People always ask me what it is like to make a living online. They ask as though they represent all of the people in the world with “real jobs”. It used to irk me, but now I just smile and think back to the 1000s of hours spent during late nights after the kids were in bed…
e-Giftology.com began as a hobby that turned out to be profitable (and subsequently time consuming). The site led to a contract to build PosterImageArt.com and a database of nearly 175,000 unique product options with more search terms (it seemed) than the Library of Congress.
The largest print on-demand archive on the net.
The next question they ask is: Once it is done, what do you do? The free-time must be amazing. Again, I smile and think to the dozens of emails with very specific and sometimes downright trivial questions our visitors come up with. Admittedly, I rarely know the answer, but the research is fun and leads to some interesting destinations.
Also, my time is spent researching “free” ways to optimize for Google. I think we’ll discover a cure for cancer before we truly solve the Google riddle, but it gives me something to do.
People typically assume that since you have a site that sells things, then your work life is pretty much on auto pilot. I have learned two truths about e-commerce in my years as webmaster:
1. A website knows the seasons. Summer is slower than Winter and weekends are busier than Mondays. Sounds like an overview of traffic at the mall, huh?
2. If you do not constantly tweak and re-tweak a site, then the flow of visitors will dry up. I am not sure about the algorithms and science behind this phenomenon, but I think it is the same as those that explain why shop keepers change out the displays in their windows every now and then.
So when you’re not online playing geek, what do you do?
This week I am in the northern woods of Wisconsin with my boys on a fishing expedition. We’re not sportsmen…nor are we particularly keen of the great mosquitoes..er….outdoors. However, sometimes it is nice to get a tan from something other than an LCD screen.
Why we keep goldfish for pets...
Next week I’ll be back home trying to solve the mysteries of why people buy golf club head covers, but not tuned wind chimes. Until then, surf safe and always bring a gift when visiting anyone…
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