I have just created my new website!

[Twiizlar]

http://sneakercount.com/

Please Critique it!

I have been planning for a couple of weeks and my website is finally done. I have worked with a freelancer on odesk and had a good experience.

The website is a "craigslist" type site where users can buy and sell shoes locally. This is mainly targeted towards Air Jordans as they are only released every couple of years so you have to buy them used mostly.

Please give me some feedback on the website! Constructive criticism is the welcomed!

I also need tips on how to start marketing this website. People dont usually want to post on the website unless they see other post. My current idea is too just buy a lot of shoes and selling them for cheap only on my website. This would maybe get the ball rolling?

 

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[brycer9]

Great job on taking action and making a product. Speed+

Here's my criticism:

1) You have too many categories. Start with one main focus, then expand from there.

2) Clicking the logo should always take you to the homepage

3) Product pictures should be bigger on homepage

PM me your skype name. I'm also launching a product marketplace website

 

[whiteeclipse]

Interesting site, congrats on creating and releasing a website.

brycer9 has some good advice.

Are you sharing your site on facebook with your friends, you think your friends will start using this product?

I think you should look for ads related to sneakers on craigslist and post those ads on your site, so that it looks like people are using your product. Contact those sellers on craigslist so that they can post ads on your site too.

Goodluck!

 

[Twiizlar]

I do like that craigslist idea, just to get my site rolling. I have contacted a person who actually owns a brick and mortar store that buys and sells shoes and he has now agreed to start using my site. I am very excited.

 

[apexstrat]

Fake it til you make it. Set up lots of fake accounts and sell the shoes yourself, it looks a bit sparse at the moment and you're 100% right that people are not going to use it until they see social validation.
Start a blog, content marketing is key.
Google is always doing vouchers on Adwords credit, once you have some shoes on the site, drive traffic to the site with adwords for a little while. This will allow you to get some feedback on the site (hits, bounce rate, page views, location) without having to wait for natural search traffic.
I wouldn't worry about selling the shoes cheap, just sell them for what they are worth. People are suspicious if a deal looks too good to be true, and it's more difficult to come up on price than it is to go down.

 

[nausbot]

I'm not into shoes. Is there a market for used shoes usually?

 

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[Era]

Great Site!

Set up a blog and some more content.
You could create some articles on some shoe related content.
Like some others have mentioned, it'll be a great idea to create more accounts and put some more product up.

 

[Twiizlar]

I'm not into shoes. Is there a market for used shoes usually?

Yes there is a market. Some Jordans are only released once and others every couple of years. The only way to get them is off other people. Also most people who buy jordans are "sneakerheads" which means that sneakers are their lifestyle and they may have 10-50 different shoes. This can get expensive so most people buy used.



I like the blog idea. I will implement that later. First i am trying to start local and work my way out! Thanks for all the feedback so far

 

[PeteLife]

I'm not into shoes. Is there a market for used shoes usually?

This video will answer that question.
Seriously though, twiizlar, you need to watch this video. try and see if you can get into one of these sneaker conventions, set up a booth, and advertise the crap out of your website (while selling shoes ofcourse), Be the booth everyone wants to go to, and show them the value your website can offer. Basically your website would be the online version of these conventions.

This video alone should give you a thousand ideas of ways to market this website. Networking with these "sneakerheads" will be huge ... plus it gives you validation of your concept.
You actually beat me to it, because, couple months ago when I first saw this video, I planned on doing exactly what you're doing right now.
Market the shit out of this and it will take off on its own, word of mouth alone will take this a long way because every kid will be on facebook and twitter talking about it.


[video=youtube;h52tQzOXIrQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h52tQzOXIrQ[/video]

Edit: Did some basic research and company called Sneaker Con seem to be the brains behind these conventions. They are a travelling event company so these conventions are nationwide. my advice to you is to get into ALL of them (yes, drive..fly .. whatever it takes get to these events).
Check out there website. It has all the info with upcoming events and such. Also follow them on facebook and twitter and basically network with people who are already on these social networks because they are your market.

http://sneakercon.com/ ... Official Sneaker convention
http://sneakernews.com/tag/sneaker-con/ ... Alll the latest info on conventions and sneaker news

 

[Twiizlar]

This video will answer that question.
Seriously though, twiizlar, you need to watch this video. try and see if you can get into one of these sneaker conventions, set up a booth, and advertise the crap out of your website (while selling shoes ofcourse), Be the booth everyone wants to go to, and show them the value your website can offer. Basically your website would be the online version of these conventions.

