Swapperme.Com-What Can You Trade?

Update

swapperme — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 23:43:42 +0000

Sorry for the lack of posts its been a little hectic. I found a partner over the weekend for Swapperme.Com. He is a current Microsoft employee, very smart guy, and he will be able to help me with the web programming and such. I’m very excited with with skills set he brings to the table. I’m also still trying to add to my current blogroll so if you or anyone else wants to trade links feel free to contact me. Here are a few more tips for driving traffic to your blog.

Thanks

1. Hold a promotion on your blog

Everyone loves getting free stuff. Have people send you their email addresses and randomly choose an email for a prize such as a gift certificate. This is a very easy way to get a quick spark of interest for your blog.

2. Get a RSS feed

An RSS feeds your new posts directly to your subscriber. These keep your readers up to date and let your readers have access to your blog in the fastest way possible.

Driving Traffic to Your Blog Part I

swapperme — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 03:32:53 +0000

A couple posts ago I wrote about viral marketing and the importance of it. Going along with that theme I want to discuss driving traffic to your website/blog. While I am still incorparating alot of these ideas with this blog I thought it might be helpful to share some techniques I have learned while researching this topic.

1. Write lots of content

It’s going to be awhile before your blog picks up so make sure there is plenty of content for readers to read. If you are writing your blog on your own business related issues it is easy to have topics ready but if your are writing on a specific topic be sure its something you are interested in that way writing is fun and not a chore.

2. Get on Technorati and other blog search engines

Technorati is a blog search engine. It allows you to claim a blog and have other search for your blog using keyword tags. Using a blog search engine is a great way to drive lots of traffic to your site because people who have an interest in your blog will be searching for you.

3. Adding to Your Blogroll

A Blogroll is a list of other blogs that are accessible from your blog’s front page. Trading links with similar people and similar blogs is a good way to exchange readers and expand your reader base.

4. Finding a Blogring/Network

This is similar to a blogroll but on a larger scale. I am currently looking for a good one to join and if any of you guys have any suggestions please let me know. I will let everyone know when I decide on one.

The next blog will be part II and deal with more ways to drive traffic to your blog.

*** SwapperMe.Com Update***

SwapperMe.Com is currently on pace of the scheduled April 9th beta launch. I am currently holding interviews this week and weekend to possibly take on a web programming partner to help me with technical aspects of the site. Wish me Luck!

Thanks

Random Thoughts on My Favorite TV Shows

swapperme — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 18:51:35 +0000

In addition to basic business concepts in this blog I am going to discuss other things that interest me. One thing that isn’t going to interest me this week is American Idol. Antonella Barba got kicked off last week so now I don’t care. She was my favorite contestant for obvious reasons:) Too bad everyone else on that show is so good. In past years her good looks might have carried her to the final 12. 24 last night was one of the best episodes in a long time. I won’t ruin it if you haven’t seen it but it was shocking to say the least. 24 has been better this season than seasons in the past but I feel giving Jack a permanent partner and starting to transition it away a bit from him to a new main character would freshen the show up a bit. How many times can he escape certain death? Lost is another show that I follow closely but we all know how disappointing it has been the last few seasons. They need to give some more answers and not pile on more questions. Hopefully they start doing that this week but I won’t hold my breath. I’ve been saying that for the last two years. I would appreciate anyone forwarding this blog to friends as I’m trying to build a solid reader base.

Thanks for Reading

Viral Marketing

swapperme — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 18:04:37 +0000

Viral Marketing is an easy concept to understand but an extremely difficult concept to implement. Viral marketing is defined as using pre-exisiting social networks to increase brand awareness through self replicating processes very similar to a computer virus. Basically Viral marketing is a fancy term for Word-to-mouth advertising. Some examples of a viral marketing campaigns that worked are the Blair Witch Project and MSN Hotmail. Hotmail started from friends emailing invitations to other friends and it developing from there. The Blair Witch Project had a huge following before the movie came out due to its website claiming the movie was a real story. People got interested and talked about this movie creating an online “buzz”. This blog is an example of Viral marketing. Anything to get your business noticed through person to person transactions can be considered viral marketing. I recently read a great blog entry about viral marketing and I will repost here. I am also looking to add to my blogroll as well so if anyone wants to be on please contact me.

Thanks

Viral marketing has evolved from word of mouth to a much more scientific endeavor in the online world. Based on my previous posts and some additional thinking about the subject I’ve defined seven mechanisms that companies have used to successfully “go viral” in the past.

1) Communication. Same side positive network effects have driven virality for companies like AIM, Skype, Facebook, MySpace and even Fax Machines. Since you can’t communicate with others who have the tool until you get it, virality works very well. (I’ve listed Facebook and MySpace as communications tools and not self expression communities because I believe it is the Wall/Comments that drives a lot of the virality and high PVs of these sites)

2) Email invitations. Make it easy for your users to invite all of their friends. Make it hard for them not to. Tagged, Hi5 and Flixster (LSVP portfollio company) do this extremely well.

3) Widgetopia. Reid Hoffman refers to this as “invading a community”. Rockyou (a LSVP Portfolio company), Slide, Photobucket, Snapvine and others have done a great job here. Increased penetration in an existing community makes it more likely that a new user will see one of your widgets and want to get something similar. Increasing returns to scale means that the big get bigger faster.

