A more extended review, including review of the website and other editorial and customer reviews, is available at the Freepint website or issue no. 64 released on 8th June 2000.
amazon.com
amazon.co.uk
analyticalQ book review by Anne Ku
Striking it Rich.com
Profiles
of 23 incredibly successful websites you've probably never heard of
Jaclyn Easton
ISBN 0-07-135579-0, copyright 1999, 250 pages paperback
21 May 2000
For several years now I have been trying to figure out what makes a good and successful website. I have evaluated websites and written articles on immigration, weather, and weddings. I have linked to websites I think deserve further review. Jaclyn Easton was pondering the same thing, but she had a head start.
She is right in that I have never heard of the sites she profiles in her book. Most of these started early - and their investment paid off after the first customer. This is truly amazing! Most of these early birds had a conviction that it would work, but at the same time, had the nerve to experiment.
Some of the key success factors can be summarised as follows:
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Do what you are interested in doing, everything else will follow. MOTORCYCLE ONLINE was launched on the owner's 26th birthday as an online magazine. It is hardly work for someone who gets to ride around on the latest motorcycles and spends time with his racing team.
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Be the first. DOGTOYS is the first to sell nothing but dog toys, thus creating a new category in the overloaded retailing sector.
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Offer something of value. In the case of ASK THE BUILDER, he offered a searchable database of free advice accumulated over the years. At HORSENET, it not only links to all of its competitors and gives away free images and programming code, it appeals to an audience which is largely not online.
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Provide constancy and continuity. (Why hadn't I come across in my research for the article on weddings?) THE KNOT: Weddings for a Real World is reputed to be a constant source of ideas, tips, and sympathy. The visitors are sticky as they go through the experience of getting married.
There are of course many more key success factors, and the interested reader might as well as visit the author's own site at http://www.StrikingItrich.Com.