Online marketing ideas?

[Skosha]

Hi everyone. I'm planning on starting a directory website with free and paid featured listings and reviews/ratings.

I want marketing advice and tips.

My target audience is usa real estate agents.

I've got a lot of emails to send through 1and1 who I got my domain and hosting with.

How do I avoid being seen as spam when sending emails?

Any SEO tips? Anyone used Adengage before? Any success stories?

What other types of online advertising are there? And how do I use them effectively?

I just want marketing advice as I'm a startup.

Many thanks.

 

[StevePoster]

I would suggest to introduce your website through interesting and engaging content as an start-up to target your audience and use different blog site platforms.

 

[Annoying Donkey]

My target audience is usa real estate agents.

What makes you think your audience is online and searching for directory "opportunities"?

 

[directmarketingadvice]

Hi everyone. I'm planning on starting a directory website with free and paid featured listings and reviews/ratings.

I want marketing advice and tips.

Here's a tip: don't start a directory.

Unless you're coming to it with resources that will make it easier - e.g. you're an established name within that market - it's an incredibly difficult business model to get off the ground.

And it's the kind of business you can sink a lot of time and effort into... only to find it's not viable.

Steve

 

[wearewattle]

Here's a tip: don't start a directory.

Unless you're coming to it with resources that will make it easier - e.g. you're an established name within that market - it's an incredibly difficult business model to get off the ground.

And it's the kind of business you can sink a lot of time and effort into... only to find it's not viable.

Steve

I would have said exactly this, but I had a meeting with a chap a few weeks back to review a project to update his directory site. He had no technical knowledge and it was quite literally just a simple directory site, at its peak it was doing 3k a month on just addsense alone (and never under £500), I kid you not. I know! It is nuts isn't it!

 

[Skosha]

I would have said exactly this, but I had a meeting with a chap a few weeks back to review a project to update his directory site. He had no technical knowledge and it was quite literally just a simple directory site, at its peak it was doing 3k a month on just addsense alone (and never under £500), I kid you not. I know! It is nuts isn't it!

3k a month on Adsense? How did he manage that?

Any chance you can tell me which directory site?

Thank you.

 

[Skosha]

What makes you think your audience is online and searching for directory "opportunities"?

I'll do marketing. I'm thinking of integrating a classifieds feature later.

 

[Skosha]

I would suggest to introduce your website through interesting and engaging content as an start-up to target your audience and use different blog site platforms.

I'm not good at blogging. I was thinking email marketing first.

 

[wearewattle]

3k a month on Adsense? How did he manage that?

Traffic! A ton of it - seriously I checked it all myself, he had a LOT of pages on the site and was getting a lot of traffic and add clicks, it was very well designed as well.

 

[Skosha]

Traffic! A ton of it - seriously I checked it all myself, he had a LOT of pages on the site and was getting a lot of traffic and add clicks, it was very well designed as well.

Can you provide a URL link?

Thank you.

 

[wearewattle]

Can you provide a URL link?

Thank you.

every time I do that someone reports my post and I get moderated I will PM you.

 

[AllUpHere]

He's hardly going to give the URL to a clients site now he has mentioned it's income.

Edit. Maybe he will.

 

[wearewattle]

He's hardly going to give the URL to a clients site now he has mentioned it's income.

Well in this instance, it is not my clients site - I evaluated the site and proposed, but never won the project. But, yes, I have sent the link to him via PM, not wise to make it public

 

[Annoying Donkey]

I'll do marketing. I'm thinking of integrating a classifieds feature later.

No point in marketing if your audience is not there or not listening... Like the junk mail we get to our apartment offering wall cladding or the government leaflets we get, seemingly weekly, at our other property - one of the most expensive properties in the country - asking if we're getting all the welfare benefits we're entitled to...

I'd agree with Steve, unless you've got some genuine standout benefit, directories are a poor business model in 2014.

 

[william04]

Website directory was best online business idea in past four years but now it require little refinement. Google algorithm update is really strict against back link without any context . So you have to create some feature to improve user experience and let user submit their websites on your directory with some natural content . Follow the pattern how business listing website work.

 

[Skosha]

Web design is misspelt in your signature.

What features would you recommend?

Thanks.

 

[Skosha]

off page seo best idea
( Directory Submission ) ( Social Bookmarking ) ( Link Exchange )

Thank you.

 

[william04]

Web design is misspelt in your signature.

What features would you recommend?

Thanks.

I recommend to provide some tool that help entrepreneurs and webmasters to figure out basic on page SEO issues of their website. And allow them rating in their niche listing .