to serve mind

The motivation for the creation of this site occurred on many different levels, not least of which was to engage in an exploration and experimentation on one of the most challenging subjects I’ve ever come up against: marketing. Look at the way I just phrased it! I don’t talk about embracing the subject. No, it’s something that is… adversarial. Something I am up against.

I am, and will always be, an anti-marketer marketer. I understand its importance. But it is not something that comes easily. No different I suppose than the “math challenged”. They can certainly understand the importance of math (for others, of course). But the last thing they want to review is a polynomial equation from their High School days. Whereas I find such a thought… exciting. Bizarre, eh?

But there’s a twist here in my motivation that I’ve never quite conveyed here in these posts. And I do believe that now is the time.

When I spent close to two decades running my own business in the Seattle area (mostly) as an Applications Developer, my focus was always on meeting the requirements of the customer in order to help them run their business more efficiently and more profitably. The idea of being in competition with the customer at the same time as writing code for them would have seemed rather bizarre. So I hope you can understand why I find the current affiliate/reseller model on the Internet to also be rather bizarre.

Have I lost you? Fine! Look, I understand the model. It just strike me (personally) as something I’m uncomfortable with, given my business model as a Computer Consultant. Let me put it another way.  When I would go to Lower Queen Anne and code for one of my clients, Shah Safari, I was only interested in doing my best to see that my work made their jobs easier and more profitable. A “labor saving device” as I liked to call myself. If I ever made more work for them without a corresponding return then I was not doing my job! It was a very simple and straightforward model. And at no time did it ever enter my mind to approach them and say something like, “Ashok, I think I’m going to go into the business of young men’s clothing!”.

Can you appreciate how that might have been met with a rather… stunned look? Well, I never did such a thing because like I said, I consider it a bizarre thought and plainly not what I was up to. So the idea of putting products and services out on the Internet for others to buy while establishing an affiliate program for others to promote those things I’m trying to sell… while at the same time competing with my affiliates (my customers, really) in trying to garner those sales… well… I’m sorry. But it just is not something I want to do. Call it habit. Call it insane. Call it misguided. I’ll grant you all of that… for now.

But what if I’m on to something? What if this insane algorithm I’ve cooked up (and have yet to reveal) really is something that will not only satisfy my “old habits” but also be something that… dare I say it for fear of sounding egomaniacal… no one has tried before? Is that possible after all these years of all these brains banging their heads against the wall, trying to thing up something “New under the Sun”?

To explore this insanity of mine it’s time I start an inner circle. I need others who sense my labyrinth of written thought maybe more than just foolish gibberish. I need testers. People who can not only test and document results but also build upon those results with suggestions for improvement. This is defintelly not time consuming because I, as well as anyone, know how little time there is.

So this inner circle I envision is many things. But more than anything else, it is comprised of my customers, no different than “the old days” of when I was a Computer Consultant. And as such, it is my intent to see that their needs are met. And within the context of the “to serve mind inner circle”, those needs comprise a serious exploration of the use of the Internet in innovative ways, while maintaining a basic and thorough understanding of the coding, tools and content that I provide.

For those interested in pursuing this further, please fill out the Opt-In Box you see in the sidebar. Note: after your email confirmation there will be no follow-up email at this time. When progress is made there will be another post and when appropriate, a communication via email.

Thank you for your time which I always appreciate and never take for granted.

xearther

I’m putting together a new site. Well, that’s not really true. It’s an old site. But I’m taking it in the direction I’ve always envisioned for it.

At the heart of the site is the idea of people establishing authority, trust, and demand (read value) through the telling of their stories. I’m a believer in this. A BIG believer.

There is no way someone who is pushing a product or service in a cold, automated “pimp” fashion is going to be able to compete with one-on-one relationships. What I’m up to here and where I plan on taking this site (which I have yet to mention its name, I know) should at least get the pimps attention, if not strike a chord of discomfort… let alone fear.

