Feedback appreciated on my new site

[Phil]

Hi, How's it going.

In December I had the idea to start a blog dedicated to showcasing new work from new up and coming creative talent such as clothes designers, artists, photographers and musicians. The very same morning I registered the url and
NewNewHype.com was born

I try hard not to steal other blogs content as I'd like my site to be original. I plan on conducting my own interviews, and video profiles in the coming weeks to give it more of an online magazine feel as opposed to just another blog regurgitating the same stories as everyone else. I also want to get some contributors on board to write their own blogs in a contributors section of the site.

The site is aimed at 18-25 year old , early adopter males with disposable income.

It's a bespoke built, self hosted wordpress blog that has very recently been search engine optimised.

My aim is for NewNewHype.com to be a daily online resource for people interested in seeing news on emerging/ up and coming creative's new work. Or to break it down even further: Simply people who want to see new cool stuff!

My financial goal is to be making £2000 in revenue per month before the end of 2010.

As well as providing a quality blog for people to enjoy I believe that it will also provide a wealth of opportunites for the featured Artists/Designers/photographers etc through the exposure they receive e.g sales, networking, further promotion, fans, instant feedback (through the blogs comments) ... the list goes on.

The site is not currently monetized but I plan to utilise google adwords as well as selling a variety of advertising packages consisting of banners, backgrounds, forum sponsorship and Video profiles to shops and other businesses all catering to different budgets.

My 2 core issues that I need help with now are:
1. Gaining and retaining readers.
2. Getting the word out to the up and coming emerging artists, photographers, clothing brands, that NewNewHype.com exists and wants to feature their work!

Please check NewNewHype.com and feel free to Digg/ stumbleupon whilst your there

If you run a clothing brand, or are a photographer, artist or musician and would like to get some exposure for your work please get in touch with me at newnewhype@gmail.com or

Twitter.com/newnewhype
Myspace.com/newnewhype
facebook.com/newnwehype


I am 100000% committed to my idea and will do whatever it takes to make the site a success!!

I really do value you your feedback and look forward to reading your replies and ideas.

 

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[Gymjunkie]

Hey Phil, congrats on action! Speed+ for that

Now, seeing your blog, I have no idea about what it is .. later I read this thread fully so now it makes sense. Work on conveying your message better on the blog. Make an obvious statement that this is the place for upcoming creatives. Add an About page, add subtitle.

Design is ok.

To promote is I suggest you might go to Deviantart.com which is huge community of creative people. You can find talent there for sure. Also go guest posting on sites for men. It's best way to get traffic from my experience

Cheers

 

[mottdog]

Looks good. Just keep it fresh with real updates and comments of your thoughts once in a while.

 

[Brootal]

I think it is great that you are taking action and think the design looks fine. I definitely agree with what GymJunkie had to say about getting your message across. If I had just stumbled across your blog I would have missed the point.

 

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[James Fake]

Looks good; nice, clean, and simple

which wp template are you using?

 

[Rakona]

Looks good, I'd consider some kind of email capture piece/opt-in box, to build a list, that would have tremendous long-term value.

 

[Sparlin]

Looks good, I'd consider some kind of email capture piece/opt-in box, to build a list, that would have tremendous long-term value.

Just to reinforce your point. Didn't you say in your presentation that the delete rate is only 1 to 2% a week? If that is the case, it would be easy build client lists faster than the cancellation rate.

 

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[Phil]

Thanks for all the feedback so far, that's really good.

I'll definitely update the site with a new subheading, strapline and email capture.

It's a bespoke built, self-hosted wordpress site built by www.PaulFoxley.com

If you need a new site built just drop Paul a line he'll hook you up with a good price.

Thanks for compliments on Taking action, it's what I do (see my signature) I'm also in the process of getting an indoor skatepark built in my local area and in my final year of a business management and entrepreneurship degree. It's why I get out of bed in the morning.

all of you're feedback is appreciated, keep it coming

Cheers

 

[Elvin90]

looks good .. BUT what does your site have to offer that will set you apart from SOLECollector online forum or nice kicks ?

