Alex Tew is the creative genious who thought up the Million Dollar Homepage. Alex Tew is a 21-year-old college student in the UK who needed cash to pay tuition. Tew came up with his idea during a 20-minute brainstorming session and became a millionaire four months later. Maybe he'll lose his million and then some in the pending lawsuit against him, but Alex Tew has made his mark in Internet marketing.
For those thinking they can cash in with the same idea: Don't. Rather, don't unless you can think of a creative twist on the idea. There have been some reasonable money-making variations on the idea: the New Baby Page, for example.
But most are pure knockoffs: The Million Dollar Pixel Homepage, Get A Ride Online, Million Dollar Board, Cheap Ad Site ... I can go on and on and on -- there are literally hundreds of similar pixel sites out there, and they're multiplying daily.
There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. Alex Tew made his million dollars because he got pen and paper and spent twenty minutes brainstorming. He didn't know if it would work, but nobody had done anything like it before and he figured it was worth the risk. He hit the jackpot, but he put some creative effort and came up with a goldmine.
Most of these people following on with their own pixel sites aren't showing any evidence of a shred of thought beyond, "Hey, this looks easy! I can become a million aire also!" If you want to get rich, you've got to put effort, creativity, thought, and time into your endeavor. Otherwise, you're just wasting your time and money.
If you're thinking of buying an ad from one of these pixel sites, I came across this case study showing which ad sites are most effective.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Well, I am an entrepreneur in the UK running Merrows, and I decided to try and raise money selling advertising space - see merrows.co.uk/merrows.html.
ReplyDeleteMy page is part of a 70,00 page site I have built myself over 2 years, and the Collage (which I did just today) will (I hope) attract advertisers. It will remain there for the lifetime of Merrows. The Collage consists of the MERROWS name.
I need funds to expand. I sell bathrooms online, and hope to sell furniture and lights.
Hey Fritz. Isn't it funny how you blog about pixel sites and you get some pixel spam? You saw it on my blog when you commented. Oh well. Thanks for linking to my case study. As you've noted, most pixel sites are a waste of time.
ReplyDeleteWell, my post was not spam at all. Pixel advertising offers a good chance for the advertiser and also the supplier of the space.
ReplyDeleteI pay for Google ads and they are mostly a waste of time. It is only the intense media hype around companies like Google which gets them any attention.
Advertising on the Web is still underdeveloped.
I have not seen any other Flash sites selling pixel space - which is very odd since Flash offers vector zoom. You need Zoom features when using anything small.
The Javascript Zooms I have seen at various sites including the Tew site are complete junk. They dont allow multiple options, or any options on zoom. The user just sees a blur.
Well I am actually the owner of The Million Dollar Board and I want to point out that this website is not a "knockoff" - you will see soon what I am talking about as this website is set to be the next big thing...so keep your eyes peeled and thanks for that backlink.
ReplyDeleteI read about Guess The Pic today, it's an interesting twist on the pixel idea.
ReplyDeleteAfter writing my Collage in Flash which was motivated by the Tew story, I have completed my first application in Flash: http://bathrooms.merrows.co.uk/Bathrooms-Hudson-Reed-Products/Taps-page-1/products.html
ReplyDeleteThe solution is all written in XML with one Flash program. As with the Tew site, the user can browse and zoom.
What do you think about this new idea? "Own a piece of the Internet for ever"
ReplyDeleteI'd like to hear from you.
By.
http://www.foreveradv.com/