New Website: Pleben.com

[kidgas]

MJ,
The question has been raised and I am curious what you have done to attract traffic and membership to your forum. If this is addressed elsewhere, I will search for it later this evening.
Thanks,
Jim

 

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[Allthingznew]

Allthingz,
The decoration is a technical issue I know nothing about. I will have to refer to Tom at Apto on that. This is one of the reasons that I appreciate all the input and questions since I could not possibly think of every aspect on my own.

I, too, wonder what would cause one to change for one product or service to another. I'm just going out there and giving it a shot. This is definitely a work in progress. It's not about the end result, but the journey. I have learned much and hope to learn more.

Actually, I think the decoration angle might be able to add to your draw. As I understand it, if they can't write their own code, people have to scour the net to find templates and the like that they feel express who they are, at the moment. (They're always changing)

If Tom can give you some kind of page creator that a user can choose and create inside of, include mix and match type options but also an actual creation ability, it just might be a cool enough feature to ad to the attraction of the site.

 

[Yankees338]

1) As someone posted, I believe phlgrl, I think it would be a great idea to partner up with a few charities that could lend their names and reputations to the site. This way, their will be a bit more credibility because people will trust that the money is going to a worthy cause, and because people will think more highly of the site if it is associated with reputable charities. I'd probably recommend a few different charities that appeal to different audiences: one for cancer research, another for help in Darfur, another to help the homeless here in America, and another to help abused spouses and children here in America just to share a few examples.



2) I really, truly believe that you have some absolutely brilliant ideas that you're working with here. With that said, I think they should be communicated a little better on the site. Specifically, the section that says "Why choose Pleben?" seems a bit weak to me in all honesty. I think you should emphasize the unique facts about your site, rather than the qualities that it shares with the likes of Facebook and MySpace. Perhaps a graphic would work there?



3) I like the whole theme with the Penguin and how well it goes with "A Place for Chillin'", but I think you should have another slogan that emphasies all of the unique qualities of Pleben. There are a lot of plain, boring sites that could be seen as "A Place for Chillin'", but how many sites do you know of that are also ad-free, charitable, and offer rewards? I think you should try to incorporate something that will draw attention and catch a customer's eye so that they want to look into this a little more.

 

[kidgas]

Yankees,
To respond to your comments:
1. All of those charities you mentioned are great causes. My idea is not necessarily to partner with specific charities, but allow the members, as a community, to decide which charities to support. I figure this will occur around the various prize levels as well. The first prize level will occur at 1000 members, then 10,000, etc. This will all be in the FAQ of the website when it is loaded there.

2. Absolutely that section is weak. It hasn't been edited yet. I sent the info for that section to Tom at Apto last night along with text for FAQ. Eventually, I will know how to edit that section myself and can make changes quickly. When I started this, I had essentially zero technical knowledge. Right now, I am still on the steep part of the learning curve.

3. If you have any ideas for another slogan, great. I didn't even have that idea. The guys at Apto came up with the penguin and the slogan. I just had the idea for the site and the plan. I'm not all that artistic. I do think the penguin looks cool though.

 

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[LightHouse]

I have not read through this whole thing but i just got Yankees reply. he mentioned having something diffrent that will attract people. Forbes showed up at my house the other day and there was an article with just that, something diffrent. zivity.com was the site, i imagine you could look the article up on forbes. its titled "You get what you pay for"

 

[longview]

Interesting article.. thanks for the heads up!

According to the article (11 Feb), the site will be in beta/trial until next year... seems like a long time.

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2008/0211/060.html

Here is the crux of it:

Members vote their approval of a shot, and each vote earns the model 60 cents and the photographer 20.
Members get five votes with their monthly subscription and can buy more. Zivity's top model, a pixieish blonde 28-year-old who calls herself Pearl, has made $100 in one month with a white lace lingerie scene she calls Broken Umbrella.

 

[kidgas]

Well, I'm not doing porn but we all know that sex can and does sell. I do feel that people may start to be getting fed up with ads. I will find out in the next several months. By the way, I am not doing any "beta". Sure, adjustments will probably have to be made but this is true bootstrapping.

 

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[longview]

Maybe you can look at 'virtual gift' giving to add to the user experience?

http://lsvp.wordpress.com/2008/01/28/three-use-cases-for-virtual-goods/

 

[kidgas]

longview,
Great idea. Thanks. I will have to look into how I might implement something of this sort.

 

[Merkin Man]

What is your target demographic?

 

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[kidgas]

Merkin,
Primarily anyone between 18-30 who would otherwise be into social networking. I am clearly competing against Myspace and Facebook even to the point of maybe stealing a few of their members who might be looking for an ad-free alternative or a chance to get something else for the time they would put in anyway.

 

[Merkin Man]

Do you think people in that demographic will be willing to pay a subsription fee just to be rid of the ads? I understand that your site will work with and donate to charity, as well as give away prizes, but even at the odds you quote that are better than winning Monopoly at McDonalds, its still not likely that for $25 the user will ever win any money.

I guess I just fail to see the need for me, a potential subscriber to Pleben, to dish out $25 for something I can get free elsewhere. As I understand what I would be getting for my money right now, I wouldn't join Pleben.

I'm not bashing your site or your idea. In fact, to quote Donnie Deutsch, I think you are on to a "big idea" here. I just think it needs more refinement, especially when looking for people to pay you to join.

I think you need to give the subscriber more than lottery odds, no ads and a good feeling about giving to charity.

Why don't you poll the Fastlane community on this, and see just how many people would be willing to pay to join your website. Maybe I am way off-base here and in the minority. But at least by polling the Fastlane, you might get a better idea of where you're at right now with public opinion.

