Out of funds, Need some help!

[Layla T]

Hia

I've been working on my online business (on the side) for 18 months but it's been slow going. I have a demanding day job and a little one at home so whatever little spare time I have goes into building my site's ranking up with social media, blogging and getting the content right.

Over the last 6 months I've spent every spare bit of money I have on advertising and improving the standard of my site and all the related pages. This coupled with the initial cost of the site has cost me over £2.5k. It's not big money to some I know but I'm not exactly raking it in generally so to me it was a lot to find. And I can't go on spending small amounts that have little impact.

I'm ready to give up the day job and put all my time and energy into building this business but I don't know where to go for funding. I need some advice if anyone can offer it? Should I be looking at a government grant or a business loan. I've not had the best credit in the past so a business loan might not even be an option.

Feeling very deflated. Can anyone help?

 

[Homer J Simpson]

Well, if the site is built and most of the expense is done with, I'm assuming that hosing is the only cost to keep it going.

I'd factor in what costs you need to move the business forward PPC/SEO and other marketing. Will this bring in the required money to keep it going?

Can you put together some referral systems with others who operate in your (or similar fields).

You may need to cut costs on everything & anything not bringing in money, but at the same time being careful not to cut costs so much that you lose business as a result.

 

[Homer J Simpson]

@tony84 is in your Manchester and does mortgages. Maybe something you two can do to pass eachother work?

 

[japancool]

Before you spend any more money, stop and take stock.

First of all, on your advertising, what *has* worked? Stop spending money on the stuff that hasn't worked, and concentrate on what has.

Secondly, you say you've spent your time blogging and using social media. I've just looked at your Facebook site. You have 1000 followers and virtually no engagement. Scanning down the page, the post with the most engagement has two likes. You have 11 ratings and none of them have left a comment.

That tells me that whatever it is that you are posting, your audience simply isn't interested in it. Who are you targeting? How have you got these likes?

Have you approached mortgage brokers, estate agents and other people who might be interested in partnering in your business directly, as Homer J SImpson suggests above.

Your services are aimed at first time buyers. It should not be difficult to approach and engage your prospective audience without spending large amounts of money, if you do it right.

One thing about your website is that when I go to it, I have no idea what you actually do. You offer some kind of service to first time buyers, but what exactly are those services. The biggest thing that sticks out is the button that says "Let's talk money". I'm sorry, but I'm not going to click on a button that suggests I need to talk about money to you before I even know what you do! You get ONE chance to engage your customers, and your home page has lost that chance.

 

[tony84]

@tony84 is in your Manchester and does mortgages. Maybe something you two can do to pass eachother work?

Thanks for the mention, we have already met up.

Did you get my email last week or the week before Layla? Its boosted my income by a couple of hundred in 1 month.

 

[fisicx]

...whatever little spare time I have goes into building my site's ranking up with social media, blogging and getting the content right.

All pointless.

If people aren't converting then everything you are doing is wrong.

Looking at the site there are so many glaring issues it no wonder you feel you aren't getting anywhere. Join the forum as a full member and ask for a website review.

Do not give up your job and do not get finance - you will just be throwing your money away. Sorry to be so grumpy and negative but the site really is that bad. I know in a previous thread people were complimentary about the site but they only considered the visuals rather than how effective it is.

 

[Layla T]

Thanks for the comments everyone. The last time I asked for advice on UKBF I was so bombarded with criticism about the site and the blog in particular I took a step back and reassessed everything. I had someone look everything over, paid out to have a number of things improved but it seems I'm still getting it wrong.

The site is intended to be an advice centre, I'm not looking to make money from the site user. I've dealt with enough first time buyers over the years to know that many really don't have a clue what they're doing and are looking for guidance. Those buyers would benefit from using this site for information purposes. The idea is to drive a decent amount of traffic to the site, interact with the user and then offer related services where there's opportunity. The revenue comes from referral on the FS, Solicitors and Surveyors. These initial referral agreements are already in place.

