"Professional photographer and website partner Michael Gazzola does not readily admit his is a dotcom success story, but he believes the site he owns with two others is on a winning formula.
Buy-n-Shoot.com is an Australian resources website catering for professional and amateur photographers, as well as equipment makers trying to attract them.
It survives the web clutter of digital camera reviews, photography news and used-equipment classifieds by nurturing sponsors, spreading its revenue base and maximising the chances of being found by Google.
Gazzola spends a lot of time reviewing search words and tailoring the site to make it appear in the top 10 results every time a user does a search..."
The site attracts 25,000 visitors a month and in the past 18 months collected 4000 opt-in subscriptions to the free monthly newsletter e-shoot.
In addition to income from sponsors, banner advertisers and classifieds, Buy-n-Shoot generates revenue from photographer listings, assistant photographer job seekers and used computer ads.
"Our site is unique in the world because we publish news only from our sponsors," Gazzola says. "In the past, sites with a lot of traffic fell down because of no sponsorship. It's a very dedicated market, very targeted. We're only looking at photography."
W: http://www.smh.com.au/news/Next/Website-more-than-a-flash-in-the-pan/2005/01/11/1105206083184.html
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