Does anyone here know where I could go to obtain samples of web-based business plans? Such plans would factor in not only potential sales but also ad revenue made on the site as well. If anyone knows a good place let me know, thanks!
Any business plan can be adapted to any kind of business. You don't need anything special here... just look for sample business plans or business plan templates. The only real difference between an online and offline business plan comes down to the specifics and marketing tactics... the stuff you have to lay out yourself anyway.
Hey thanks. But I already realize what you're saying. I need a sample, 3yr cash flow projection that assumes most revenue from the site will come from advertising, NOT sales. And so far I can't seem to find any help with predicting site growth as well as how much ad revenue that will generate. Which is why I figure if I could see a business plan that had those things I might be able to get a handle on it
Jenn hit the nail on th head. The business plan is the same. Your predicted ad revenue should come from research, not a guess work. Do market research, hire hitwise to run a report on your industry, call google and/ or talk with companies in a related field, get actual hard data so you can make an educated guess, not just a guess.
Exactly... no one can do much to help you predict that. You have to research the niche and similar sites (although I highly doubt you'll get your hands on their financials for comparison). You have to combine your budget and planned efforts with your particular market demographic and their habits (both in browsing and in buying, being return visitors, clicking on ads, etc.), and with how ads tend to run in your niche (from average CPCs to CPMs), and with plenty of other variables that I'm too tired to come up with at the moment. It's an estimate, and it won't be quite like anyone elses.... and the best part is that it doesn't have to be quite right... the beauty of business plans is that they're a working tool, that you can change and update at any time as you progress.
Hm, I think I know alot of the factors involved. It involves how many people visit my site, how many impressions will be generated, what the advertisers will pay per impression, how many people will click on ads and what the pay-per-click rate will be etc. I guess I'd like to see a sample of where all these things come together and how people have used them in a cash flow projection. It's one thing to do a bunch of research but it's quite another to see an example to say "ah that's how I do it"
There is also ad placement, ad design, website layout, text on the website (a lot of people dont know that the text on your website has a HUGE impact on conversion rates), ppc network used, figuring out what the conversion rate is for your traffic (demographics, type of user, etc), estimating average PPC, etc etc etc Basically, there are so many factors that any automated and or sample is not going to give you an accurate estimate. We do user studies, a/b, and multivariate testing quite a bit so we can get the best possible estimate. Best of luck.
Thanks for all the useful tips. Now I suppose I could do exhaustive reseach on this myself (which is what looks like is going to happen) or if possible does anyone know a resource out there (prefferably for free) that can help me determine each of these factors and how they will affect my cash flow etc?
no there isn't. Too much is dependent on what you're going to do and why. Do the hard graft and you'll be better for it.
with any business plan the key is research, you can have a fantastic idea but until you research it properly you have no real idea whether it will work or not. your idea might take a few days to actually "bring to life", the research beforehand could (should) take many months. you really need to study every aspect of your business before writing your business plan. know what your target market is, what appeals to them, how you are going to sell it to them, what conversion rate is likely, what your competitors do, etc. one common mistake people make when creating their forecasts is they tend to over-estimate the future profits. when it comes to the figures you first need to know. 1. how much the business is going to cost to run, overheads etc 2. how much you need to live on, your own "running costs" when you know that, then you need to work out how many clicks/impressions/sales you will need to make to "break even" (overheads plus living costs). only then can you research as to whether that is actually possible to make, or whether it is possible to make more (profit). you need to know beforehand what your target numbers are, then research how likely it is that you can hit those targets. if you cannot expect to "break even" then its unlikely that your business will succeed. research is about knowing your market, your competition, and YOURSELF!
I agree with the posts so far. I would add be very conservative. Most of us are optimists and overstate income and understate expenses. If you are conservative you will have a more realistic business plan
a lot of businesses start from another business plan, I know mine did. Its always something nice to go by
be careful in setting up goals and certain achievements you plan for. If you are going for medium or large scale businesses once you set foot you cant come back. Also evaluate competition and risk factors because not all businesses will succeed.