4) Platforms. Cross side positive network effects as Jeremy posted about a couple of weeks ago can also create virality as groups on both sides of the platform flock to the greatest numbers of the other group. Ebay is the best example of this.

5) User Generated Authority. User generated content can result in high levels of traffic from organic search. This can result in more user generated content and the virtuous cycle continues. Wikipedia and Yelp are probably the best examples of this. We’ve been seeing similar behaviour at a smaller scale at Stylehive (a LSVP Portfolio company)

6) Everyone’s favorite topic. Quiz based content that tells the user about themselves (and often compares them to other people) has worked to drive virality in the past. Tickle, Quizilla, Classmates, Friend Reunited/Genes Reunited all saw big growth by getting users to input some data and gave them information about themselves (whether it be an IQ test, which sort of Superhero you are, or contact info on old friends).

7) Pay me. There have been several businesses that successfully grew by paying both new and inviting users. The economics can make this more difficult for media models than commerce models. However, it can drive a lot of new adoption, and did for AllAdvantage and Paypal.

Financing and Prosper.Com

swapperme — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 22:25:26 +0000

Financing is one of the large obstacles entrepreneurs face when starting a new venture. Having the proper “bankroll” when starting a new business is vital to making sure your business can grow and produce at its maximized potential. I am lucky to be financing Swapperme.Com with my own money but entrepreneurs especially young ones in college or right out of college have problems getting funding. Banks have a problem (understandably) with giving large amounts of money to unproven business people with little or no credit. So how does a young person get funding if a bank does not want take a risk?

1. Friends and Family- If you have and idea or a business that you feel can be profitable why not ask the people who know you the best? Do not treat it as a unofficial agreement. Treat it as real business deal and present a business plan that blows their socks off. Approach it as ” I have a solution to a market problem or diffciency” not as ” I can make everyone millions of dollars.” If you can outline a real service or product you are providing and the problem you are solving, it sounds much more impressive than the cliche million dollar idea.

2. Prosper.Com

This site is the Ebay of getting loans. Most anyone can get a loan on here for just about anything. People bid on giving you money for everything from car loans to money for start ups. This is a great tool for any entrepreneur. I would suggest this to anyone who has a problem securing a traditional bank loan. Since the money is coming from regular people and other entrepreneurs you are much more likely to get a loan for start-ups etc. Remember though,these loans work like traditional ones so defaulting on them will result in bad credit and problems securing loans in the future.

Hopefully these tips will help with some financing problems a lot of you have.

Business vs. Relationships

swapperme — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 21:20:09 +0000

Entrepreneurs, especially younger ones have a really unique set of problems not associated with others their age in the working force. Bluntly put if you do not make money it is no one’s fault but your own. There is not a boss lurking over your shoulder making sure you work your eight hours a day and giving you your paycheck every two weeks. With this being said it is very easy for those with new businesses to be up every morning at 6 to work, work 12 hour days and be productive throughout the day. The excitement and the possibilities for the new business carry them to a work ethic that can be looked upon as great. The difficult thing I have found is after a year/year and half once you business is off its feet and it starts to work for you, you start to get comfortable. Marketing deadlines are a few days late, accounting builds up to the last minute, customers get calls back days later not minutes. Business is very much like a relationship. God knows that I’m no relationship expert but you can compare the two on equal ground. Everyone who first falls is love has that great work ethic for the “new” girl. Everything goes well, dates every week, best time of your life. But as time goes by everything starts to lose a little luster. You need something else there to replace the newness. You need to work hard to maintain what you have built. In business it is the same. When the time comes to get comfortable work even harder. When you get complacent or bored try getting a new prospective or adding some new features to your business. This is why it is vital to find a service or product your are passionate it about. Everything loses its luster at some point, it is what you do after that point is what defines you as an entrepreneur. Your businesses will flourish and so will your relationships if boredom is met with innovation.

First Blog Post Ever

swapperme — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 06:23:36 +0000

April 9, 2007. This is the launch day for my exciting new project Swapperme.Com. You are probably asking yourself what is that? Swapperme.Com is an online classified website in the same mold as the wildly popular Craigslist which will bring together local communities and create a secondary market of new and used goods. Why will this site be different from other online classifieds? It will be centered around the centuries old practice of bartering. I have found through other business ventures that bartering is a viable option of moving services and goods through the community. Swapperme.Com will focus on Books,Dvds,Video Games and Music CD’s. You will be able to take your old dvd’s for example and trade them with others in the community for absolutely FREE. Selling your items on the site will also be an option but this will be known as the largest trading community in the country. Although this service will initially only be available in Seattle it will go nationwide on June 1. I’m extremely excited for this venture as I feel it will be a great way for people to get new value out of their old items. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave them. I will be writing about a large range of topics other than business so check this blog frequently as it will be entertaining and informing.

Thanks for Reading!

Swapperme.Com-What Can You Trade?

Update

Driving Traffic to Your Blog *Part I*

Random Thoughts on My Favorite TV Shows

Viral Marketing

Financing and Prosper.Com

Business vs. Relationships

First Blog Post Ever

Driving Traffic to Your Blog Part I