

Ask HN: Where is the best place to find a true internet marketer for a startup? - huuleon

We are running a startup and currently looking for a true marketer that can help us expand and acquire more users.  Where do you go to search for these serious marketers? What characteristics do they have?  How do you distinguish between the good and the bad ones?<p>We hope you can share your experiences.  
Thanks
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xekul
I know a lot of Internet marketers. The ones who can get results consistently
and who care about optimizing those results are already making a ton of money
promoting their own businesses or selling other people's products through
affiliate programs. You can't hire them on a salary. If you want to get them
on your side, start an affiliate program and offer a generous commission for
signups or sales. Whatever your gross margin is, expect to pay about half of
it to the affiliate.

It might seem like a lot, but remember that with affiliates you're guaranteed
to make a profit. If you paid for an advertising campaign yourself, or hired a
firm for a fixed amount, you could potentially lose thousands (or more) if the
campaign fails.

If you want to pay for results but you don't want to manage a bunch of
individual affiliates, look into cost per action (CPA) marketing. There are
several firms (NeverBlue, Pepperjam, etc.) that offer this service. Like it
says on the tin, CPA marketing is when you pay after a specific action (like
user registration) is performed. They're usually a significant minimum spend
with CPA marketing.

However, if you ask me, you should take the time to train yourself (or one of
your other founders) into being a capable marketer. Good marketing is one of
the important factors in the success of your business, and if you ask me, it's
too important to delegate or outsource to somebody who isn't invested in the
future of your business.

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AznHisoka
I would recommend just learning it yourself. It's not voodoo or rocket
science. Read up on techniques other companies are successfully executed on,
and apply them to your product space. Look at Mint.com for a good starting
example.

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amac
I can't answer your question explicitly, but how about making your initial
customers also your initial marketer? Word of mouth is one of the best, if not
the best, ways to market your product or service.

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ig1
What kind of marketer are you looking for ? - SEO, SEM, PPC, Viral, PR, etc.

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huuleon
We're building a video ecommerce marketplace. Where do you think we should
focus on first?

Here's a link to our website: <http://www.123exchanges.com>

