Could use your help launching a marketplace for business services...

[JaySoriano]

Planning on launching next week and could use some help from fellow fastlaners. The website is currently hidden behind a landing page, but is accessible with the following url:

Freelance Marketplace for Business Services | LaunchAStartup.com

As a two-sided marketplace, I'm calling for the help of any skilled freelancers, developers, designers, marketers, etc. Post a service and we'll showcase your talents to startups and businesses. We have some connections for coverage so should be a fun launch and an opportunity for anyone who wants to try different channels for freelancing, or for anyone who just wants to make an extra buck and continue working on their fastlane journey.

Any questions, just ask.

edit: You can already signup with Facebook. If you'd like to signup with your email, please email me at support [at] launchastartup.com and I'll send you an invite. Or you can PM me here.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Alana]

Here are my thoughts after visiting the site:

I liked the homepage. I appreciate how everything is right there staring me in the face, easy to find but not too overwhelming. Once I started clicking on the individual options, I came across a similar problem regardless of whatever it was I clicked on. I found the descriptions of the options to be confusing. It was unclear to me how exactly I would go about actually doing any of these things. Ex: The “Write A 1000 Word Article On Any Niche” does not specify how I could do that. And is it me who does it, or is this a service that you are offering for me? You use the word ‘You” and “I” interchangeably, and I’m left not knowing if it you or me who will be doing the writing.
You are writing and expecting that the reader can understand what you’re trying to convey, because YOU understand it. Don’t assume the customer can get inside your head. “Content marketing is the future. I can…Hello!....this is just one service that you can offer”….this writing is all over the place and not clear. Another example: the Legal Contract review. The first sentences after clicking on this option is: “Do you need a contract reviewed? Hello! This is a sample post showing off just one type of service that you can offer. Seen enough? Get started and post a listing today!” This is telling me nothing on how or why I go about using this service.
Here are my recommendations.
• Instead of simply filling in space on each feature with some language, use that space to clarify how this service would be implemented. Be clear and to the point What IS that language anyways? It’s not Spanish…it’s not Portuguese….is it Latin? Confusing your customers by switching languages doesn’t help…and I realize that this is just temporary until the site is official….but trying to translate at 7 in the morning only makes me more confused. I get that the site is quick/hip/sassy, but you have to be really careful with any humor/sarcasm because it can get misinterpreted. I should be able to understand exactly what it is this feature is going to do for me and how.
• With regards to the seller profile….make sure to either point that out in the initial description of the site, or make it more visible on the site itself. That person is the other half of making the sale (the first half is the service itself)
• Give me an example story somewhere on the site. Tell me how Jane Smith has an idea about an internet site and how your website took her idea to an actual business. Explain the process (and use as many features as you can to really showcase how someone can get the whole package by sticking to your site).
• You have to decide if you are selling QUALITY or CONVENIENCE (it has to be one or the other. The site can have both, but only ONE is going to be what the business is based on….deviate from that one attribute and it will take away from the foundation of the business. Am I going to go to your site because I know I can get a lot done right then and there with regards to my business, or am I going to your site because you offer superb expert advice/know-how/customer service

Your description of the business on the fastlane forum post better explained the business than the site itself. So this site is the middle man? You recruit people to perform these services for customers…AND you recruit customers as well?

Looking forward to the launch!

 

[JaySoriano]

Thanks for the feedback! We've been working on a landing page.. the first one wasn't very successful because, as you mentioned, I made assumptions on what users would understand. Thoughts on a users perspective of a couple sentences that would communicate what we do?

PS. "Lorem Ipsum" is used in design and publishing as a filler text, it's basically nonsensical latin.

 

[Alana]

Sure thing. Unfortunately my power is iffy right now (I'm in a massive storm with 65mph winds and we've gotten over 2 inches of rain just today)....so I'm out and about trying to manage the ranch. I will send a suggestion directly to you (hopefully) later tonight. If you don't hear back from me...then the web is down for me.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[DennisD]

Quick Q:
What's your marketing plan for this site? How are you promoting this?

