Viewing Blog In Case Studies  Monetization  Miscellaneous 

When I first added a community to my website, the community was hosted elsewhere. The domain was hosted on a shared server along with many other sites. It was cheap. No money worries.

When I decided to host the forum on my own domain, I purchased UBB software first and within 2 weeks was having to purge the oldest threads in order to keep the size within my hosting limits. I was notified I would have to move off their server or purchase more space/bandwidth.

I found vbulletin software which had just released their first version. I took the plunge at the urging of my new hosting service, with the expectation that the mysql and php would be the best solution for the forum. It was the right solution for the community. But I still had to move the forum yet again. And again. And again until I was on a hosting plan that was considered “virtually dedicated”.

It wasn’t. Within another few months I was told yet again my website was using too many of server’s processes and would need to move. The word “dedicated” was used to describe my needs.

What did I know about servers? Not much. I had been relying on the goodwill of others to lead the way, telling me what I need while my non-techy brain tried to wrap around it. I knew only one thing. Money was not only a worry. It was a requirement.

I told my staff who urged me to tell the community. Along with some new advertisers and the generosity of our staff and members, the money rolled in. We moved onto our first dedicated server about the same time I went to the bank to request a merchant account.

I found products that matched the niche. i found a simple and free software shopping cart. I found a free-lance customizer who helped me get the store in place. I opened the store with products on shelves in the spare bedroom of my house.

Today, I lease offices to house the store’s products and shipping space needs. Today I keep financial worksheets daily to track the daily income along with the expenses. Today I pay bills for the telephone line, the office worker, the shipping clerk, the CPA, the store software freelancer, the web developer, the graphic artist, the system administrator, the two servers that house the site, the electricity, the taxes, the taxes, the taxes, and more.

It appeared to me then, as it appears to me now. The larger the site, the busier the traffic, the costlier the expenses. The more money that rolls in from advertising, store sales and upgraded memberships, the higher the expense list becomes.

And so began the great exchange. Money for services. Services for money.

Post A Comment

You must be logged in to post comments.
Login to My Account - New users Sign Up!