Hello,
I haven't posted on this board before, but I would like some help. I
have been working on an activity partner finder site called
www.friendeavor.com for about a year now and would like to hear some
feedback on the website. You can view much of the site as a guest, but
you have to register to see the rest.
I have been marketing the site on craigslist, yahoo groups, message
boards, adwords and free classifieds. I feel that the site has a lot of
potential, but it needs to be more user friendly in order for it to
succeed. Also, any tips on other ways of marketing the site would be
greatly appreciated.
Thanks, -Joe

"Joe" <joe@friendeavor.com> wrote in message
news:d04sii02ln3@enews2.newsguy.com...
>
> Hello,
> I haven't posted on this board before, but I would like some help. I
> have been working on an activity partner finder site called
> www.friendeavor.com for about a year now and would like to hear some
> feedback on the website. You can view much of the site as a guest, but
> you have to register to see the rest.
> I have been marketing the site on craigslist, yahoo groups, message
> boards, adwords and free classifieds. I feel that the site has a lot of
> potential, but it needs to be more user friendly in order for it to
> succeed. Also, any tips on other ways of marketing the site would be
> greatly appreciated.
> Thanks, -Joe
>
Like 90% of the people on the Internet, when it comes to registering before
entering the good stuff, I just skip it and go somewhere else. Just like
when you call an outfit on a 1-800 number and get a mechanical voice, I hang
up (as do most people) and go somewhere else.

I simply refuse to fill out a form giving all my personal stuff before
entering a site. You have the ability to capture my email when entering and
that should be enough. Then, if I get an unsolicited email from you I can
either take a look at your message or report you as a spammer.

I wish people would understand the nature of Internet advertising. It is
supposed to be informative and giving enough information for the reader to
decide if yes or no to ask for further info. Then they should make it very
simple, very easy, to click an email us and have plain English responses for
a real person to reply. That is the power of the Internet. To facilitate one
to one communication but all too many are electing the computerized
automated communication venue and I think it is totally wrong.

Go to my son's site to see what I consider an ideal site. It gives all kinds
of information and makes it very easy to click and email to the CEO himself.
www.rcsailcars.com
....
Wayne
PS - I did not visit your site because you said yourself it requires
registration. So you saved me some time and effort. Thank you!

Thanks Wayne for your input. I think I'll try to make it more clear
that you CAN go and use the site without registering. Naturally, you
cannot connect with other site members without being a member yourself,
so that is what I meant by being not able to see the rest of the site.
I'll make the front page explain more about what the site is about and
have a link to contact me there. I don't know how to make the site work
without registering members, but I'll look into giving guests more
options. I don't know what you mean by me or my site having automated
responses, because people email me directly all the time commenting on
and asking questions about the site. -Joe

Joe- I love the concept, tried to search for someone in Boston who
also likes scuba diving. I use a business oriented networking site
called linked in. Linkedin.com .
What is your revenue model? Advertising. membership? Seems you'll
need an all out effort to get people to voluntarily fill in a profile
so they can start to use fairly quickly--if you build it they will
come, but it begins with two people on your site. Once you have a
decent amount of folks using it, you can attract
advertisers/affiliates, etc. Good luck. I'll bookmark your site.
Andy Kelley of http://www.effectivestudentmarketing.com

Joe wrote:
> Thanks Wayne for your input. I think I'll try to make it more clear
> that you CAN go and use the site without registering. Naturally, you
> cannot connect with other site members without being a member
yourself,
> so that is what I meant by being not able to see the rest of the
site.
> I'll make the front page explain more about what the site is about
and
> have a link to contact me there. I don't know how to make the site
work
> without registering members, but I'll look into giving guests more
> options. I don't know what you mean by me or my site having automated
> responses, because people email me directly all the time commenting
on
> and asking questions about the site. -Joe