Name of your website?OnlinePopstar
Your name?
Roxie Figaratto
Your Location (city, etc)
Portland
Please give us a short summary of your website?
OnlinePopstar is an online karaoke talent site. Members can submit their songs online to enter the many contests we sponsor to win great cash prizes, cool merch, and get their songs heard by music industry insiders.
We provide amazing tools for singers to improve, and helpful articles for those wishing to take their singing to the professional level. All top singers receive a free professional vocal analysis, and unlimited critiques.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
From a musical family, I found that there were no websites in existence to meet the needs of competitive singers, and there were no fun and exciting online singer's communities...so we started one!
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
I launched my first website, OTStuff.com, in 2001. It was a website tailored to the interests and needs of occupational therapy, and the professionals in the field.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
It is my firm belief that some of the greatest singers with the most compelling talent are unsigned, and unknown. I wanted the site name to reflect our mission statement, and be self-explanatory.
What makes it different from other, similar offerings?
OnlinePopstar is different from other karaoke websites in that we provide The Critic's Studio, an online vocal coaching forum.
We are also the ONLY online social-networking site for singers.
Only the OnlinePopstar contests are judged and scored by professionals in the entertainment industry.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
Because it is more a labor of love, my goal is to retain OnlinePopstar and keep building it according to our mission statement and the needs and wishes of the community.
It would be a big bonus if we could use the site as a foundation for one of our reality premises, "Don't Quit Your Day Job." This is an award-winning reality premise that offers an American Idol-type of experience for older, career-committed singers; those who quit their bands, gave up their rock-star dreams, and are now wanting a second chance at stardom.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
There is a direct correlation of time and energy to success in any endeavour. Website building, however, tests that theory to the max, and I feel you have to re-define your definition of "success." For me, success is finding a reliable server that won't fail us when our traffic spikes. Or, when site visitors use and enjoy the site as I envisioned it two years ago.
There are financial pitfalls and woes, but it's all part of a process.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
The one thing lacking at OnlinePopstar is the online karaoke recording functionality that the other, bigger, sites have.
I'd be on cloud nine if I were able to secure that!
Most of our site members use the other online recording sites, but post their songs on our site, and spend more time with us...just cuz we're so dang cool!
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
Yes! We've put time and attention toward scaleability. In the past six months, we've gone to a dedicated server, we've installed a great social networking package with a sturdy and reliable database design, and we have an amazing staff that can handle just about anything!
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
It came as a huge surprise to me that our hosting failed us, when our numbers were still small enough that it shouldn't have failed. That made me very nervous. I've found that finding reliable hosting is like finding a needle in a haystack.
What has been your biggest challenge?
My biggest challenge has been learning to function at peak performance on a meager sleep budget! Had I known how much time this endeavour would demand, I might not have gotten into it. It's been quite an adventure!
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
I've gotten the best promotion for OnlinePopstar from the members who use and enjoy it. Otherwise, I've been pretty successful with the SEO stuff, and getting our site listed in the top of the SE results. That brings a lot of hits.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
Well, I expected that I'd have a less hands-on position with the site, and we'd be making a viable income from it. What folly!
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 launched the site in December of 2005 and had a very limited functionality then, but enjoyed a great base of faithful members. In March, 2007, we added the social-networking piece and have seen 2500 new members join since then! This is inspiring and has re-newed my passion to accomplish my goals. Ultimately, if the site does not perform as it should, we would have to back away from it, only because of the awesome commitment of thought, time, and money that it requires.
Do you build other websites?
Why, yes! Yes we do! We've just begun work on DareToBid, an ebay-like website that features a reverse auction where users can bid on the chance to perform wacky, potentially humiliating, but always humorous, stunts for cash prizes. Many of our sites correspond to our television ventures.
What is your website address?
OnlinePopstar
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