive offers for paying projects that also provide promotional opportunities for the site. I am actively involved in one of these and just starting another. Each of these should help build the WorkingDogWeb.com brand as a friendly, trusted and enjoyable site for dog information and fun, and a place to shop because it is my visitors: "community on the Web."

If you had one piece of advice would a would-be webmaster, what would it be?
Ask yourself what you know well, what niche online that you could serve very well and what products or services people want in that niche market. And then ask what innovation or new approach you could bring to meeting people's needs in that niche and to delighting them when they visit to your site. The answers will give you a solid starting point for a popular address on the Web.