will a local classifieds site work ?
- Thread starter 2012
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14 minutes and you are back to complain about not having a reply.
Is mister impatient at home today
As a standalone I would say nope, but if it were part of a bigger site then yes possibly it might
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F
Faevilangel
Honestly, no one can tell you because there are so many variables to the questions.
My advice, start small and build up but also define your customers by going niche e.g.
training equipment
football shirts
etc
Don't go for the "all and none" approach like Gumtree, be a specialist website
My advice, start small and build up but also define your customers by going niche e.g.
training equipment
football shirts
etc
Don't go for the "all and none" approach like Gumtree, be a specialist website
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although yes it can work if you do it right, it's lots of work, and you're reinventing a wheel which is covered by many established companies, gumtree, adtrader, ebay etc.
What you have to ask yourself is why would someone list their item on your site, what benefit can you offer over the countless other sites? how do you a, get an audience for their adverts and b, convey that audience to potential advertisers (no-one wants to list their products for an audience of none).
Niche markets are normally the best way to break into this and you can set out a structured plan to expand into other markets to build it up, for example stamps, craft items etc. You will also be able to write good targeted content and have less trouble getting advertisers on-board, if that's how you wish to monetise the site.
We run a number of car communities and their classified sections boom, members prefer to sell to other members and only list on the likes of ebay when the ad has not gained interest in the community.
What you have to ask yourself is why would someone list their item on your site, what benefit can you offer over the countless other sites? how do you a, get an audience for their adverts and b, convey that audience to potential advertisers (no-one wants to list their products for an audience of none).
Niche markets are normally the best way to break into this and you can set out a structured plan to expand into other markets to build it up, for example stamps, craft items etc. You will also be able to write good targeted content and have less trouble getting advertisers on-board, if that's how you wish to monetise the site.
We run a number of car communities and their classified sections boom, members prefer to sell to other members and only list on the likes of ebay when the ad has not gained interest in the community.
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It's VERY difficult to achieve and maintain momentum on a local site.
If it's large enough to have a substantial local market, then you're facing stiff competition. if it's small enough to not be crowded, then you've got momentum issues - not enough interest = not enough listings = not enough interest.
We've done some local are sites with business listings and a variety of other bolt-ons, and must admit that where you have blog/forum with enough activity, they're not too bad to admin/maintain. Classifieds are a different beast and can quickly turn into a ghost town.
Personally, I'd be looking at other local angles.
If it's large enough to have a substantial local market, then you're facing stiff competition. if it's small enough to not be crowded, then you've got momentum issues - not enough interest = not enough listings = not enough interest.
We've done some local are sites with business listings and a variety of other bolt-ons, and must admit that where you have blog/forum with enough activity, they're not too bad to admin/maintain. Classifieds are a different beast and can quickly turn into a ghost town.
Personally, I'd be looking at other local angles.
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Advertise it locally and not on the internet and it stand as good a chance as most things. Really depends on where you are and how you do it. I know an lot of owners of such sites, most struggle but the ones in remote or more community based area seem to work. I did know of one in South America that sell fighting chickens only.
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Hi. Yes, it might work. I have good experience with running 2 local classifieds in past. The problem will be - moneterasing and fighting spam
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First you must know why are people paying for ad on such websites. Think of your website as a shopping center. Having an cafe shop in popular shopping center will get you big, big profit. But to enter that game, you'll need a connections, lots of money and reputable name.
Reason why people will pay high mortgage at shopping centers are clear: lots of traffic and potential buyers. But, ability of the seller to turn that traffic into leads and customers is what really matters. If you're good at that conversion - you'll be able to pay higher price for traffic, as bigger part of it will become your customers.
Your job, as shopping center owner( read: website owner), will be to help your advertisers by any means to convert as much of the traffic as possible. Otherwise, even if your traffic is high you're going to fail.
Therefore, you need to be innovative. Get more people to come by offering coupons, discounts, special offers sent to email etc. Offer additional service for your advertisers - create content for them, review their services and product, create videos and post them on youtube, build community on social websites etc. Offer free printed catalog with content of your website etc. Do everything you can so that your advertisers sell as much as possible.
So you need to be new, innovative, progressive. Move the game to the next level and always ask yourself "Why would they work with me instead of all of the others out there". Once you have great answer to this question in one sentence, the answer that will make them say "I want to try your service, it looks promising" then you'll know that your product is going to succeed.
Hope I help a bit.
Reason why people will pay high mortgage at shopping centers are clear: lots of traffic and potential buyers. But, ability of the seller to turn that traffic into leads and customers is what really matters. If you're good at that conversion - you'll be able to pay higher price for traffic, as bigger part of it will become your customers.
Your job, as shopping center owner( read: website owner), will be to help your advertisers by any means to convert as much of the traffic as possible. Otherwise, even if your traffic is high you're going to fail.
Therefore, you need to be innovative. Get more people to come by offering coupons, discounts, special offers sent to email etc. Offer additional service for your advertisers - create content for them, review their services and product, create videos and post them on youtube, build community on social websites etc. Offer free printed catalog with content of your website etc. Do everything you can so that your advertisers sell as much as possible.
So you need to be new, innovative, progressive. Move the game to the next level and always ask yourself "Why would they work with me instead of all of the others out there". Once you have great answer to this question in one sentence, the answer that will make them say "I want to try your service, it looks promising" then you'll know that your product is going to succeed.
Hope I help a bit.
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D
DotNetWebs
My tip is to first check Facebook to see if there is a "swap sell buy" group in your area (try searching with those words rearranged and use synonyms).
If there are one or more strong groups in your area personally I wouldn't bother with a classifieds site as most people I know use these now.
Regards
Dotty
If there are one or more strong groups in your area personally I wouldn't bother with a classifieds site as most people I know use these now.
Regards
Dotty
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