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Input on the new site www.GreatestRanked.com

Mike L

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Hi all,

I just soft launched the new website www.GreatestRanked.com where everyone can cast votes on the books they feel makes the biggest impact (no signup needed).

As fellow entrepreneurs I would love to hear your input! I'm trying to find books that have stood the test of time, and books that repeatedly comes up as recommendations.

I search for the best books to help me evolve all the time, but I realized that all top lists that I keep finding are based on personal opinions (nothing wrong with that) so I started to wonder, what is the public opinion about this? So the idea for Greatest Ranked is born. Entrepreneurial books is just the start, plans to expand in to other categories are in the works.

Are there any books you think are missing that should be on the list (there's a couple I just realized are missing ;) that will be addressed shortly) ? Probably many, and I will keep filling the list and evolve the site. This is just the beginning. Any feedback would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Mike
 
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MJ DeMarco

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I don't understand, what makes this different than just going onto Amazon and looking at reviews and their quantity? What about other genres? How do you add a book?

Unless a user could randomly add a book of their choice, I don't see the value. I also wouldn't vote for any of those books.
 

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Surely your list will just be personal opinions too?

Dan
 

Mike L

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I don't understand, what makes this different than just going onto Amazon and looking at reviews and their quantity? What about other genres? How do you add a book?

Unless a user could randomly add a book of their choice, I don't see the value. I also wouldn't vote for any of those books.
Thanks for checking it out MJ! Highly appreciate you taking the time to write your thoughts!

So one of the big inspiration for this is to have something stripped down and very simple without any clutter. Simple interface. Hopefully to inspire and for people to have healthy debates.

Would it make more sense to you if people could add books (something that I'm thinking about)?
And other genres, yes. I just started with entrepreneurial books because it's something I'm passionate about. I'm thinking to expand to other things as well.. Movies, games, sports, music etc. and not just books. I'm thinking a bit like rotten tomatoes and Metacritic but simpler and more open.

As for books. What are books you feel are missing? I'm sure there are plenty I'm not aware of.
 
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Mike L

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Surely your list will just be personal opinions too?

Dan
You mean the list itself? I don't want the list to be based on my opinion and I think MJ brought up a good point about letting people to submit books. Something that I have to look in to (and it makes a lot of sense). good feedback!
 

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As fellow entrepreneurs I would love to hear your input! I'm trying to find books that have stood the test of time, and books that repeatedly comes up as recommendations.
Thanks for checking it out MJ! Highly appreciate you taking the time to write your thoughts...

...As for books. What are books you feel are missing? I'm sure there are plenty I'm not aware of.

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Mike L

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Your website reminds me of ranker.com, goodreads.com, and the plethora of "Top 10 list" websites. What separates you from them?



MJ DeMarco on passion.
I would say the idea is closest to ranker, specially branching out to other categories. I'm not sure how I missed that site. Thanks for sharing!

Ah yeah, seen that video. I agree with it. What I should have added was that I think I'm not the only one being passionate about it. Alot of people around the world are. Just happen I am too. So figured, let's start with that and create a fast first MVP and see how people react.

But yes, trying to find value to others is key. That's why and wanted to just hear others opinion on it this early (get away from my own assumptions and perhaps spark some ideas). If I can't find a unique spinn to it that people like then I have no problem pivoting to something else.

Basicly at the current state it's more that my site is more minimalistic. Other sites I've seen so far have grown to be massive with a messy UX/UI. I was going for something simpler, open for everyone to have an opinion by casting votes. Strip away all the clutter etc. But as mentioned from other comments, might need a more unique value for it to be intressting.
 

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Are there any books you think are missing that should be on the list (there's a couple I just realized are missing ;) that will be addressed shortly) ?

Thanks,
Mike

Hmmm, can think of any off the top of my head???

:eyes:

Nope, still can’t think of any...
 

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This is one of those things where you want to spend just a little bit of time on a barebones business plan so you can actually figure out who you're trying to help, what value you bring to the table, and how to make it profitable.

