It's now been a year since I launched Vjournal.  Yesterday, I launched a brand new look to the site because people actually have been coming to the site and it was butt-ugly before.  I thought I'd run through a list of questions that I've received as a means of updating all of you.  It's a long post, but if you hang in there, you'll learn what I've learned.

1)  Why did you create Vjournal?

I created the site because I had to leave my job as Chief Marketing Officer due to a car accident that prevented me from being able to do my job.  Being flat on my back with a lot of time on my hands, I thought at least I could use my recuperation time (what time I could spend on a computer, which was limited)  to enhance my marketing skills in new media, and area that is clearly essential now but has a wild-west feel to it - It's hard to know who really knows what they're doing when they sell you their social media skill-set.  I figured the best way to learn about it was to actually just do it, and that I should stick with what I know.  Since I know something about being an executive, and a lot about being a woman, this is the area I chose.  And with a little research into the executive woman space, I saw a place for a differentiated offering, one htat was fun, sassy, and energizing.  The sites that exist seem so serious and stuffy.  So from my couch, in pain, on drugs, I still wanted to create something that could possibly have legs, otherwise I might not learn as much.

As I mentioned, I'm taking it more seriously than just a learning environment because people are actually showing up, so I feel some responsibility to them.  Not a dime on marketing, and the site moved from being ranked 4 million plus on Alexa to making it into the top 500,000.  One week I got it to 240,000, but keeping it there is tough for one person working only occasionally on it.  The good news is I know how I got it there, and I believe I could replicate the results for any company I work with in the future. 

2)  What is the revenue model?  I don't see ads on the site.

Great question there isn't a revenue model right now.  It isn't a "business" - it's a grand experiment.  Now I suppose I could throw some ads up, but the thing is, unless you have a staggering number of visitors, you won't make more than a few dollars - literally.  Most blogs are lucky if they break $20 per month.  Of course, that's not what all the "Make $50k a year as a Blogger!!!" blogs tell you.  But that's the reality.  So when the site has enough of an audience, I'll open it up to advertising to businesses I can feel good putting the Vjournal brand behind - not merely banner ads and text ads, but fully integrated opportunities that help these brands build loyalty along with me. 

But also understand Vjorunal is not intended to be my primary income (haven't figured out how to live on $20 per month).  I'm using it specifically for learnings on how rankings work and how they can be manipulated.  I also use it to experiment with social media, testing techniques to garner more website visitors.  I then use these learnings to help businesses with true revenue models launch new products, which is my primary income.  

3)  What have you learned so far?

I learned that my early decision not to be an ordinary blog network feels right for this demographic.  A blog network allows anyone to create a blog to add to the content of the site.  Sounds great - a ton of FREE user-generated content, isn't that the thing today?  The problem is, most of the content is junk, and for a high-end audience that's also one of the shortest on time, I need the content to be consistently high-quality so this powerful demographic will find it useful. 
 I've learned that, surprisingly, I don't care much about SEO (search engine optimization) that magical, mystical elixir marketers scurry to perfect.  This is very much related to my learning about quality content.  At this point I just don't think Vjournal's content will rank high enough to get on the first page of a Google search, because the nature of the content is that it's in constant flux and Google does a terrible job with short-term content - longevity as a trusted source factors quite highly into its rankings.   Writing for SEO makes for more complex copy.  So unless it's going to get you on those first few pages, then my view is that writing to the standard for SEO and its focus on keywords will prevent content from becoming viral.  There's a huge difference between copy that's entertainment-driven and copy for a website designed to sell product.  By not following SEO standards, my articles get passed around which I think creates a stickier audience.  I'm concerned that in the quest for better SEO rankings, copy that expresses true brand personality is getting left by the wayside.  I'm experimenting with where that balance is, and will transfer those learnings to my clients.

I've learned that building an audience for a media site could be years of hard work before you'll get your "overnight success".  I've seen a few woman career sites die in this economy, and there's a standing belief that the only kind of media sites that succeed for women are the shallow kind that focus on losing weight, snagging a man, spending a fortune on fashion and being obsessed with maintaining your youth - all messages that I disagree with - but those sites are well-funded because they're successful. There's no arguing that.  I think the reason the more intelligent pubs for women haven't been successful is that they're BORING and so darn serious.  Vjournal's tone is more alive, sassy, and edgy, so besides learning something it's meant to be entertaining, and that's it's differentiater. 

Thank you for reading - as always, you can send your questions to natalee roan at gmail.