Crowdfunding Comparison site.

[Envious]

Hey!

So almost 6 months ago I wrote a thread about starting a crowdfunding comparison website, and in that time I have gone back and forth, pondering on if I should decide to invest time and money in the idea.

After getting a few personal projects out of the way first, I decided to take the plunge and go for it.

The basic model for the business is to create website which will firstly help users choose a crowdfunding that is right for them by comparing fees and features, and secondly, providing all the tools and resources in the crowdfunding space which can help them get their product made, packaged, marketed and shipped.

What I have done so far:

• Established a need. From using research, I've established that search terms regarding 'crowdfunding fees' and 'tools' receive a very healthy amount of monthly searches in google, which tells me that people are looking for this information regularly.
• Established a monetization strategy: I'll be aiming to earn affiliate commissions on the leads i send to these companies, the bigger the company the harder it will be to get them wanting to pay me so I'll stick with the lesser known competition first.
• Bought a domain, hosting and started writing the content for/editing the website: I'm using wordpress as I find it's the most user friendly and customizable for someone who doesn't code. I'm building it using a local server as it's a lot quicker, However it took some time to get my head round it all. I've bought a theme of theme forest to give me a starting base.
  
• Reach out to someone to build the tool: Im in contact with a developer to build the main tool for the website and I'm waiting on his response.

I'll be continuing on the website build while I'm waiting for the developer.

 

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[Envious]

So i've been plugging away at building the site which includes the navigation, colours, pictures and the general content for the site.
The developer had built a basic tool for me to implement in the site, but frustratingly it doesn't work with my chosen theme!
He's inspected the code but says it's like looking for a needle in an haystack to find out what the issue could be.

The only viable option is to purchase another theme and install the tool in that theme, but it will mean I'll lose all my website work which I have just done. Doh!

 

[Envious]

I've been going back and forth this whole weekend with the developer to get this tool right...Man, it's quite painful trying to explain to someone how you want something and them just not 'getting it' no matter how simply you explain.

It's at times like these where i'm wondering if it would be worth learning some code?

The improvements are getting there but it's tedious process for both parties.

 

[Johnny Bravo]

It's possible to see what other people search for?!? Well that's good to know!

 

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[Argue]

I suggest learning the basics of code. That way, you can communicate with your developer clearly.

He’s probably having a hard time understanding what you’re asking for.

I talked about communication barriers in my post here:

[URL="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/what-would-you-do-if-you-had-10k-and-no-business-idea-yet.81163/page-2#post-679173"]What would you do if you had 10k and no business idea yet[/URL]

Take 2 weeks to learn the basics. Learning the basics helps grow your “vocabulary.”

 

[Envious]

I haven't posted in a while as I've been busy building the site and getting it up and running and it's finally DONE!

Working with the developer was frustrating at first, but once I communicated what i wanted a bit clearer and he was on the same page it started to run a bit smoother.

This experience has taught me two things:

1. Buying a "theme" from themeforest or somewhere similar and trying to add any complex customization rarely ever works.
I bought three top rated themes, all of them had compatibility issues and were bloated. I ended up using a free theme in the end cause everything just "worked" with it.

2. Communicating your ideas with a developer is a lot like trying to speak Spanish to when you can barely speak the lingo. We go there in the end, but it's difficult to explain what you want when you don't even know what's possible.

I've since got all the social media and email sorted, as well as some basic SEO but i'm sure this will improve as time goes on.

My goals going forward are:

• Pitch the companies offering affiliate commission for referrals and see if i can get them on board. The more the better obviously.
• Gain traffic to the site: I'm not completely certain on how to do this, my strategy so far is to rank in Google with my keywords by writing useful articles/blog related to the field. Maybe try and get featured on crowdfunding blogs and news sites.

Should I build traffic first then try to gain affiliate partnerships or the other way round?

Thanks for reading!
Anyone got any suggestions

 

[Kingsta]

You don't need to pitch to most of these sites as they have affiliate programs. I'm not sure where you're based but most of the big UK crowdfunding platforms have affiliate programs.

Example -
Affiliates - Crowdcube

Also, I found this - https://www.crowdfunding.com/

Is this not what you're trying to make?

 

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[Envious]

You don't need to pitch to most of these sites as they have affiliate programs. I'm not sure where you're based but most of the big UK crowdfunding platforms have affiliate programs.

Example -
Affiliates - Crowdcube

Also, I found this - https://www.crowdfunding.com/

Is this not what you're trying to make?

Thanks for the reply.

Okay so I'll apply to their affiliate programs and see what the response is.

My site goes more in depth than that, you input how much you want for funding and it will calculate how much you will pay in fees for each crowdfunding/peer to peer platform, as well as giving you the features and what project it is best suited for.

 

[Kingsta]

I mean the site I listed does exactly that. Granted you don't put in the amount of funding and it calculates the fees for you BUT it tells you clearly what the fees are so you can do the calculation yourself, I'm not sure this is a "feature" worth building a site around.

I feel like the crowdfunding.com site has kept it simple and really does its job well. I'm not saying the market isn't big enough for multiple sites like this, it probably is, but nothing you've said so far is unique or hasn't been done before and if you're going to do something that has been done before you better execute it x10 better than anyone else.

 

[Envious]

I mean the site I listed does exactly that. Granted you don't put in the amount of funding and it calculates the fees for you BUT it tells you clearly what the fees are so you can do the calculation yourself, I'm not sure this is a "feature" worth building a site around.

I feel like the crowdfunding.com site has kept it simple and really does its job well. I'm not saying the market isn't big enough for multiple sites like this, it probably is, but nothing you've said so far is unique or hasn't been done before and if you're going to do something that has been done before you better execute it x10 better than anyone else.

These are valid points.
crowdfunding.com has kept it simple but it only lists a handful of the options available, and with a name like crowdfunding.com it has narrowed itself to just that niche.

I’ve kept the name quite universal so I can add other features and pivot.

I’ve also added a function which will email all your saved results to your email address.

I’ve already identified opportunities with peer to peer lending, small business loans and tools to help startups.

Maybe my site won’t be 10x better but I still think i could be major source for people looking for info, help and guidance in those areas.

Thanks for the reply.

 

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[Envious]

I've managed to sign up to three affiliate programs and written my first blog article. At the moment the vistor count is a big fat 0, and for this to work i'll need to get a good amount of traffic.

I've also realised that while I may learn some valuable skills from this project, this isn't Fastlane as it violates CONTROL.

I realised this like a slap in the face as one of the affiliate partnerships has cut their commissions from 5% to 2% in an instant.

Feeling a little frustrated as this was an oversight for me but I'd like to continue at least for now to see what I can learn (and possibly earn?)