Thoughts while hibernating - about new websites
This time of year I like to hibernate. It's the short days. It also gives me time to think about what next...
In recent weeks I've been trying to work out what to do with respect to this blog and other things I want to do. Hence the long gaps between very sporadic posts.
I operate by making use of (I hope) intelligent use of my gut reaction a lot of the time. This in turn is influenced by lots of bits of information picked up along the way, around and about. If my gut won't let me do something I have to listen to it.
Just recently it's been telling me to stop and think and to not be a slave to my regular blog posts and to think about what else I want to do.
Today I was advising somebody about a matter she was involved in where she could see she had opted for the short term least resistant option. I counselled that, in general, it's far better to think much longer term - and then match up your short term actions to steps to achieving where you want to be in the longer term - so that your short term actions match up and support your long term goals.
Which is not say you can't go off piste from time to time - but it can be risky - even terminal....!
Bottom line - I've been trying to get a couple of new "resources for artists" websites off the ground now for two years. They've been sat in draft and while they progress a little bit from time to time, they really need some concerted work to get them sorted enough to publish.
One of them is below.
The websites are informed by the fact that
In fact, I'd go so far as to say that my first new website (about botanical art - a favourite topic of mine) is now MORE successful than Making A Mark.
In recent weeks I've been trying to work out what to do with respect to this blog and other things I want to do. Hence the long gaps between very sporadic posts.
I operate by making use of (I hope) intelligent use of my gut reaction a lot of the time. This in turn is influenced by lots of bits of information picked up along the way, around and about. If my gut won't let me do something I have to listen to it.
Just recently it's been telling me to stop and think and to not be a slave to my regular blog posts and to think about what else I want to do.
Today I was advising somebody about a matter she was involved in where she could see she had opted for the short term least resistant option. I counselled that, in general, it's far better to think much longer term - and then match up your short term actions to steps to achieving where you want to be in the longer term - so that your short term actions match up and support your long term goals.
Which is not say you can't go off piste from time to time - but it can be risky - even terminal....!
Bottom line - I've been trying to get a couple of new "resources for artists" websites off the ground now for two years. They've been sat in draft and while they progress a little bit from time to time, they really need some concerted work to get them sorted enough to publish.
One of them is below.
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| The Home Page of my Tips for Artists website - a work in progress |
- lots of visits to my blog are visiting old blog posts
- this blog has been very diverse in its nature whereas there's a trend to become increasingly focused around specific topics - and the development of niche websites.
A lot of visits to this blog are accessing past blog posts
By past I mean ones I wrote years ago when I used to do a major blog project each year.I used to have a strategy for making archived blog posts relating to past projects or long term topics of interest - like Composition and Colour - more accessible which worked well.
However that got scuppered some time ago when Seth Godin sold out of an enterprise I was involved in which gave me scope to provide individual websites for individual topics - at no cost to me.
Niche websites work
So now - in order to make the information collected over the years writing this blog more accessible, I have to pay for the websites to develop the topic areas - and it's really stupid paying for websites which are not published!
My first two websites - Botanical Art and Artists and Art Business Info for Artists - have had different levels of success - but are both now being increasingly referenced by a wider audience, many of whom did not know about Making A Mark.
In fact, I'd go so far as to say that my first new website (about botanical art - a favourite topic of mine) is now MORE successful than Making A Mark.
- it took 5.5 years to get to one million visitors on Making A Mark (see
Making A Mark notches up 1 million visits) - and I learned a lot while working on the blog which is why.....
- it took me just 3.5 years to get to one million visits to Botanical Artists. It also has a low bounce rate because it is a niche audience and once found the devoted fans of botanical art tend to keep visiting!
So demand for the back catalogue + topic websites looking for a new home = a new niche website
It took a while to work out what these should be. They've also been through a few name changes
However, my consensus (after considerable internal debate - I give myself a hard time sometimes) is that they will be:
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