Need help with a marketing challenge

I am hoping to seek some advices in a marketing challenge that I am trying to solve. I hope someone from this group will provide some great marketing tips to save a young little marketeer from losing her job.

What I have on hand is a project to promote a fairly new and no-so-well-known Business Directory which is focused primarily on service-based businesses, such as Home services, Business services, Legal services, etc etc. We offer free listing to anyone who care to join. Our revenue comes from selling an online profile service (similar to a mini website) cost only $30/year (very cheap). Our market strategy is small biz and home-based biz. Our yearly marketing budget is 20K/year.

Even with the free listing service, the sign up rate is still quite low. We just finished redesigning our site and everyone who had visited say the site is very professionally designed (honestly).

Could anyone help to suggest some strategies to promote this free directory? What is the best way for us to drive traffic to our site?

I am hestitated to post the url here, but if you are interested to visit us, please email me directly.

Thank you very much for your kind attention and help.

Anne

What is the scope of the market? Nationally? Regionally?

Take care,

Mike W.

> I am hoping to seek some advices in a
> marketing challenge that I am trying to
> solve. I hope someone from this group will
> provide some great marketing tips to save a
> young little marketeer from losing her job.

> What I have on hand is a project to promote
> a fairly new and no-so-well-known Business
> Directory which is focused primarily on
> service-based businesses, such as Home
> services, Business services, Legal services,
> etc etc. We offer free listing to anyone who
> care to join. Our revenue comes from selling
> an online profile service (similar to a mini
> website) cost only $30/year (very cheap).
> Our market strategy is small biz and
> home-based biz. Our yearly marketing budget
> is 20K/year.

> Even with the free listing service, the sign
> up rate is still quite low. We just finished
> redesigning our site and everyone who had
> visited say the site is very professionally
> designed (honestly).

> Could anyone help to suggest some strategies
> to promote this free directory? What is the
> best way for us to drive traffic to our
> site?

> I am hestitated to post the url here, but if
> you are interested to visit us, please email
> me directly.

> Thank you very much for your kind attention
> and help.

> Anne

Here's a way to put together a "Directory" that's much needed in ANY community....and make some SERIOUS MONEY doing it.

You folks who put together "directories" and offer FREE membership to those in the Directory (so you have a product to offer viewers)....then try to get traffic so you can sell Ads....are missing something.

EVERY Community has homeowners who want to hire Tradespeople to do work on their homes. Hoemowners are skeptical about the tradespeople they hire; Will they do a good job?....will they finish the job to my satisfaction?....will they overcharge me?

Why not set up a "Trades Guild"?

You, as the "Director" would interview and check references of Tradespeople and CHARGE THE TRADESPEOPLE A MONTHLY FEE to be Listed in your "Trades Guild Directory".

LIMIT each Category of Tradespeople so your "Guild" is an EXCLUSIVE club type thing.

You would then advertise your "Guild" in the local area....touting the main theme, which is "TRUST IN YOUR GROUP OF TRADESPEOPLE"!

I know of one woman who started this in a city of 100,000 and is making over $10,000 Monthly with this program. I think she charges $100/mo to Tradespeople. Tradespeople pay to belong to her "Guild" because the "Guild" gets them JOBS.

Another "Guild" near San Francisco (also operated by a woman) charges a monthly fee PLUS 15% of the jobs that result.

So...think about charging "members" of your exclusive "club" as your means of earning income from a project like this.

On 2 remodeling jobs in the last 10 yrs, I wish I had a "Guild" where I could be assured the contractors I was about to hire were trustworthy AND could do a satisfactory job.

The guys i hired had "Licenses"...were "Bonded" and "had referemces"....yet...I had nothing but problems and wound up replacing them. And even the replacements weren't much better.

THAT was when I thought about starting my own "Tradesmen Guild".

Don Alm

> I am hoping to seek some advices in a
> marketing challenge that I am trying to
> solve. I hope someone from this group will
> provide some great marketing tips to save a
> young little marketeer from losing her job.

> What I have on hand is a project to promote
> a fairly new and no-so-well-known Business
> Directory which is focused primarily on
> service-based businesses, such as Home
> services, Business services, Legal services,
> etc etc. We offer free listing to anyone who
> care to join. Our revenue comes from selling
> an online profile service (similar to a mini
> website) cost only $30/year (very cheap).
> Our market strategy is small biz and
> home-based biz. Our yearly marketing budget
> is 20K/year.

> Even with the free listing service, the sign
> up rate is still quite low. We just finished
> redesigning our site and everyone who had
> visited say the site is very professionally
> designed (honestly).

> Could anyone help to suggest some strategies
> to promote this free directory? What is the
> best way for us to drive traffic to our
> site?

> I am hestitated to post the url here, but if
> you are interested to visit us, please email
> me directly.

> Thank you very much for your kind attention
> and help.

> Anne




$3,000/wk from Restaurants

The site support listings on a national basis but our marketing effort is focusing on a specific non-hightech city (copared to SF).

Anne
> What is the scope of the market? Nationally?
> Regionally?

> Take care,

> Mike W.

> The site support listings on a national
> basis but our marketing effort is focusing
> on a specific non-hightech city (copared to
> SF).

> Anne

OK Anne,

Tell me this (and I'm asking from a marketing standpoint)...Why would I want to use this site as opposed to all the other options available to me including using the old-fashioned phone book?

Take care,

Mike Winicki

Hello Don,

> Another "Guild" near San Francisco (also operated by a woman) charges a monthly fee PLUS 15% of the jobs that result.

But Don, how does she collect on the 15%?

Do they sign a contract where the contractors provide a listing of the jobs obtained by being listed in her Tradesman Guild?

Thanks.

Cordially,
Diane Everroad


It Works!

With this site, you get to rate a provider and view how other people rate that provider. On phone book, all you get is phone number and company name. With our site, a company can put up more information in a profile format to attract customers. Phone book is non-updatable while our site allows instant update of any information.

> OK Anne,

> Tell me this (and I'm asking from a
> marketing standpoint)...Why would I want to
> use this site as opposed to all the other
> options available to me including using the
> old-fashioned phone book?

> Take care,

> Mike Winicki

> With this site, you get to rate a provider
> and view how other people rate that
> provider. On phone book, all you get is
> phone number and company name. With our
> site, a company can put up more information
> in a profile format to attract customers.
> Phone book is non-updatable while our site
> allows instant update of any information.

I can see the need/use to be able to rate suppliers/services and to see how others rate them. This is just for a limited geographic region correct? I just want to make sure of that fact.

Unfortunately, I didn't have the cash to start
this a few years ago. Now I'm too busy.

Debra told me someone in a suburb of Dallas
was making over $250,000 per year.

Great idea!!


Home Owners Referral

Good idea Don!!

I might investigate that "down here" in Aussie land!