Social Network Business Plans: What Makes Them Different?

November 16, 2009

How do social network business plans differ from an ordinary startup business plan? After working with clients who had drafted business plans for social networking websites, I realized that it made sense to look at unique features of these businesses. The following is a discussion with fellow SCORE counselors Robbin Block and Charlene Gervais, who [...]

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Membership Website Software Alternatives

November 2, 2009

What software is available to start a membership website? Below I’m listing links to various software programs that can be used for membership websites of varying sophistication.   Please do check references and look at sites of current clients.  None of the links below are affiliate links. This follows my earlier post on Membership Websites: Description [...]

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Membership Websites: Description and Profitable Topics

October 27, 2009

What is a membership website?  And what niche should you choose if you want to build a profitable membership-only site? I’m investigating these questions for you, but here’s the caveat.  Many of the links below are from people promoting membership site software, consulting, etc.  These give you a place to start, but please do check [...]

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Website Communications: Creating Good Notifications and Website Emails from Your Social Networking Website

October 23, 2009

What are guidelines for creating notifications and communications from my social networking website? That’s the question my client Erica posed to me last week. We sat down and created these guidelines for her.  Perhaps they’ll also help you as you design your social networking website and plan its operations. NOTIFICATIONS List all notifications set up [...]

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Online Deals and Group Discounts as a Business Model or Revenue Stream

October 13, 2009

Groupon promotion of online deals is getting press all over the place in the last couple weeks.  And they have an interesting and profitable twist on coupon advertising.  They offer individuals the opportunity to participate in group discounts for very short-term offers if a minimum number of people sign up. How Groupon Works This is [...]

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What Do Site Users Do in Social Networking Websites?

October 10, 2009

What activities  occupy users  in social networking sites?  The top three are: posting photos, commenting on updates of others, and posting updates themselves.  This from  Social Site Users Depend on Their Networks, eMarketer’s graphic using Beresford Research data. Popular User Activities in Social Networks I guess it’s not a surprise that posting photos is popular.  [...]

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New Page Shows Featured Social Networking Websites and Communities

September 28, 2009

As I blog about how to start a social network, owners and prospective owners of social networking websites and online communities have reached out and engaged me in conversation, either on this blog or through SCORE Chicago. Today I decided to set up a page with my social networking website “friends” that shows their logos, [...]

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Advertisers and Niche Social Networks

September 23, 2009

Blogger Blaise Nutter last month gave big advertisers 5 Rules for Marketing in Niche Social Networks.  Since many readers of this site run niche social networks, I thought it would be useful to look at the post from the niche owner or community leader’s point of view. Niche Advantage — Big Networks Are Hard to [...]

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Surprise! Stats Show Social Network Users DO Talk About Companies and Brands — Social Network Marketing IS Possible

September 15, 2009

While most of us use social networks to maintain and expand friendships, it turns out that we are increasingly involved with brand promotion and criticism.  So says Anderson Analytics, with the above stats, presented in the graphic of e-Marketer. Let me see.  Do I believe this? Became a Fan or Follower Yes, I’ve become a [...]

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