The Spark
Deciding to create a website that seeks to instructs others is an arduous undertaking. Once the decision is made, the laborious work of bringing your take and insight on a particular topic to a curious and information-hungry audience begins. Having dabbled in writing articles for other movie websites then for my own movie website, Film-Book dot Com, and frequently reading prominent “How To” websites on garnering website traffic, making money online, SEO, marketing, etc., a light bulb switched on in 2009: I should create a “how to” website about starting and running a movie website. As economist Adam Smith said in 1776’s Wealth of Nations: “the best results come from everyone in an organization or economic system doing what is best for him or her self. In competition the individual ambition serves the common good.” I did a quick Google search and found that this “How To” niche was virtually barren. Not even Mashable had written a guide on the subject. I had previously written movie blogging articles on Film-Book dot Com but they didn’t fit that movie website’s niche and since I had more ideas for similar articles, I needed a viable online container for all of them.
Now that I had the idea, the spark, the resplendent emblem that would draw others to it, I needed a proper moniker for it. As a frequent “client” of Darren Rowse’s excellent website, I acquired the domain name ProMovieBlogger.
Content Time
Outside of initially focusing on branding and income channels, I immediately focused on content, content, content, something drilled into my head after years of online tutelage by John Chow and Darren Rowse.
Past Lessons
Once the name was chosen, ProMovieBlogger was both easier and harder to construct than my first movie-oriented website. The trial and error process from Film-Book dot Com streamlined my setup, social networking, and scripting efforts. Though these efforts had been made easier through past online experiences, I soon encountered a new obstacle. Though I had always treated my film reviews as essays, now I would have to write essays all the time. These essays – on various movie website topics – would have to stand the test of time and be highly informational so that they would be read and disseminated again and again. As John Nash said, expanding on Adam Smith’s theory in the film A Beautiful Mind, the “market benefits when one does what is good for him, and also for the group.” With this in mind, I constructed the articles found within ProMovieBlogger to be not only “how to” reference guides, manuals for the neophyte movie website owner but also insightful posts with tips for the seasoned veteran of the field as well.
Moving Forward
One thing that I learned in business school is that if you see a gap, a wide-open business opportunity, quickly fill it with your product and/or service, be a first mover, a true entrepreneur. That ideology led me to take the plunge with ProMovieBlogger. I knew I could put a sentence together but could I engage a reader well enough to keep them coming back week after week. Could I gain their trust well enough so that they tried or signed up for the various products/services I promoted on my website? As with all new ventures, I will have to wait and see. ProMovieBlogger is still embryonic, not even a year old yet but with a ever growing library of articles and services that will assist the hungry in starting and running a movie website, its only a matter of time before the future of ProMovieBlogger is revealed.
Reginald Williams founder of ProMovieBlogger.com
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