This video alone should give you a thousand ideas of ways to market this website. Networking with these "sneakerheads" will be huge ... plus it gives you validation of your concept.
You actually beat me to it, because, couple months ago when I first saw this video, I planned on doing exactly what you're doing right now.
Market the shit out of this and it will take off on its own, word of mouth alone will take this a long way because every kid will be on facebook and twitter talking about it.


[video=youtube;h52tQzOXIrQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h52tQzOXIrQ[/video]

Edit: Did some basic research and company called Sneaker Con seem to be the brains behind these conventions. They are a travelling event company so these conventions are nationwide. my advice to you is to get into ALL of them (yes, drive..fly .. whatever it takes get to these events).
Check out there website. It has all the info with upcoming events and such. Also follow them on facebook and twitter and basically network with people who are already on these social networks because they are your market.

http://sneakercon.com/ ... Official Sneaker convention
http://sneakernews.com/tag/sneaker-con/ ... Alll the latest info on conventions and sneaker news

wow ! thank you for the tip! I never before thought of going to conventions but now i will check some out. I greatly appreciate your response . Currently I have just started telling my twitter followers and facebook friends about it. I need to do a lot more marketing. I know word of mouth is big so conventions would be a good idea.

 

[rkmalo1]

Wow! I never knew the shoe resale market was that big. Thanks for the video, Pete. Your site is looking great and speed+++ for taking action.

I agree with everyone's suggestions especially Brycer's point of stripping out every category except shoes. Think about Zappos, they just started with shoes then expanded, Amazon did the same thing with books then expanded. Become THE go to website to trade/resell shoes then expanded if needed. Marketing becomes much easier, user experience is much cleaner, etc, etc.

I have no idea, but I'm guessing social media will play a huge role in your marketing. I'm thinking images of in demand shoes.. Pinterest (I think more guys are using this now??) and Facebook come to mind (I really have no clue where your customers hang out but find them on social media and market there). Anyways, I'd place your social media icons above the fold instead of hidden in the lower left.

 

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[Twiizlar]

Wow! I never knew the shoe resale market was that big. Thanks for the video, Pete. Your site is looking great and speed+++ for taking action.

I agree with everyone's suggestions especially Brycer's point of stripping out every category except shoes. Think about Zappos, they just started with shoes then expanded, Amazon de thing with books then expanded. Become THE go to website to trade/resell shoes then expanded if needed. Marketing becomes much easier, user experience is much cleaner, etc, etc.

I have no idea, but I'm guessing social media will play a huge role in your marketing. I'm thinking images of in demand shoes.. Pinterest (I think more guys are using this now??) and Facebook come to mind (I really have no clue where your customers hang out but find them on social media and market there). Anyways, I'd place your social media icons above the fold instead of hidden in the lower left.

You are right. Social media plays a huge role in this. Today's to do list is to create a Facebook/Instagram/twitter. Most of the people that buy and sell shoes now are on Facebook groups so i have to find a way to attract users from these groups without pissing off the admins. They are buy/sell/trade groups also so if I'm advertising my website I am not sure how they will respond. Thanks for the tips keep them coming!

 

[mayana]

I was just going to chime in on the importance of your social media integration on your website. Make it super easy for people to find you from Facebook, stay in their news feeds with interesting posts (not always self-promoting!), and make it easy for people to find you on Facebook (and other social media) from your website.

This website kind of cracks me up, because I was just watching this show called "Numb3rs" on Netflix (I have a thing for crime shows, and I allow myself this indulgence once in a while). The last one that I watched was about this guy who had some really expensive shoes stolen. I had NO idea that people collected tennis shoes, or that they would buy them used, until last night. And then I see your website.... very cool!

I actually really like the way you have your website set up. At first glance, it seems very legit. I agree about selling shoes yourself - and make those accounts based in other locations, so that way it looks like you've got more traction. And get your friends on there selling some shoes, too. Hustle hustle hustle!

