A Year In The Life of TDW: A Cautionary Tale

[KG Gary]

Not sure why I typed TDP instead of TDW. My apologies.


It seems that the most difficult thing is to get everything balanced to keep all parties happy. Pleasing & teasing surfers, keeping your submitters happy, and of course growing and making money.
Finding a way to grow big enough to be self-sustaining.

I've looked at so many link lists for clues but haven't found any obvious secret for success, although it wouldn't be much of a secret if it was obvious, would it? Duh.
The organised structure of some LLs versus the of clever chaos of others. Pretty & polished versus downright ugly. It's fascinating trying to see what that magic balance is.

As a submitter to TDW I will say that you treat freesite builders the right way! I had no idea how important respect and reputation would be when I started, and at some point down the line I like to think that somebody will give you a huge boost just because you helped them so much along the way.
It's also nice that you are really proud of TDW and are determined to make it more successful. I'm really looking forward to any chunks of information about your next year of LL ownership, and I hope the coming years bring you much bigger rewards for your efforts!

[Preacher]

Originally Posted by WarBot

I LOVE the new template for the category pages. Very nice, very professional looking, very clean. Nice work.

In 1 year youve managed to get some pretty good traffic, I know this because you send my free sites a nice amount. I think this will be the breakout year for This Depraved World. I hope so anyways.

Cheers and Good Luck
WB

Originally Posted by KG Gary

As a submitter to TDW I will say that you treat freesite builders the right way! I had no idea how important respect and reputation would be when I started, and at some point down the line I like to think that somebody will give you a huge boost just because you helped them so much along the way.
It's also nice that you are really proud of TDW and are determined to make it more successful. I'm really looking forward to any chunks of information about your next year of LL ownership, and I hope the coming years bring you much bigger rewards for your efforts!

Thanks guys.

Originally Posted by Maj. Stress

Thanks for sharing Preacher. Have you noticed how many bookmarkers you get each month? Does the number and % seem to be going up?

You know, I don't actually. My understanding is that the 'add to favorites' is just an estimation so I haven't actually paid attention to that figure. The 'direct address / bookmarks' as an inbound link has always hovered between 50-60%, so take from that what you will.

But you bring up a good point, as Greenie has said before search engines come and go but bookmarkers remember your site. That was also inspiration for my ease of navigation concept, as emphasized in the new category template.

I can't believe I haven't mentioned this yet, but what I have learned on this site and the contacts I have made here have been invaluable. Not just with linklists, but with all of my adult ventures.