Dont only focus on the apparel go beyond that
you need to keep in mind that a lot of fashion heads already have there favorite fashion sites

Why not do some research on Exclusive mom and pop stores around America that people can visit

Or a page on how to keep clothes looking fresh ? tips on how to remove those stubborn BBQ party stains


Not only do you want them to look fresh but you Want them to Remain fresh

IMO that Villainous Visard shirt looks alot like a johny cupcake shirt..


i like the modern feel your site has to it but as a fellow fastlaner i want to see you get the most bagn for your buck ,

Step out of the box here

how about different sections For denim , shirts , sneakers a Overall Fashion site?

Don't take this the wrong way i like the site its just my opinion

P.s advertise your website where a lot of urban crowds are attracted

ex. Worldstarhiphop.com Maybe email video producers and ask how much they would charge for a quick advertisement on a Video (JORDAN TOWER)

 

[Phil]

Thanks for your feedback, I'll try to answer your questions as best as I can.

looks good .. BUT what does your site have to offer that will set you apart from SOLECollector online forum or nice kicks ?

Solecollector and nice kicks solely focus on new shoes from established brands like nike, vans, adidas - there are already plenty of sites out there like that:- crookedtongues and sneakerfreaker are two more.
NewNewHype.com Is a blog dedicated to showcasing new work solely from UP and coming clothing brands, photographers, artists, designers (this is my niche)

Don't only focus on the apparel go beyond that
you need to keep in mind that a lot of fashion heads already have there favorite fashion sites

I'm going to start doing video interview/ profiles on certain brands and creatives to give people an insight into what goes on behind the scenes, what inspires the people involved etc. I'd love to know what you would like to see. I'm also going to do a contributors blogs section.

not do some research on Exclusive mom and pop stores around America that people can visit

Pretty difficult as I live in the u.k but I will be doing some features on some independent u.k stores

a page on how to keep clothes looking fresh ? tips on how to remove those stubborn BBQ party stains


Not only do you want them to look fresh but you Want them to Remain fresh

Bbq stains??? come on man!

IMO that Villainous Visard shirt looks alot like a johny cupcake shirt..

as you say this is just your opinion.

i like the modern feel your site has to it but as a fellow fastlaner i want to see you get the most bagn for your buck ,

Step out of the box here

how about different sections For denim , shirts , sneakers a Overall Fashion site?

Very good idea!, I had thought about doing something like that but have different headings |Streetwear| Sneakers| Music| ART|

take this the wrong way i like the site its just my opinion

P.s advertise your website where a lot of urban crowds are attracted

ex. Worldstarhiphop.com Maybe email video producers and ask how much they would charge for a quick advertisement on a Video (JORDAN TOWER)

Will look into that cheers

 

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[Kung Fu Steve]

I see this as something that could be really cool!

Unfortunately my friend, I think the design is totally lame for what you are doing. (I'm not really one to speak though so take that with a grain of salt :smxB

In my humble opinion I think you can pick up some of those really cool magazine templates for wordpress. That way the site is exciting and cool!

I see that you are the "trend setters", you are producing a "magazine" for underground apparel. Clothing lines that are never given a chance because the market is too saturated. This would be an outlet for all of these people who are extremely talented and make some amazing designs to be seen and heard.

Imagine how cool would someone feel to be wearing something that is not ed hardy but is just as cool. I think because the clothes will be unique that people will want them!

Why not become a distributor for these clothing lines for a limited time? When you find a company you like, offer to distribute their clothes on your site for a limited time to your users to get their name out there. That way you can produce additional revenue streams.

Like Rakona said, get subscribers through e-mail lists and rss feeds that way every time you put a new article people will come check it out. And that again is a perfect time to sell to them after you have given them something.

Example: You tweet and facebook and stuff out that you interviewed a new company for clothing. People get excited to check them out, they get to read the story of how this entrepreneur got started and why they are in to design and such, so they get a cool story and then they get to buy some of their clothing line (in which you would get a cut) and then offer other cool accesories like those other guys were saying "How to keep your clothes fresh and clean."

I know it always bugs me when the bottom little seem thing on my dress shirts is always creased and I can't ever get it to be straight again! Man that's frustrating! :coco:

 

[slapshot]

I like your site, Phil. It's nice and clean, has plenty of white space, and it's easy to read.