 

[Twiizlar]

I was just going to chime in on the importance of your social media integration on your website. Make it super easy for people to find you from Facebook, stay in their news feeds with interesting posts (not always self-promoting!), and make it easy for people to find you on Facebook (and other social media) from your website.

This website kind of cracks me up, because I was just watching this show called "Numb3rs" on Netflix (I have a thing for crime shows, and I allow myself this indulgence once in a while). The last one that I watched was about this guy who had some really expensive shoes stolen. I had NO idea that people collected tennis shoes, or that they would buy them used, until last night. And then I see your website.... very cool!

I actually really like the way you have your website set up. At first glance, it seems very legit. I agree about selling shoes yourself - and make those accounts based in other locations, so that way it looks like you've got more traction. And get your friends on there selling some shoes, too. Hustle hustle hustle!

I was thinking of the same idea. Many people dont know there is actually a market for used shoes. But it is a lifestyle and people will use big bucks to get the latest and greatest shoe.

 

[Gale4rc]

If your idea is validated (as it seems to be) I would highly suggest hiring a UI/UX designer - People on the forums gave some very good input but, a good UI/UX designer lives, eats, breathes this type of stuff. Generally you won't find a good one on e-lance/odesk - I would search Dribbble.com or Behance

edit_

Actually I was going to use this guy and decided not to (partner found someone else) - He's cheap and really good.

http://imakestuff.me

 

[Twiizlar]

If your idea is validated (as it seems to be) I would highly suggest hiring a UI/UX designer - People on the forums gave some very good input but, a good UI/UX designer lives, eats, breathes this type of stuff. Generally you won't find a good one on e-lance/odesk - I would search Dribbble.com or Behance

edit_

Actually I was going to use this guy and decided not to (partner found someone else) - He's cheap and really good.

http://imakestuff.me

Ok i will probobly do that in the future but for now i want to market my website. I am just happy it is live so now i want to start drawing in users

 

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[buwatcha]

I like the niche. Seems like the users would be very dedicated and repeat customers ready to buy.

It does look like there are others in the market: http://www.kixify.com/

I like your domain name better though.

 

[Gale4rc]

Ok i will probobly do that in the future but for now i want to market my website. I am just happy it is live so now i want to start drawing in users

I would also suggest finding people who post their shoes on craigslist and telling them to list on your site. That's how AirBnB started and grew. They would find people listing vacation homes and tell them to list on their site because of benefit x, x, x.

 

[Twiizlar]

I like the niche. Seems like the users would be very dedicated and repeat customers ready to buy.

It does look like there are others in the market: http://www.kixify.com/

I like your domain name better though.

mine is like that website buy mine is more of a local craigslist type thing. Kixify is like an ebay type of thing thats all online

 

[brycer9]

What is your business model (monetization)

 

[Twiizlar]

What is your business model (monetization)

I have not figured this out yet as it is not a priority at this moment. I was thinking of ad space and also users paying for getting their ad featured. Ad space mainly

 

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[Twiizlar]

double post sorry

 

[MooreMillions]

Twiizlar, you have received very good advice in this thread.

Not much new I could add.

You have a market, which is most important.

It is niche and in high demand.

In fact, I have an idea that we may be able to partner on, once you get up and rolling.

I can offer that you piggyback a digital footprint that I have set up in the shoes & accessories space.

PM me!

Oh, and for the board, sneakerheads is a multiple million dollar business. You think Nike sells that many shoes because people need 'em? Nope, artificial demand and they LOVE it!

In fact, this season is perfect. Check out the web and television for the release of Jordans, LeBrons or any famous NBA star's kicks, and the lines look like Black Friday Anytown, USA.

 

[Twiizlar]

UPDATE:

I feel like i have ran out of ideas. I am trying to market my website. I have posted on all forums and facebook groups where people who buy sneakers are on. My instagram and twitter are slowly growing. I have messaged a whole bunch of ebay members telling them to come to my site. I have posted on craigslist every day. I dont know what other free ways i could market my site. I am out of ideas. I could turn to adwords or paid advertising but i dont want to dish out a lot of money. Should i seek seo services. Is it worth the money? I really need help!

