Thursday, September 01, 2005
Learn from my mistake
Among the work I did today, I submitted One Stop Web Support to four sites that I had always gotten decent traffic and good links from. Since I had had good history with these four sites, I didn't bat an eye when I found that their prices for considering my submission had gone way up.
As I saw the price on each one, I thought, "I can handle the price increase; the site's been good to my clients." And I paid. Come to the end of my submissions, though, I realized that I had paid 50% more than I had planned to. And while I had always felt comfortable with what I had paid before for submissions to these sites, I question whether they're worth it at the increased prices.
I made the mistake of considering expenses in a vacuum, without comparing them against expected return or others ways I could spend that same money. I went strictly on my past positive experience with the sites and now am left wondering if those submissions will give me a return on my investment.
Always consider two things when faced with an expense:
Among the work I did today, I submitted One Stop Web Support to four sites that I had always gotten decent traffic and good links from. Since I had had good history with these four sites, I didn't bat an eye when I found that their prices for considering my submission had gone way up.
As I saw the price on each one, I thought, "I can handle the price increase; the site's been good to my clients." And I paid. Come to the end of my submissions, though, I realized that I had paid 50% more than I had planned to. And while I had always felt comfortable with what I had paid before for submissions to these sites, I question whether they're worth it at the increased prices.
I made the mistake of considering expenses in a vacuum, without comparing them against expected return or others ways I could spend that same money. I went strictly on my past positive experience with the sites and now am left wondering if those submissions will give me a return on my investment.
Always consider two things when faced with an expense:
- Is the dollar amount of return I can realistically expect from this purchase greater than the dollar amount (and the dollar value of my time in using it) I am devoting to this purchase?
- Does this purchase provide the best return on the money I'm putting into it or is there another use for it that will provide a better return?
If your answer to both is "yes," you're making a good use of your resources. Analyze the value of each purchase. Don't simply slide into a purchase because it seems to be the thing to do.
Jeff
Comments:
Post a Comment
© 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Jeff Baas, One Stop Web Support