The name of the site is Dream Town Market. It’s at least a year and a half old. It’s a simple site using RSS feeds combined with keyword phrases entered by the visitor. The search results provide relevant products and services (hopefully and somewhat), thus establishing the modest monetization of the site.

I have not heavily promoted the site because it’s been more of a thought experiment in coding more than anything else. But that’s about to change.

The vision I have for the site is one of a market where others have a platform to easily promote products and services in an intimate, one-on-one manner. The eqivalent in the physical world would be a stall in a farmers market or antique mall.

But I need a small group of individuals who are patient, understanding, literate and “get” what I’m out to achieve. And even if they don’t fully “get it”, they are at least curious to see where this leads. Consider it entertainment value for them, I guess.

This doesn’t cost a lot of money. And you might think that there should be a discount for the beta testers. Well, there is a “discount” in a round-about way. You see, I don’t compete with you. Every sale is an affiliate sale. Even if no affiliate is connected to the sale at the time of the sale.

Every week prior to commissions being sent out via PayPal Mass Pay, the new members who signed up without a referrer (affiliate) will be assigned one. At this time, the assignment rule is simple. The members with the longest memberships and the least affiliate sales (starting at zero sales, of course) get the sale. This algorithm will change over time, where longevity and performance are weighted in a formula as yet to be defined. But for now, it’s a simple rule.

So in effect, you’ ve got your discount. Because this project is in the early stages, the person that signs up right behind you is most likely signing up without a referrer. And that 60% commission (again, every sale is an affiliate sale) is going to go right to your PayPal account in a few days (paid weekly on Sundays).

Now if you’ve made it this far and you’re still interested. I’ve got a riddle for you. Why? Because it’s acting as a throttle. Believe it or not, I really don’t want a lot of sales now. This site has so much more to go through in the way of “rules of the road” for WordPress Contributors and the fine tuning of Ravi’s membership software. So consider this riddle a “litmus test” on whether or not you have the patience and intelligence to be an “early adopter”. You know, those people who take “risks” and when it works out, are richly rewarded.

For the location of the site (the name of the subfolder of www.dreamtownmarket.com) here is the riddle:

You’ll find many of me in the supermarket
Our quantity is always the same.
I’m in the answer to the most common question.
What am I?

OK. Every good riddle needs a hint. Go to www.dreamtownmarket.com and you’ll see the answer.

I am able to stay in daily communication with you. But the windows are tight since all of this entrepreneurial activity is currently in the category of “PLAN B”. So before I head for the bus stop in the morning and after dinner at night (there’s 12+ hours right there), that is when we can have our “quality time”. Just so you know…

Thank you for your time spent reading this post. Your time is never taken for granted and always appreciated.

Kindest Regards,

xearther

I purchased a domain a few years ago: goldsilverprice.com.

What I find amazing is that it really wasn’t that many years ago when a domain name like that was still available. I was well aware of its long-term value.

If you attempt to throw that domain name in your browser and go hunting for it you’ll see that it goes… nowhere. Such a waste, eh? I do agree.

I look at a site like time.org and their straightforward, modest monetization. And I wonder… is that what I should do with goldsilverprice.com? I did register at the same time its hyphenated “cousin”: gold-silver-price.com. I’ve played with that one a bit. But still, it is far from polished and professional. It really is in fact a bit of an embarrassment.

Recently, in a highly unusual move (for me), a rep from namecheap.com got in touch with me because someone was inquiring with them who really wanted to contact me about the domain and inquire whether or not in was for sale. My reply was that it isn’t for sale. But if they wanted to stay in touch they were welcome to do so. I’ve heard nothing more.

So what’s the point of all this? The point is I really do need help with this domain. It is of such a high quality it really deserves to be done right. And I alone am just not up to it. So if there is anyone out there in the advertising world that runs in circles with clients that would just salivate over having a major portion of goldsilverprice.com real estate… all in return for just a bit of guidance on “how to do it right”… well… there’s a “contact to serve mind” button directly above meant for insightful communications. Be my guest.