Online Review
The early history of The Shorts Magazine began in 2008 with a website called Swagger-Sway.com
Once there was a website that sold Steam Punk, Cosplay, Hot Rocker Chic, Goth and Fuzzy Leggings.
Google sites was originally intended for school teachers and business men, assuming these people would surely know <HTML> , it was a common language at Google at the time and probably still is, it failed. Instead when I searched through Google Sites I found Bakery’s and Cupcake makers, people trying to sell “How to make money online”. People who should have been on Etsy, arts, crafts candle stick makers and leather repair men, we (The Joneses) were one of those. It didn’t work so Google gave it up to the world to fill content, whoever wanted a FREE website got one. I opened an affiliate store on Google Sites and created a You Tube Channel to advertise the site. Being vain I thought <sites.google.com/site/theshortsshop> was a very unattractive URL so my daughter purchased for my birthday, Swagger-Sway.com.
As I found affiliates, they found me. The first affiliate to draw first blood (contact me) was Hot Topic. Wow, a Major Mall Chain wanted me, but they had a rule, I wasn’t allowed to use the word GOTH. Not in a post, as a tag or even web mastering it. That didn’t work, cyber-goth was what I was talking about in my posts at the time, this was pre-SteamPunk by the way. So here lied my conundrum.
My Experience On Google Sites
I sold High Heels, Lolita clothing, Stripper Shorts and Fuzzy Leggings, on a Google Sites site. It was fun, disturbing, exciting but very limiting. Not as much so as blogger , Google sites has a little more freedom when it comes to content and editing. Yet, I was using a FREE Google site to promote FREE affiliates. I gave it the title WhatDoYourShortsSay? on a Google Site then created a WordPress blog about it entitled TheShortsMagazine, You’re reading it now. There were sales, $500.00 for 2 pairs of high heels. $300.00 for leggings, yet it wasn’t viable.
Hot Topic offered me a deal, don’t use the word GOTH anywhere and we will provide you with trained professional writers to manage your website. Why would Hot Topic care about a FREE Google Sites site?
Here’s a screen shot of the home page.
Then I got 100.000 impressions a day and could land page 1 in search results for “The Worlds Smallest Shorts.”
Clean the caches, turn off all personal setting erase the cookies and search. Change the domain to TheShortsShop.com and
this happened.
I could compete with major stores for almost zero monies.
I began to run ads on Google Adwords.
I turned down Hot Topics offer and economy took a nose dive. The timing just wasn’t right so The Shorts Shop went away and you got left with it’s blog as spoils of the online retailers wars. Now glitter, garters and fuzzy leggings litter my apartment like the day after Mardi Gras. I’m a little bit older and wiser now and I’m still typing away.
Soon after Google wanted me to become an Enabler, I thought about it but never followed through. I closed the store and focused on the blog. A couple of years later Google asked everyone if they wanted to be a partner, I finally joined. Now they want me to be an Adwords agent known as a Digital Media Consultant so I’m giving it a try with JJJPublishing, after all I do miss the holiday ad campaigns. The zombie apocalypse during Halloween is such a blast. Now I have a handful of sights and a family Etsy shop. It’s been a nice hobby so far and I do enjoy writing and creating cartoons more than online retailing. So we will see from here what is to come. Thanks for reading!
RevJamesBJones 