This is one of the most common things that I see in the Internet Marketing community: People get discouraged with their original site idea (one that used to really light a flame in them) and decide to start on something completely new… meanwhile setting their original project to the side, and eventually neglecting it altogether.
This is NOT the best idea.
I would venture to guess that most people enjoy developing their idea, but dont enjoy the ‘work’ or the ‘wait’ that follows in that first year. Or perhaps they’re not sure what to do next… or were maybe even misguided and feel let down at the thought of re-doing much of what they thought was right the first time.
I can relate to some of that. I’ve had to dig back in and re-work a site myself. And I’ve found myself bored with some of them. I’ve even neglected a few - for a period of time, at least.
Hey, I’m human 
But here’s an obvious truth: It’s generally easier to work with an established site than it is to start from scratch on a completely new project. Not only that, but you can usually expect to see results much quicker.
It takes time to get a new website established. Think about it this way: the same reason you grew bored with a site, is likely to be the case again on any new one. And who wants half a dozen (or more) unfinished and unprofitable sites floating around out there?
It’s going to take a little time and maintenance to keep the momentum going on any website that you develop. Some types of sites will need more than others, of course. So it makes sense to have a plan of action for this.
You can outsource the maintenance or marketing, yes. But whether you do that, or manage things solo, you need some sort of scheduled task list or action plan.
Here’s how I handle it:
Make a list of all of your websites, and determine what they will need on an ongoing basis. Updates, fresh inbound links, new content - whatever. Next, make a list of tasks and mark them: daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly.
The next best thing you can do is figure out what of that you can outsource - and do that. This will free you up to work on projects you are currently passionate about. Any of these tasks you decide to handle yourself, you should schedule to do at the beginning of your work day. If they are weekly tasks, knock them out on Monday. If they are monthly tasks, knock them out on the 1st.
Why? To get them out of the way. You’ll find you are much more productive when you dont have these things nagging at you in the back of your mind.
There’s nothing wrong with starting new projects, even if you havent completed the last one that you launched… as long as you put in 30 minutes a day, a couple of hours a week, or whatever it takes to maintain #1 while you are actively working on #2.
This is what works for me, at least…
14 responses so far ↓
Darren Cronian // May 5, 2006 at 6:31 am
I agree Lynn.
I have started so many websites, and have lost interest - now I treat tham as a project, and project plan them properly by using Microsoft Project (or an Excel spreadsheet) plan each task you have to undertake and set yourself a deadline.
It’s worked with me - my newest project is nearly near completion and the actual site design took me a weekend to complete because I’d planned it all beforehand.
I told you that I loved you - Building My Empire // May 5, 2006 at 11:03 am
[...] I was reading Lynn Terry’s blog and she has a good article today about looking after sites you’ve built - going back to them and updating them. How to look after a numerous amount of websites without going completely insane trying to keep up with it all. [...]
Lynn Terry // May 5, 2006 at 11:39 am
That’s a good idea, Darren. I was looking into some project management solutions myself, mainly to help with outsourcing tasks - but I can also see how it would help when managing things solo.
There is some mention of BaseCamp and TasksPro at this post on Rae’s blog for anyone interested.
-Lynn
Ellen C Braun // May 5, 2006 at 2:35 pm
Great post- Lynn.
On the other hand, Alice Seba posted here that it is often a good idea to diversify!
Both of your posts, within a few days of each other, have me seriously thinking about my Internet Marketing future…
Balance is the key!
Lynn Terry // May 5, 2006 at 3:39 pm
Thank you, Ellen.
I checked out Alice’s post (thanks for the link - I’m behind catching up on my feeds this week!) and I actually thought you meant that we were contradicting each other drastically… until I went and read it.
It’s a great post, of course. Alice puts out some awesome tips! But just to clarify, we were speaking on completely different subjects.
Alice was talking about ways to expand on your current website. And I was talking about getting discouraged with your main website, and setting out to start on something totally new - leaving your original site/project to die a slow and unnecessary death.
Domain names are cheap, and they are great tools - for particular promotions, separating or sectioning out site elements, etc - but all too often people rack up 100 or more domain names and never actually fully develop any of them.
In my post above, I was trying to outline a way to manage each of your projects on an ongoing basis - instead of always being distracted with “the current passion”.
Thanks again for the link - that was a great read!
-Lynn
Lynn Terry // May 5, 2006 at 3:42 pm
Let me just clarify the purpose of my post here, too - because looking back I was obviously not clear.
Here’s what I hear a lot of:
“I’m not making enough money from my website. I’m going to start something different so I can make money. What do you suggest?”
But when you ask them what they tried that wasnt working on the original website, the answer is usually: Nothing.
Going back and actively working on the original website is an easier and faster means of earning income online that starting new project after new project - without ever properly testing and tweaking any of them.
-Lynn
Suzanne // May 5, 2006 at 5:52 pm
I know exactly what it’s like… My main web site (not the blog lol) does earn me money and still I am too tired of it to touch it. I’ve had it for nearly 10 years now. I do plan to try to continue with it somehow though.
Lynn Terry // May 5, 2006 at 5:55 pm
I think we can all relate to that to some extent. I know I can. Sometimes it helps to take a fresh look at it, put some new life into it, that sort of thing.
But ultimately I think that good project management skills and outsourcing are necessities for our sanity.
-Lynn
Rae // May 6, 2006 at 5:37 pm
Ahhh, the thrill of the hunt.
No matter how long you’ve been doing this or how much money you make, everyone has those abandoned sites. I live by baecamp and my whiteboards lately. I put up a ton of sites last year and never touched some of them afterwards. So this month and next is “no new sites month”. Seems we’re all in “spring cleaning” mode.
Alice Seba // May 9, 2006 at 1:08 am
Definitely, we are not in contradiction….you’ll see many times that I’ve encouraged people to remain focused on what they’re doing. Lynn is exactly correct in pointing out that we’re talking about different things.
Besides, I’d never disagree with Lynn. It’s just not possible!
Brian Turner // May 9, 2006 at 6:14 am
Good post and points raised too - I’m currently tying to develop a string of online communities, and I know it’s tough at the best of times just developing one.
I think the key aim is to have long-term goals, and especially have at least a basic idea of how you think you should be able to monetise them - then offset early investment in outsourcing against that.
2c.
Lynn Terry // May 9, 2006 at 6:17 am
That works both ways, Alice
I enjoyed your article, by the way. You brought up some great points, definitely thought provoking!
And Rae - “spring cleaning”, I like that! It sounds much better than “scrambling to organize the chaos I’ve created”
-Lynn
Lynn Terry // May 9, 2006 at 6:22 am
I agree, Brian. Focusing on those long-term goals, and planning strategically, is definitely key.
All too often you hear people complain that they arent getting results quick enough. Personally, I like to give a project (or a website) at least a year before making any major decisions as to whether its going to meet my expectations or not.
And if not, I generally never just axe one. I simply make changes and test other options.
-Lynn
Retire Young and Wealthy » Struggling with multiple websites // May 10, 2006 at 1:32 am
[...] I finally found someone else who keeps creating new websites, without fully developing their current projects. I thought I was the only one guilty of doing this. [...]
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