Seth Godin recently posted a list of questions that every business owner, marketer, or individual should ask themselves about their own website and it’s effectiveness.  Think through each with regard to your own as I do with this site!

From Godin:

• What is the goal of the site?
• In other words, when it’s working great, what specific outcomes will occur?
• Who are we trying to please? If it’s the boss, what does she want? Is impressing a certain kind of person important? Which kind?
• How many people on your team have to be involved? At what level?
• Who are we trying to reach? Is it everyone? Our customers? A certain kind of prospect?
• What are the sites that this group has demonstrated they enjoy interacting with?
• Are we trying to close sales?
• Are we telling a story?
• Are we earning permission to follow up?
• Are we hoping that people will watch or learn?
• Do we need people to spread the word using various social media tools?
• Are we building a tribe of people who will use the site to connect with each other?
• Do people find the site via word of mouth? Are they looking to answer a specific question?
• Is there ongoing news and updates that need to be presented to people?
• Is the site part of a larger suite of places online where people can find out about us, or is this our one sign post?
• Is that information high in bandwidth or just little bits of data?
• Do we want people to call us?
• How many times a month would we like people to come by? For how long?
• Who needs to update this site? How often?
• How often can we afford to overhaul this site?
• Does showing up in the search engines matter? If so, for what terms? At what cost? Will we be willing to compromise any of the things above in order to achieve this goal?
• Will the site need to be universally accessible? Do issues of disability or language or browser come into it?
• How much money do we have to spend? How much time?
• Does the organization understand that ‘everything’ is not an option?

These will get you thinking about overall site effectiveness, about purpose.  Next, make a list of ideas and thoughts that came to mind as you read through these questions and answered them.  This list will serve as a reference in developing an improvement strategy moving forward.

The world of web 2.0 and tech startups have revealed the business model of the future, or maybe the now?  I mean, they’ve been around for a while now but more and more are hitching a ride on the “free” train as we move forward into the future.  This is particularly true of web-based products and services.  Terms such as “Freemium” are being coined that describe the idea of free services with paid upgrades.  Other companies, such as google, facebook, twitter, etc. are nearly 100% free and setting a standard of freedom (wow, you can really ‘pun’ it up with this whole free thing).  Seth Godin has several posts regarding this model such as here.  Others, like Wired’s Chris Anderson have even written books on this concept here.  Chris shared his thoughts on this concept in several interviews and articles as well, as has Godin, that take the idea of offering abundance for free and scarcity for fee.  You can essentially get the entire monthly magazine of Wired online for free, or you can pay and get the well postured, premium, hard copy magazine for a fee.  I’m a subscriber, even though it is free online.  I just like the feel of the mag.  Entrepreneur.com recently had an article on this concept as well here.  An exerpt:

On the Web, services such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter are the undisputed kings of free, providing robust services at no charge to users. But a host of other companies use free in a much more traditional way–as an enticement for paid upgrades. The model is known as freemium, and while it may not make headlines, proponents say it can make millions.

Unfortunately, finding the right balance between free and paid in the freemium model can leave a new business in uncharted waters, with few hard and fast rules to follow.

There are many companies paving the way and defining their version of the rules quite successfully.  Among those in the article are 37Signals, Beanstock, and Posterous.  These are all web companies.

So, how can a company that is not specifically a web-company take advantage of “Free” or create its own freemium business model?  In today’s world, nearly all companies are “web” companies in one form or another.  It may be for marketing only, and that is fine.  This window to the web is what makes freemium possible, even for non-web-centric companies.  The reason the web is the key is due to low cost, no overhead, distribution opportunities.  It costs too much to do freemium outside of the web (in most cases).  When software can be developed once and distributed to limitless end users at nearly zero cost, it makes sense to look to the web.  For these non-web-centric companies, it may look like offering online courses, guides, e-books, and management tools for a do-it-yourself version of your particular product or service, the up-sell being to actually buy the product or service which is much easier and better that stumbling through on your own.  Other companies may create online webinars, seminars, and other informational free products that actually provide value while sharing the possibilities of the premium services and products.

