I have an audience, but not a product to sell.

[BellaPippin]

8/6/15 - I don't know what I'm doing wrong, or I'm really blind to the signals. I'm going to put myself to shame on this post because I feel the need to make it real and to get real feedback I need to come clean.

I have an audience/niche. More specifically, exchange students. I have been at it (on and off) since 2012, when I originally launched the website. Since then I have made $0. YES, ZERO.

The original main website/idea consists of a free marketplace to buy/sell things one can't take home. It was supposed to be a help to the community. My first version of it was build on wordpress, coded by me, and modified plug-ins which I modified by experimenting to meet my needs. Goal was doing that along with a blog > bring traffic > do AdWords > ??? > profit.

The website worked for a while (I even received thank you emails saying how useful it was) and people were uploading some things but as soon as WP started updating, the code started to break and I had to re-build. The project took the back-burner as I was in the middle of moving countries and.. <more excuses></more excuses>

The funny thing is that last year I got to 500 followers on the facebook page by doing nothing. So I kept (and keep) telling myself, "How is it possible that you haven't been able to pull a penny out of this yet?"

So I went back at it this year.

Used some savings and bought a WP marketplace template where people can login with their Facebook (or make an account) and launched it. Right now it's just rotting there. I told myself (many times) I needed to create content (question: do I really?) which I have struggled with ever since the beginning.
I created a newsletter, and even made a giveaway to get followers. I got 4 (but I got like 50 FB followers). Never followed through with the newsletter. Shame on me for that and not being able to create good content.

My thought process about the needs that need to be filled were/are as follows: Their "what do I do in this host-family situation" have been taken care of by the many FB groups existing for discussion. They are very active and even I contribute to them.

The untapped need in this niche seems to be the social one: They need experiences while they are abroad.

So I got together with one of my former employers (restaurant) and organized an event. They would charge me $25 per person, I would charge $35 for the ticket. They would meet more students, socialize and make friends. If I could keep doing it and coming up with exciting events, I would help them make the best of their abroad experience AND make money.
I got a ton of RSVP's on facebook but no one actually got the ticket. I had to cancel because I was supposed to pay the restaurant in advance and I could not take the risk of putting my own money down (actually, I didn't have any at all, it wasn't just fear). To this date I can't tell why it failed. They have stipends and don't have to worry about room and board. They DO spend their money on experiences (read: partying and going out). They were super excited about it on Facebook, made buzz about it even. So why nobody bought the ticket? Were they looking for the bigger, better deal at the last minute? These are young adults 18-26 btw. So I could see that happening.

Next idea (paralyzed, haven't tried it): Make it more like a Groupon thing, where I just contact vendors, get a code to give them and then get a commission when (and if) they go to them. Is that possible? I don't know where to start to make that happen. That would be temporary though, as I would be a slave of the affiliate system, but it's better than nothing at all.

Next idea (just thought of it): Try to import,sell the things they might miss from home, or things they might need during their year.

Next idea Also in some polls I ran they answered they wanted resources on meeting their student requirement (they need to take a few classes during their year). Maybe doing like a directory of schools/courses for each state and update it every year?



I apologize this was so long, and without spoon-feeding me I'm hoping you can point to something that I have missed. I see there are needs, I don't know why I can't come up with something good they will pay for,and I'm still stuck with a hobby rather than a business ):



*ding* *ding*

 

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[BellaPippin]

I am reading the eCommercefuel ebook on my commute home, heard about it on another thread. The Table of Contents makes me think I'll find it of value to maybe open a store with relevant products to my niche. Still going on about the idea that I'll need to tackle the content obstacle.

 

[jon.a]

I think that all you really need to do is read what you just wrote. And if you really want to be successful, spank yourself and get back to work.

 

[jason91]

8/6/15 - I don't know what I'm doing wrong, or I'm really blind to the signals. I'm going to put myself to shame on this post because I feel the need to make it real and to get real feedback I need to come clean.

I have an audience/niche. More specifically, exchange students. I have been at it (on and off) since 2012, when I originally launched the website. Since then I have made $0. YES, ZERO.

The original main website/idea consists of a free marketplace to buy/sell things one can't take home. It was supposed to be a help to the community. My first version of it was build on wordpress, coded by me, and modified plug-ins which I modified by experimenting to meet my needs. Goal was doing that along with a blog > bring traffic > do AdWords > ??? > profit.

The website worked for a while (I even received thank you emails saying how useful it was) and people were uploading some things but as soon as WP started updating, the code started to break and I had to re-build. The project took the back-burner as I was in the middle of moving countries and.. <more excuses></more excuses>

The funny thing is that last year I got to 500 followers on the facebook page by doing nothing. So I kept (and keep) telling myself, "How is it possible that you haven't been able to pull a penny out of this yet?"

So I went back at it this year.

Used some savings and bought a WP marketplace template where people can login with their Facebook (or make an account) and launched it. Right now it's just rotting there. I told myself (many times) I needed to create content (question: do I really?) which I have struggled with ever since the beginning.
I created a newsletter, and even made a giveaway to get followers. I got 4 (but I got like 50 FB followers). Never followed through with the newsletter. Shame on me for that and not being able to create good content.

My thought process about the needs that need to be filled were/are as follows: Their "what do I do in this host-family situation" have been taken care of by the many FB groups existing for discussion. They are very active and even I contribute to them.

The untapped need in this niche seems to be the social one: They need experiences while they are abroad.

