Most of you are probably familiar with Joel on Software. The guy is a blogging champ and often comes up with some great ideas and philosophies I’ve applied to my own business. Yeah, he writes about software and his software company so not everything he says applies to what I’d doing. And then I got to thinking, “I wish someone would do a blog specifically geared toward commerce.” And then I thought, “I could do that. Cam…. Cam on commerce.” So there you have it- the origin story.
Maybe I’m not the best guy to do it. Maybe I can’t write with the wit, clarity and stunning charisma of people like Joel. Maybe, maybe, maybe- but the domain is registered and I’ve set up the blog and I’m on my way! Maybe one day someone will read the other blog and find something useful. That would be really cool. One in awhile I may say something helpful. Plus it’s a nifty was to organize my thoughts on business. Go there now!
I like the idea of CoC (Don’t take that the wrong way!)
A good idea for a feature may be on how to create a self-sustained website. For example, domain names run $10 or so on GoDaddy right now, and hosting — depending upon your needs of course — start at about $7 per month for semi-reliable service. So, if you want to start a website (one that, down the road, may sell items related to the content of the site), it’s pretty easy to get started.
The problem is that it’s tough to think of good ways to recoup the cost of hosting. Maybe figuring out good ways to make money with ads and posting it would help people manage that. What’s your opinion on “donate” buttons on websites, and what kind of an effect does that option have on a website in general? I’d like to see some “getting started” posts on CamOnCommerce.com concerning how to get started with a website and breaking even with the costs, which may eventually open the doors for selling items with third-party options (Pay Pal, et. al.)
Perhaps that would require a lot of research to pull off, but it’d be a cool feature to see there. Afterall, online commerce can start small; but very few people are willing to lay down the initial costs required to get started. A breakdown of how to do that in the most cost-effective way would be very cool to see.
A friend and I would like to start a website that follows anime and anime-related items as just a fun side-project. Between us we’ll have the programming know-how and writing ability to get started, but — considering it’ll start as a hobby first — knowing how to make a little bit of money at the outset without puting a lot in would make the effort to get everything in order less daunting.