As the saying goes, “the shoemaker’s son has no shoes,” similar can be said about the development of some of my websites. I am a trained Direct Marketer, but I sometimes forget even the most basic direct marketing principles when building my websites and my blog’s brand. If I was looking at some of my websites from a marketing point of view instead of a domain owner, there would probably be significant changes.
Through my involvement in the domain industry, I have learned quite a bit about forums. I am a member of several public and private domain and Internet discussion forums, and there are things about each forum that are cool, and things I find annoying. However, on most of my sites (with the exception of TropicalBirds.com), I have no forums at all. I know that forums are a great way to interact, and they can also drive traffic (and repeat traffic) to a website, helping to gain trust and build a community.
With all that said, I decided to launch a Burbank, California forum yesterday on Burbank.com – with help from Kevin @ BigTicketDomains.com. Using a customized Simple Machines forum, Kevin was able to set up a forum for me that can be used by Burbank residents and visitors. There are still a few tweaks I need to make, but I think this is going to be a smart move in the long run.
The point of this is that you should think about your own background when building your websites. If there are certain things you’ve learned in business or from your hobbies, you should consider incorporating them on your website. Think about think things you would want to see if you were a user of your website, and make it happen. If you enjoy using a particular feature, chances are good that others will as well.
Tap into your own background and knowledge when developing. Sometimes lessons you’ve learned can be adapted and adopted by your websites.