Wagon Wheel

Hi,

Today I’d like to talk about Wagon Wheel integration pattern that combines a set of mini-sites with a relationship or authority site and mailing list. That’s essentially a pattern to get a steady dependable traffic to the mini-sites.

For your Internet profits!
--Ely

Summary:

Wagon Wheel integration pattern purpose is to get a steady dependable traffic to a set of mini-sites by combining them into a system with a central relationship site.

Name of the pattern:

Wagon Wheel

When to use this pattern:

When you have a set of mini-sites on related topics and their combined income stream deserves (or will deserve, provided targeted traffic) regular maintenance effort (say, a few hours a week at least) and all they need is more good targeted traffic.

How to use this pattern:

Once you have a couple of mini-sites, get a blog (that’s not a part of this pattern, but you should do that on your own domain), stuff it with mailing list, social bookmarking, the works, and start to build audience for that blog (“relationship site”). Then refer audience from it to your mini-sites through blog, RSS feed, and mailing list. Also, don’t forget to make mini-sites refer to each other as long as it does not hurt conversions. It may be post-sale offers, bonuses etc., just don’t link from the sales letters.

Attribution:

Jim Edwards

Related patterns:

Post-sale offer, One-time offer, Free Affiliate Bonus

Related anti-patterns:

None

Comments:

The name of the pattern comes from a diagram how it works. It really reminds a wagon wheel (see the picture above).

Jim effectively combines his own relationship site IveGottaTellYou with his set of mini-sites devoted to various products on mini-site creation.

While I attributed it to Jim, the idea of an authority making sales for surrounding businesses is not new. Pharmacy companies do that for years sending free samples to practicing doctors.