$600 Billion Market

Only 74 internet sites to serve them?

[martinibuster]

From HispanicPRWire [hispanicprwire.com],

...there are 206 TV media outlets and shows, over 792 print media outlets; which includes Spanish magazines and Spanish or bilingual newspapers, 650 Spanish radio media outlets and shows, and 74 Internet sites for people who are Spanish language dominant...

The numbers, if true, are huge. I think the 74 internet sites are a bit off though. Any thoughts?

btw, I'm rolling out my first Spanish language site next week.

[willamowius]

I find it pretty hard to find affiliate programs that target Spanish markets.

I think there are very few out there.

[pscott]

You can get high traffic from Spanish sites but converting that traffic to sales is a different story.

Peter.

[takagi]

You can get high traffic from Spanish sites but converting that traffic to sales is a different story.

See also:
Hispanic Internet Users - An emerging market opportunity in the US [webmasterworld.com]

Spanish online market & credit cards / Is it true the Spanish don't trust e-commerce? [webmasterworld.com]

P.S.
Hello Peter ('pscott'), welcome to WebmasterWorld.

[martinibuster]

I think that this $600 billion referred to is in the United States. So, part of the challenge is cultivating the eyeballs, no? Now, if you do build the eyeballs, would Procter and Gamble, Dos Equis, etc. be interested?

Just a thought.

Running after an established market (you and a million other people), is one thing. Building and cultivating a new market calls for a bit of thought, I think.

[HughMungus]

I just read "The Dot.Bomb Survival Guide". Old book, but, one of the things they mentioned (in discussing a certain spanish-language portal) was that the vast majority of Spanish-speaking American internet users prefer English-language websites to Spanish language ones.

[tomkee]

Reminds me of the projections during the dot com boom that go something like this....

There are 1 billion people in China. If we get even 20% of them to buy our special Chinese products we could make billions easily.

Unfortunately it doesnt quite work that way.

In this case, I am sure that most of the people with the $600 Billion can read English and use English language sites.

[john316]

There really is no "huge spanish market", it is more like a few hundred "mini-spanish markets"..if you go with "one size fits all spanish" you'll most likely offend everyone, you need to target to specific subsets..Cuban, Mexican, Honduran etc..

Many different micro cultural idiosyncracies to cover.

[willamowius]

There really is no "huge spanish market", it is more like a few hundred "mini-spanish markets".

I'd rather think of them as dozens of interesting markets.

I know a site aimed at visitors from Spain that gets as many visitors from Mexico alone as from Spain. Even if their buying power is only maybe 1/3 of that in Spain it's still hard to see all that potential wasted.

[martinibuster]

I am sure that most of the people with the $600 Billion can read English and use English language sites.

That's the problem, and my advantage: Too many people making assumptions. In my four years of observing Spanish speakers, they generally prefer Spanish content if it's offered- whether it is a website, email, or portals.

In a recently concluded yearlong study of internet usage by Hispanics, comScore MediaMetrix [mediapost.com] found:

• 49% of U.S. Hispanics prefer to speak Spanish, or a mix of Spanish and English.

• Growth of Hispanic Americans online has surged.

• Amount of time spent online grew by 24%

• Amount of webpages consumed shot up by 30%

These trends indicate that the Internet is playing an increasingly important role in Hispanics' lives," said Richard Israel, vice president of comScore Hispanic Solutions. "Many are developing online preferences and loyalties that will last well into the future.

AOL has a 76% Hispanic market share- no surprise there. AOL has been courting this market for a long time, going so far as presenting content that is personalized for the unique interests of Hispanic Americans.

Interesting read.

[hannamyluv]

Many of the big time affiliates are startingto offer spanishads to their affiliates, but their site is still in english.

We looked at the hispanic market for our company. We are the right type of company, but we found that on or offline, reaching the hispanic market is harder than it sounds. It's not a lump sum group, like whites or blacks are now. I am guessing that someday, they will be. It's inevitable. Although, maybe not. I really havn't seen an unified aisian-american market, so maybe it won't happen.

[rossH]

martinibuster

I just recently lost a website project that would've been bilingual (dammit) - I agree with your sense of all this

Is your Spanish site bilingual with English? I'm wondering how to estimate the additional overhead of offering a second-language version of a website - mileage will vary of course, but any thoughts?

can anyone speak to the costs, methods, and pitfalls of a bilingual site?

thanks

ross

[Josecito]

well guys, im new on this biz, ¿ working with affiliates programs? im from argentia, so my main languaje is spanish...

if someone need some help, i can work with you.. looks like im looking for an job, right? :D

and if is possible to share some ideas abt wich products will be sold to spanish ppl will help me a lot, i dont know where to start.