Web Site’s Success Rides On Having a Good Plan

Q: I have an idea for offering a free product online. My revenue will come from advertisers, and I’m thinking about charging a very small monthly fee for those interested in accessing my site. How do I approach advertisers? Should I design my site first? What’s my first step?

--Jo Anne Ryan,

Ventura

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A: The first step is usually the hardest part because people get really eager to start Web projects. First, do your homework. Whom will your site target? This is one of the first questions potential advertisers will ask you. Even if you wind up with a site so popular that you get 5 million page views a month, you’ll still need to tell advertisers who is visiting your site, how often they visit, where they come from in their Web travels and how long they stick around.

The reality is, unless you’re publishing extraordinarily privileged or specialized information, it’s unlikely you’ll get anyone to pay for access to a Web site. Many have tried this, including Microsoft (Slate.com), and most have failed miserably. The Web is all about free information exchange. If you insist on charging a fee to access your site, charge a one-time flat rate and make sure the “deliverables” are clear--and valuable--to your site visitor. You might also try offering a free basic version, with fees applied to bigger and better versions of your product or services.

You need to get a marketing plan in order. How do you plan to attract visitors so that your site looks attractive to advertisers? You will also need a business plan with a budget in place to guide you.

When approaching potential advertisers, the more of a track record you have, the better. Some folks will bite on concept only, but the odds of that happening become more unlikely by the day. Naturally, you will approach companies that are interested in selling to your potential audience. You will need to sell them on the quality of your service/product and site content, frequency of site updates, number of visitors and types of visitors.

Since there are thousands of companies competing for ad dollars, the more specific and qualified your visitor base is, the better. You don’t have to have your site completed to approach possible advertisers, but it will be better if you can at least show them a storyboard or facade of what you have planned.

You also will need to develop an advertising package, including ad styles and rates. If possible, you might offer to develop the ads for your potential advertisers as an extended service.

Some resources for more information include: the Internet Advertising Bureau, (https://www.iab.net), AdClub (https://www.adclub.net) and the Internet Advertising Resource Guide (https://www.admedia.org).

--Bernadette Williams,

principal consultant,

I-Strategy.com,

Culver City

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Q: I have a wholesale bakery and recently created a prepackaged pistachio cinnamon biscotti, which I’m selling to gourmet stores, cafes and gift basket companies. I’d like to offer it to larger chain stores, but I can’t find a distributor. How do I contact one?

--Ilona Sulykos,

Let Them Eat Cake,

Palmdale

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A: If you go to any fancy food show, the only two major products you will see in abundance are cookies and hot sauce. The world is not waiting for another biscotti! What makes yours any better or different from anyone else’s? Why should a retailer stock your product? To make it successful, you’ll want to look beyond taste and packaging--which are in the eye and mouth of the beholder--and find a way to make your cookie stand out.

For instance, can you merchandise it better? Maybe you could place the cookies in display glass jars and sell the whole package to a retail account such as a deli or coffeehouse.

Can you distribute it differently from others? Bonnie’s Cookies ([818] 363-2423) does a good job with high-end, fun, imaginative mail-order and Internet products. Just Off Melrose found a way to differentiate its croutons and crisps by placing merchandising racks in stores.

When it comes to taste, what makes yours unique? Maybe you could cover it, enrobe it, smother it or put more stuff in it or on it. Make it thicker or thinner, or create a different texture from what everyone else has, perhaps a hard exterior and soft interior with chocolate, marshmallows or cream filling.

Finding a distributor within the supermarket segment will be nearly impossible, and launching a retail product to the supermarket trade is extremely costly. A line of three products in a regional chain may cost as much as $2 million to $3 million. To launch a new product on a national basis will cost upward of $20 million.

You may have a better chance seeking a market in food service--that is, coffeehouses and mid-scale and casual dining. You may be able to work with one of your larger vendors to get into food service distribution, such as a Sysco or Rycoff. If you want a retail presence, try getting product placement in the deli or fresh bakeries of supermarkets, or look at Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods Market as possible outlets, or try to get placement at Williams-Sonoma or any of the mail-order outlets or new “dot-coms.”

--Ed Engoron, President/CEO,

Perspectives/the Consulting

Group Inc., Los Angeles

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If you have a question about how to start or operate a small business, mail it to Karen E. Klein, Los Angeles Times, 1333 S. Mayflower Ave., Suite 100, Monrovia, CA 91016, or e-mail it to [email protected]. Include your name, address and telephone number. This column is designed to answer questions of general interest. It should not be construed as legal advice.