Two suggestions:

1) sex sells. Include more racy content to spice things up a bit. Nothing crude, but an occasional model in revealing or suggestive clothing would make your site more interesting

2) if possible, add new content every day. That might get people in the habit of going to your site regularly, and not forgetting about you.

 

[Elvin90]

trust me nothing pisses me off more then a new shirt that just got ruined at a family get together i once spoiled hot coffee on wheat timberland boots it would have been nice to know how to fix that lol , i agree with you they do only focus on the sneaker part of the game but there forums get more in depth with the fashion game .

seems like you have a good plan overall and your executing it very well i am very proud for you , sex does sell maybe you can get start your ow T-shirt line and have beautiful girls model them for you and advertise those pictures on the urban sites:smx9:

 

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[Rakona]

ust to reinforce your point. Didn't you say in your presentation that the delete rate is only 1 to 2% a week? If that is the case, it would be easy build client lists faster than the cancellation rate.

No, sorry I should clarify, was just making an example, the percentage rate was not an industry norm, if there is such a thing.

I'd focus on creating value, being interesting way before I'd worry about unsubscription rate. A high unsubscribe rate is probably the symptom of something else intrinsically wrong besides frequency of emails.

If everyone is hitting unsubscribe that's pretty good feedback that some changes are in order.

If you're really putting out good stuff, and people are eager to follow along, the ones that leave probably weren't worth much to you anyhow.

 

[CommonCents]

If you haven't already, check out thrillist.com. they are targeting the same age group you are, and they copied dailycandy biz model for women.

Here is a vid on them:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8fMIOHEk_s]YouTube - Thrillist.com's Lerer Says E-Mail Medium `Undervalued': Venture[/ame]

 

[Gymjunkie]

If you haven't already, check out thrillist.com. they are targeting the same age group you are, and they copied dailycandy biz model for women.

Here is a vid on them:
YouTube - Thrillist.com's Lerer Says E-Mail Medium `Undervalued': Venture

Love the video. Speed+

 

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[x9vjzs098u123rnl]

Hiya there Phil! Everybody here has been giving great marketing points for you to consider, and I may have some of my own to add, but since this IS a website/blog I thought I might contribute a bit of an objective "seo/internet marketing" type analysis of it, because that's my specialty

First off, you should really make use of the ALT tags in your images. You can do this in Wordpress by adding a description to the image when you upload it into a post. (I think that's how you do it...) This will really help the search engines determine what your site is about and where it should be in their rankings, especially since you have such an image-driven blog.

Secondly, try adding more "words" to your posts. Content is key to search engine ranking. If the post is of some photos by the latest guy in photography, add a biography about him or some commentary on the pics.

Third, decide on what type of keywords you should be targeting for your site. What search terms would somebody enter if they were looking for a site like yours? When people look online for the products you feature/showcase on your site, what exactly do they search? Once you've determined that, work on your search engine rankings for those keywords, building backlinks with them, and writing content with them.

Fourth: Use a Wordpress SEO plugin to create META tags on your pages. Google no longer uses these as a ranking factor, but they are still good to have! (My personal recommendation would be All-In-One SEO. that's what I think it's called...)

Fifth: Use a Wordpress plugin to generate an XML sitemap of your website. Then use that XML sitemap and submit it to places like Google Webmaster Tools. Just do a search on the forum for "sitemap", and you should find an earlier post I made to someone else outlining how to do that and where else to submit it.

Sixth: Start building backlinks to your site. You could hire an SEO for that or do some kind of ridiculous link-building type thing, but here's my advice. It's free and easy. Get other bloggers to link back to you. Write articles that they will want to send links to. Offer to do a guest article on another site, and at the end include a link to yours. Just go out there and seek backlinks.

Like I said, always remember that Content is King!

Best of Luck. If you have any questions or ever need anything, shoot me an email. I'm always happy to help out.

 

[Phil]

Thanks everyone for your advice.

That video was amazing thanks so much for that, I got a lot out of that.

I've noticed that people either like or dislike the design of my site and I was wondering if anyone would be willing to expand on that please? I'm all for constructive feedback

www.newnewhype.com

Thanks again,