WEB.PRENEURING
New website started as a hobby now targets adventure-seekers and big profit.
Some might call it foolhardiness. Others might marvel at the young man's self-confidence. But explaining his venture in electronic publishing, Michael Slone states simply, "I wanted to introduce some of my own creativity to the Internet and specifically to the adventure entertainment world."
So passionate was his desire to create a web site about extreme/adventure sports, he was willing to commit eight months of work without salary. In August, 1997, with some start-up money--his own, plus some from a personal friend--he formed
Explore Ventures LLC.
The following January, he single-handledly launched www.ExploreMag.com. In May, other friends invested, bringing the start-up investment to about $100,000.
"If I had it to do over again, I'd start with more money," says Slone, who has degree in architecture from the University of Colorado at Boulder. However, despite his hindsight ruminations, Explore Magazine won several major design and content awards during its first month online.
The next month, with limited public relations or capital spent on marketing, Slone's unique web site landed three advertisers--Recreational Equipment Inc., one of the largest reacreational sports retailers in the country; Snap, a search engine and directory owned by NBC ; and Infoseek, a search engine and directory owned by the go.com network."Although they were small advertisers," Slone recalls, "They were the beginning and were what we needed to get a jump start."
This jump start enabled him to continue his policy of working with professional content providers. That is, from the start, he paid leading freelance writers and photographers, rather than relying on amateurs who write merely for ego fullfillment.
"At first it was tough trying to find writers and photographers," Slone recalls. "But I eventually networked my way into the loop and now work with more than 40 freelance writers and photographers."
Nice Niche
The targeted readership encompasses a narrow niche--sports enthusiasts with a penchant for living on the edge, without falling off. Articles include topics such as sand dune surfing in Colorado, sea kayaking in Mexico, and trekking solo through Nepal. While these are hardly subjects for the general public, focusing on these extreme topics paid off. Within eight months, ExploreMag.com had established a strong readership of one million page views monthly.
"I think the site appeared to many as the production
of a large company," admits Slone. He explains that while flattering, this "big corporation" image presented challenges. Explore attracted brand name advertisers, but then he had to convince them of the advantages of personalized service. "It's sometimes difficult to convince advertisers that a smaller site, like Explore, is better than a larger corporate site," he notes."They immediately assume that the large corporations know what they are doing and can deliver a better deal. This is far from the truth. Our company does more than any other adventure entertainment site to help bring true targeting to our advertisers."
For expample, working with his first major advertiser, Patagonia, Slone created a special content section called, "Organic." Every article in this section includes an environmental element. "So I guess you could say that we created environmental content for Patagonia to sponsor," he explains.
Personalized Approach
Another example of his personalized approach to advertising revolves around Honda, a firm who wanted to reach an audience of skiers and snowboarders. "We designed a content specifically for Honda," Slone recalls.
"We called it "Passport to Powder." Passport is the name of the vehicle Honda wanted to promote. By combining the title with Powder, we related the two with a snowsports experience."
On a daily basis, the section listed the Top 10 Places to ski or board with the most new snow or powder and included current snow reports, thus encouraging daily readership.
Although he notes that the field of web advertising is extremely competitive, Slone adds, "You have a lot more freedom to create content sponsorhips and interactive partnerships than are impossible in the print industry."
Today, Explore sells 100 percent of its available advertising. Slone explains it this way: During a recent month , "Explore had 1.3 million page views. Therefore, we could only sell 1.3 million impressions, and we did." Advertisers pay an average of $3,000
per 100,000 impressions/$30,000 per one million.
Due to the continuing success of ExploreMag.com, in January 1998, Slone hired Dustin Dorr, a college friend who also graduated from the University of Colorado in Boulder. At first, he assisted with event coverage and photography. Six months later, he decided to become a partner and full time creative director.
Together, he and Slone founded Explore Media, Inc. (EMI),which will include investment opportunities. The idea is to raise at least a million dollars to expand their operation, so they dominate the adventure entertainment industry.
Fun & Games
The two receive salaries, although most of the profits are turned back into the company. "We get small salaries," Slone admits, "but we enjoy the perks of the business, which make up for lack of personal money. These perks include thousands of dollars worth sports clothes and equipment. In addition, we don't pay anything for skiing or lodging."
Continuing his successful ability to form mutually profitable relationships, Slone has a new agreement with a publishing company, which supplies Explore with two feature stories per week. In exchange for supplying the content, the publisher receives on-line promotion of the book from which the feature story is excerpted.
"We therefore reduce our costs of content each week," Slone says. "We have a similar arrangement with an outdoor photography firm in Maine."
Not ones to slack up, Slone and Dorr have expansive plans for EMi. "We are focusing on building three main divisions," Slone explains. "These include publishing, commerce and development.
"This way, EMi will diversify revenue. As far as commerce goes, we will hire a director of commerce to build a complete outdoor sports store front around the content on the Explore Network. We will produce our own products that have the "Explore" brand, such as
backpacks, hats, fleece, t
-shirts, etc."Many other future sites in the Explore Network are in development. Included among them are: WildGuide.com to produce a guide to National Parks and wilderness areas; Snoasis.com, a site dedicated to snow sports; GearGuide.com, which will be a resource for those who spend money on outdoor gear. Based on the success of their strategy with ExploreMag.com, Slone and Door have formed partnerships for all of these web sites.
Talking about his start-up days and expansion plans, Slone seems almost sheepishly proud of his success. He modestly reminds us, "This company was started as a hobby/small business, which is now blossoming into something larger."
For information, please visit www.exploreMag.com or email slone@ExploreMedia.com or check www.ExploreMedia.com or write P.O.Box 17276, Boulder,
Colorado 80308.
By Geri Anderson
Bio: Geri Anderson is a writer who divides her time between Colorado and Mexico.
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