 

[Gale4rc]

UPDATE:

I feel like i have ran out of ideas. I am trying to market my website. I have posted on all forums and facebook groups where people who buy sneakers are on. My instagram and twitter are slowly growing. I have messaged a whole bunch of ebay members telling them to come to my site. I have posted on craigslist every day. I dont know what other free ways i could market my site. I am out of ideas. I could turn to adwords or paid advertising but i dont want to dish out a lot of money. Should i seek seo services. Is it worth the money? I really need help!

You didn't think it would be that easy did you?

How about be creative........................................ Instead of investing in PPC or SEO service, buy a really rare pair of nikes or whatever and sell them for cheap. Then put that headline out in the news (PR)

Or find a better way to do that and announce you will be selling a rare pair of Nikes at a certain time/date - get blogger coverage and VWAH - LAH (sound it out, I can't spell for ****)

Your problem comes down to the chicken and egg problem. Which comes first?

I would think for your product the chicken (shoe seller) does. If you get enough shoe sellers, they might all buy shoes from each other and then slowly the real buyers will roll in.

Focus on getting people who are already selling their shoes onto your site. Find where they are already posting them and contact them to get them to sell on your site. Make up stats, or whatever needs to be said. get.them.on.your.site.

 

[apexstrat]

Sounds like you are doing great, you have to be really patient and keep working hard. If it were easy everyone would be a millionaire. When did you actually launch the site? These things take time.

I posted on this recently... might give you some ideas.

You need to think carefully before launching into PPC, the numbers might not stack up for your business. How much margin do you make o each sale? what is your likely conversion rate? What is the average cost per click? Essentially, it could cost you more money to drive traffic to your site than you will make in sales. Good news is, Google are always offering vouchers for Adwords credit. I recently got £100 worth of credit for £25. So it's not expensive to test it out.

I still think you need to go down the content route. Think of 25 topics you could write about shoes. Decide whether you want to write the posts yourself or if you want to pay someone to write them. Then start posting 2 or 3 times a week. Use "The Backlinking strategy that works" to get some inbound links to your site which will massively boost your ranking in Google and will (over time) boost the number of natural organic hits (more info on how to do this and time scales here)

You could also think about writing some sort of free guide that you could give away on the site to encourage people to sign up.

 

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[Twiizlar]

Sounds like you are doing great, you have to be really patient and keep working hard. If it were easy everyone would be a millionaire. When did you actually launch the site? These things take time.

I posted on this recently... might give you some ideas.

You need to think carefully before launching into PPC, the numbers might not stack up for your business. How much margin do you make o each sale? what is your likely conversion rate? What is the average cost per click? Essentially, it could cost you more money to drive traffic to your site than you will make in sales. Good news is, Google are always offering vouchers for Adwords credit. I recently got £100 worth of credit for £25. So it's not expensive to test it out.

I still think you need to go down the content route. Think of 25 topics you could write about shoes. Decide whether you want to write the posts yourself or if you want to pay someone to write them. Then start posting 2 or 3 times a week. Use "The Backlinking strategy that works" to get some inbound links to your site which will massively boost your ranking in Google and will (over time) boost the number of natural organic hits (more info on how to do this and time scales here)

You could also think about writing some sort of free guide that you could give away on the site to encourage people to sign up.

Ok so I should start a blog. I could easily write 2-3 articles a week. There are many other sneaker blogs but I will give this a try. Should I name the site the same name as my original website ? How should I advertise my website on there?

 

[apexstrat]

Should I name the site the same name as my original website ? How should I advertise my website on there?

Integrate the blog with your existing site, don't make it a separate site. You could have a "blog" option on the main navigation menu and try to integrate a "recent posts" area onto the home page, maybe with an extract and thumbnail from the most recent couple of posts.

You don't need to worry about how you advertise the site on there, you just need to write great content that attracts people who are interested in shoes. A percentage of them will then look at the rest of the site and look into buying the shoes or selling their own.

Content marketing is a slow and steady process. Make a list of the types of things you could write about, and actually do some writing before you launch anything. Think about a regular plan, i.e. post a topic every Monday and Thursday or something like that.

 

[apexstrat]

Also, is it worth killing everything else and just focusing on Nike for the time being? The homepage is a bit crowded with links that don't go anywhere. Focus on nailing Nike, then expand out. That should free up some space on the home page for content, or bigger pics. Maybe think about getting some professional style pics done.