Website business advice
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Hi
I have an idea for a new website (heard this before??) and would be grateful for any help.
Without going into too much detail the idea is basically a product recommendation tool. There is no direct sales income so I would be limited to click thorugh advertising and fees for sales that are as a result of referral from my website.
I have a number of concerns:
My idea is not unique in one sense. A couple of people do something similar although their approach is completely different. They could however, switch their emphasis quite easily. I therefore see getting quick exposure as key. Presumably this takes big bucks? Would i be best appraoching an existing web based comapany?
If i go alone and approach a web design comapny or try and pair up with an existing large marketplayer how can i protect my concept/business model from being stolen/copied?
main income would be taking a cut on other companies sales for referrals/link through? How is this best acheived? by montitoring site traffic and signing contracts with other companies?
any advice would be greratly appreciated!
I have an idea for a new website (heard this before??) and would be grateful for any help.
Without going into too much detail the idea is basically a product recommendation tool. There is no direct sales income so I would be limited to click thorugh advertising and fees for sales that are as a result of referral from my website.
I have a number of concerns:
My idea is not unique in one sense. A couple of people do something similar although their approach is completely different. They could however, switch their emphasis quite easily. I therefore see getting quick exposure as key. Presumably this takes big bucks? Would i be best appraoching an existing web based comapany?
If i go alone and approach a web design comapny or try and pair up with an existing large marketplayer how can i protect my concept/business model from being stolen/copied?
main income would be taking a cut on other companies sales for referrals/link through? How is this best acheived? by montitoring site traffic and signing contracts with other companies?
any advice would be greratly appreciated!
Research, research, research.
Probably be best if you partner with an existing supplier utilising their payment agreements as an affiliate.
Understand the process, business and analyse the marketing/sales funnel for 12-18 months then start to build your own solution in parallel linking your own pages from the white-label on your highest earning referrals until it's done.
Less risk, less outlay, quicker learning curve.
I can help with email marketing and SEO.
Oh, and I've got a cracking domain name that would probably suit.
Best,
Don
Probably be best if you partner with an existing supplier utilising their payment agreements as an affiliate.
Understand the process, business and analyse the marketing/sales funnel for 12-18 months then start to build your own solution in parallel linking your own pages from the white-label on your highest earning referrals until it's done.
Less risk, less outlay, quicker learning curve.
I can help with email marketing and SEO.
Oh, and I've got a cracking domain name that would probably suit.
Best,
Don
1. Big exposure is relative... so is the product niche or is it a range of mainstream products - your approach would depend on that. You would use SEO, online press releases, forum, news, and blog links in the relevant field with a good old Google AdWords campaign for a quick hit... high budget to hit your target visitors thick and fast.
2. If you get a site designed - you can go down the route of NDA's but there's always a risk. Have some written agreements in place in any case.
3. If you make money from referral sales then you should have referral links tracking who's going wehre and what's being bought. Depending on the product; many large sales sites will have that technology inbuilt. You would never determine income from simple site stats / hits and the like...
Give me a shout if you want to talk further: click my name for contact details and website.
2. If you get a site designed - you can go down the route of NDA's but there's always a risk. Have some written agreements in place in any case.
3. If you make money from referral sales then you should have referral links tracking who's going wehre and what's being bought. Depending on the product; many large sales sites will have that technology inbuilt. You would never determine income from simple site stats / hits and the like...
Give me a shout if you want to talk further: click my name for contact details and website.
Comparison sites... You need traffic. Lots of it. Where will it come from? How much will it genuinely cost? Could you broker some links from high volume partners/relationships?
Don't ask a web company to build the site for free in return for commission. That model rarely delivers success. If you have utter belief in the business, pay a professional firm to deliver a top notch job. NDA is a must (yes, non disclosure agreement).
Bear in mind that in order to get enough exposure to compete with consumer brands and service your visitors in a way that people now expect, you shouldn't be shy about budgeting 6 figures for year 1 (including advertising costs).
As with others above, feel free to PM me.
Don't ask a web company to build the site for free in return for commission. That model rarely delivers success. If you have utter belief in the business, pay a professional firm to deliver a top notch job. NDA is a must (yes, non disclosure agreement).
Bear in mind that in order to get enough exposure to compete with consumer brands and service your visitors in a way that people now expect, you shouldn't be shy about budgeting 6 figures for year 1 (including advertising costs).
As with others above, feel free to PM me.
Check the affiliate networks. In your example I would speak to someone like tradedoubler and see how much their sofa affiliates pay. Unless you either pay for placement or have very effective SEO and / or it's a high volume market expect it to be pocket money rather than income. I'm happy if the tyre site covers costs (ie hosting and the odd set of tyres).
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