So I got together with one of my former employers (restaurant) and organized an event. They would charge me $25 per person, I would charge $35 for the ticket. They would meet more students, socialize and make friends. If I could keep doing it and coming up with exciting events, I would help them make the best of their abroad experience AND make money.
I got a ton of RSVP's on facebook but no one actually got the ticket. I had to cancel because I was supposed to pay the restaurant in advance and I could not take the risk of putting my own money down (actually, I didn't have any at all, it wasn't just fear). To this date I can't tell why it failed. They have stipends and don't have to worry about room and board. They DO spend their money on experiences (read: partying and going out). They were super excited about it on Facebook, made buzz about it even. So why nobody bought the ticket? Were they looking for the bigger, better deal at the last minute? These are young adults 18-26 btw. So I could see that happening.

Next idea (paralyzed, haven't tried it): Make it more like a Groupon thing, where I just contact vendors, get a code to give them and then get a commission when (and if) they go to them. Is that possible? I don't know where to start to make that happen. That would be temporary though, as I would be a slave of the affiliate system, but it's better than nothing at all.

Next idea (just thought of it): Try to import,sell the things they might miss from home, or things they might need during their year.

Next idea Also in some polls I ran they answered they wanted resources on meeting their student requirement (they need to take a few classes during their year). Maybe doing like a directory of schools/courses for each state and update it every year?



I apologize this was so long, and without spoon-feeding me I'm hoping you can point to something that I have missed. I see there are needs, I don't know why I can't come up with something good they will pay for,and I'm still stuck with a hobby rather than a business ):



*ding* *ding*

Oh boy. Love game of thrones, but shaming yourself doesn't help you monetize your website . I've run into this several times as well. The continuous analyzing and confusion, which results in 0 action. HOW DO WE FIX THIS!?

First, we need to organize your thought process into a clear understanding. Let's get rid of the things that don't matter and refocus on what DOES matter.

GOAL: Monetize Your Website

ANALYSIS
Your Current Situation:
1. Have a website built for exchange students.
2. Don't know how to monetize traffic you already have.

The BAD: WE WANT (-) LESS OF THIS
1. Don't know how to effectively monetize your users / traffic
2. First attempt at monetization failed (Restaurant RSVP, but no tickets purchased) -
Look into why - maybe your website users don't trust your site enough to pay online, amongst other reasons.
3. No follow through with newsletter = no results, and no feedback

The GOOD: WE WANT (+) MORE OF THIS
1. Had 500 followers on your facebook by doing NOTHING, but providing SOMETHING (Figure out all possible reasons why they followed, and amplify it to maximize value of your website to your users)
2. Know a forum / hub where your target market voices their opinions.
3. Know their age group, interests, etc.
4. Tried to monetize through Restaurant (You have market feedback! Now write down a list of possible reasons why the user didn't purchase)

ACTION PLAN
FIRST: WRITE DOWN (If you haven't)
1. The # of Website Visitors per Month
2. Traffic Source (Google SEO? FACEBOOK? TWITTER? )
3. Email List? Offer them something in exchange for their emails

Your GOAL here is to find ways of bringing more users to your website, and having them continuously use your website.

SECOND: UNDERSTAND and ADD WAYS TO MAKE MONEY
Potential SELLING Points: WHY DO THEY USE YOUR WEBSITE
1. Discounted experiences for exchange students.
2. Top rated, and HOT locations to visit for exchange students.
3. Whatever else makes the students want to use your website instead of Google.

Ways to monetize: YOU CAN DO MORE THAN 1!
1. ADVERTISING ON YOUR WEBSITE (Are you getting consistent traffic? This doesn't really require user trust)
2. DEALS from local businesses (Like the restaurant deal.This may require user trust to pay you with their money)
3. AFFILIATE LINKS (What do exchange students need to buy? This will depend on the linked to website to convert.)
4. ANYTHING and ANY WAY That adds value to the user, and puts money into your pocket

Your GOAL here is to find ways to make money by offering things of value or at the least not negatively impacting the user's experience


THIRD: PROJECTIONS AND GOALS TO MEASURE
YOU CAN SKIP THIS STEP FOR NOW, GO MAKE YOUR FIRST DOLLAR


END NOTE: If you ever get confused, DO THIS!

STOP THINKING AND TEST TEST TEST

RIGHT NOW. ADD SOMETHING TO YOUR WEBSITE. ADWORDS? AFFILIATE LINK? WHATEVER YOU WANT. SET UP YOUR GROUPON SYSTEM? DO IT!

WHEN A USER LANDS ON YOUR SITE - DO THEY CLICK ON THE AD? THE LINK?

NO?

VIEW RESULTS / FEEDBACK

CHANGE / ADJUST

AND TEST AGAIN

GOOD LUCK

Hesitant on posting this due to the extreme capitalization.. but oh well lol. I TOOK ACTION AND NOW THERE WILL BE FEEDBACK, NEXT TIME I WILL KNOW WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN'T

 

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[Leo Hendrix]

Did you close any of the leads? Make sure you have a clear organized system and be aggressive to push and CLOSE your qualified leads personally at first by yourself, take, cash, credit, paypal, pennies whatever just close them.

Look at partnering with your local (to begin with) University International Students centre,( Regular Leads and customers.)

Then you can try different Business/Revenue Models such as Subscription models.


Your Idea/Website/Biz sounds good if executed well. I know here where I live in Asia I have seen students looking for things to do while on Exchange, they usually discover things for themselves, with friends they came over with from their home countries or make new friends here. Also they would deal with the international students office.

