I think a lot of small publishers will be out of business within 2 years
There was a web designer who was very skilled. He could charge above the market rate and his clients were more than willing to pay for it. For several years he made very good money. He was not afraid to spend it and lived a very comfortable lifestyle.
Unfortunately the good times did not last forever. As time progressed his competitor’s skills grew and his rates started feeling the squeeze. Not only did he have to work harder but he also had to work longer. He was no fool, he realised he would not be able to do this forever. He made the decision to scale back his lifestyle and start saving.
Yes, that is a true story.
Today not just the web, but the entire world is changing and growing at an unbelievably rapid pace. I encourage you to take a serious look at outside threats to your business model. Instead of giving up, this designer could have started a design outsourcing firm. Where some see an end to their livelihood, others see new oppurtunities.
I am predicting that independent publishers are soon going to begin feeling the same pressures that the web designer did. Why? Pick up a recent issue of Business 2.0. The profitability of this industry is no secret, nor is search engine optimization.
This is great news for those who are building powerful sites, but very bad news for those who have hesitently pushed out mediocre projects for years.
Where do you stand?
If AdSense and YPN continue to grow at current pace i think the future for online publishers is bright, even for small ones.
But sooner or later all MFA (made for adsesne) sites will be out of business
Comment by Priit — June 27, 2006 @ 2:25 am
I agree with Priit about the MFA publishers, spammers and splogger who are cluttering up the internet with rubbish. Maybe they’ll get a short term cash fix out of it but they won’t survive long term.
Andrew’s headline is a little misleading (good copywriting
)but I think he’s quite correct. Threads on forums like SPF with guys like Mook Jon and UKOffer telling how much money they are making is always going to tempt some young guys into the game looking for the quick buck and it’s these small publishers who won’t survive the market as it matures.
If you build quality web based businesses or publish quality content sites that really add value t othe web and to your readership then you will have the best grounding to continue in business. This industry is no different to any other in that respect, good products+good marketing+good monetization means a far greater chance of survival than a short term “get rich quick at any cost” ethos.
Comment by Hylo — June 28, 2006 @ 3:50 am
[...] Source:Â Hylo’s comment at Andrew Johnsons Web Publishing Blog. [...]
Pingback by Michael Phipps » Blog Archive » Great Quote For Those Considering Get Rich Quick — July 3, 2006 @ 7:59 pm
[...] I tried to send this message in my controversial post about the threats to small publishers. The web is changing very fast. A year or two ago dating sites were experiencing unbelievable growth and the industry was looking great. Today between Myspace and free sites like PlentyofFish, the online dating industry no longer looks so healthy. [...]
Pingback by » Social Networking: The Trend is Niche - Web Publishing Blog — July 12, 2006 @ 2:41 pm
Small Publishers Staying Strong
Andrew Johnson posted on his blog that he thinks small publishers will be out of business in 2 years. I don’t think so, not even remotely. The small publisher has an inherent value that no large publisher can match. No or little overhead. To be …
Trackback by Website Publisher Blog — August 30, 2007 @ 8:05 am