The services I do offer are laid out clearly on the services tab so why is it so unclear what I do? On Facebook I don't get a lot of interaction this is true. The idea of advertising is to CHANGE that so yes, the money on the site is done but there's much more to be paid out in marketing. I do get enquiries, from all over the country. They're slow but I do get them so my efforts in social media aren't completely wasted they just need to reach the right audience on a much bigger scale.

If I keep my job which demands 54 hours a week of my time and go on spending an hour a day at the most on the site with no money to boost the advertising. How then am I going to move forward with this business. Should I just give it up as a bad job, is it just a poor idea?

 

[japancool]

Layla,

You need to be clear on the first page of the site as to what you do. As I said, you have one chance to capture your customers' interest, and you're losing that chance. If you're not clear as soon as they hit your site, they'll never click on your services tab.

You didn't answer my question - you have 1000 likes on Facebook, but how have you got these? Where have they come from? Before you start throwing money at advertising, you need to know who you are advertising to and how best to reach them. You may not need to spend large amounts of money, or maybe even any money at all.

 

[Homer J Simpson]

@tony84 is in your Manchester and does mortgages. Maybe something you two can do to pass eachother work?

No worries. I clearly went to type in your area and then realised you were both in Manchester and out came in your Manchester !

Ah well, glad you've already met up.

 

[Homer J Simpson]

Layla,

Do you have a local home magazine in your area (the free ones in supermarkets and outside estate agents in those stands)?

If so, grab one and have a look inside for the publisher/printer etc and write an article for them (don't pay to advertise in there) They need more than just pages of houses for sale so a nice article for first time buyers would be great. Same for more regional and then even bigger publications.

But, get your site sorted first. There is no point driving traffic to it if it doesn't convert.

I must admit, I looked at the site and liked the design but was lost as to what you do. Also, if you don't charge the people anything and just give free advice with money from referrals SHOUT about free advice (don't have a let's talk money thing as it makes it look like you will charge). Personally, I can't stand companies who don't give even the slightest inclination as to their fees. (web designers and call answering companies take note!).

 

[japancool]

Also, you say it's supposed to be an advice centre, and you want to interact with the users.

How? Where? If you're an advice centre, where do I go for advice from you? Do I have to call you? if that's the case, you're losing interest right there. Where are you going to interact with users? Only by phone?

Just think about this for a moment - you're looking for advice for your business. You haven't gone to a professional business development website and called someone. You've posted on a forum, where lots of users can talk to each other. That's why people like places like moneysavingexpert. You haven't provided an easy way for users to interact with you and get your advice, except by calling you. I'd expect to see somewhere where users can ask you - and each other - questions, just like on this forum.

 

[Layla T]

The likes on Facebook are not (for the most part) genuine. When I first set up the page a friend in SEO just added my page to his list of client pages on AddMeFast or one of those sites. Having very few followers doesn't look good he tells me. I don't get interaction because my followers don't actually follow me, I'm sure you understand me.

To be honest I've had it drilled into me for months that Facebook isn't nearly as important as Twitter so I concentrate my efforts on Twitter (where my tweets are shared regularly) and on the blog.

I know I need to spend money on targeted marketing, I just don't know how to go about it. Clearly!

 

[Layla T]

Thank you Japancool, you make a good point. I don't really know how to answer that except to say that my hope is to engage with the site users via the social media outlets. But even I've never been convinced by that and ideally wanted a much more interactive site. Is this something I can incorporate into the site itself. Some kind of a chat room?

I'm not technically minded, as you can all no doubt tell.

 

[Layla T]

Thanks Homer J for your advice. I'll take a look at the wording on the home page again. You're right.

 

[japancool]

Facebook advertising can be a very effective way to reach a targeted audience, and it can be done on a budget as low as $1 a day, if done right. You can also integrate your Twitter feed so that your tweets show up on your FB timeline.

However, all that is by-the-by if your site visitors aren't converting. Any money you spend on advertising will just be wasted.