 

[RazorCut]

You have an audience. Have you tried asking them exactly what they want? I see you have done some polls. What did that tell you about what you could offer them that would add value and ensure the continued success of the website they obviously love to visit?

Make it more like a Groupon thing, where I just contact vendors, get a code to give them and then get a commission when (and if) they go to them. Is that possible? I don't know where to start to make that happen. That would be temporary though, as I would be a slave of the affiliate system, but it's better than nothing at all.

Why oh why have people here got such a huge bee in their bonnet about the affiliate model being bad news? You see the TV ad's for comparison sites? Coupons.com are valued at $1 billion +.

Car insurance? House insurance? Mortgages? Holidays? Hotel rooms? These all work off an affiliate model. You match a customer to a product or service for a fee. It is one of the most leveraged models in the world. You don't have to lose control, you don't have to be at the mercy of some faceless corporation. You build traffic, you offer them something they need and make a margin for your efforts. If you don't like the company's offer guess what? Yeah, you change it for something else. YOU can be in control not them.

Are you looking to make good money off your site or just pin money? If it is good money I think you need to focus on building your audience. 500 facebook fan's is not going to net you enough to make a living. If it is just some extra cash then try some affiliate offers on your site. You will have to invest nothing but your time.

Next idea Also in some polls I ran they answered they wanted resources on meeting their student requirement (they need to take a few classes during their year). Maybe doing like a directory of schools/courses for each state and update it every year?

Maybe spend some time checking out how Pat Flynn started out. He had a small niche that developed almost by accident by him helping people pass an exam.

If you can't be bothered creating content though I think you would be better off looking for a new project as a community web site takes lots of work. Just ask MJ.

 

[BellaPippin]

Thank You @jon.a, @jason91 @Leo Hendrix , @RazorCut. Those posts gave me A LOT to think about.

Did you close any of the leads? Make sure you have a clear organized system and be aggressive to push and CLOSE your qualified leads personally at first by yourself, take, cash, credit, paypal, pennies whatever just close them.

Could you briefly define an organized system? Are you referring to the "funnel-like" system that leads the customer to convert or something else?

Why oh why have people here got such a huge bee in their bonnet about the affiliate model being bad news? You see the TV ad's for comparison sites? Coupons.com are valued at $1 billion +.

Car insurance? House insurance? Mortgages? Holidays? Hotel rooms? These all work off an affiliate model. You match a customer to a product or service for a fee. It is one of the most leveraged models in the world. You don't have to lose control, you don't have to be at the mercy of some faceless corporation. You build traffic, you offer them something they need and make a margin for your efforts. If you don't like the company's offer guess what? Yeah, you change it for something else. YOU can be in control not them.

Are you looking to make good money off your site or just pin money? If it is good money I think you need to focus on building your audience. 500 facebook fan's is not going to net you enough to make a living. If it is just some extra cash then try some affiliate offers on your site. You will have to invest nothing but your time.

I was saying that because I do think it makes sense as @MJ DeMarco says that you don't want to depend on the business for the income, but what you say is very true as well. This market spends a lot of money on leisure and entertainment but they seem very reluctant to sign up for anything, let alone a subscription. Not sure if its trust issues or if it is the way they think.

I want to make good money. I am still doubting whether the niche has that potential, maybe if I could define a strong offer I could make some math to figure that out...

I think that all you really need to do is read what you just wrote. And if you really want to be successful, spank yourself and get back to work.

Thanks jon, I think I know that inside me but it's never bad to hear it from someone else. I guess I am just frustrated because I have too many ideas at once for it and I can't organize them in an effective way to take action.

 

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[MKHB]

Next idea Also in some polls I ran they answered they wanted resources on meeting their student requirement (they need to take a few classes during their year). Maybe doing like a directory of schools/courses for each state and update it every year?

Or???


Problem:

Colleges cannot increase their revenues, because they cannot get additional students to enroll due to housing or cost of housing related issues.

• Student housing is in short supply, some urban areas are undeserved.
• Private arrangements for domestic and exchange are sketchy and very fragmented.

What if you provided a platform that matched up hosts and students (both domestic and exchange). The local schools would probably even be willing to provide assistance, as it alleviates their housing dilemma and allows them to sell more enrollment.

mmmm "Campus Cribs" ??? "Crashs Cribs" "StudentBNB" ?????


I was approached by someone (family member) to expand this concept. This person wanted me and another person to arrange for the purchase and retrofit of fixer uppers that would accommodate these type of enterprise.

Presently this person has one home where she rents to students for $500 per month. She installed bunk beds in one room, it now accommodates 3 people and 2 people each in the other two rooms. She has to provide meals and snacks and the property has to be near a bus line and reasonable distance to the school. Incidentally, she has an area in her house that could be retrofitted (2 hour fire wall/FLS upgrade/new egress) for an additional 3 more students.

That's a PGI of $5,000.00 per month.

 

[jason91]

Thank You @jon.a, @jason91 @Leo Hendrix , @RazorCut. Those posts gave me A LOT to think about.



Could you briefly define an organized system? Are you referring to the "funnel-like" system that leads the customer to convert or something else?



I was saying that because I do think it makes sense as @MJ DeMarco says that you don't want to depend on the business for the income, but what you say is very true as well. This market spends a lot of money on leisure and entertainment but they seem very reluctant to sign up for anything, let alone a subscription. Not sure if its trust issues or if it is the way they think.

I want to make good money. I am still doubting whether the niche has that potential, maybe if I could define a strong offer I could make some math to figure that out...



