Thursday

Webmaster Interviews

Webmaster Interview – Tom Ross – PSDFan.com

First of all would be please state your name and role at your site?

I’m Tom Ross, and I’m the owner/founder of PSDFAN.com. I’m also the chief poster there, although I’m gradually building up a great team of writers that I work with.

Which site is your highest earner and how do you make money from it?

I would say that PSDFAN is my biggest site at the moment, although I have some great sites in the works right now.

What was the hardest thing that you’ve done in your online business?

Given up freelancing. I used to work as a freelance web designer, until I eventually got sick of dealing with certain types of clients. I took the leap and began running my own websites full time, concentrating on advertising and membership income.

What inspires you?

I have plenty of influences in the work that I do. Collis Taeed from the TutsPlus network continually inspires me with his attitude and work ethic. My Dad also inspires me with how hard he’s worked over the years. Additionally it may sound cliche, but I find inspiration in the daily work. There is great art everywhere, but more than that, you need to be open to inspiration. If you go through life with the correct mentality then you’re much more likely to be inspired.

In this time of recession how do you still manage to make money online?

With difficultly! Seriously though, I’m having to start focusing more on money than I have done in the past. In the past I’ve had tendencies to ‘drift’, whereas I’m having to become more active lately in setting up income sources, landing advertisers etc…

There are way too many ways to make money online, which one do you choose? (PPC/PPV/CPA..etc)

I use BuySellAds at the moment, and have done for a while. They offer a great solution for publishers to earn considerable income. Additionally I’m in the process of relaunching my members area, which should be huge once it’s complete!

How many sites do you own and how many of them are already popular?

To be honest I lose track. I own several smaller sites that tend to keep changing over the years. Right now I’m focusing on PSDFAN mainly, as well as setting up a sister site to it. Additionally I’m working on finishing a web app that I’m really excited about.

Would you care to list top 3 sites that you would like to mention to my readers?

SmashingMagazine is very well known, but I can’t help but mention it, it’s how blogging should be done. WebDesignerDepot.com and InstantShift.com also have it down pretty well! Additionally I have some friends at MyInkBlog.com and SixRevisions.com, a
couple of great blogs.

Do you have any future projects coming up that we should look out for?

As mentioned I have a sister site to PSDFAN and a large web app in the works. I’m hoping to launch the web app first, and I really have a lot of faith in it. I’ll also be relaunching the PSDFAN members area, which has become a project in it’s own right.

Got any tips for our readers?*

Work hard and have passion. The two really go hand in hand, at least for me. If I’m passionate about something I’ll be inclined to work much harder on it than something that doesn’t really interest me. Just find your passion and then pour your heart and soul into it, the benefits will come naturally.