Happy Birthday

The website is now one year old, a bit of a roller coaster ride but I think it deserves a Happy Birthday.

I can still remember 1 February 2012, I had just been given the website,  there was no content, a Facebook page but no followers and something called  Twitter with no followers. Overwhelmed, daunted, frightened and scared stiff, they all describe how I felt. I didn’t know where to start and how to start.

In 12 months just under 320 articles are on the site. Courtesy of the Dacorum Dragon’s Den prize of £1,000 the website has changed from a gheeky idea into something much more professional. I could spend all day bombarding you with facts and figures. To me the important fact is the belief that other people have faith in my idea and want it to grow.

The original idea has remained the same but my business plan has changed. When I started out I had no idea how I was going to make money. I naively thought people would be flocking to the site wanting to advertise and would even be prepared to pay money. No way!

Someone said I had to get footfall and an audience. Increasing the footfall is a bit of a black art, its called SEO, I just do organic SEO, can’t afford to pay an expert.

I’ve had to learn about Google Analytics, Social networking. It really is a whole new world out there and bears no reassemble to my previous job as a computer consultant who worked in banks on a product called T24 supplied by Temenos.

I’ve started advertising on the Aid4disabled website but at the moment I want to put my URL onto your site and vice versa and not empty your pockets. Even so it is not easy.

Also I started putting together a weekly email. At the last count I had 13 addresses.  Why don’t you go to the home page  and sign up for an email and make it 14; don’t worry, I won’t sell the list a la Mrs Middleton. I’m as against junk mail as you are. Every week I write about something that does not appear on the website. In time I plan to reduce the frequency to an email every two weeks. What would you prefer?

Another idea is to give talks or presentations to organisations like the U3A, the presentation is called “I’ve Got MS and I Fall Over”, both of those statements are perfectly true. I’ve even got a menu tab so  now I have to persuade people that that I am worth the money. I’m also interested in Corporate Social Responsibility, in particular access for the physically handicapped.

Yes, my enthusiasm remains, I guess that has kept me and the website going and its stopped me going bonkers. Keep reading and stay in touch.

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