Thanks jon, I think I know that inside me but it's never bad to hear it from someone else. I guess I am just frustrated because I have too many ideas at once for it and I can't organize them in an effective way to take action.

Organized System?
An organized system goes something like this:

Let's picture a local shopping mall for example.

LEAD GENERATION SYSTEM [How to get customers walking into the mall?]
----------------------------->
LEAD CONVERSION SYSTEM [How to get customers into becoming a buyer? What can you say or show them to make them go for what you're selling?] ----------------------------->
SALES FUNNEL / CUSTOMER VALUE OPTIMIZATION [Upsells, Cross-sells, etc. Offer them more valuable things. Aim for customers to purchase MORE QTY, MORE FREQUENTLY, AND MORE PROFITABLY FOR YOU]
----------------------------->
There's many other systems you can implement IN THE FUTURE, as you grow the website

BUT For now, since you're beginning just get the first two done. Yes, DONE. Don't keep thinking.





It's as simple as how do I get someone to website, and how to show them the value of clicking on a link, or buying.





Forget the rest completely. Others are pretty much irrelevant until you understand how to get people to your site, and how to make a few dollars from them. All other systems are used to optimize and maximize # of users / customers, how much they cost, and how much they add to the profits. Once you get 1$ from a user, you can understand WHY they paid you that 1$ and further expand on that.

Monetizing Examples:
Affiliate marketing example
If you wrote a blog post about email marketing - you might review how different email providers work. You'd include affiliate links to aweber or MailCheat(Chimp), and when they convert - you get paid.

Discount / Deals example
You offer them a restaurant discount (you talk with the restaurant)- $35 for $50 worth of food at the HOTTEST LOCATION IN TOWN! Exchange STUDENTS ONLY (hot locations might be picky about discount offers, but you need to offer something of value for the student)

Advertising example
Place advertisements in places where they are likely to click - BUT not EXTREMELY ANNOYING to them.

The equation here is HOW MUCH VALUE DO YOU BRING - and How much advertising crap are they willing to tolerate based on your value.

If I had the only website on the internet, I could advertise as much as I want and customer retention will be over the roof. But you're likely not the only source of value for them. Feel out when too much is too much.

Whatever else you want to do example
Once again, the only thing you need to focus on is:
- Why would they buy / use this?
- Why wouldn't they buy / use this?
- Who else offers this?
- Why do they use me instead of them?

There's not much else to it when you are starting.

TIME TO JUST GO GET IT DONE
I went through what you're going through as well.

90% of what you're thinking right now WILL NOT HAPPEN THE WAY YOU THINK.

Your magical idea as you're implementing it will force you to take a turn and you will land on pluto while dreaming about mars.

All of these definitions and analyzing are great - BUT remember the basics.

Get customer to website. Get them to convert. Get profit. Analyze how you got profit. Improve process of getting to profit. Add other ways to profit. RINSE AND REPEAT

MOVE FORWARD AND TEST. GO!

EDIT: PS. If you think the niche isn't big enough - it doesn't matter. You can start with one niche and expand your site to all college students later on. Just get it moving and know how to make a few dollars first.

 

[MKHB]

Organized System?
An organized system goes something like this:

Let's picture a local shopping mall for example.

LEAD GENERATION SYSTEM [How to get customers walking into the mall?]
----------------------------->
LEAD CONVERSION SYSTEM [How to get customers into becoming a buyer? What can you say or show them to make them go for what you're selling?] ----------------------------->
SALES FUNNEL / CUSTOMER VALUE OPTIMIZATION [Upsells, Cross-sells, etc. Offer them more valuable things. Aim for customers to purchase MORE QTY, MORE FREQUENTLY, AND MORE PROFITABLY FOR YOU]
----------------------------->
There's many other systems you can implement IN THE FUTURE, as you grow the website

BUT For now, since you're beginning just get the first two done. Yes, DONE. Don't keep thinking.





It's as simple as how do I get someone to website, and how to show them the value of clicking on a link, or buying.





Forget the rest completely. Others are pretty much irrelevant until you understand how to get people to your site, and how to make a few dollars from them. All other systems are used to optimize and maximize # of users / customers, how much they cost, and how much they add to the profits. Once you get 1$ from a user, you can understand WHY they paid you that 1$ and further expand on that.

Monetizing Examples:
Affiliate marketing example
If you wrote a blog post about email marketing - you might review how different email providers work. You'd include affiliate links to aweber or MailCheat(Chimp), and when they convert - you get paid.

Discount / Deals example
You offer them a restaurant discount (you talk with the restaurant)- $35 for $50 worth of food at the HOTTEST LOCATION IN TOWN! Exchange STUDENTS ONLY (hot locations might be picky about discount offers, but you need to offer something of value for the student)

Advertising example
Place advertisements in places where they are likely to click - BUT not EXTREMELY ANNOYING to them.

The equation here is HOW MUCH VALUE DO YOU BRING - and How much advertising crap are they willing to tolerate based on your value.

If I had the only website on the internet, I could advertise as much as I want and customer retention will be over the roof. But you're likely not the only source of value for them. Feel out when too much is too much.

Whatever else you want to do example
Once again, the only thing you need to focus on is:
- Why would they buy / use this?
- Why wouldn't they buy / use this?
- Who else offers this?
- Why do they use me instead of them?

There's not much else to it when you are starting.

TIME TO JUST GO GET IT DONE
I went through what you're going through as well.

90% of what you're thinking right now WILL NOT HAPPEN THE WAY YOU THINK.

Your magical idea as you're implementing it will force you to take a turn and you will land on pluto while dreaming about mars.

