SPINNING MONEY ON THE WEB

Seven webpreneurs on how to make the online format work for you

*Figures are business estimates by online research agencies based on the adspend and traffic on the website. The entrepreneurs refused to share actual business figures

Saameer Mody|40 
Location: Mumbai Company: 1takemedia YouTube Channel: youtube.com/1takemedia Business: Distribution of "alternate content" ie. short films, documentaries, indie films, etc Started in: 2006; Joined YouTube: 2008 Before Google: Less than 1,500 viewers a day After Google:14 million views, adding 50,000 views a day Service Used: YouTube Partner Programme Money Matters: 9,460 a day* Google Gyan 
"Being online doesn't get traffic. You have to network offline. We are present at all film festivals, take part in seminars and connect via social media"

Rishi Sachdev|27 
Location: Yamuna Nagar Company: Aryan Florist Website: aryanflorist.com Business: Worldwide flower and gift delivery Started in: 2004After Google: 30-fold increase in order volumes Service Used: AdWords Money Matters: 46,000 a day* Google Gyan 
"Google should keep an eye on clicks from network partners to ensure that they are not spamming to generate more business for themselves. Once you have established your credentials, channelise towards search engine optimisation. The idea is to feature on the first page of Google for key search words"

MR Hari |47 
Location: Thiruvananthapuram Company: Invis Multimedia YouTube Channel: youtube.com/indiavideodotorg Started in: 1996; Joined YouTube: 2008 Before Google: Less than 1,000 views a day After Google: 50,000 views a day Service Used: YouTube Partner ProgrammeMoney Matters: Earned 25 lakh last year from YouTube alone Google Gyan 
"Google should update their view meter. Their counter for measuring views is not reliable. In certain cases, we know that the video has been watched by more than 1 lakh people but the counter shows 10,000. Using YouTube as the host server you save on bandwidth, server and security cost. Secondly, it rids you of all technical hurdles and saves manpower"

Name: Amit Agarwal|34 
Location: Agra Company: Digital Inspiration Website: labnol.org After Google: 4.5 million views a month and 1,25,000 subscribers Service Used: Google Adsense, YouTube Partner Programme Money Matters: Few crores per year Google Gyan 
"One area where Google can improve is "support." The premium AdSense partners do have dedicated account managers but the smaller publishers can only reach Google by email or though online forums. Also the YPP is still relatively new. Google can help in the training area so that the quality of produced content can get better. They do have initiatives like YouTube Next in the US — maybe they can introduce something similar here"

Amit Bhawani|27 
Location: Hyderabad Company: Digital World Solutions 
Website: 
techadvices.com (tech blog), mastergadgets.com (gadget blog), androidadvices.com (Android blog), helpfulhealthtips.com (health blog), autoadvices.com (auto blog), hyderabadadvisor.com (city blog) Business: Websites and blogs on technology, health, automobiles, city infoStarted in: 2006 After Google: 1.2 million views per day Service Used: AdSense Money Matters: 1.2 crore last year Google Gyan 
"Start with a generic brand name even if your blog is a personal blog. It's difficult to pitch a personalised blog (with your name) as a viable business brand to get advertisers in the future. Never under estimate the power of your social connections and start sharing your blog content with them which can go viral and help you reach a broader audience"

Hitendra Merchant |39 
Location: Mumbai Company: YoBoHo New Media; YouTube Channel: youtube.com/bollywoodbackstage,youtube.com/hollywoodbackstage, youtube.com/desimad, youtube.com/hooplakidz, youtube.com/ anandayoga, youtube.com/aniskitchen,youtube.com/nehabhasin Business: Video content on entertainment, health, cooking, children, etc Started in: 2008 Before Google: 30,000 views After Google: More than 2 million video views per day across 30 channels Service Used: YouTube Partner Programme Money Matters: Approx 30 lakh a month* Google Gyan 
"You'd be surprised as to what can get you more traffic online. For instance, a nursery rhyme gets us our maximum hits at 50,000 a day"

Raju PP|29 
Location: Bangalore Company: Techpp Website: techpp.com Business: Personal & consumer tech blog Started in: 2007 After Google: 2 million views a month, with 1.23 million unique users Service Used: AdSense Money Matters: 4,60,000 a month* Google Gyan "You have to scale the blog to stay topical. Extend your coverage area"