As other people have said, you need to sort out your site issues. At the moment, what you do is unclear, it looks like it's going to cost money and you yourself seem to be unclear as to how you're actually going to go about engaging your customers. And you can't be unclear on that point, because that's what your whole business revolves around.

I Googled "first time buyer guide", and this is what comes up as a paid result:
https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/first-time-buyer-money-tips

It says what they do in big letters, all the information I need is on one page, there is a call to action, the logo says "Free, Unbiased, Independent", which immediately keeps me on the site, and I assume you are also free, unbiased and independent. Give your visitors something when they come to the site so that they'll want more.

As for a chat room, that's just not going to work unless you can be there 24/7, and unless new users can read stuff you've posted before, it's not going to engage them. Plus, if I'm asking about mortgage advice or whatever, I want a reply with some depth, not a brief sentence typed on a chat room. A forum, or an FB style group or something like that would be a far better option.

 

[fisicx]

Layla,

The whole site need reworking. The theme is wrong, the content is confusing, the navigation unclear, the images strange. There are no trust marks, no CTA and the 0800 number will put people off.

Forget social media. People who need help will be googling for the answer.

 

[Maxwell83]

I agree with the majority of comments above.

Just looking at the site as if I were a FTB.

First time buyers looking for free advice are unlikely to approach what looks like a company that they will presume will be trying to sell them something and with only a phone number for any obvious communication (yes there is the social aspect but when on your site, it's not obvious that you will answer my questions via FB/twitter so I wouldn't bother asking).

They are already in a world full of what they believe to be sharks that will drain their money - estate agents, brokers & insurers - and it sort of looks like you are all 3. In fact the language used makes it sound like you ARE the 'shark' in question. e.g. "our team of IFAs". What if i'm not even sure if I need an IFA, i'm hardly going to ask you about that

Based on the website content and its feel, I would always have the suspicion that you are going to try and get me to buy something. I get mixed messages about what exactly you're going to do for me. At best its unclear what i'll get if I call you (e.g. For expert advice free of charge Request a call back for an initial review of your options.) and at worst it sounds like you ARE the broker/IFA and what you really want is a lead for your next commission cheque (Our team of expert Independent Financial Advisors are on hand to offer a free, no obligation consultation.) Even if it won't cost me a penny to talk to you, why ring you when many high st estate agents and mortgage brokers also offer free advice? What is unique about you that would make me want to forsake the certainty of dealing with a big name?

Much better I think would be making the website into an information resource with links to the services you refer. Right now its not a resource - its a few pages of basic info but for any 'real' questions to be answered I have to pick up the phone. Why? I am on the internet looking for advice and I'm not picking up the phone unless I'm ready to take up your services. The advice part I should be able to get online. This is why people love forums for stuff like this. They like to be able to ask questions with some anonymity. They want the experiences of real people like them, not a team of 'professionals', when they are just looking for advice. They need to feel that there is no ulterior motive behind the advice they are getting. And often they want the 'dirty details' that the 'professionals' often leave out. People have become savvy enough to know that a professional will never really know how the experience will feel to a normal person. And they will want to make a sale unless they are a charity.

The MSE model is a perfect example of how to do it - forums for people to ask for advice, and a few select offers from the site admin for those who want to know "how can I save on mortgage broker fees" for example, or "which insurer offers the most cashback via quico" or whatever. It is still making referrals, but it gets them by engaging with the reader by saying 'I'm not trying to sell you this product, but if you have already decided that you need this product I will point you in the direction of the best deal'.

I think you need to decide what you want to be perceived as - a straight up professional service like a broker/IFA or a resource of info for the 'browsers' that you can build up trust with and then show them offers... Whichever you choose you will need to make some changes to do it well.

 

[businessfunding]

Plenty of good constructive comment here

As a debt financier you prime thought is that the last thing you want to do is saddle your self/business with debt as there is no evidence that you can repay

My thought would be to put all of your spare time in to turning your site in to a business

Once you have proved it can make money more money might help to take it up a level

 

[willhunting]

Does the proof of concept work on paper?