

Ask HN: How to get more users for a startup website. - huuleon

For the last 6 months I've been working on building my first startup.  It was finally ready and launched last month.  I'm trying to build a community to help people classified ads via video.  I believe if everyone can watch videos of what people are selling they can save so much time traveling from place to place to check out the product.  They can enjoy watching classified ads videos without leaving the comfort of their homes.  It's like craigslist but by videos instead of posting photos.  It's been about 1 month, we have about 200 members signed up but not many actually uploading videos.  I'm thinking of running a contest to encourage them to upload their unwanted things lying around their houses.  Are there any other ways for them to start uploading videos?  Plus how can I get more users to join a site like this.  
I'm a bit new on marketing for a startup website and looking forward to learn from you guys.  Please review my website and provide me some tips.  If you don't like anything about the site please let me know so i can fix it to better serve users.<p>Thanks  
Http://www.123exchanges.com
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keiferski
1\. You need a new domain name.

2\. The design could use some work. Sorry to say it, but nearly everything is
very poorly designed. Have you looked into Wordpress themes for video? There's
a lot of quality ones floating around.

3\. Your copy needs re-done too. It's not completely clear _what_ the site is,
and there's some readability issues there too.

Good luck!

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shantanubala
Have you thought of starting really niche? Like for a specific city?

Also, have you thought of making an iPhone/Android app or something? Make it
as frictionless as possible to upload videos and add a posting. Right now,
Craigslist has all the users, so your value-add should be more specific.
Nothing prevents me from linking to YouTube from my Craigslist postings, but
almost nothing is as easy as tapping a couple buttons on my smartphone.

"The Local Marketplace to Buy, Sell, Exchange and Advertise Anything You
Desire by Video" is a little too wordy. Make a large bold heading that says
something like "Buy and Sell Anything With Video."

Mention the web site at every opportunity. Even to friends. Friends are the
best people to tell. Not because they'll give you honest feedback, but because
you'll know you've got a good idea if they begin to talk to each other and
their friends about it. Similarly, comment on every blog that has a related
post. Google Blog Search works wonders for finding recent posts to comment on.
I've found that when I mention my startup, a person sometimes just goes and
writes a blog post that drives a couple hundred users my way. Include a link
in every email you send. Include it in your forum signatures. Tell everyone
you get the opportunity to tell. On your blog, talk about something loosely
related to the product. Write very thoughtful posts, but write consistently.
Once a week is good. Once every day is outstanding. Your posts should produce
some value well beyond the scope of your product. Your posts should be helpful
on their own.

EDIT: I noticed a comment below about design -- I agree with it. If you look
at Craigslist, it's minimal, but it's consistent. I'm no designer, but I use
one technique that has allowed me to "fake it till I make it" -- pick a single
color that looks nice on a screen. Use 3 different shades of that color (a
light, middle, and dark). Use black, white, and 2 shades of gray. Take these 6
colors, and limit yourself to them. The more consistent your colors, the more
professional you look.

Don't do a contest unless it's completely necessary. It's only been a month,
and not many people actually buy/sell stuff online. See if you can narrow your
focus a little more. Craigslist started small, and you can too.

Try branding yourself as a sleeker, easier, more intuitive Craigslist. Right
now, your idea is good, just focus on executing small but with high quality.

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huuleon
First of all thank you for your feedbacks shantanubala and keifersk. I
definitely will redesign the homepage and create an apps to make uploading
videos much easier. I totally agree with executing small but with high
quality. I'm planning to focus on helping people sell used things like a
second hand marketplace. A video will best describes a second hand product. I
believe it would be a great niche and it's a huge market also. What do you
guys think if we concentrate and focus our marketing resources aiming toward
used things?

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sagacity
Clickable:

<http://www.123exchanges.com>

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damoncali
123exchanges.com makes me think "spam site". A new domain is in order.

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Mz
Recent discussion with so many good links I am not yet done reading them all:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2239281>