All of these definitions and analyzing are great - BUT remember the basics.

Get customer to website. Get them to convert. Get profit. Analyze how you got profit. Improve process of getting to profit. Add other ways to profit. RINSE AND REPEAT

MOVE FORWARD AND TEST. GO!

EDIT: PS. If you think the niche isn't big enough - it doesn't matter. You can start with one niche and expand your site to all college students later on. Just get it moving and know how to make a few dollars first.

90% of what you're thinking right now WILL NOT HAPPEN THE WAY YOU THINK.

This is the secret to how the world works - right there^^^^^^^^

 

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[BellaPippin]

Organized System?
An organized system goes something like this:

Let's picture a local shopping mall for example.

LEAD GENERATION SYSTEM [How to get customers walking into the mall?]
----------------------------->
LEAD CONVERSION SYSTEM [How to get customers into becoming a buyer? What can you say or show them to make them go for what you're selling?] ----------------------------->
SALES FUNNEL / CUSTOMER VALUE OPTIMIZATION [Upsells, Cross-sells, etc. Offer them more valuable things. Aim for customers to purchase MORE QTY, MORE FREQUENTLY, AND MORE PROFITABLY FOR YOU]
----------------------------->
There's many other systems you can implement IN THE FUTURE, as you grow the website

BUT For now, since you're beginning just get the first two done. Yes, DONE. Don't keep thinking.





It's as simple as how do I get someone to website, and how to show them the value of clicking on a link, or buying.





Forget the rest completely. Others are pretty much irrelevant until you understand how to get people to your site, and how to make a few dollars from them. All other systems are used to optimize and maximize # of users / customers, how much they cost, and how much they add to the profits. Once you get 1$ from a user, you can understand WHY they paid you that 1$ and further expand on that.

Monetizing Examples:
Affiliate marketing example
If you wrote a blog post about email marketing - you might review how different email providers work. You'd include affiliate links to aweber or MailCheat(Chimp), and when they convert - you get paid.

Discount / Deals example
You offer them a restaurant discount (you talk with the restaurant)- $35 for $50 worth of food at the HOTTEST LOCATION IN TOWN! Exchange STUDENTS ONLY (hot locations might be picky about discount offers, but you need to offer something of value for the student)

Advertising example
Place advertisements in places where they are likely to click - BUT not EXTREMELY ANNOYING to them.

The equation here is HOW MUCH VALUE DO YOU BRING - and How much advertising crap are they willing to tolerate based on your value.

If I had the only website on the internet, I could advertise as much as I want and customer retention will be over the roof. But you're likely not the only source of value for them. Feel out when too much is too much.

Whatever else you want to do example
Once again, the only thing you need to focus on is:
- Why would they buy / use this?
- Why wouldn't they buy / use this?
- Who else offers this?
- Why do they use me instead of them?

There's not much else to it when you are starting.

TIME TO JUST GO GET IT DONE
I went through what you're going through as well.

90% of what you're thinking right now WILL NOT HAPPEN THE WAY YOU THINK.

Your magical idea as you're implementing it will force you to take a turn and you will land on pluto while dreaming about mars.

All of these definitions and analyzing are great - BUT remember the basics.

Get customer to website. Get them to convert. Get profit. Analyze how you got profit. Improve process of getting to profit. Add other ways to profit. RINSE AND REPEAT

MOVE FORWARD AND TEST. GO!

EDIT: PS. If you think the niche isn't big enough - it doesn't matter. You can start with one niche and expand your site to all college students later on. Just get it moving and know how to make a few dollars first.

Thank you @jason91. Can't describe how much I appreciate that advice. I will get started on putting my lead generation/conversion ducks in a row and I'll update.

 

[BellaPippin]

Or???


Problem:

Colleges cannot increase their revenues, because they cannot get additional students to enroll due to housing or cost of housing related issues.

• Student housing is in short supply, some urban areas are undeserved.
• Private arrangements for domestic and exchange are sketchy and very fragmented.

What if you provided a platform that matched up hosts and students (both domestic and exchange). The local schools would probably even be willing to provide assistance, as it alleviates their housing dilemma and allows them to sell more enrollment.

mmmm "Campus Cribs" ??? "Crashs Cribs" "StudentBNB" ?????


I was approached by someone (family member) to expand this concept. This person wanted me and another person to arrange for the purchase and retrofit of fixer uppers that would accommodate these type of enterprise.

Presently this person has one home where she rents to students for $500 per month. She installed bunk beds in one room, it now accommodates 3 people and 2 people each in the other two rooms. She has to provide meals and snacks and the property has to be near a bus line and reasonable distance to the school. Incidentally, she has an area in her house that could be retrofitted (2 hour fire wall/FLS upgrade/new egress) for an additional 3 more students.

That's a PGI of $5,000.00 per month.

That's nice. My niche has room and board included in the program. But as I see it they are very wallet-insensitive to spending on leisure and entertainment and they have a need for socializing, which is something I'd like to take advantage of.

 

[Bila]

Oh boy. Love game of thrones, but shaming yourself doesn't help you monetize your website . I've run into this several times as well. The continuous analyzing and confusion, which results in 0 action. HOW DO WE FIX THIS!?

First, we need to organize your thought process into a clear understanding. Let's get rid of the things that don't matter and refocus on what DOES matter.

GOAL: Monetize Your Website

ANALYSIS
Your Current Situation:
1. Have a website built for exchange students.
2. Don't know how to monetize traffic you already have.