I'm not seeing the value add. There's no room for discussion or actual reviews. Votes can easily be manipulated. Even if votes are truthful, we know how little they can mean thanks to Reddit. And even if each book had thousands of votes, it doesn't necessarily mean the book is useful for what a person is trying to accomplish.

You could dive deeper and sort by categories, but first I'd ask yourself if it's worth the time. Given its current state, it'd probably be better to scrap it altogether. Spend 1-2 hours on a business plan and see for yourself if it's actually worth pursuing.
 
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MJ DeMarco

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As for books. What are books you feel are missing? I'm sure there are plenty I'm not aware of.

Well golly gee, I cannot think of any.
 

Raoul Duke

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Well golly gee, I cannot think of any.


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Only 19 books.. what’s the point ? It’s more like a one-time survey. I think you could write up a business plan and do something related to books (this seems to be successful for a lot of people) but your website now can only be described as a ... stub.

Even if you had a list of 1,000 “useful” books, what is the point? Is this a business or a checklist?

There’s really no reason for anyone to go to your site. A Google search of “business books” will lead to thousands of them - people trying to sell them! While I love what MJ has written, most books are way overhyped and oversold already. The industry of self help is mostly a waste of time IMO. Maybe you offer something more, like goodreads? But then, how would you differentiate?

Just think about the end goal here. Maybe read these books again. Like in 7 Habits, “start with the end in mind.”
 
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Mike L

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Only 19 books.. what’s the point ? It’s more like a one-time survey. I think you could write up a business plan and do something related to books (this seems to be successful for a lot of people) but your website now can only be described as a ... stub.

Even if you had a list of 1,000 “useful” books, what is the point? Is this a business or a checklist?

There’s really no reason for anyone to go to your site. A Google search of “business books” will lead to thousands of them - people trying to sell them! While I love what MJ has written, most books are way overhyped and oversold already. The industry of self help is mostly a waste of time IMO. Maybe you offer something more, like goodreads? But then, how would you differentiate?

Just think about the end goal here. Maybe read these books again. Like in 7 Habits, “start with the end in mind.”

This is one of those things where you want to spend just a little bit of time on a barebones business plan so you can actually figure out who you're trying to help, what value you bring to the table, and how to make it profitable.

I'm not seeing the value add. There's no room for discussion or actual reviews. Votes can easily be manipulated. Even if votes are truthful, we know how little they can mean thanks to Reddit. And even if each book had thousands of votes, it doesn't necessarily mean the book is useful for what a person is trying to accomplish.

You could dive deeper and sort by categories, but first I'd ask yourself if it's worth the time. Given its current state, it'd probably be better to scrap it altogether. Spend 1-2 hours on a business plan and see for yourself if it's actually worth pursuing.
I think I need to take a few steps back and really think about the end goal, value for the end-user before I expand on the idea I think. There are some great points being made here. Sometimes you get so caught up with an idea that you rush things without thinking it through properly.

Thanks for taking the time to comment! Appreciate it! (Man there's a lot of activity in this forum, fantastic!)
 
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Mike L

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I think I need to take a few steps back and really think about the end goal, value for the end-user before I expand on the idea I think. There are some great points being made here. Sometimes you get so caught up with an idea that you rush things without thinking it through properly.

Thanks for taking the time to comment! Appreciate it! (Man there's a lot of activity in this forum, fantastic!)
Just throwing this out there.

So open up the possibility for people to submit items might be a good idea.

When it comes to differentiating (from a visitors perspective), what if each item had a video attached to it? Could be a trailer for the item, words from the author, lectures connected to the book etc. Just for each item in the list to bring more value and be a bit more inspiring to draw people in.

Then maybe a comments section. for each item (but designed in a way it wouldn't clutter the site). Then however this might start becoming too similar to what's out there already. Good thing though is to keep people engaged.

As for business model. With traffic there's several ways to go. Ads and affiliate links are the most obvious ones. But I'm also thinking, maybe reserve a "highlight" section that people could pay for (essentially ad space, but more focused on the topic/category of current page)

Just playing around with some thoughts.
 

