BUSINESS STRATEGY

Previously we discussed the concept of giving birth to an adult website. We talked about asking some honest questions and providing honest answers, just like as I did when I had that gleam in my eye.BUSINESS STRATEGY

Previously we discussed the concept of giving birth to an adult website. We talked about asking some honest questions and providing honest answers, just like as I did when I had that gleam in my eye. Ultimately, I decided I had the knowledge (HTML, CGI, Javascript, graphics) and the competitive advantage (contacts in the adult industry) to give it a shot.

[Part One]

Choosing The Mother And Naming Your Offspring

If the product of your love is going to grow up to be successful and provide for you in your old age, you need to give it a good name. Name a child “Jeeves” and it will grow up into a butler. A good name is imperative to a successful site, and unfortunately, finding a good candidate is slightly harder than flipping through the Baby Name Book and pointing at “Jennifer” or “Todd.” Unlike children’s names, you can’t duplicate sex site names, and all the good ones have been taken. Be original, and think outside of the box. It takes research and trial and error to come up with an acceptable and available one, so try utilizing a combination of words and/or letters that are associated with the adult business. “69,” “XXX” or “sex,” are good places to begin (in more ways than one!).

The site name should relate to your “niche” or target, in order to help you market your site in some way. I envisioned the largest adult toy store on the planet for my site, so I began with obvious choices when choosing my domain name. Not surprisingly, all the “good” names were gone.

Then I started thinking outside the box. Instead of an obvious name, maybe I could come up with a name that helped market the site, and in that way, help define it. My first choice, “Nile.com” was an obvious extension from Amazon.com; they’re both rivers. There were three problems with Nile.com. One, it was taken. Secondly, it was too similar to Nike.com (why give them more business because of typos?). And thirdly, it didn’t really indicate that my products were adult related. By taking some of my own advice (from above), I combined Nile with XXX and came up with the available domain name for my adult store: NileXXX.com. Then, to explain it in a way that is easy for anyone to grasp, I came up with the “catch-phrase” – “Longer, harder & deeper than the Amazon.” Everyone knows what “Amazon” I’m referring to, and they know that my site is the adult equivalent. Of course, it’s up to promotion and marketing to pull that off, but that comes in a later article.

Simultaneous to naming your site comes the task of choosing a hosting provider for it. In most cases, hosting providers allow you to look up and register domain names through them, so you might as well kill two birds with one stone by seeking out an appropriate hosting provider first, and utilizing the resources they provide to research available domain names once you have brainstormed possibilities.

Resource sites, like YNOTMasters.com, are excellent for researching hosting providers, and most will provide details about the host so you can do some comparisons without having to visit each specific site. Pay attention to the storage restrictions, the bandwidth restrictions, the speed of the service, the amount of dedicated servers, what sort of access they provide, and the cost (including all associated costs relative to the restrictions).

While much of the comparison-shopping can be done directly from the resource site, it is also a good idea to visit the hosting site itself. The look, design, and speed of the hosting provider’s web page will offer evidence of their professionalism. If their site loads slowly, it’s a good bet yours will, too.

Of course, checking out the resource lists of appropriate providers is only the beginning of the necessary research. Resource sites are just that – resources to begin your research. You need to visit a few of the hosting providers themselves. While the specific websites associated with hosting providers might offer intangible evidence on how they will meet your needs (in relation to their speed and professionalism), they tend to be biased when it comes to actually recommending a hosting provider (each seems to think they are the best – imagine that!)

For unbiased advice on who to go with, visit the adult bulletin boards, either through UseNet or through those provided by resource sites. When I was choosing the hosting provider for my site, I did a search in alt.sex (and all its subsequent trees) for “hosting” and scanned the resulting thousands of postings. While not all of the posts were helpful in determining a hosting provider appropriate for my needs, most of them offered useful advice in one way or the other. And yes, many of the posts did offer specific advice about successes and failures associated with Hosting Provider A and Hosting Provider B.

Ultimately, there is not a clear-cut winner when it comes to providers. I found it to be much like seeking out a potential mother or wife. There’s only so much research you can do. Then you have to go with your gut instinct and choose one where the advantages strongly outweigh the disadvantages. You may learn to live with the annoying traits or you may find that you pick unsuccessfully the first time or two. Just try again. After all, that’s what “divorce” is for.

That being said, I picked a hosting provider that seemed to fit my needs the best. I had looked at 15 websites, read over 100 postings on various bulletin boards, and made PRO and CON lists. I was anxious to get married (so to speak), so I didn’t kill myself over the choice. I knew that if I chose unwisely, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

I finalized the process of signing up for my hosting provider and transferred my domain name to their net servers. Now my website had a name and it had a mother. Join me next time as I find a way to feed it (money).

Article written by Richard at NileXXX.com, home to the world’s sexiest selection of adult toys, DVDs, and clothing.

BUSINESS STRATEGY

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