Name of your website?Imagine: A Vagabond Story & VagaBlog
Your name?
Grant Lingel
Your Location (city, etc)
New York City
Please give us a short summary of your website?
The official website of the book, 'Imagine: A Vagabond Story' by Grant Lingel. Official website of the VagaBlog: A compilation of travel stories submitted by readers from around the world.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
I spent about a year backpacking and living in Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. After returning to the states, I found it hard to vent about my stories from the road so I wrote the book, 'Imagine: A Vagabond Story.' It is in the process of being published right now and will be available on my website in the Spring of 2009. The VagaBlog was inspired by my desire to learn about the world as told by the people who have seen the world.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
I had a blog that I ran during the 2008 presidential campaigns but this is my first official site.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
The word 'imagine' is very important to me. If you can imagine something, you can do it. Also, John Lennon is a huge inspiration to me. His view of a world without borders helped open my eyes at a young age.
What makes your website different from other, similar offerings?
There are other travel blogs that post travel stories but mine is unique because it is the only VagaBlog and the official website for my book.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
My goal is to use my website as a launching pad for my soon to be released book. I would also like to put together a book using the greatest vagabond stories that have been submitted to the VagaBlog.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
The website is very new but so far I can't find enough hours in the day to work on the site and promote my book and blog. Once the book is available sleep will be even less important and working on the site and promotions will be my life.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
I would make forum/discussions section that would be completely interactive for my readers. From discussing travel routes and tips to selling and exchanging goods, the sky is the limit.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
Absolutely. I look forward to that happening.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
Again, the site is quite new, but advertising is quite costly.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Getting enough traffic to the site.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
Word of mouth.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
It is actually a lot more exciting than I had expected. I constantly check my emails to see if people have submitted new stories or reserved copies of my book.
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
I have had the site for 3 weeks. I plan on running it until nobody shows up anymore! Of course I want to sell a lot of books but I am in this for people to share their vagabond stories from around the world with the world.
When do you think this would be posted and will it generate decent traffic for me?
I hope soon and yes! Thanks so much!
What is your website address?
Imagine: A Vagabond Story & VagaBlog
