How to best use our $15,000 online promotion budget

[jeffos101]

Hi ,

We have a <snip> community site that we are putting together for a niche market in the US (Ready in June). We have an advertising budget of about $15,000. (We want to put it all in online advertising at this point). Our site will be free until we can get the momentum and registrations. So this $ will be spent basically on Acquiring free members. What is the best venues to do this?.
How much should we expect to pay for a newly opened <snip> site for a pay per lead program, is it the best solution for us?
We want to obviously capitalize a maximum on our budget and PPL seemed like the best way to go. Which company should we use.? CJ or other. Overall, we were hoping to get about 15,000 to 20,000 free members before we turn the site paid. Is is enough?. We were hoping for a 1:15 conversion ratio (Free/Paid) We want to get the site as far as we can get it with our current budget before we bring along third party funding, Investors, bank loan etc.. after 6 month of operation, to take it to the next level and have the money to advertise it properly. But our next few months will be critical to reach this point.

Any assistance and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

thank you

J.

[edited by: stuntdubl at 6:25 pm (utc) on April 2, 2006]
[edit reason] just snipped the specific industry [/edit]

[belege]

In my opinion, paying money to get members is just wrong. With 15.000 you could get, lets say 150.000 visitors that may be interested in what you offer. But if they do not find something already built, they will not stay. I've seen so many people who thinks that 1$=10visitors=2orders. They learned the hard way that advertising is the last concern. Hope you will not make the same mistake.

[showyourpic]

If you go the paying for members way, you should use a bunch of small affiliate programs since CJ fees will take money from you out of the gate.

I personally suggest you do other advertising methods such as CPM advertising rather than paying for each memebr to increase your popularity.

[PurpleMan]

Assuming that there is a large amount of content to make the site worth visiting, I would employ a reputable SEO company as a longer-term investment.

If the usefulness of the site depends on users in the first place, then spend then money on copy-writers. Once the site is good, people will come. You can then add the community features over time from an established user-base.

[etechsupport]

I would suggest to do some homework on ROI based on your ad cost as to avoid loss more than you can afford, A CPM method can be a recommended route for such big ad campaign.

[metrofeed]

I would make sure you have a reason for people to use the site BEFORE there are any members. Content, articles, pictures, anything which will entice people to stay around. Controversial or informational articles which require registration might be a good way to get some users in the system.

If you have content, then I would suggest looking for niche sites in your area, such as blogs, info sites, etc. Buy or get text links on those sites. This can be inexpensive and will benefit you in SEO and in terms of getting a few visitors. Pick the site(s) wisely, look for those which are real community or personal site with a fairly large readership.

[jamesrayhan]

<snip>

[edited by: digitalghost at 2:49 pm (utc) on April 16, 2006]
[edit reason] No URLs. [/edit]

[rogerd]

I'll second those who suggest having something useful and going at the site is important before blowing a bunch of money on ads. Some might stay and participate, but if the site looks empty or underutilized many will hit the "back" button.

Check the Community Building [webmasterworld.com] forum for ideas on how to get a community off the ground.

[andye]

We were hoping for a 1:15 conversion ratio (Free/Paid)

That would be a 6.6% conversion rate, probably too optimistic (imho), unless the value proposition is very compelling.

hth, a.