Name of your website?WakeReviews.com
Your name?
Ian Brown
Your Location (city, etc)
LeClaire
Please give us a short summary of your website?
Wakereviews.com is a site that will allow people to research any and every product related to the wakeboarding industry, including but not limited to wakeboards, bindings, wakeskates, wakesurf boards, boats, and other accessories.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
I love wakeboarding and it seemed there was not one place where you could really get an idea of all of the products available in the marketplace, plus compare them.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
My first website was VisitorsNow and it was launched back in 2002. It basically was a site that resold small quantities of pop up and banner traffic to small businesses trying to get a start. This was back in the day when you could only buy media in huge quantities.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
it's what was available. Tough to find good domains these days.
What makes it different from other, similar offerings?
There is nothing else like it.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
I'd like to keep it and continue to update it every year with all the new products and eventually it will be a gigantic resource with tons of opportunity.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
Not well yet, but I'm not giving up!
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
I would create my own pro shop that sold product off the site.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
Easily.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
Unresponsive Hosting companies and software errors, but that's about it.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Updating all of the content as there are about 1000 new products to add every year.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
Search Engines
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
It hasn't.
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
Launched in November 2006, and I'll run it indefinitely. I like being at the lake as much as possible and if I can make money doing this then it's all about lifestyle!
In your mind, what is the best web directory?
Easy, that's Classifieds 1000
What is your website address?
WakeReviews.com
