Forum Moderators: rogerd
I've pondered the problem and come up with a couple of possible solutions:
i) I could scour the related publications for the niche and put in ads from their classifieds section. Not sure about copyright though.
ii) The site could start off with a bang of publicity somehow- I could get a mate to sell off some or other body part or whatever. You get the idea... papers pick it up, people log on, post ads even if there aren't that many and the site goes from zero to hero in a short space of time. This is unlikely though.
iii) I could run a competition where every ad is an entry into some sort of prize draw. This might attract bogus/rubbish ads.
Does anyone have experience in starting this sort of thing? How did you overcome the initial lack of ads? Does anyone have any other ideas as to how I could overcome this problem?
Assuming these are paid ads, consider offering free ads to start out. Check out communities related to your topic and, if appropriate, drop a link or two. Press releases are always good, though as you note a controversial ad will be a much better story than a new ad site announcement.
I'm running free help wanted ads now and they are doing well. I haven't begun to charge for them yet, but I plan to start pretty soon.
Void attracts nobody. Think about content. The more i see people advertise on your site, the more i see this is a central place for the niche, the more i will be willing to pay to be there. Even if they are not real advertisers, but free content to start the business, i won't notice.
First add free content, free content and free content, become attractive for visitors...worthwhile, catch their eye, catch their spirit.
then you can think about communicate through paper or whatever medias...
I could scour the related publications for the niche and put in ads from their classifieds section. Not sure about copyright though.
I did that. Definitely better than starting with an empty page. I never got any complaints. I even called many of them first, before placing their ad on my site, to be sure that they were ok with a free ad with me. Just about everyone said ok.
The idea is to offer the ads totally for free, both to place ads and to read them. So, in effect, offering them for free wouldn't be anything different to normal :-)
Also, it's going to be just a classifieds site... no real content besides the ads. Similar (I think) to craigslist? Anyways, hopefully monetisation will come at a later stage, from other methods, once the site is established.
So it sounds like the press release/controversial ad would be a good method to kick it off with. Maybe I'll use that in conjunction with adding ads from other publications... that way, when journalists visit the site when researching it, it won't be totally empty.
When you are starting a directory you need your subscribers more than they need you, so draw them in on the offer of a freebie. There are not many people out there that can refuse a free lunch.
Try and work out your pricing model now. You can then tell potential customers how much they are saving by signing up now.
Six years ago I started a directory and the early joiners got the first eighteen months for free. Anyone who joined in thet first 18 months got at least a year free.
The directory was started using targeted emails to people with existing websites. I think I also offered free lifetime membership to anyone who refered a certain number of other new subscribers.
Next step is to get traffic and lots of it. Make it easy for anyone who finds your site to sign up for the free trial.
The last thing I would say is don't rush to try and make money from your site. You have plenty of time to do that once your directory is mature and your subscribers need you more than you need them.
Next step is to get traffic and lots of it.
Definitely, and when you figure out how, please stop back here and let us know how you did it!
I agree, this is true of most community sites. Focus on building members and traffic, and eventually you'll have something to monetize.
