The start of any new business always contains the scariest moments. On the one hand, you\’re never going to feel more enthusiastic about your idea than during those first few months. You\’ll get to see your plan take flight and discover whether it really does have wings.
On the other hand, you also have to cope with the fear that it\’s going to fail — that what you thought was going to bring you a giant sack of cash is actually going to drink your savings and waste your time.
Like I said, it\’s scary stuff.
In practice, what happens at the beginning of a new business is that you climb a learning curve. Some of the things that you thought would take off faster than a rocket on a spring end up fizzling out on the launch pad. Other ideas that you thought weren\’t very exciting end up shocking you by bringing in the bulk of your revenues.
You learn. You\’re surprised. You earn.
That\’s as true of an online publishing business as it is of any other industry.
What\’s important during this process though is that you\’re not misled. Increase your publishing rate from three to five blog posts a week, for example, and you might find that your traffic, clickthroughs and income all rise.
But before you can conclude that that increase is a result of more frequent posting — and commit yourself to writing more — you first have to eliminate every other possibility.
Keeping good records is always important in any business. It\’s particularly important at the beginning of the business when you\’re trying out different strategies to see which really do work best. It\’s the only way to make sure that you\’re collecting all the information as it flows in so that you can make smart decisions.
There\’s something else that\’s important to do at the beginning of a new business or a new website though: keep going.
When you find an idea doesn\’t work, it can be tempting to throw in the towel and move on to your next one. That might be the right thing to do eventually. But before you make that decision, be certain that you\’ve understood the market, that you\’re making the right choice and that a different approach won\’t give you a pleasant surprise.