 

[Nick]

i think you should switch to a private beta and try to recruit real listings before launching the marketplace. Listings posted by John Smith with lorem ipsum in his text featured on the homepage --> i would not go any where near that place.

 

[Alana]

i think you should switch to a private beta and try to recruit real listings before launching the marketplace. Listings posted by John Smith with lorem ipsum in his text featured on the homepage --> i would not go any where near that place.

First, I agree with Nick…you should have experts (and not just joe-shmoes) already ready to assist on the site before it goes public. Think of the website JustAnswer.com….I can pay for certified experts to help me with any question I have any where/any time…they had experts lined up before they launched…and added experts based on publics needs/wants.

Second….I’m emailing you my suggestions on the site now….

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[DennisD]

-Do you take a % of the payment collected (like kickstarter does?)
-What happens in the case of a payment intended to be a monthly recurring situation (SEO, PPC management, etc)
-How do you intent to bring traffic to this site upon launch?
-Categories are a little strange. "Idea?" what is this? I don't know where to post "Video Production".

Please give us the option of supplying our own thumbnails.

Please include a 'video' category, I will add 5 gigs to fill this out for you if you're worried about having an empty category.
-Animated Logo
-:10 header
-:30 commercial
-:60 Commercial
-2:00 explanation animation

 

[JaySoriano]

i think you should switch to a private beta and try to recruit real listings before launching the marketplace. Listings posted by John Smith with lorem ipsum in his text featured on the homepage --> i would not go any where near that place.

We are in private beta. TBH, despite having 1000+ emails, it's been a real challenge getting people to post a quality listing. This is why I'm here

-Do you take a % of the payment collected (like kickstarter does?)
-What happens in the case of a payment intended to be a monthly recurring situation (SEO, PPC management, etc)
-How do you intent to bring traffic to this site upon launch?
-Categories are a little strange. "Idea?" what is this? I don't know where to post "Video Production".

Please give us the option of supplying our own thumbnails.

Please include a 'video' category, I will add 5 gigs to fill this out for you if you're worried about having an empty category.
-Animated Logo
-:10 header
-:30 commercial
-:60 Commercial
-2:00 explanation animation

Payments: We essentially escrow the payments, retaining a 10% fee from the seller. Recurring payments can be made with "milestone payments." We'll soon also have an option for 1-1 payments.

Traffic: Everything is worth testing to find a repeatable and scalable business model. On launch, we do have connections with a few publications.. but we know a few thousand hits won't build a business. Personally, I have experience with internet marketing.. so I'd be starting with those channels.

Categories: We'll think about adding the video category (just fyi, you can enter a "video" tag on your listing). I'd really appreciate if you could populate our site with some of your listings.. explainer videos are extremely popular with our market. No promises, but will likely feature you on the homepage.

Thumbnails: Once logged in, you can upload your own photo.

You can already signup with Facebook, but you can also email me at support [at] launchastartup.com and I can send you an invite, just need the email you want to sign up with.

 

[JaySoriano]

Would anyone else like to post? We need a few more listings to launch...

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Nick]

We are in private beta. TBH, despite having 1000+ emails, it's been a real challenge getting people to post a quality listing. This is why I'm here

There is no incentive for people to post in beta, just to make your business better.

Usually, marketplaces offer benefits to beta members by providing them with free premium accounts for a limited period of time when the websites launched, or no percentage taken on the projects posted in beta, or etc.

You should think incentives for posters and think about their benefits, not many people are going to bother to do a quality listing or a professional presence on an non established marketplace, as it is a waste of their time and resources.

 

[ewH]

I saw your newer thread asking for graphics designers, and then found this original thread about your new site. I really like the concept and the design of LaunchAStartup. How did you get over 10k twitter users before launch?