There are a lot of things, that complicate one’s life as a webmaster. From various Government regulations, to how some sponsors just seem incapable of customer service, to arranging proper billing and getting that comma in the right place for the code to work right.
Yet, despite all that, I think the biggest problem that confronts us, as webmasters, is the almost insane desire to see our project go live.
It is called IMPATIENCE in the real world, but we call it SOFT LAUNCH of our site. Go figure, but you know, sometimes I think webmasters coin new phrases, simply so we don’t look stupid. Doesn’t really work, but hey, that’s my story & I am sticking to it.
Seriously, don’t you get a bit giddy, when you think of how neat your site is going to be, or the latest addition to an existing one? Especially when it is a new layout, or worse, a new feature that you are adding.
Doesn’t it just get you a little excited and tingly? Almost like having an orgasm at times, but truth is, that is also our major downfall.
Just as letting your pecker make your decisions for you, letting your desire to see it now, to have it live now, can really screw you up later on.
And I have to be one of the worst offenders.
I know better, but every time I start a new project, I get this insane urge to put off the boring details, that I should figure out first, get settled, before launching a new project. I constantly ignore my need to set up Excel for the various details I need to keep track of.
For example, running a site that shows video clips, or one that simply has galleries of naked pictures. Now you would think that after over a decade of doing this, I’d know exactly what info to keep track of, to record, but do I set up my excel worksheet first, or after the site has gone live?
Why after of course, & THAT IS WRONG !
Keeping track of what is up, what isn’t, is rather important. I mean without knowing it, you could write a review, or upload a gallery of a star, that you already have up, duplicating your efforts. So what, you say, but hey, what if it is a real dog in making sales?
If you are using video clips, hosted on your own site, and duplicate them, well there goes some extra bandwidth, that could be used to push a different clip, that might, make you more sales. So yes, it is rather important to help keep you on track, by keeping tabs on what you have uploaded.
At first, well, it doesn’t seem all that bad, because you can easily glance at your admin section ( in Wordpress ) to see what is up, and not. Which is fine, when you only have a half dozen or so posts, but what happens when you have 1300?
Excel ( or any other comparable spreadsheet program ) will allow for duplicates, or not. And that can save you from adding duplicate content to your site. Let me be totally honest too, it is boring as hell, and a royal pain in the ass to do, which is probably why I keep on ‘forgetting‘ to do it, at first.
Yet, I wind up cursing at myself, having to spend more time going back to try and add what I have already uploaded, to get back on track. That is extra time I could be using to start a new project, or to polish an existing one. IN SHORT, it is time I have lost, NEEDLESSLY.
GRANTED, this industry does not make it easy to do. I mean so many Porn Stars flip flop between studios, between sponsors, and with different names, it can be a logistical nightmare to keep track of them. However, it is doable, by sticking to the basics.
SO WHAT ARE THE BASICS?
Good question, because really it depends on what you are promoting. And again, it partially depends on what it is you think, you should be keeping track of.
For my own use, where possible, I try to have these details included in my Excel workbook.
- Star Name or episode name
- Sponsor name
- Site posted on
- URL or Post ID ( when in a blog )
- Associated Category
Options #4 & #5 are rarely used, because, well too much detail can bog a guy down, and you know, I just wanna see the stuff LIVE.
A couple of other options, worth keeping mind is the type of use one is making of that particular star/clip.
For example, is it a single picture reference, a gallery of 10, 20, 40, pictures, or a video clip, or several clips? Is it a collage or a group of clips? Does it include a front or back view of the box cover if it is a video clip, review?
With Excel, you can easily add those criteria, so that your time spent isn’t overburdened with details. Simple conditional formatting, where you just add a number like [1] or [0] can make your sheet not only accurate, but easy to follow.
Now myself, I rather think it is important to know what use I am making of the star or graphics. So, I do need to know if I am using a single pic, if a collage, or if a gallery of photos. I don’t bother with the number of photo’s in the gallery, though perhaps I should.
I don’t usually bother recording whether I have used the box cover of a video, but I do record if I use a clip, and frankly, I should include the clip info, as some sponsors really do mix things up.
Now you may THINK that you want a ton of information, and at first it sounds like a really good idea. I get carried away that way, until it comes down to having to add the information. TOO MANY DETAILS MEANS TOO MUCH WORK .
Problem, is, when you have more than one site, the more details you try to keep track of, the more time you spend adding that info, instead of adding the tools to your sites. In short, it is better to have the basics, that satisfy your objective, than to overload yourself with way too much details.
While it can work for having a single site, the fact is, you need to plan for the future. What you use now, you also have to use later on, when hopefully you are operating more than just one site. Truth is, the more sites you operate, the more time you want to spend, need to spend, uploading new material, not spending added time keeping track of the details.
Best advice I can offer, is to set up your spreadsheet, do some test entries, to see how quickly you can input the details. This will give you an idea of how easy, or complicated, it is. That should then make you consider what details to either drop, or add.
Try to imagine also, the sheet filled with information. It has to be easy to check, so that you can avoid adding stuff you alaready have, and at the same time, tell you what features or stuff you need to add, because it isn’t up yet.
For example, single pic for a star, might indicate, the need to add a gallery, or a video clip, which would re-inforce the single pic post. So being able to quickly glance across a line for a particular star, should be able to let you know what has been done, what is open to do, and just where it is ( as in what site of yours, you have it on ).
TIP: The way you order your columns, in the spreadsheet, can help make it visually capable of answering your various questions. Having the star name or episode name first, followed by the sponsor, is how I do it, so I can easily reference the name, then glance along the line, to see what is done.
Apr 03rd by Malcontent