The BAD: WE WANT (-) LESS OF THIS
1. Don't know how to effectively monetize your users / traffic
2. First attempt at monetization failed (Restaurant RSVP, but no tickets purchased) -
Look into why - maybe your website users don't trust your site enough to pay online, amongst other reasons.
3. No follow through with newsletter = no results, and no feedback

The GOOD: WE WANT (+) MORE OF THIS
1. Had 500 followers on your facebook by doing NOTHING, but providing SOMETHING (Figure out all possible reasons why they followed, and amplify it to maximize value of your website to your users)
2. Know a forum / hub where your target market voices their opinions.
3. Know their age group, interests, etc.
4. Tried to monetize through Restaurant (You have market feedback! Now write down a list of possible reasons why the user didn't purchase)

ACTION PLAN
FIRST: WRITE DOWN (If you haven't)
1. The # of Website Visitors per Month
2. Traffic Source (Google SEO? FACEBOOK? TWITTER? )
3. Email List? Offer them something in exchange for their emails

Your GOAL here is to find ways of bringing more users to your website, and having them continuously use your website.

SECOND: UNDERSTAND and ADD WAYS TO MAKE MONEY
Potential SELLING Points: WHY DO THEY USE YOUR WEBSITE
1. Discounted experiences for exchange students.
2. Top rated, and HOT locations to visit for exchange students.
3. Whatever else makes the students want to use your website instead of Google.

Ways to monetize: YOU CAN DO MORE THAN 1!
1. ADVERTISING ON YOUR WEBSITE (Are you getting consistent traffic? This doesn't really require user trust)
2. DEALS from local businesses (Like the restaurant deal.This may require user trust to pay you with their money)
3. AFFILIATE LINKS (What do exchange students need to buy? This will depend on the linked to website to convert.)
4. ANYTHING and ANY WAY That adds value to the user, and puts money into your pocket

Your GOAL here is to find ways to make money by offering things of value or at the least not negatively impacting the user's experience


THIRD: PROJECTIONS AND GOALS TO MEASURE
YOU CAN SKIP THIS STEP FOR NOW, GO MAKE YOUR FIRST DOLLAR


END NOTE: If you ever get confused, DO THIS!

STOP THINKING AND TEST TEST TEST

RIGHT NOW. ADD SOMETHING TO YOUR WEBSITE. ADWORDS? AFFILIATE LINK? WHATEVER YOU WANT. SET UP YOUR GROUPON SYSTEM? DO IT!

WHEN A USER LANDS ON YOUR SITE - DO THEY CLICK ON THE AD? THE LINK?

NO?

VIEW RESULTS / FEEDBACK

CHANGE / ADJUST

AND TEST AGAIN

GOOD LUCK

Hesitant on posting this due to the extreme capitalization.. but oh well lol. I TOOK ACTION AND NOW THERE WILL BE FEEDBACK, NEXT TIME I WILL KNOW WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN'T

Rep +...

 

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[BellaPippin]

Ok... this is like a super baby step but I thought I'd post it here because hey, it's some action. I have once more reviewed the "status" of it all just to have an idea where I'm standing...I drop the ball so often it's like I need to catch up again every single time. ):

The Google analytics on the website show 600 and something sessions/visitors *mental note- find some Analytics 101 youtube video* but the referrals section show spam sites only. Conclusion: analytics are NOT accurate at all right now. I had installed a WP plugin to get rid of that but it's obviously not working.

One person uploaded a new item for sale for a total of.. 4 items on the marketplace.

Facebook page is at 428 from 300-and-something followers since I last touched it.

Now for the action taken:

I posted a job on UpWork to find someone who can modify the homepage of my Wordpress template (to optimize it for displaying the content better, make call to action, etc). My budget is small but since it's just changing the homepage layout I figured some kind student in need of some extra income will apply.

I have checked shopify to open an ecommerce store with some customized products for my exchange students. I am evaluating the possibility of just hosting everything there for simplicity, but their plugin for a marketplace runs at $50 a month and I still don't have any income. Right now I can't afford that out of my own pocket every single month...hope the website hoping doesn't hurt my visitor count.

Also, a little off-topic: I got the Miracle Morning book everyone is talking about and I hope it motivates me to fight procrastination. I am reading it on my commute to work since there's not much I can do on the underground/bus.

Next step: set Shopify up, sketch the designs and draw them in illustrator. Write ONE blog article to upload this monday.

 

[BellaPippin]

It's been a while, I have reviewed all the feedback I had gotten the first time. That's not good news, I know. Dumping this here to try to gain some accountability. In Bold are the relevant things because I tend to write too much. I should keep a journal...

I did do something good which was decide move the marketplace to a group on Facebook. The moment I did that I got 50 members the first couple days and a few of them posted something to sell as well. Obviously the problem was my website and I was making it too inconvenient for them to post something. The Facebook page is at almost 600 followers now. I wrote a couple blog posts and I'm trying to make it about the experience of the program rather than just solve problems because they have many groups where they just ask for help with particular situations. They seem to respond pretty well to inspirational quotes and stuff...(remember, they are on their early 20s'! lol)

My main challenge is still at the same stage though, I haven't been able to come up with a product to sell, especially an automated one (which is the whole goal; I'm miserable at work and have no time for myself when I put it together with school). Self-slapping myself right now, I can give myself the tough love.

Action taken: Opened a Cafepress shop. Hired someone on Fiverr to make a t-shirt design that says a phrase they likely identify with (waiting on it now). I will add more and the goal is to have a few things up so they can shop for xmas, for them and their hosts.

