Building an Internet Company – 8 Challenges To Overcome
By Anna Johnson on September 13th, 2009A recent article by Mike Markson, co-founder of Blekko, illustrates the enormity of the task facing the average Internet entrepreneur. In fact, read it the wrong way and you could find Mike’s article quite depressing.
But, as I read the article I found myself disagreeing. Until I saw the conclusion when I allowed myself a satisfied smile. Yes, on the face of it, the odds stacked against an Internet startup are considerable… but at the same time, achieving a modicum of success is something to be extremely proud of and not impossible.
Here’s what Mike says are eight (8) hard truths – what I’d prefer to call ‘challenges’ – facing an Internet entrepreneur attempting to build a consumer Internet business at the scale of a Facebook or Twitter. See if you agree:
- All the good domain names are taken.
- It’s tough getting the press to cover you.
- Offline advertising is pointless since people who view offline ads won’t go online to check your site out.
- Online advertising doesn’t really work – not if you want to build a big audience.
- Search engine optimization won’t enable you to build much direct traffic or a direct audience.
- Having an established offline brand won’t give you a large, ready-made online audience.
- You can’t ‘steal’ the competition’s audience online.
- Even if you manage to build a significant online audience, you won’t make much money per view or per visitor. With CPMs of up to just a dollar or so, you’ll need a LOT of page impressions to make any significant money.
If you’re a direct response Internet marketer aiming to dominate a small niche online, you might find this list of ‘can’t dos’ ridiculous. But if you’re aiming to build an online business aimed at the masses, Mike may have a point.
But he also suggests that anyone who makes it through all this – who manages to build a big audience and make wads of cash in a consumer Internet business – is someone to be admired, for their success is unlikely due to luck or because they had it easy.
Source: Mike Markson, “Eight hard truths about online media,” Fortune Brainstorm Media, September 11, 2009
