website business

Top 5 Tips for Website Owners

Reel Life With JaneI’ve been pondering what it takes to own and run a busy, high-traffic website. I mean what it REALLY takes. You know, the nitty-gritty of keeping Reel Life With Jane running day after day. Here are my Top 5 Tips for Website owners (which also apply to other entrepreneurial endeavors):

1. Have complete faith in yourself and your abilities. You’re not working for someone else now. You’re on your own, and sometimes you’re going to wonder what the heck it is you’re doing. You have to be totally committed to making a living with this, and you must have utter faith in your abilities to do that. Because it’s hard, and there are a lot of days you’ll be daydreaming about getting a job at the local Starbucks.

2. Collaborate with other people. They don’t know it, but the other writers on Reel Life With Jane motivate me every single day. I feel a responsibility to make the site the best it can be, because these are some of the best writers on the web, and I want their stories to have a nice home. Also, if you have a broad niche like entertainment, it’s important to have a lot of different voices on the site.

3. Have a plan. It might not be an official business plan (though that’s great), but having a plan for what needs to happen daily, weekly, monthly and yearly is a big deal. Otherwise, you’re just getting up every day and putting out fires all day. You’re reacting instead of acting. You need to be the guiding force behind the website, not the crazed person getting swept up into a tornado of email, social media, html codes and breaking news.

4. Research, then leap. You could spend forever researching different themes, site options, social media, yada yada. It’s good to investigate what’s out there, but there comes a point where you just have to dive in and hope for the best. A lot of things you just have to figure out as you go along.

5. Trust your instincts. Any time I’ve been persuaded by others to do something that didn’t feel right, it hasn’t turned out well. I’ve learned many times over to trust my instincts and follow my own path. A colleague recently asked if I’d ever considered changing the name of my site. The answer is no. Reel Life With Jane is part of me. It’s the brand I’ve been building my whole life. There’s no other brand like it on the planet, and to change the name (so that I could eventually sell it, my friend suggested) would be completely inauthentic. I’m not building it to sell it. I’m building it because I’m passionate about the entertainment industry, and this job I’ve built from scratch is my dream job.

So there you have it. My top 5 tips for website owners. Are you thinking of building a website of your own? Or are you hoping to upgrade the website you currently have? It’s always a great idea to take classes to help expand your knowledge, whether it’s general business knowledge, technology, Photoshop, or others. Classes not only help to widen your skills base, but also give you additional confidence to start your own business, whether it’s a website or anything else.  

Whether you’re seeking further success in your current role or a new opportunity, Kaplan University can help you prepare for the exciting possibilities ahead.*

As an accredited university built on more than 75 years of experience,† Kaplan University offers a wide range of career-focused programs designed to develop the skills and knowledge leading employers seek. Our focus: to offer you the most direct educational path to achieve your goals.

Are you ready for a change? Learn more at kaplanuniversity.edu.

* Kaplan University cannot guarantee employment or career advancement.

† Kaplan University is regionally accredited. Please visit http://www.kaplanuniversity.edu/about/accreditation-licensing.aspx# for additional information about institutional and programmatic accreditation.


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2 responses to “Top 5 Tips for Website Owners”

  1. Top 5 Tips for Website Owners http://t.co/pr7Zqwrnnu via @reellifejane #sponsored

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