Nearly 7 Years of ThailandSnakes.com – Thanks!
When I started this website almost 7 years ago, I really didn’t think there’d be that many people interested in the herpetofauna of Thailand. I was so wrong. The stats above show the growth of ThailandSnakes.com over the years. This month we are already the 2nd highest traffic month ever. Traffic means people coming to the site and what they’re consuming – pageviews.
Now I need to come to a decision – either crank it up to be as big as it can possibly get, or just let it coast.
I certainly don’t have all the pages I want on the site yet. It’s slow going to add new species pages. It takes a few hours to write the information and find good photos. When I look at the traffic numbers, people are mostly interested in the common Thailand snakes, and venomous Thailand snakes categories.
I have few pit vipers listed. I have no seasnakes listed – I might have Laticauda. Can’t recall. I have very few snakes outside of the species I catch here in the South. I could really add another 100 species to cover more of the commonly seen snakes in Thailand.
I have a lot of helpful pages up. I’m not sure what else I could write to help people with snakes. If you have any ideas, do let me know!
I’m stuck about how to monetize the site. There is a ton of free info here, and I’ve written some books to cover more specific info people may want. I’m writing a new book that will be finished in a few days – “Venomous Snakebites and Near Misses – Southeast Asia Edition” which I hope everyone likes. Some of the stories are really fascinating. Danger lurking around every corner.
If you have any suggestions for the site, now is the time to let me know.
Cheers!
Vern your site is a treasure trove for us herps and Asia lovers in general. It’s also one of my regular go to’s to cheer me up in the depressing winter weather (and reptile void) here in South Australia. Your site keeps me motivated to get back to Thailand asap and stay there as long as possible. Please keep it going at all costs. Maybe there are other herp related products you can use to monetize it…? It’s a brilliant, no BS, quality site! Congratulations man and enjoy your lifestyle!
Thanks Ken – appreciate it… It would be really great if I could spend another few hundred hours on the site and fill in a lot of the blanks. There’s some good info here, and a lot that is missing too. I did what I could over the last I don’t know, 10 yrs. since this site has been live. I have been hoping others would also contribute their knowledge, on their sites or wherever. There are now many facebook groups for different areas. David Frohlich in Hua Hin created those. They help, and I’m no longer answering 5-10 snake ID requests per day! Hans Breuer, a German in Borneo now (was in Taiwan where he made a nice site with a friend on snakes from there), wrote a huge book about his snake experiences. It’s hardcover and expensive though, so I think many people haven’t paid for it. Ton Smits created a website filled with photos of snakes he has found around Bangok, Korat, Kaeng Krachan south of Bangkok.
So now there is more online, which is good.
Monetization of a snake website about Thailand is super difficult. The books are not money-makers by any stretch. Most I have given away free one time or another to get more reach and help more people. Books take many hours to complete and give little in return. Videos give just about nothing in return. I don’t believe in keeping snakes. That’s how most people make money – tell how to keep snakes. Write books about that. Breed snakes at home and sell them. It goes against my beliefs, so that’s out. Google ads and other ads for gear don’t do well at all.
It is what it is. I have to have other pursuits just to keep going.
Thanks for your note – good to hear when people have used the site and got something out of it.