The added pressure of the deadline is pushing me to act. Normally I try not to leave stuff for the last time but work and school take all my energy. Not valid as an excuse, I know. I just can't stay awake and I need to work on that. (I've been consistently lifting for three weeks and it's given me some added energy)


I would like to look into some wholesaling to see if there are products that could be of value to them. I'm still exploring ideas for "experiences" that can be sold. Classes, events, I've started to look into travel packages for them, but I'm a little overwhelmed because I know nothing about it, so I'm researching. Also kinda goes against my automation goals (anybody knows something about this to throw in their 5 cents?).


Yes, I should keep a journal. My apologies.

 

[mikey3times]

You say you have an audience. Why not let other companies sell to your audience?

What if you set up a directory and let organizations and colleges list services? A simple listing is free, a more detailed listing costs $xxx per year.

You provide the study-abroad students and the organizations market to them.

Schools can post their study-abroad classes, social organizations can post their booze-cruises, sports leagues can post their offerings, ski-lodges post their study-abroad discount.

You become the go-to source for things to do and you charge a small fee to other companies.

Just an idea.

 

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[100k]

Go to click bank look for USEFUL products that would help your users, tell them and show them how they would benefit from getting that product.... recommend the ebook through your affiliate link.. profit.

Then go back to providing MORE free value to your followers, until you come across something useful for them that you can recommend.... and remember to only promote useful things you'd buy and use yourself!

Also... engage with them.... ask them "What do you hate the most about XYZ? What have you found the most difficult thing about moving to america, getting around, meeting people, finding things to do? etc." Keep it casual .. don't come across like you're trying to do a survey ... just a friend asking a question.

Good luck

 

[Blue1214]

If I was in your shoes, I would be digging deep into what this audience is already buying.

Looking for discussions on these services / products.

Making lists of complaints, positives, etc. that these people make.

Find out why that business is so successful at selling to the market (learning from their marketing strategies, social media strategies, everything.)

Sign up to all of those websites mailing lists, even buy from them if you can.

Then, develop a plan.

How can you make it better? How are you going to fix the issues that exist
What can you do differently ? Did you notice any major changes you can make that these other businesses are missing out on that people want
Systems - How would your operation work inside and out?
Validation strategy - Is your solution so much better that people would choose you over X well known solution - can you get 1 person to buy? if you can't get 1, you can't get 100.
Launch strategy - Collect emails, giveaways, social media, press release, etc.
Marketing strategy- How are you going to communicate to your market that what you have is worth it


It's ok to have or look for a unique idea, but sometimes you need to spend time observing what already exists to find an opportunity for a unique idea.

I admire the fact that you went as far as you did to take action, that shows amazing potential in you. I meet very few people who would do that. I have no doubt you'll succeed at some point.

I believe it may have failed because the value wasn't communicated effectively.

What people say they would pay for and actually pay for are 2 different things.

Next time, I personally would have the reservation to be paid. That would really tell me how many people are into it.

-----

Also, don't view being an affiliate as a bad thing.

It's a great advantage to someone with a lower budget and can set you up in the long run.

You can in the process:
Discover what your market is willing to buy (without the time and money of building something from scratch)
Gain capital for a project of your own some day
Learn the affiliate system so YOU can one day have affiliates
If you've shared valuable affiliate products in the past, you should have a loyal following who will be great leads for your future services/products

 

[Andrew Ward]

So you have lots of people using the site already but for free? How many?

If the numbers are good then don't diversify too much as your route to make money, people are already buying into what you are doing you just need to work on your business model with your existing value offering.

A few ways you could earn more money (off the top of my head):

1) take a percentage of all sales via the site. This may required you to change the way you take payment.

2) limit features for free accounts and allow people to pay to unlock premium features on a per-listing basis (e.g. become a features listing)

3) find related products to your market and list them on your site. Find ones that allow you to make a kick back due to an affiliate program.


Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

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[BellaPippin]

You say you have an audience. Why not let other companies sell to your audience?

What if you set up a directory and let organizations and colleges list services? A simple listing is free, a more detailed listing costs $xxx per year.

You provide the study-abroad students and the organizations market to them.

Schools can post their study-abroad classes, social organizations can post their booze-cruises, sports leagues can post their offerings, ski-lodges post their study-abroad discount.

You become the go-to source for things to do and you charge a small fee to other companies.

Just an idea.

I guess that's what I was trying to get to by poking at the referral deal for them. Thanks for the input, I'm definitely giving that a look. Reminds me of Mr. Marco's limousine thing, I just didn't realise how to apply it to my audience.

 

[BellaPippin]

If I was in your shoes, I would be digging deep into what this audience is already buying.

Looking for discussions on these services / products.

Making lists of complaints, positives, etc. that these people make.

Find out why that business is so successful at selling to the market (learning from their marketing strategies, social media strategies, everything.)

Sign up to all of those websites mailing lists, even buy from them if you can.

Then, develop a plan.

How can you make it better? How are you going to fix the issues that exist
What can you do differently ? Did you notice any major changes you can make that these other businesses are missing out on that people want
Systems - How would your operation work inside and out?
Validation strategy - Is your solution so much better that people would choose you over X well known solution - can you get 1 person to buy? if you can't get 1, you can't get 100.
Launch strategy - Collect emails, giveaways, social media, press release, etc.
Marketing strategy- How are you going to communicate to your market that what you have is worth it


It's ok to have or look for a unique idea, but sometimes you need to spend time observing what already exists to find an opportunity for a unique idea.