 

[phlgirl]

Yankees,
To respond to your comments:
1. All of those charities you mentioned are great causes. My idea is not necessarily to partner with specific charities, but allow the members, as a community, to decide which charities to support. I figure this will occur around the various prize levels as well. The first prize level will occur at 1000 members, then 10,000, etc. This will all be in the FAQ of the website when it is loaded there.

2. Absolutely that section is weak. It hasn't been edited yet. I sent the info for that section to Tom at Apto last night along with text for FAQ. Eventually, I will know how to edit that section myself and can make changes quickly. When I started this, I had essentially zero technical knowledge. Right now, I am still on the steep part of the learning curve.

3. If you have any ideas for another slogan, great. I didn't even have that idea. The guys at Apto came up with the penguin and the slogan. I just had the idea for the site and the plan. I'm not all that artistic. I do think the penguin looks cool though.

This is strictly opinion but I think you need to make a choice on the charities, up front. This, as I understand it, will be one of the key factors, which sells your customer base and gets them excited to sign up. An opportunity to support an organization, which resonates with me, might help inspire me to sign up. Seeing a comment that I will get to vote - sometime down the road - as to which organization gets funding is less concrete and, to me, less exciting.

The cash prize drawing is already out in the future. Would be great if you could give users some part of the eqaution NOW.... too many people operate in the now - instant gratification, etc.

I think Yankees may be on to something here.... give the users a chioce of a few organizations. Perhaps, it could even be part of their profile..... like an icon, which would show up next to their avatar, or whatever that looks like. This might even create a bond between certain users. I would go with broad, wide reaching, organizations. Seeing as it is the hot trend right now, I would make sure to add something GREEN to your list.

Merkin is absolutely right. You need to know your target demographic. It doesn't matter that you are not creative.....all you need to know how to do is ask questions. Survey your focus group. Ask everyone you meet who fits your demographic profile (perhaps start a new thread here and ask).

It is not enough to just come up with the concept and then put it into other people's hands. It's your baby and no one will care about it as much as you do. Not suggesting you learn code...... just that you really start talking to people in your target market......the ideas will come.

 

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[kidgas]

Merkin,
Do I think people will be willing? Yes, I believe some will. I believe some will pay for the opportunity to win prizes. While you are correct, the average user will be unlikely to win big money, the odds are much better than any other type of prize or even lottery.

I can certainly poll. My question for you is what do you want for your $25 subscription? Personally, I am at a loss to determine what I could offer, but my perspective is limited.

 

[kidgas]

Phlgirl,
I agree with you totally about picking the charities up front. I will pick two initially, one environmentally oriented. If you know of any right off the top of your head, please share your ideas. In the meantime, I will try to see which are responsible. I know there are plenty of lists that grade that sort of thing. I will do my research and get back.

 

[Merkin Man]

Merkin,
Do I think people will be willing? Yes, I believe some will. I believe some will pay for the opportunity to win prizes. While you are correct, the average user will be unlikely to win big money, the odds are much better than any other type of prize or even lottery.

I can certainly poll. My question for you is what do you want for your $25 subscription? Personally, I am at a loss to determine what I could offer, but my perspective is limited.

Two things...

1. I don't see the connection between a MySpace type of website and a pay website whose biggest draw is the chance to win prizes. Its as if the two ideas are at the opposite ends of the internet. My opinion is that people who will pay $25 for the chance to win prizes are highly unlikely to be positive contributors to your community. And you said you want a community of serious networkers - I don't see how this type of website attracts those types. Unless the money is the more important issue to you.

Plus, didn't you say that the big money won't be given away until you have 1 million subscribers? What types of payouts can subscribers expect in the mean time?

2. As far as what I want for a $25 subscription, I can't say. What I can say is that I have never paid a subscription to belong to anything online. There are simply too many free websites available to make opening my wallet an option. If I were the hope-to-win-prizes type, I would probably just stay on MySpace and buy a $1 lottery ticket every so often. Maybe that's just me, though.

I really think you need to offer something more UNIQUE to your subscribers. What it is I don't know. Maybe you need to narrow the scope of your demographic and make it a paid website dedicated to a particular field, where you're selling a membership into a community that not everyone qualifies for, or along those lines.

Instead of the main incentive for joining being the chance to win prizes, maybe with all the revenue from memberships you coordinate conventions where people can get together, meet in person and possibly even have guest speakers. That I might pay to join.

 

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[Jito]

I'm not sure if this was mentioned previously, but I suspect there will be a growing trend towards an increase in the demand for privacy associated online social networking sites. Many colleges kids are starting to see that facebook is far to open. Employers being able to access profiles is a bad thing. An emphasis on privacy will surely add value.

Another idea might be a referral program. Refer 3, 4, or 5 paying members and get your $25 dollar subscription fee credited back to you. This might possibly encourage exponential growth.

 

[kidgas]

Merkin,
I understand your position and have wondered myself at some of the issues you raise, specifically whether I can truly attract a group of serious networkers.

Also, I am not sure exactly what I would do to make it more unique. I do know that I am learning alot and having fun doing it. This is definitely a work in progress. Worst case scenario is that nobody at all joins and I am out the cost to develop the site and some hosting expenses. But I still learned a ton and will be able to make a better go of it the next time.

Regardless, I am happy to share my experiences and appreciate your honest opinion and the respectful way in which you make your points.

I am adding speed to phlgirl for a good idea and merkin for his respectful discussion.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

My comments logged into the Poll thread:
http://www.thefastlanetomillions.com/showthread.php?p=26122#post26122

Topic closed, make your comments/feedback to Poll thread.

 

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