MJ DeMarco

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Mike L

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Looks like you are trying to do something similar to BookAuthority.org


Well.. in a sense yes. But I would still say it's closer to what ranker is (concept wise) since book authority is based on recommendations by certain people and not public votes . But yeah.. the concept is still way to close to a lot that's out there.

I'll probably let it marinate a bit, more research to see if this is something worth taking further. I agree that it needs a much stronger value and a more unique twist.
 
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Fr33zerPop

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Hi all,

I just soft launched the new website www.GreatestRanked.com where everyone can cast votes on the books they feel makes the biggest impact (no signup needed).

As fellow entrepreneurs I would love to hear your input! I'm trying to find books that have stood the test of time, and books that repeatedly comes up as recommendations.

I search for the best books to help me evolve all the time, but I realized that all top lists that I keep finding are based on personal opinions (nothing wrong with that) so I started to wonder, what is the public opinion about this? So the idea for Greatest Ranked is born. Entrepreneurial books is just the start, plans to expand in to other categories are in the works.

Are there any books you think are missing that should be on the list (there's a couple I just realized are missing ;) that will be addressed shortly) ? Probably many, and I will keep filling the list and evolve the site. This is just the beginning. Any feedback would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Mike
Make sure you take everyone's input with a grain of salt. The last thing we want to be here is a place where no one feels comfortable throwing an idea out until it's watertight. (Right, guys? Lighten up. Let's ask good questions, not just shoot holes. We have plenty of family and friends who do that for us already.)

Here are my first takeaways:
- Yeah, I'd definitely want to be able to submit my ideas.
- Yes, other genres would be an obvious extension, once you've worked out the idea.
- I don't use Amazon reviews a way to pick a book. So that begs the question... How do I pick a book? That's what you want to add to the site. What would resonate with me might be something to do with a combination of metrics that include world sales, critical acclaim, and personal reviews/testimonials.
- How is there a business model here? Good question. Ads are obvious, probably not very profitable, and annoying. Paying for listing ruins credibility. Paying for viewing ruins traffic. Maybe there's some way to bring the value of good advice and be paid by the seller? Maybe you're the seller? Maybe they're affiliate links? This is dangerous mixed-motive territory and only works if your audience feels like you really represent them, not the book sellers.
- Personally, I think "voting" is fun. I like the feeling that my clicks help move the needle. The challenge is keeping people voting for the right reasons.
 
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Mike L

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Make sure you take everyone's input with a grain of salt. The last thing we want to be here is a place where no one feels comfortable throwing an idea out until it's watertight. (Right, guys? Lighten up. Let's ask good questions, not just shoot holes. We have plenty of family and friends who do that for us already.)

Here are my first takeaways:
- Yeah, I'd definitely want to be able to submit my ideas.
- Yes, other genres would be an obvious extension, once you've worked out the idea.
- I don't use Amazon reviews a way to pick a book. So that begs the question... How do I pick a book? That's what you want to add to the site. What would resonate with me might be something to do with a combination of metrics that include world sales, critical acclaim, and personal reviews/testimonials.
- How is there a business model here? Good question. Ads are obvious, probably not very profitable, and annoying. Paying for listing ruins credibility. Paying for viewing ruins traffic. Maybe there's some way to bring the value of good advice and be paid by the seller? Maybe you're the seller? Maybe they're affiliate links? This is dangerous mixed-motive territory and only works if your audience feels like you really represent them, not the book sellers.
- Personally, I think "voting" is fun. I like the feeling that my clicks help move the needle. The challenge is keeping people voting for the right reasons.
Thanks for the great comments and feedback! Appreciate it..

I think there are some great points made, and I'm not taking it personally (this for me is more of a fun smaller experiment & exploration than a big business I'm trying to build). As for your last point. Yeah, that's the wanted outcome. But I pretty much knew what was coming as soon as I posted. :) But I wanted some fresh eyes and feedback from other entrepreneurs to see if it could spark some ideas.

But yeah, this one might be a challenge to really differentiate and to in the end monetize. I'll see if I can free up some time soon to add the ability for people to add their own titles. Could be interesting to see what more is out there.
 

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