I admire the fact that you went as far as you did to take action, that shows amazing potential in you. I meet very few people who would do that. I have no doubt you'll succeed at some point.

I believe it may have failed because the value wasn't communicated effectively.

What people say they would pay for and actually pay for are 2 different things.

Next time, I personally would have the reservation to be paid. That would really tell me how many people are into it.

-----

Also, don't view being an affiliate as a bad thing.

It's a great advantage to someone with a lower budget and can set you up in the long run.

You can in the process:
Discover what your market is willing to buy (without the time and money of building something from scratch)
Gain capital for a project of your own some day
Learn the affiliate system so YOU can one day have affiliates
If you've shared valuable affiliate products in the past, you should have a loyal following who will be great leads for your future services/products

Thanks @Blue1214, that's super insightful. I appreciate your time and will look into that, I actually have something in mind they are already buying.

 

[BellaPippin]

I am bumping this back up to see if anybody has new advice or insights. As of today:

The FB page has become the main page, and doing barely anything (mainly just sharing memes and travel quotes every now and then) I suddenly have 3,000+ likes, and a somewhat engaged audience.

The Marketplace became a FB group, 120ish members and counting and every once in a while someone posts something for sale.

I kept my .com domain just in case. Both pages keep growing organically, pretty much.

How can I still not have a product to sell to this people. (Okay, okay, I haven't been trying that badly)

Apparel and things with relevant quotes/graphics didn't work.

There doesn't seem to be much opportunity with info products but the need for experiences/fun/courses/socialize seems the main one, according to feedback I've been getting. I'm still trying to keep this as automated as possible. As I analyze this it kinda seems to me like a build, monetize and exit-strategy (sell) kind of operation...

So far the idea that made sense the most is to make a "directory" and let businesses and organizations sell to my audience and charge for postings. I'd guess I'd have to put up a simple thing very groupon-ish to showcase deals and offers, and share them on FB...or share them on FB directly/blog posts, whatever? It concerns me that once they realize what my audience is they can just cut me out of the way, no?


I'm so stuck on this thing! It can't be just stubbornness, there must be something they would want to buy lol

 

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[mikey3times]

They can't cut you out if you have a loyal audience.

Read this by @Andy Black...
Stop "Building" Stuff

Just start helping people.

(And stop coming up with excuses before you even try something.)

 

[I AM THE SENATE]

What about affiliate products/services?

 

[Rickchise23]

Selling ad space might be an idea worth exploring. I have a blog in the Travel genre I'd be willing to give a test run with to build my audience.

 

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[GuestUser450]

Don't shoot the messenger:

Your audience is likely not worth anything because an audience is not always a market. And the value of an unsegmented list is near zero.

You'd be much better off finding an existing market to sell to.

You've brought people together to trade among themselves. They don't need you as the middleman because you've created places for them to do it, for free.

 

[AFMKelvin]

The question you should be asking yourself is "if I was a foreign student in the US what would I want that experience to be like?

There aren't many countries like the US with so much cultural diversity. Most countries in the world have very homogeneous cultures.

That means that this students have not been exposed to other cultures. So why not have cultural themed restaurant night outs. For example you can have an Indian night out party at an Indian restaurant. Invite all the Indian students to come and share there culture with others. Charge per person.

Have American sub cultures day out. Take them to a skate park and let them hang out with the skaters. Take them to bikers night out, hip hop rap battles etc. Rent a small van and charge for the ride to the event. That way they can have fun, get drunk maybe and not have to worry about driving back home. Remember some students come from serious cultures where dancing and drinking are frown upon. So that would be a big deal to them.

Connect this student with their needs. For example tell them where they can get tutoring to reduce their accent, to be more proficient in their grammar or how a toastmasters meet up works. And make a deal with the instructors to pay you per referral.

If everything fails just sell them t shirts that say " I went to America and all I got was this stupid shirt" in their own language.

 

[JasonR]

I have an audience/niche. More specifically, exchange students. I have been at it (on and off) since 2012, when I originally launched the website. Since then I have made $0. YES, ZERO.

Do you realize exchange students have almost no disposable income?

 

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[BellaPippin]

Do you realize exchange students have almost no disposable income?

My niche has plenty disposable income.

 

[BellaPippin]

The question you should be asking yourself is "if I was a foreign student in the US what would I want that experience to be like?

There aren't many countries like the US with so much cultural diversity. Most countries in the world have very homogeneous cultures.

That means that this students have not been exposed to other cultures. So why not have cultural themed restaurant night outs. For example you can have an Indian night out party at an Indian restaurant. Invite all the Indian students to come and share there culture with others. Charge per person.

Have American sub cultures day out. Take them to a skate park and let them hang out with the skaters. Take them to bikers night out, hip hop rap battles etc. Rent a small van and charge for the ride to the event. That way they can have fun, get drunk maybe and not have to worry about driving back home. Remember some students come from serious cultures where dancing and drinking are frown upon. So that would be a big deal to them.

Connect this student with their needs. For example tell them where they can get tutoring to reduce their accent, to be more proficient in their grammar or how a toastmasters meet up works. And make a deal with the instructors to pay you per referral.

If everything fails just sell them t shirts that say " I went to America and all I got was this stupid shirt" in their own language.

Thanks for the insight. I did try something like that, it had good response on Facebook but actually nobody bought the actual ticket. Full story is in original post.

There's a business offering vacation packages but I don't want to be their competition, neither get myself another job. I'm looking for something as close to a product I can get.

(Before anyone says I don't wanna work and "I wanna set it and forget it" , no, I just don't wanna make a business out of this particular thing)