Another key to free is finding alternative ways of revenue generation while offering your primary service free.  This has been Google’s model from the beginning.  Everything they offer is free with the opportunity to sell advertising, data-mine their substantial user base, and more.  Looking for creative alternatives to revenue is powerful and ought to be explored regardless of one’s chosen business model.  Just be careful to not overdue the ads, the easiest and most common form of alternative revenue.  Get creative instead.

It is exciting to see the new world of free develop as technology enhances the ability to distribute product and services so easily.  It makes everyone’s life better as us end users can get tons of great, free stuff while taking advantage of some premium offerings and companies are getting the distribution and viral growth they need to succeed, a great win-win.

Any input on freemium models, possibilities, or ideas?

This is definitely an old concept that you will find in all the best business and self-help books.  Nearly every consultant will speak of focus as well and there is reason it has stood the tests of time.  Often, we find ourselves in conflict with our willingness to perform any service or provide any product a potential client can imagine.  Especially in it’s earliest stages, business tends to go “where the money is.”  This typically leads to a lot of additional work with little additional reward, not justifying the investment (time, etc.).  The idea of focus, especially in early development is crucial.

A recent discussion with a business associate and friend reminded me of the importance of focus.  When you find yourself too busy, working late and wanting more, you may have a focus problem.  A coach told my associate to look at the list of products and services he had written up on a board and went through a series of questions.  Anyone should do a similar exercise: Create a list of all your products or services and ask yourself these questions.  Which ONE offering makes the most economic sense? Which ONE of any would you want to do most? Which ONE offers the most potential? Now, take that service and FOCUS! Make that your primary service.  Don’t waste much time on others, maybe a few auxiliary services and products but with little focus on these.  As a new company, identify your bread and butter and make it the best bread and butter you’ve ever tasted.  Now sell that bread and butter to everyone since its the best they’ll taste too.  Later, once systems are developed, processes formed, pipelines automated, then you can look at the fringe, the extras, the additional pursuits.

Think about your endeavor and reassess your focus.

I have posted from time to time of inventions or ideas that I find interesting, new innovations, technologies, and more.  I often make the comment that it is entrepreneur-ism at work, or that I hope they make a bunch of money, etc.  Many may consider me a “greedy capitalist” at times for my hope of f0r-profit enterprising versus strictly altruistic giving of one’s talents.  My reasons, once pondered and understood, are often much more ‘giving’ than many may give credit to.

The free market plays important roles ethically and morally as well as economically and for advancement or progression.  It can be a gauge of one’s effectiveness, of one’s desirability.  As a dipstick, profit can be most valuable, telling you what society wants or doesn’t want, what a market needs or doesn’t need, and even simply your own inability or ability as an entrepreneur.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, simply an indicator, even to let you know you still have something to learn.  These indicators are not only valid in seeing viable financial success but actual desired assistance.  The marketplace need is a cry for help, a wanting for something better.  It may not always be so dramatic such as finally gaining back the two feet of floor space by going for a flat panel TV over your ancient tube set, but the cry still exists.  Oftentimes people decide there must be a trade between satisfying the cry for help and making money when, in reality, they work best when together.  Many treat the desire to make money as a desire to exploit, abuse, and hurt those around them when they are polar opposites.  If I am not satisfying the need, no one will be willing to pay money for it in the free market.  If people are paying for it freely, they must want it and it satisfies the cry.  One can align areas of passion and satisfaction with financial success.

This leads us to the next powerful point. 

As a follow-up to a my recent post regarding a few of my books in the ol’ library, I figured I’d share my current magazine subscription line up for magazines. This changes from time to time as subscriptions are added and dropped but currently is as follows:

- Inc.

- Fast Company

- Entrepreneur

- Reason: Free Minds and Free Markets

- Wired

- PC World

- The Freeman

The above are the few print magazines I’m currently subscribed to.  My Blog-Reader is much more crowded.  I would recommend at least checking out each one’s website, if not subscribing yourself.  I currently don’t subscribe to any newspapers.  Online has replaced that for me, although I’ve been thinking about subscribing to Investor’s Business Daily, mostly for trading and investing purposes…