Million Dollar Pixel Site

Have you ever noticed that outrageous web ideas are only great the first time around? Take the MillionDollarHomePage, for example. A 21 year old student, Alex Tew of Great Britain, came up with a revolutionary idea in August 2005, an idea everyone tried to duplicate once they saw it worked. His idea is pixel advertising, selling advertising space where the cost is based on the number of pixels it occupies.

Have an Original Idea

In late August, Alex lay in his bed at his family home, contemplating how he was going to afford his education at the University he attended while he already had overage charges in his bank account. With a pen and paper along with the thought of ‘How do I become a millionaire,’ the MillionDollarHomePage was created, in only twenty minutes. Each pixel was to sell for $1, with a minimum purchase of $100, or a 10×10 square on the homepage. The website was set up that same night. His family and friends funded him with $1,000 which he spent on a press release. Within 4 weeks he had sold nearly 300k pixels.

Strive for Success

Four months and 2,000 customers later, the idea was accelerating with so much success the money felt like monopoly money to him. The one million dollar goal was just around the corner. Before he would step foot into his business management course at the University, he was almost a millionaire. He employed a press officer to help him publicize the website further, focusing on the generous US market. He spent a week in the US doing interviews on television and the internet. By then, he only had 1,000 pixels left to sell, which he decided to sell on an eBay auction to create hype for the last space of advertising. The auction ended at $152,100, or for just over $152 for each pixel.

Risk Taking

All of the advertisers that bought into the idea took a risk. The website had no target audience, no track record or even any brand recognition. Looking back, the moderate, one-time fee, spent on the advertising space has left the businesses, that participated, ecstatic with the increase in business and page views to their websites.

A Piece of History

Alex succeeded with meeting his goal, making some substantial income in a few short months and leaving businesses with long-term advertising. He says the site is guaranteed to be up until August 2010, but his aim is to keep it up for as long as humanly possible.

Now you may not have an idea that you create in 20 minutes make you a million dollars, but here are some tips:

1. Attach your name to your idea – People may remember an idea, but take credit for your own work. Add an ‘About Me’ page on your website, maybe include your picture or put ‘By: Your Name’ in small text next to the title.
2. Take copy cats as a form of flattery – If you did a good enough of a job creating and advertising your site, copy cats will just be more advertisement for your original idea. People always remember the original.
3. Advertise – This will be the most expensive part to your website, either monetary or your time by word-of-mouth advertising.
4. Stick to your word – Nobody likes being lied to, especially when money is involved. Your reputation is on the line too. Nobody will trust you with your future ideas if your reputation is scarred.

LINKS

• http://www.freepixeladvertising.com/ - Pixel advertising scripts
• eBay - Search for Pixel Advertising, Pixel Websites or Pixel Turnkey (for suggestions).
• Pixelotto - Alex Tew’s second website idea