contest idea

[AdrianApe]

I have another idea for helping get the word out about my site.

I'm thinking about running a referral contest. I added an extra field in the registration of who referred them. I'll put that whoever refers the most people wins a $100 gift card to walmart or somewhere. Then run the site for a month or something.

It'd be nice to have a few people actively recruiting for my site. The other stipulation would be that each new recruit has to place at least one legitimate ad on the site(it's free in most categories to place an ad).

I'm not sure if a hundred dollar giftcard is enough or not to get people's attention. On the logistics side I imagine I can just track everyone's IP address to make sure people aren't referring themselves and setting up 100 accounts just to get the gift card.

Just another idea, I'm getting a bit frustrated with my failed marketing attempts and am trying to brainstorm other ideas to get it up and going.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

[gregbatch]

I offered an upgrade to "featured" for every 5 referrals. When I got 5, I'd send a coupon code to the referrer for the value of the upgrade. It actually worked quite well. That could easily be coupled with the gift cards. That way you have some immediate reward for their efforts, plus the possibility of a nicer reward at the end of the contest.

As far as fraud, I did make it a rule that new accounts could NOT have email addys from yahoo, gmail, etc. They had to be REAL email accounts. If they have an internet connection, the have a real email. Accounts set up with any of those do not qualify.

RE: MARKETING
Don't get frustrated. Marketing is a long term investment. In the classifieds business, it's not an impulse response. You just need to keep putting your name in front of people. When the time comes for them to sell something, you want them to remember the Ape.

Did you get the Ape suit yet?

[SkGold]

I still didn’t find anything better than Search Engine Marketing to promote online classifieds. Most people forget about your site if they don’t need to use it very often. So when they need to place another ad online they don’t even look in their saved favorites, they just going to Google, Yahoo or MSN and searching. Also buyers, if they need to buy a bicycle 2 month after they saw your advertisement, they will never remember your site, unless your site is very popular. They just go online and search for it. IMO all offline advertising is for one time only, unless you continuously advertising it.

The “word of mouth” starts working only after people actually sell something through your site. Possibility of placing “Free ads” is not working as well as it worked several years ago, because there are plenty of free classifieds on the net.

Just my 2 cents.

[AdrianApe]

Thanks for the feedback. Yah, I did get my ape costume. I haven't done a lot with it yet I got a little too discouraged with it from the get go I think. I'll give it another go tomorrow with the heavy Friday night traffic. When I first went out I had a big picket sign with me that had AdrianApe.com - Free Classifieds on it. The board was too big and acted like a sail in the wind. It just about broke where I had it connected to the wooden handle. So I took it home and cut it quite a bit and now it's just a smaller sign that I hold with both hands. It isn't all that fun running around in it but I found out today that it does generate a bit of word of mouth advertising. My cousin's neighbor who I'm friends with was telling them that she saw some gorilla waving at her in the street with a sign. She didn't even know it was me and was talking about it, so I'll give it another try tomorrow and hope it goes better. I started the contest and haven't had any takers yet, I just need to get the word out about it.

I'm going to start looking into SEO some more and learn the ins and outs of it, thanks for the tips.

[Maffo]

Keep going with the Gorilla. If its not too late, try keeping it all a big secret apart from close friends. Start doing pranks, get your friends to phone the local radio and newspapers etc. Sit out on the street with a board saying, will work for bananas. There is so much scope you can do with this. Dont give up.

[Chaslie]

Yes I agree with maffo, Tim. Keep at it and take up all the ideas above. It's 'pleasant persistance' that makes things happen. It's great you have others here (the forums) to support you and brainstorm with you.

And remember, 'the biggest risk you can take is not to take a risk' and 'think outside the square' as you have been doing - do unconventional and/or provocative things - they get people's attention!

Keep it up and keep letting us know your results.

Also do you have family and friends who can actively support you? Are their garages full of stuff that can be sold via your site? That can provide an inventory of listings in getting started.

[gregbatch]

I would take the "Free Classifieds" off of the sign. Most people won't be able to resist going to the website to see what it is if they see the domain on a sign being carried by an Gorilla.
Definitly turn to family and friends for help. It costs them nothing, and could put some cash in their pocket if they sell their items. SEO is very important as well, don't ignore it. Clean windshields at traffic lights in the Gorilla suit and hand out a card with the domain (only) on it. ANYTHING that will generate PR. Doing public service always gets good press. Public service by a Gorilla will be a sure thing.
Another angle is the "800 pound Gorilla in the room," which could be that sofa you hate and want to get rid of, or the pile of junk in the garage or basement.
Just keep at it. The Gorilla suit is sure to help get the word out.

[AdrianApe]

Thanks for the replies and encouragements I'll give it another go this evening with all the Saturday traffic. One of my best friends is getting married today so the last couple of days have been a little busy.

That's an interesting idea of taking the free classifieds off the sign, that was my original plan but someone told me I should put it on there. I'll try covering it up.

I like the "will work for bananas" i may just have to give that a try. I'll just start putting my self out there a lot more this next week and keep an eye on Analytics to see how it works.